The Van of Death: William Bonin and the Dark Legacy of California's Freeway Killer

Early Life and Troubled Upbringing

William George Bonin was born on January 8, 1947, in Willimantic, Connecticut, into a deeply dysfunctional family. His father, an alcoholic and compulsive gambler, was physically abusive, while his mother was emotionally unstable and often absent, leaving Bonin and his siblings to fend for themselves. At the age of six, Bonin was placed in a Catholic orphanage, where he reportedly suffered sexual abuse by older boys. These early experiences of neglect and abuse likely played a significant role in shaping his later violent behavior .

Bonin's adolescence was marked by delinquency and further trauma. He was arrested for petty crimes and spent time in juvenile detention, where he was again subjected to sexual abuse. Despite these challenges, he managed to graduate from high school and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1965. During his service, he served as an aerial gunner in the Vietnam War, logging over 700 hours of combat and patrol time. Bonin later claimed that his experiences in Vietnam desensitized him to violence and human suffering .

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