Herbert Mullin

Mullin grew up in a household that his father described as 'oppressively religious'. He was pretty normal, even being voted "most likely to succeed" in high school. The beginning of the end of this normal life was when his friend died in a car crash. Mullin went into his own world following this. He arranged his room furniture around a photo of his friend, and told his girlfriend that he was 'turning gay'.

In February, 1969, Mullin went into a mental institution for six weeks. By this time he had been completely fucked up by LSD and pot. He had been hearing 'voices', and had shaved his head and even burned his cock with a cigarette because of the 'voices'.

He was put back in the nuthouse where he started writing heaps of letters to complete strangers. He signed these letters, "a human sacrifice, Herb Mullin." The writing was on the wall.

In June 1970, Mullin went on holiday to Hawaii. He was committed once again. Back in Santa Cruz Mullin's nutso behaviour had attracted police, and he ended up moving away to San Francisco. He moved around a lot over the next 15 months, until the voices began to tell him that he must kill. He moved back home in September 1972.

The first victim was Lawrence White on October 13, 1972. Mullin seen the old man walking alone by the side of the road. He stopped his car, told the old fellow there was something wrong with the engine, then, as the old guy was leaning over, beat the living fuck out of him with a baseball bat. He left the corpse lying where it fell.

Eleven days later Mullin picked up a hitchhiker, Mary Guilfoyle, and stabbed the sacrifice through the heart. He then dismembered the body, scattered the remains around the road, and drove home.

Mullin's next act was on November 2. He walked into St. Mary's church and entered the confessional. He then confessed his sins to Father Henry Tomei. Once he had released all his guilt he dragged the priest out of the confessional box and stabbed the fucker to death. Some say this was done to protect himself, but I prefer to believe it was a just good sense of humour.

"I saw the light over the confessional and the voice said: 'That's the person to kill' "

In December Mullin bought himself a pistol to aid him in his quest.

Mullin's paranoia had spun completely out of control by this time, and his next victim would pay dearly for his perceived crime against Mullin. On January 25, 1973, Mullin went after the guy who had introduced him to marijuana. Jim Gianera would pay for his involvement in the plot to destroy to Mullin.

Mullin went to Gianera'a old address where he met Kathy Francis, 29, who had moved in recently. She gave Mullin Gianera's new address. When he arrived at the new address he shot his former friend, then decided to punished others for Gianera's perceived crime. He stabbed and shot his wife to death. Mullin must have felt energetic this day because he then left the crime scene and returned to Kathy Francis's house and shot her to death in her sleep. He then found her two children, aged four and nine, sleeping in the next room. Two bullets later and they were never going to wake up again.

My favorite Mullin's murder was committed on February 6. Mullin was hiking in a nearby state park when he met four boys (aged 14-19) out camping. Before the kids had a chance to know what was happening Mullin had whipped out a .22 rifle and blasted all four into oblivion.

A week later Mullin finally fucked up for good. He was driving through a neighbouring street when he seen an old man working in his garden. Mullin pulled the car over, got out, and shot Fred Peruse. He was dead before Mullin had driven away. Unluckily for him though a nosy bastard next door had taken down Mullin's number plate. Mullin was arrested very shortly afterward.

Once in custody Mullin admitted to everything. He explained how the murders where in fact for the good of man, and that he had saved the world from earthquakes. Unfortunately for Mullin during his court case the jury didn't buy this story and found him guilty of ten murders. He was given life, but will come up for parole in 2020.

INTERESTING BITS & QUOTES

Mullin was known to water his doormat every day.

At same time as Mullin's crimes Edmund Kemper was also in his "Co-Ed Killer" murder spree and Santa Cruz became known as "Murderville USA."

In Whoever Fights Monsters, Robert Ressler described Mullin as "docile, polite, and handsome, but uncommunicative... Every few minutes he would ask, 'Sir, can I go back to my room now.'"
Ressler goes on to say that he believes that Mullins should not be in prison, that he is in fact insane and should be in a mental institution. According to Ressler, Mullin still believes that what he did was good for society, that he saved us all from certain death.

Another short guy who became a killer - Mullin was 5' 7".

"It was to avoid the great earthquake that was coming earlier this year. And it was prevented"
Mullin tells his psychiatrist how he saved the world.

Mullin gave his own version of the conversation he had with Father Henry Tomei -
H.T. - Herbert, do you read the bible?
H.M. - Yes.
H.T. - The commandments, where it says to honour thy father and mother?
H.M. - Yes
H.T. - Then you know how important it is to do as your father says.
H.M. - Yes
H.T. - I think it's so important that I want to volunteer to be your next sacrifice.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL...

This is Mullins reason for murder, in his own words. It was taken from an early interrogation.

Q. You say it started with revenge, but that it also had to do with preventing earthquakes, which I guess other people had been doing. Other people were killing other people, which was keeping the earth quite. In particular the San Andreas fault? Or in general? Or what?

A. All faults. We human beings, through the history of the world, have protected our continents from cataclysmic earthquakes by murder. In other words, a minor natural disaster avoids a major natural disaster.

Q. But if murder is a natural disaster, then why should you be locked up for it, if it's natural and has a good effect?

A. Your laws. You see, the thing is, people get together, say, in the White House. People like to sing the die song, you know, people like to sing the die song. If I am president of my class when I graduate from high school, I can tell two, possible three young homo sapiens to die. I can sing that song to them and they'll have to kill themselves or be killed - and automobile accident, a knifing, a gunshot wound. You ask me why this is? And I say, well, they have to do that in order to protect the ground from an earthquake, because all of the other people in the community, because all the other people in the community had been dying all year long, and my class, we have to chip in so to speak to the darkness. We have to die also. And people would rather sing the die song than murder.

Q. What is the die song?

A. Just that. I'm telling you to die. I'm telling you to kill yourself, or be killed so that my continent will not fall off into the ocean. See, it's all based on reincarnation, this dies to protect my strata.