August Norry, a 28-year-old landscape gardener from Daly City, California, was found dead on February 2, 1959. His body was discovered in the hills above Daly City, riddled with 18 bullet wounds, including multiple point-blank shots to his chest. Norry, who was married and expecting his first child, was known to be a charming individual, often described as a "ladies' man."
Initially, the police pursued the theory that an angry boyfriend might have been responsible for the murder, but this lead soon went cold.
The investigation took a significant turn when detectives traced the unusual .38-caliber bullets used in the murder to a specific mold made in Connecticut. Only a limited number of these bullets were in circulation, with just a handful sold in the Bay Area. This clue led the police to Lawrence Schultze, a 23-year-old gun collector, who revealed that he had sold a box of 50 cartridges to an 18-year-old girl named Penny Bjorkland. Schultze also mentioned that he had taken Bjorkland to the Daly City hills for target practice.
Penny Bjorkland, a seemingly ordinary teenager with blonde hair and freckles, was arrested on April 15, 1959. Despite her innocent appearance, Bjorkland confessed to the murder, stating that she had harbored an urge to kill someone for about a year and a half. She admitted that her motive sounded crazy but explained that she wanted to know if she could commit such a crime without feeling guilty or being pursued by the police. Bjorkland described how she had stolen a .38-caliber handgun from a friend's bedroom and, on the day of the murder, accepted a ride from Norry. She then shot him multiple times, reloaded, and continued shooting until she was satisfied.
During her trial, Bjorkland's demeanor was described as one of "giggling disinterest." She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after seven years. Bjorkland was eventually paroled in the mid-1960s. The case of August Norry's murder remains a chilling example of a seemingly senseless and random act of violence, driven by a young woman's inexplicable desire to kill.
