Episode 27 – The Earthquake Killer: Herbert Mullin
Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining us again for another episode. This week, we discuss The Earthquake Killer, Herbert Mullin: a man's who brutality and ruthlessness are only matched by the SPEED at which he committed his crimes. He murdered 13 people in the span of a few months. And all...to prevent a natural disaster?? Strap in...this one's crazy!
TRIGGER WARNING: The following content contains graphic descriptions of murders. Discretion is advised.
STOP! INSIDE JOKES AHEAD!
If you haven’t gotten to listen to the episode yet, spoiler alert! This post contains lots of stuff that will make waaay more sense if you listen to the episode before or while reading. So if you haven’t already, pump the brakes and listen to the episode or just click above to play so that you can be in on all the shenanigans to follow!
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Produced by Peter Woodward
Listener Story
Our listener story this week comes from Michael Kelly in Florida via The unexplained FaceBook page. He told us about how his deceased grandmother tried to barge in on him while he was using the restroom! Whoa there, ghost grandma!
Herbert William Mullin (April 18, 1947-August 18, 2022)
Just a normal kid from a normal family...
Herbert William Mullin was born April 18, 1947 in Salinas, CA. By all accounts, this guy had a very “normal” childhood with no evidence of abuse or trauma on recorded or reported. His family was said to be very religious. His father was a WWI veteran and was considered a war hero after his service.
Herbert himself was very intelligent and successful in school. He was popular, had friends, was well-liked, and in high school, he was actually voted Most Likely to Succeed.
After graduating high school, he enrolled in university with the intention of studying engineering. All was going well…until it wasn’t.
The Beginning
Problems started with the sudden death of his closest male friend, Dean Richardson, in a car accident at the age of 18. By all accounts, this profoundly affected Mullin in several ways: he started studying Eastern religions, changed his major to philosophy, and became obsessed with reincarnation. He reportedly constructed a shrine to his friend in his room. It was at this time that he started experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs and began hearing voices.
Mullin was first given LSD and pot by a friend named Jim Gianera, who, during this first use of drugs, talked at length with Mullin about the peace movement. Mullin was intrigued, and after this, he told his father that he supported non-violence and was now a conscientious objector.
He was outwardly vocal about this, but inwardly, he wrestled with the thought that this would shame his family because of his father’s military history and status as a war hero.
This would become a focal point in his developing psychosis and later delusions about his father.
Escalation...
In 1969, Mullin’s family began to see that he seemed to be losing his grip on reality. Because Mullin was so “normal” as a child, his family didn’t suspect mental illness, but rather, thought his behavioral changes were due to his drug use. They encouraged him to check into the psychiatric ward for evaluation. He complied, but only stayed for six weeks. This would be the start of a pattern of being in and out of psychiatric facilities for the next several years.
By 1969, he was diagnosed with full blown paranoid schizophrenia. Mullin started exhibiting. a variety of bizarre behaviors. He got tattoos of “legalize acid” and “legalize marijuana” on his abdomen. He began expressing his bisexuality and ritualistically burning the end of his penis. At this time, he also began stating his father spoke with him telepathically, urging him to commit violence or else he’d bring shame on the family.
Entering 1971, Mullin’s mental state continued to deteriorate. At this point, he moved away from his parents and took up boxing. He was actually very good at it! He competed in Golden Gloves tournaments and did extremely well. He was noted to be extremely violent, having to be pulled off opponents even after victory was established.
This was short-lived, however. After losing his first match, he decided to abandon boxing and become a priest instead. He was also fascinated with the art community and fancied himself a “serious artist.”
Mullin regularly began getting in trouble with the police at this time and also started writing numerous letters to strangers that he would sign “human sacrifice.” He became well-known to local authorities for being unable to adequately care for himself, and by 1972, he was back to living with his parents in their home.
The murders begin...
In 1972, Mullin committed his first murder. He stated later that he was receiving telepathic messages at this point from his father, no longer just encouraging violence, but outright telling him to kill people.
It was a Friday the 13th in October. His victim was an old alcoholic drifter named Lawrence Wright. Wright stopped to help Mullin, who was faking car trouble on the side of the road. Mullin beat Wright to death with a baseball bat, left him where he fell, got in his car, and drove away.
Mullin was not captured or suspected at the time. Wright’s body was discovered quickly, however police did not really prioritize the investigation of Wright’s death at that time. Because who cares about an old drifter? Nice, huh?
So Mullin is free to pursue this path…and does he ever.
Artistic inspiration...
Meanwhile, Mullin’s parents wanted to help their son to get well. Because of his fascination with art, his mother gives him a book on the artist, Michelangelo. You know, the Sistine Chapel guy? The David sculpture?
