'Tool Box Killer,' Who Tortured And Murdered Teen Girls, Dies In Prison

A prisoner, who was one of the murderous duos dubbed the “Tool Box Killers” because of the tools they used to torture and kill teenage girls in California, died in prison, officials said Monday.

Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, 79, died of natural causes in the San Quentin State Prison Friday. However, the Marin County Coroner will determine the cause of death, a statement released by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Bittaker was sentenced to death on March 22, 1981, for the 1979 slayings of Lucinda Lynn Schaefer, 16; Andrea Joy Hall, 18; Jacqueline Doris Gilliam, 15; Jacqueline Leah Lamp, 13; and Shirley Lynette Ledford, 16.

He was convicted of five counts of murder, five counts of kidnapping as well as other charges including criminal conspiracy, rape, oral copulation, sodomy and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

Bittaker and his accomplice used tools like a screwdriver, pliers and an ice pick to torture their victims. The killings began in June 1979 with the death of Schafer. The victims were kidnapped, raped and murdered.

The bodies of Schafer and Hall were never recovered, the statement said.

In exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty against him, Norris testified against Bittaker. He was sentenced to 45 years and still remains in prison.

Since 1978, 82 inmates who have been condemned to death row have died of natural causes in California. 13 people were executed, while another 27 committed suicide. California has 729 prisoners on Death row but hasn’t executed anyone in years.