The Trash Bag Killer

Patrick Kearney "The Trash Bag Killer"

Active 1974-1977

California

Patrick Kearney was a soft-spoken, intelligent man who worked as an engineer, and outwardly lived a quiet, unassuming life. Behind closed doors, however, he became one of the most efficient and methodical serial killers in California history. Active between the 1960s and 1977, Kearney murdered at least 21 confirmed victims — though he confessed to killing 32 young men and boys — dismembering their bodies and disposing of them in trash bags along highways and in remote desert areas, earning him the chilling moniker: The Trash Bag Killer.

There are still many unnamed Victims, approximatly 12-30 killed between 1965-1977. Kearney confessed to at least 32 murders, but only 21 were confirmed through remains, and many victims remain unidentified to this day. Some still missing or unidentified — many believed to be runaways or drifters.

Victims

"Mike", age, 18. Date of death, Unknown

"George", age, unknown. Date of death, Dec-68

John Demchik, age, 13. Date of death, 26-Jun-71

James Fletcher Barwick, age, 17. Date of death, 22-Sep-73

Ronald Dean Smith Jr., age, 5. Date of death, 24-Aug-74

Albert Rivera, age, 21. Date of death, 13-Apr-75

Larry Gene Walters,age, 20 .Date of death, 31-Oct-75

Kenneth Eugene Buchanan, age, 17. Date of death, 1-Mar-76

Oliver Peter Molitor, age, 13. Date of death, 21-Mar-76

Larry Armendariz, age, 15. Date of death, 18-Apr-76

Michael Craig McGhee, age, 13. Date of death, 11-Jun-76

John Woods, age, 23. Date of death, 20-Jun-76

Larry Espy, age, 17. Date of death, 1976

Wilfrid Lawrence Faherty, age, 20. Date of death, Aug-76

Randall Lawrence Moore, age, 16. Date of death, Aug-76

Timothy Brian Ingham, age, 19. Date of death, 15-Sep-76

Robert Benniefiel, age, 17. Date of death, Fall 1976

David Allen ,age, 27. Date of death, Fall 1976

Mark Andrew Orach, age, 20. Date of death, 5-Oct-76

Nicolas Hernandez-Jimenez, age, 28. Date of death, Jan-77

Arturo Ramos Marquez, age, 24. Date of death, 26-Feb-77

John Otis LaMay, age, 17. Date of death, 13-Mar-77

Merle "Hondo" Chance, age, 8. Date of death, 6-Apr-77

Unknown #1, age, approximatly 19. Body found, Spring 1962

Unknown #2, age, approximatly 16. Body found, 1962