Offender Record · OFF-2026-025
Angelo Buono (photo from the Radford University biography)
Angelo Anthony Buono Jr.
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1934
Custody
Deceased
States
CA
Custody
Died September 21, 2002, from a heart condition at Calipatria State Prison in Calipatria, California.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Angelo Anthony Buono Jr. was convicted in November 1983 of nine counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for raping and strangling ten young women and girls between October 1977 and February 1978 in Los Angeles, California. He operated an upholstery shop in Glendale, California, where he and his cousin Kenneth Bianchi, known collectively as the Hillside Stranglers, murdered their victims. Buono was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and died on September 21, 2002, in Calipatria State Prison.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Oct 17, 1977, Los Angeles, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
Los Angeles County, California · Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles · Arrested Oct 22, 1979 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Yolanda Washington, 19-year-old sex worker, was picked up on October 17, 1977, on Sunset Boulevard near Detroit Street. She was raped and strangled in the back seat of Kenneth Bianchi's Cadillac. Her body was found the next day near Forest Lawn Cemetery with rope marks around her neck, wrists, and ankles. Buono was acquitted of her murder.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Buono, Angelo; Angelo Buono Jr.; Hillside Strangler
Offense date Nov 05, 1977, Los Angeles, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
Los Angeles County, California · Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles · Arrested Oct 22, 1979 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (consecutive)
Elissa Kastin, 21-year-old waitress, was murdered November 5, 1977. Her body was found November 6 on a highway embankment with ligature marks similar to other victims. She had been raped and sodomized.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Buono, Angelo; Angelo Buono Jr.; Hillside Strangler
Offense date Dec 13, 1977, Los Angeles, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
Los Angeles County, California · Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles · Arrested Oct 22, 1979 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (consecutive)
Kimberly Martin, 18-year-old call girl, was murdered December 13, 1977. Her body was found the same day on a vacant hillside lot. She was nude and showed evidence of rape and ligature marks. Buono used a payphone at the Hollywood Library to lure her.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Buono, Angelo; Angelo Buono Jr.; Hillside Strangler
Offense date Feb 17, 1978, Los Angeles, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
Los Angeles County, California · Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles · Arrested Oct 22, 1979 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (consecutive)
Cindy Hudspeth, 20-year-old college student, was murdered February 17, 1978. She discussed upholstery work at Buono's shop and was taken to his home. Her body was found nude, raped, and with ligature marks in the trunk of her car which had been pushed over a cliff. This was the last victim.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Buono, Angelo; Angelo Buono Jr.; Hillside Strangler
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
9
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
1
Victims suspected
Active years
1977–1978
Victim profile
Young women, Teenagers, Children, Sex workers, Strangers
Stated motive
Sexual, Power or control
Range from home
local
Accomplice
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
8
Died
2002-09-21 · natural
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
Glendale, California
1939 – 1979 · Moved with mother Jenny and sister Cecilia after parents divorced; lived in south part of Glendale; later at 703 E Colorado Street.
Calipatria, California
approx. until Sep 21, 2002 · Calipatria State Prison
Glendale, California
1975 – 1979 · Auto upholstery shop at 703 E Colorado Street
Glendale, California
Oct 22, 1979 · Arrested at auto upholstery shop, 703 E Colorado Street, charged with 24 felonies including 10 murders, extortion, conspiracy, sodomy, pimping and pandering.
Folsom, California
approx. 1983 · Folsom Prison, initially refused to leave cell
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
1972 white top and dark blue body Cadillac – 1972 Cadillac sedan, white top, dark blue body, used in murders; belonged to Kenneth Bianchi
approx. 1976 – 1978
Used in multiple murders; both Buono and Bianchi drove; victims lured inside.
Timeline
Oct 05, 1934
Angelo Anthony Buono Jr. born in Rochester, New York.
1939
After parents divorce, Buono moves to Glendale, California with mother Jenny and sister Cecilia at age 5.
1950
At age 16, Buono drops out of school and is arrested several times for larceny.
1951
Buono is recaptured by California Youth Authority after escaping from reform school.
