Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker (September 27, 1940 December 13, 2019) and Roy Lewis Norris (February 5, 1948 February 24, 2020), also known as the Tool Box Killers, were two American serial killers and rapists who committed the kidnapping, rape, torture and murder of five teenage girls in Southern California over a five-month period in 1979.
Described by FBI special agent John Edward Douglas as the most disturbing individual for whom he has ever created a criminal profile, Bittaker was sentenced to death for five murders on March 24, 1981, but died of natural causes while incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison in December 2019.
Norris accepted a plea bargain whereby he agreed to testify against Bittaker and was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 7, 1980, with possibility of parole after serving thirty years. He died of natural causes at California Medical Facility in February 2020.
Bittaker and Norris became known as the "Tool Box Killers" because the majority of instruments used to torture and murder their victims, such as pliers, ice picks and sledgehammers, were items normally stored inside a household toolbox.
Early life
Lawrence Bittaker Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 1940, as the unwanted child of a couple who had chosen not to have children. He was placed in an orphanage by his birth mother and was adopted as an infant. Bittaker's adoptive father worked in the aviation industry, which required the family to frequently move around the United States throughout his childhood.
Bittaker was first arrested for shoplifting at the age of 12 and obtained a minor criminal record over the next four years after further arrests for the same offense—in addition to petty theft—which brought him to the attention of juvenile authorities. Bittaker would later claim these numerous theft-related offenses committed throughout his adolescence had been attempts to compensate for his parents' lack of love and consideration for him.
Although reported to have an IQ of 138, Bittaker considered school to be a tedious experience and dropped out of high school in 1957. By this stage in his adolescence, he and his adoptive parents were living in California. Within a year of dropping out, he had been arrested for car theft, a hit and run, and evading arrest. For these offenses he was imprisoned at the California Youth Authority, where he remained until he was 18 years old. Upon release, Bittaker discovered that his adoptive parents had disowned him and moved to another state. He would never see his adoptive parents again.
Roy Norris Roy Lewis Norris was born in Greeley, Colorado, on February 5, 1948, the first of two children to Glen and Norma Norris. Norris was conceived out of wedlock; his parents had married to avoid the social stigma surrounding illegitimate birth at the time. Norris's extended family lived within a short distance of his parents' home due to his grandfather's real estate investments. His father worked in a scrapyard and his mother was a drug-addicted housewife. He occasionally lived with his parents throughout his childhood and adolescence but was repeatedly placed in the care of foster families throughout the state of Colorado.
Norris's childhood recollections were interspersed with memories of wrongful accusations while living with his biological parents, and of being neglected by many of the foster families he lived with, frequently being denied sufficient food or clothing. He also claimed to have been sexually abused when in the care of a Hispanic family, later stating the prejudice he held toward Hispanic people originated from the neglect and abuse he endured as a child when placed in the care of this family.
While living with his birth parents at the age of 16, Norris visited the home of a female relative who was in her early twenties and began speaking to her in a sexually suggestive manner. She ordered him to leave her house and informed Norris's father, who threatened to subject him to a beating. Norris subsequently stole his father's car and drove into the Rocky Mountains, where he attempted to commit suicide by injecting pure air into an artery in his arm. He was later apprehended as a runaway, and returned to live with his parents. Upon his return home, Norris's parents informed him that he and his younger sister were unwanted children and that they intended to divorce when both reached adolescence.
A year later, Norris dropped out of school and joined the United States Navy. He was stationed in San Diego in 1965 and was deployed to serve in the Vietnam War in 1969, although he did not see active combat during his four-month tour of duty. He was honorably discharged from the Navy after one tour of duty.
First offenses
Bittaker Within days of his parole from the California Youth Authority, Bittaker was arrested for transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. In August 1959, Bittaker was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment, to be served in the Oklahoma State Reformatory. He was later transferred to the medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, to serve the remainder of his sentence.
In 1960, Bittaker was released from prison and soon reverted to crime. Within months of his release, he had been arrested in Los Angeles for robbery and, in May 1961, was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment. While incarcerated, he was characterized by a psychiatrist as being highly manipulative. The psychiatrist also described Bittaker as "having considerable concealed hostility."
Bittaker was released on parole in 1963 after completing two years of his sentence. In October 1964, he was again imprisoned for parole violation. In 1966, Bittaker underwent further examinations by two independent psychiatrists, both of whom classified him as a borderline psychopath: a highly manipulative individual unable to acknowledge the consequences of his actions. Bittaker explained to one of them that his criminal activities gave him a feeling of self-importance, although he insisted circumstantial matters pertaining to his environment and upbringing decreased his ability to resist committing crimes. Bittaker was prescribed anti-psychotic medication. A year later, he was again released into society.
