Kimberly Billy, a 19-year-old woman, went missing in 1984 and was later identified as one of the victims of the notorious serial killer duo known as the 'Speed Freak Killers'. The killers, Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog, were responsible for a series of murders in California, fueled by their heavy methamphetamine use.
Billy's remains were discovered decades later in an abandoned well near Linden, California, along with the remains of other victims.
The discovery was made possible after Shermantine, who was on death row, provided hand-drawn maps to authorities, leading them to burial sites. Investigators recovered hundreds of bone fragments from the well, which forensic anthropologists reconstructed to identify multiple individuals, including Billy.
Shermantine and Herzog were childhood friends who grew up in Linden, California, and were known for their violent tendencies and drug abuse. They were convicted of multiple murders, with Shermantine receiving the death penalty and Herzog committing suicide in 2012 after learning that Shermantine was revealing locations of victims. Authorities believe that many more bodies could have been hidden in the well and other locations linked to the killers.
Billy's tragic fate remained unknown for years until forensic advancements and Shermantine's confessions helped bring closure to her case. The investigation into the Speed Freak Killers revealed the extent of their crimes, shedding light on the numerous victims who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