1967
Buono arrested for stealing cars and sentenced to one year in prison, but sentence is suspended due to large family.
1975
Buono moves into his own place and opens an upholstery shop at 703 E Colorado Street in Glendale, California.
Oct 17, 1977
Buono and Kenneth Bianchi begin their murder spree, killing Yolanda Washington, 19-year-old sex worker.
Oct 31, 1977
Judith Miller, 15-year-old runaway, is murdered by Buono and Bianchi.
Nov 05, 1977
Elissa Kastin, 21-year-old waitress, is murdered.
Nov 09, 1977
Jane King, 28-year-old aspiring actress, is murdered.
Nov 13, 1977
Sonja Johnson, 14-year-old, and Dolly Cepeda, 12-year-old, are murdered together.
Nov 20, 1977
Kristina Weckler, 20-year-old college student, is murdered.
Nov 28, 1977
Lauren Wagner, 18-year-old student, is abducted and murdered.
Dec 13, 1977
Kimberly Martin, 18-year-old call girl, is murdered.
Feb 17, 1978
Cindy Hudspeth, 20-year-old college student, is murdered; final Hillside Strangler victim.
Jan 12, 1979
Kenneth Bianchi is arrested in Bellingham, Washington for murders of two college students; later implicates Buono.
Oct 22, 1979
Buono arrested at his upholstery shop at 703 E Colorado Street, Glendale, California.
Jul 06, 1981
Preliminary hearing held; Bianchi testifies he does not know if he was telling truth about Buono's involvement.
Jul 21, 1981
Judge Ronald M. George denies motion to dismiss charges against Buono.
Nov 1981
Buono's case goes to trial with continuances and appeals; new prosecutors Michael Nash and Michael Boren assigned.
Jan 1982
Jury selection begins, lasting three and a half months.
Apr 1982
Buono's trial begins; becomes the longest trial in United States at the time.
Oct 21, 1983
Jury begins deliberations in Buono trial.
Oct 31, 1983
Jury finds Buono guilty of murder of Lauren Wagner.
Nov 1983
Jury finds Buono guilty of murders of Judith Miller, Dolores Cepeda, Sonja Johnson, Kimberly Martin, Kristina Weckler, Elissa Kastin, Jane King, and Cindy Hudspeth.
Nov 03, 1983
Jury finds Buono not guilty of murder of Yolanda Washington.
Nov 18, 1983
Jury recommends life in prison without possibility of parole; judge upholds sentence.
Dec 1983
Buono transferred from Folsom Prison to Calipatria State Prison.
1986
Buono marries Christine Kizuka while in prison; no conjugal visits permitted.
Sep 21, 2002
Buono dies of heart condition at Calipatria State Prison; age 67.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Britannica ·
Hillside Strangler“Buono pleaded not guilty but was convicted. He received life without the possibility of parole. He died in 2002 at the age of 67.”
News report · HistoryLink.org ·
After he murders two Bellingham women, police arrest serial killer Kenneth A. Bianchi on January 12, 1979.“Within 30 minutes of his guilty plea, the Hillside Strangler Task Force arrested Bianchi's cousin, Angelo Buono, at his residence/automobile upholstery shop, 703 E Colorado Street, Glendale, California.”
News report · History.com ·
One of the "Hillside Stranglers" sentenced to life“Angelo Buono, one of the Hillside Stranglers, is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the rape, torture, and murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Angelo Buono Jr.“In November 1983, after a two-year-long trial, Buono was convicted of 9 counts of murder and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Hillside Strangler“Buono pleaded not guilty and was convicted of nine of the murders in November 1983 before being sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in January 1984.”
News report · EBSCO Research Starters ·
Angelo Buono, Jr.“Buono was convicted in 1983 of nine counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Buono, Angelo“Angelo Buono is born in Rochester, New York. After his parents divorce, Angelo moves to Glendale, California with his mother Jenny, and his sister Cecilia.”
News report · UPI Archives ·
Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono Jr. was sentenced today to...“Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono Jr. was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of nine young women and girls.”
Discussion
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