Two Killers. Two Different Crime Scenes. Why?

July 25, 2025. I sit at my desk, forty-one years after I wrote about the Bill Bradford and Bill Bonin serial murder cases, and remember the day he told me the critical importance of the crime scene, “The crime scene is the moment I stand where the killer once stood. He and I have met. The investigation begins right here, right now – in this spot.”

During that time, he took me to at least six crime scenes (after the victim’s body had been removed) so I could not just see the spot where the killer left the victim, but also access the full scope of the crime scene. He wanted me to understand the critical importance of the crime scene to the detectives, so the physical reality of the murder was apparent.

Bill Bonin. St. John figured out Bonin’s MO – regarding where he chose to “dump” his victims’ bodies – had to do with his ability to get into and out of the crime scene as quickly as possible to avoid detection.

I asked, “What made John think alleys and through streets would be good places to leave a victim’s body as opposed to driving to a remote location that probably has fewer observers who might see him dumping a body and become a witness?”

“Bonin was a smart, highly intelligent killer,” St. John said. “His IQ was well-above average, so I wasn’t surprised when I figured out the Freeway Killer was probably a truck driver who not only chose where he’d leave his victims beforehand but also had to know where those alleys were. Most of his victims were found in alleys or other places easily accessible to truck drivers.

Bill Bradford: Bradford had a different need for the location where he’d leave his victims’ bodies. He murdered both Shari Miller and Tracey Campbell in the farthest and most remote location – the Mojave Desert, in an area where he and a group of friends once camped.

The reason St. John believed Bradford chose the desert for the murders was his need to overpower them and hear them beg for their lives in a place where no one could hear them. He chose similar remote areas to kill four other women St. John suspected Bradford had murdered.

Since he had solid evidence (Bradford’s photos of him at the Mohave Desert crime scenes) to convict Shari Miller and Tracey Campbell of first-degree murder, he discounted the utility of more lengthy trials to convict Bradford of four more murders.

The two days St. John and I walked in the last steps Shari and Tracey took unaware those would be their last, still haunt me.

Those two girls didn’t have the chance to get out of Bill Bradford’s evil plan,

How will any of us know when and where our last steps will be taken?