Angelo Buono Jr., was born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester, New York, he was the eldest of three children. His parents separated when he was young, and Angelo grew up with his mother and siblings in a strict and sometimes harsh environment. As a boy, he often got into trouble and showed early signs of troubling behavior, including being cruel to animals. Despite these challenges, Angelo did have some normal interests like other kids, such as cars, which would become a significant part of his later life.

As Angelo grew up, he moved to Los Angeles, where he started a new chapter of his life. He became a father to several children from different relationships, and he tried to make a living in various ways. His main job was as an auto upholsterer, which meant he worked on the interiors of cars, making them look new again. He was known for his good work, but he also had a darker side. Angelo used his charm and skills to manipulate and control people, especially women.

In 1976, Buono’s adopted cousin Kenneth Bianchi came to live with him. At first, Bianchi was drawn in by Buono’s dominance and lifestyle—especially his control over a group of teenage girls he held captive and forced into sex work. By 1977, the two men were working together to make money from prostitution and began discussing more violent ambitions.

Their first murder occurred on October 17, 1977. Using fake police badges and posing as undercover cops, Buono and Bianchi abducted Yolanda Washington, a young sex worker. After sexually assaulting her, they strangled her to death and left her body on a hillside. Over the next four months, they carried out a series of nearly identical abductions, escalating in both brutality and frequency.

The victims were mostly young women and girls, aged 12 to 28, including high school students, college women, and working professionals. The duo’s tactics were chilling—they would approach victims, flash fake badges, and force them into their car. Once at Buono’s home, the girls were raped, tortured, and ultimately strangled. Their bodies were dumped across the hills of Los Angeles, often naked and posed.

The investigation into the “Hillside Strangler” case terrified the city. Buono and Bianchi were careful, using multiple cars, aliases, and disposing of bodies in scattered locations. Meanwhile, Bianchi was even trying to become a police officer—going on ride-alongs during the investigation.

Their final victim, Cindy Hudspeth, was murdered in February 1978. Her body was found stuffed in the trunk of her car, pushed off a cliff. Shortly after, the killing spree stopped.

Bianchi was arrested in 1979 in Washington State for murdering two women. Facing the death penalty, he confessed to the Hillside murders and named Buono as his accomplice. Buono was arrested shortly after at his shop.

Buono was charged with 24 felonies, including nine counts of murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping. His trial, which began in 1981, became the longest criminal trial in U.S. history at the time, stretching over two years and involving almost 400 witnesses.

Bianchi proved to be a difficult witness—deliberately making conflicting statements in an attempt to sabotage the case. But the judge refused to dismiss charges, and the state brought forward strong circumstantial evidence alongside Bianchi’s taped confessions. In November 1983, Buono was convicted of nine murders (he was acquitted in the death of Yolanda Washington).

Though the prosecution sought the death penalty, the jury instead gave him life in prison without parole. The judge called Buono and Bianchi’s actions “monstrous,” stating they should never walk free again.

Buono served his sentence in multiple prisons across California, eventually ending up at Calipatria State Prison. He refused to interact with other inmates, reportedly out of fear. In 1986, while incarcerated, he married Christine Kizuka, a state worker who had fallen in love with him.

On September 21, 2002, at the age of 67, Angelo Buono died of a heart attack in his prison cell. He never expressed remorse for his crimes and continued to deny full responsibility. His body was cremated.