American serial killer who murdered 13 people, clubbing, stabbing and shooting men, women and children over a four-month period in 1972-1973.
At 18 he began drugs and his descent into hell. He cried for a month in August 1965 after his best friend died.
Three years later, on 28 March 1968 he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic, aggravated by drug use. He was put into a mental hospital on 31 October 1968, a stay which was his first of many. While in the hospital, he told his macho-military father that he was gay, later saying that he was bisexual. About a month later, on 23 November 1968, he was released to an outpatient clinic in Santa Cruz, California.
A year and a half later he was once again returned to the mental hospital, this time in Maui, Hawaii on 10 July 1970. He was released and, on 30 July 1970, he was arrested for drugs, hospitalized and released in San Jose, California. Nine months later, on 28 March 1971, he was arrested for being drunk and spent ten days in jail. This was his last minor sentence before he went on a killing spree, murdering 13 people in and around the Santa Cruz, California area.
On 13 October 1972, he beat a hobo to death with a baseball bat; on 24 October 1972, he stabbed a co-ed, disemboweled her and dropped the body off a cliff; on 2 November 1972, he stabbed a priest; on 25 January 1973 at 9:30 AM PST, he shot and stabbed two people and killed three children one hour later; on 9 February 1973, he shot four teenagers; on 13 February 1973, he shot a man and was arrested.
On 14 February 1973 he was charged with six counts of murder, six days later another four murder counts were handed down. An attempt by Mullin to be his own attorney was denied and he was indicted on 14 March 1973. His arraignment occurred two days later and his trial began on 30 July 1973. On 19 August 1973 his insanity defense was overturned, he was found guilty and given life imprisonment. He believed that all of his killings were sacrificial as he was told by a voice to commit the crimes in order to prevent a catastrophic earthquake from occurring in California.
During his imprisonment, he was denied parole eight times. On 18 August 2022, Herbert Mullin died at age 75 from natural causes while housed at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.
Link to Wikipedia biography