The murders that Bonin was convicted of might not be an entirely accurate portrayal of his total death count. Convicted of killing 14, Bonin confessed to upward of 21 different murders. According to the San Francisco Gate, he was suspected in a total of 44.
The official death count of 14 will probably have to stand. While thought to be behind the murders of many more, Bonin never offered any additional confessions. He was put to death on February 23, 1996. Bonin was the first inmate to be executed in the state of California by lethal injection. Gov. Pete Wilson noted the horrendous nature of Bonin’s crimes and stated that Bonin was “a poster child for capital punishment.”
All That’s Interesting tells us that of Bonin’s four accomplices, two have met ill-fated ends. Butts hung himself in a jail cell while awaiting trial for murder, and Gregory Miley was beaten to death in prison. Munro is still incarcerated for second-degree murder charges, while William Pugh went free after serving four years for a single voluntary manslaughter charge.
