Darin Kendrick, a 19-year-old male, tragically lost his life on April 29, 1980. He was working as a box boy at a supermarket in Stanton, California, when he was lured into a van by serial murderers William Bonin and Vernon Butts under the pretext of selling him marijuana. Kendrick was then driven to Butts' apartment, where he was tortured and killed.
His body was discarded behind a warehouse near the Artesia Freeway and discovered the following day.
The investigation into Kendrick's death revealed that he had been stabbed in the ear with an ice pick and a caustic solution had been poured down his chin. His nude, strangled body was found dumped near an industrial area in Carson, California. The case was part of a series of murders committed by Bonin, who was later dubbed the 'Freeway Killer.' Bonin, a 34-year-old truck driver from Downey, California, was accused of being the mastermind behind 12 homosexual-torture murders of young men and boys he allegedly killed in his 'death van' in Los Angeles County.
During the trial, Patricia Kendrick, Darin's mother, identified a photograph of her son's body for the jurors. The prosecution introduced gruesome photographs of other victims, including Donald Hyden, a 15-year-old from Los Angeles, whose nude body was found in a dumpster in August 1979. The trial also included testimonies from witnesses who last saw Kendrick alive, such as Bob Edwards, who worked with Kendrick at the supermarket.
Bonin and his accomplices were eventually apprehended and brought to justice. The case of Darin Kendrick remains a harrowing reminder of the brutal crimes committed by the 'Freeway Killer' and the impact on the victims' families.
