Written by: Sam Santiago
Southern California in the mid 1970s was a very different place than it is today. Orange County was still growing into the suburban powerhouse it would eventually become. Freeways stretched farther each year, new housing developments seemed to appear overnight, and the state was riding a wave of population growth. But beneath the sunshine and postcard image of California, fear was beginning to settle in. The era had already produced some of the country's most notorious killers, including the Zodiac Killer in neighboring Northern California and the Hillside Stranglers, whose reign of terror was just around the corner. Law enforcement agencies often struggled to communicate across county lines, making it easier for predators to move unnoticed from one jurisdiction to another. The 70s in, not only California, but elsewhere in the nation, was a hotbed of murder, killings, and unsolved mysteries that have plagued investigators for decades.
(Stock Photo of Riverside County in 1975)
It was against that backdrop that one of California's most disturbing serial murder cases quietly began.
The murders that would become known as the "Trash Bag Murders" began in April 1975, when authorities discovered the mutilated remains of a naked 21 year old man, Albert Rivera ,alongside a highway near San Juan Capistrano, California.
Over the next two years, additional bodies and body parts were recovered across Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Imperial counties. The bodies of eight more young men would be discovered across Southern California.
Police didn't have much to go on and DNA evidence was years away from being utilized like it is today.
Investigators found a disturbing pattern:
- Victims were usually shot in the head with little or no warning.
- Bodies were often dismembered with a hacksaw.
- Remains were washed, drained of blood, and packaged in industrial trash bags.
- The bags were dumped along highways, desert roads, ravines, and remote areas throughout Southern California.
One of the most notorious victims was 17 year old John LaMay. His remains were discovered in five trash bags near Corona in March 1977 after he told friends and family he was going to visit a man named "Dave," later identified as David Hill.
That changed in 1977.
Detectives quickly obtained warrants for Hill and his longtime partner, Patrick Kearney.
The next portion of this story is where things take a turn and become almost unbelievable.
In July 1977, the pair walked into a Riverside police station after hearing they were wanted. According to reports, they pointed at their own wanted posters and told officers, "That's us."
As detectives began piecing together the case, Kearney admitted he was responsible for the murders. During interviews, he described killing as something that gave him a sense of excitement, power, and control. Police found evidence inside the Redondo Beach home Hill shared with Kearney, including blood traces, a hacksaw, and materials linked to the dismemberment of victims. However, none of that evidence directly tied Hill to the murders themselves.
District Attorney Byron Morton acknowledged that authorities believed Hill may have been involved, but stated they could not prove it. The evidence against him was described as "weak," and some evidence actually tended to clear him.
After his release, Hill largely disappeared from public view. He never became a public figure, rarely appeared in media coverage, and lived quietly. According to later reports and discussions by researchers following the case, Hill died in 1991.
Kearney eventually confessed to 28 murders. Investigators believed him responsible for additional killings but could not recover enough evidence to charge him in every case. He ultimately pleaded guilty to 21 murders and received 21 life sentences.
A Brief Timeline
1939: Patrick Wayne Kearney is born in Los Angeles County.
Early 1970s: Kearney begins living with David Hill. The couple settles in Riverside County.
April 1975: The first victim linked to the Trash Bag Murders is discovered near San Juan Capistrano.
1975-1977: Additional victims are found throughout Southern California, many bearing the same gunshot wounds and signs of dismemberment.
July 1977: Warrants are issued for Kearney and Hill. The pair surrender to police.
1977: Kearney confesses to multiple murders and later pleads guilty.
1978: Kearney receives multiple life sentences. Hill is released after investigators determine there is not enough evidence to charge him.
2024: Kearney dies in prison at the age of 84.
For many Californians living through the late 1970s, the story became a grim fixture of newspaper headlines and evening news broadcasts. Decades later, the case remains one of the state's most notorious murder sprees, not because of elaborate schemes or sensational courtroom drama, but because of its cold efficiency.
Young men disappeared, bodies appeared in trash bags, and for years nobody knew who was responsible. The victims deserved better than becoming another headline, and remembering who they were is far more important than remembering the man who killed them.
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