Casey Nichols - The Tool Box Killer

THE TOOL BOX KILLER

CASEY NICHOLS

The 1970s were a carefree time in the history of the United States. Even though the love and peace of the previous decade were over, people still hitchhiked and accepted rides from helpful strangers. But during the summer of 1979, two depraved criminals terrorized the Los Angeles area by targeting and kidnapping young teenage girls. Their victims were mostly regarded as runaways, so the authorities noticed their crimes months after they were committed. With the discovery of their fifth and final victim, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris got the nickname The Toolbox Killers because they used common instruments found in any household in order to inflict horrific pain to the objects of their desire.

Early life

Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker was born on September 27th, 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He had a very rough start because his birth parents didnt want to have children, so they made a decision to put the newborn up for an adoption. He was placed in an orphanage, hoping that a loving couple would adopt him eventually. Lawrence didnt have to wait for a long time because the Bittaker family came along and liked the young boy. They decided to become his parents and take care of little Lawrence. George Bittaker, Lawrences father worked for various aircraft companies, so the family didnt have a permanent place of residence. Instead, they moved all across the United States. Lawrence was a very happy boy as he was growing up, but as soon as the puberty hit, he started acting up.

He was only twelve years old when the police picked him up for shoplifting. It was just a minor crime, but this incident soon became the first in the string of events that followed. He would continue to steal small things and commit petty crimes until he was sixteen. The police were already familiar with the boy, and he had a record. Lawrence Bittaker is an extremely smart individual, and one surprising fact is that he has an IQ of 138. Unfortunately, as his police record grew he gradually started losing interest in school and learning. He thought it was useless and just a waste of time. Therefore, he decided to drop out when he was seventeen years old, which prevented him to graduate and earn a high school diploma. Of course, the Bittakers were disappointed in their son even more.

The family was living in California at the time, and since Lawrence was no longer a high school student, he would be out all day, hanging out with a wrong crowd or committing petty crimes. When he was almost eighteen years old, Lawrence stole a car, injured an innocent passer-by, and tried to run from the police. He was caught and arrested after a couple of hours. He was a minor, so the only place he could go was the California Youth Authority. Lawrence spent several months there and was released as soon as he turned eighteen. He was already blaming his parents for his bad behavior, claiming that they didnt love him or pay attention to his needs. But he was absolutely shocked to find out that his parents disowned him and moved out of California. They didnt leave an address or a telephone number, meaning that they left Lawrence to fend for himself.

The arrests

Lawrence Bittaker took the disownment seriously and considered it to be the blessing because now he could do whatever he felt like doing. It took him just a couple of days to commit another crime that would get him arrested once again. He stole a car and tried to get it out of California. However, he was caught by the police and held in custody until the trial. The judge sentenced him to eighteen months of prison in 1959 and was sent to Oklahoma State Reformatory. He didnt stay there for too long, and he got a transfer to a medical center in Springfield, Missouri. It was more suitable for a nineteen years old prisoner because Bittaker was not yet considered to be a serious criminal. After all, he was mostly stealing vehicles up to that point so the authorities still believed that he could be rehabilitated. He was released in 1960, and everyone hoped he had learned his lesson. He spent just a couple of months outside.

Bittaker was caught during a robbery in Los Angeles and was once again in jail. This time his offenses were taken seriously, and the judge sentenced him to fifteen years behind the bars. Having in mind Bittakers history of crimes, the judge also ordered a psychiatric examination, hoping they could uncover the underlying factors of his antisocial behavior. The psychiatrist who performed the examination noticed that Bittaker was highly intelligent with the ability to manipulate the people around him. He also noted high levels of aggression he kept deep inside of himself. Of course, he didnt serve the full sentence and was released after only two years behind the bars. Bittaker violated his parole at the end of 1964, so he was returned to prison. The professionals didnt want to give up on him, and he attended psychotherapy. He was treated by several psychiatrists during the years that followed.

While Bittaker didnt seem too chatty in the beginning, he would share some information about his life with the doctors. Their analysis would be confirmed later on because they concluded that Bittaker truly enjoyed the crimes he had committed. They made him feel like he was above everyone and everything. Bittaker was taking medications that would help him become a regular member of the society and control his urges. He was released on parole in June of 1967 due to good behavior. A couple of weeks later, he violated that parole and was back in prison. He was then sentenced to an additional five years but got out in 1970. The freedom didnt last long, and he would be in and out of the prison for at least two times before 1974 when he committed his first serious crime.

Bittaker was in a supermarket one day, and he decided to steal a steak by hiding it underneath his clothes. A young clerk who was working at the market named Gary Louie saw him take the steak and he watched what would Bittaker do next. When the clerk saw Bittaker going out of the store, straight to the parking lot, he followed him and asked politely if he had forgotten something, alluding to the fact that he should pay for the steak. Bittaker simply stabbed the young man right there on the parking lot. He missed his heart by inches. Bittaker was then captured by Louies fellow clerks who worked at the supermarket and waited for the authorities to show up. Meanwhile, Louie was seriously injured but managed to pull through. Bittaker was charged for the assault with the deadly weapon. This time he was supposed to serve his sentence in California Men's Colony located in San Luis Obispo.

Meeting Roy Norris

Lawrence Bittaker committed crimes on his own, and he never had any help from another person. Once he arrived at California Mens Colony, he met Roy Norris who was a convicted sexual predator. He was also well connected in the prison because he managed to smuggle in the contraband drugs. Not to forget that he was on friendly terms with several prison gangs. Bittaker and Norris didnt talk too much after their initial contact. But Norris was interesting to Bittaker, and he even shared the knowledge on how to make jewelry which made the friendship blossom. Regardless of his connections, Norris did have problems with fellow inmates. He was often attacked and beaten. But Bittaker saved him during one attack and that made Norris trust him. The two started discussing their crimes openly.