A month after his parole in July 1967, Bittaker was again arrested and convicted of theft and of leaving the scene of an accident. He was sentenced to five years but was released in April 1970. In March 1971, Bittaker was again arrested for burglary. Due to repeated parole violations, he was sentenced to serve between six months and fifteen years' imprisonment in October 1971. Three years later, Bittaker was again released from prison.
In 1974, Bittaker was arrested for assault with attempt to commit murder, after he stabbed a young supermarket employee who had accused him of stealing. The supermarket employee had observed Bittaker stealing a steak and had followed Bittaker outside and into the store's parking lot, where he asked Bittaker whether he had forgotten to pay. Bittaker responded by stabbing his pursuer in the chest, narrowly missing his heart. He attempted to flee but was quickly restrained by two other supermarket employees. The employee, Gary Louie, survived the stabbing, and Bittaker was convicted of the lesser charge of assault with a deadly weapon and sent to California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.
Norris In November 1969, Norris was arrested for his first known sexual offenses: he was charged with both rape and assault with intent to commit rape. In the latter incident, he had attempted to force his way into the car of a lone woman. Three months later, in February 1970, Norris attempted to deceive a lone woman into allowing him to enter her home. When the woman refused, he attempted to break into her house; the woman phoned the police, who arrested Norris before he had the opportunity to cause the woman any harm.
Less than three months after this offense, Norris was diagnosed by military psychologists with schizoid personality disorder. He was given an administrative discharge from the Navy under terms labeled as psychological problems.
In May 1970, Norris—on bail for his latest offense—attacked a female student whom he had been stalking on the grounds of the San Diego State University campus. Norris repeatedly struck her on the back of the head with a rock until she slumped to her knees before he repeatedly beat her head against the sidewalk as he knelt upon her lower back. Shortly thereafter, Norris was charged with assault with a deadly weapon; he was committed to five years' imprisonment at Atascadero State Hospital, where he was classified as a mentally disordered sex offender.
Norris was released from the Atascadero State Hospital in 1975, with five years' probation, having been declared by doctors as an individual who was of "no further danger to others". Just three months after his release, Norris approached a 27-year-old woman walking home from a restaurant in Redondo Beach and offered her a ride on his motorcycle. When she declined, Norris parked his motorcycle and grabbed the woman's scarf, twisting it around her neck, before informing her he intended to rape her and dragging her into nearby bushes. Fearing for her life, the woman did not resist the rape.
Although the rape was reported to police, they were initially unable to find the perpetrator. However, one month later, the victim observed Norris's motorcycle and noted the license number, which she immediately gave to police. Norris was arrested for the rape; one year later, he was tried and convicted for this offense and sent to California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. While incarcerated there, he met and befriended Bittaker.
Acquaintance
Bittaker and Norris initially met in 1977, one year after Norris arrived at San Luis Obispo. Bittaker's initial impression of Norris upon his arrival at California Men's Colony was that he was a savvy individual who largely associated with hardened criminals from motorcycle gangs, in addition to dealing in contraband drugs. The pair gradually became more closely acquainted and began talking in friendly terms when Norris taught Bittaker how to construct jewelry.
According to Norris, Bittaker saved him from being attacked by fellow inmates on at least two occasions. By 1978, the pair had become close, sharing similar misogynistic views and fantasies of sexual violence, with Norris also divulging to Bittaker the biggest stimulation for him was of seeing frightened young women, adding this was the primary reason he had amassed a lengthy record for sexual offenses. Bittaker—who is not known to have committed any sexual offenses prior to his meeting Norris—himself divulged to Norris that if he ever raped a woman, he would kill her so as not to leave a witness to the crime.
When alone, the pair regularly discussed plans to assault and murder teenage girls after they were released. This shared fantasy evolved into an elaborate plan to murder one girl of each teenage year from 13 through 19. The pair vowed to become reacquainted once they were released.
Release Bittaker was released from California Men's Colony on October 15, 1978; he returned to Los Angeles and found work as a skilled machinist. This work earned Bittaker close to $1,000 a week (the equivalent of about $4,970 ), and despite classifying himself as a loner, he became friendly with several people in his neighborhood, earning a reputation as a generous and helpful individual who occasionally donated money to the Salvation Army. On one occasion, he is known to have purchased large quantities of fast food and wine which he then handed to homeless individuals in downtown Los Angeles.