She hoped it would help him by encouraging art to be his outlet. Mullin devours the book and learns that Michelangelo dissected bodies in his spare time to better understand the human form. This is thought to be why Michelangelo’s body work was so extraordinary.
When Mullin committed his next murder after reading this book, he went on to blame his mother for it, stating she gave him this book as a “hint” to commit murder.
Inspired by the work of Michelangelo, Mullin mutilated and murdered a female hitchhiker named Mary Guilfoyle. He eviscerated her body, pulling out all her organs and some of her bones. He then left her body in the woods where it was later discovered. He never repeated this method, so he must not have liked it. But either way…awful.
A priest...
On All Souls Day, November 1, Mullin went into a church to make confession and pray not to kill again. Drunk and wielding a hunting knife, he proceeded to stab and kill the priest, Father Henry Tomei. Again, Mullin was not immediately caught, but he left fingerprints at the scene and was witnessed by parishioner. However, the only description given was ‘a young man in black clothes.’
After killing Father Tomei, Mullin got it into his head that he wanted to try to appease his father. He attempted to join the Coast Guard, but was denied after failing the psychiatric evaluation. At least somebody here was paying attention. Yikes…
Mullin developed a fixation on the “flower children” of the time, blaming them for altering his mind. In later interviews, he reported he was hearing voices in head from potential victims begging him to kill them.
It was at this time that he also purchased a gun. Awesome. Great idea.
Revenge and cover-up...
Still wanting to appease his father, Mullin applied to Marine Corps. Somehow he was granted entrance with a recommendation. He even passed the psychiatric examination at this point! However, on January 15, 1973, he refused to sign a document acknowledging his arrest record and was dismissed. Angry, he blamed his parents for this and was shortly kicked out of his their house that same month.
At this point, Mullin decided his old high school friend, Jim Gianera, was the reason why his mind was messed up because he had introduced him to pot and LSD and told him about the peace movement.
He immediately sought out Jim to make him pay. Going to the last known address of Jim, Mullin encountered Kathy Francis and her two little boys, Daemon and David. Kathy, who’s husband was a friend of Jim’s and fellow drug dealer, notified Mullin that Jim no longer lived there and told Mullin where he could find him.
Mullin went to the address he was given by Kathy, and proceeded to murder Jim and his wife Joan by shooting them both in the head then stabbing their bodies. Police would describe the scene as “overkill”.
For good measure, Mullin then returned to Kathy Francis’s house, shooting and stabbing her death, as well as killing her two sons. He later stated telepathic permission was given to him by Kathy for she and her boys to be blood sacrifices. Well, good, then. As long as she gave permission.
- Police thought the killings were drug-related because both Jim and Kathy’s husband were known drug dealers. Once again, they did not connect Mullin to the killings at the time.
A walk in the woods...
While at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Mullin encountered four teenagers out camping. He told the boys they were not allowed to be in that area because he himself had been told the same by park rangers previously. The boys laughed at him and refused to leave. He responded by killing them all. He later reported asking them telepathically if he could kill them, and they had all agreed that he could.
His capture...
More victims were chosen…all at random with no discernible pattern to Mullin’s choices.
His final killing was on February 13, 1973. He had received a telepathic message from his father saying he couldn’t come home until he killed someone. While driving through a neighborhood, he saw Fred Perez, a retired boxer, working in his front yard. Mullin got out of his car and shot Perez with a rifle, then got back into his car and drove away, leaving Perez to die on his lawn.
Luckily, this shooting was witnessed, and Mullin was caught and arrested! Reportedly, he was extremely uncooperative with police and would only answer questions with the word “Silence!”
The reasons...
During the course of his arrest and subsequent trial, Mullin gave his reasons for committing his crimes. Firstly, he was convinced his own father was a mass murderer and that he is the reason his high school friend crashed his car and died, inciting Mullin to start down the path he would follow.
Secondly, he believed natural disasters could be decreased by killing people, specifically by HIM killing people. He thought that he was chosen because of his date of birth. Apparently April 18 was the date of Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake that killed over 3000 people. It was also the date that Albert Einstein died. Mullin truly thought that because of these factors, he could use a small disaster to prevent a big disaster. He was just trying to help.
The trial...
Initially, Mullin wanted to enter a guilty plea. However, the judge refused to accept it. He also apparently wanted to represent himself at trial, and the judge refused to accept that as well. He was found competent to stand trial. It was determined that though he was mentally ill, he was not incapable of understanding the difference between right and wrong.
During his trial, he had an adjoining cell with the famous CoEd Killer, Edmund Kemper. It was reported that the two did not get along.
When all was said and done, Herbert Mullin had killed 13 people over the span of just 4 months. He was convicted of 10 of 13 murders: two 1st degree and the rest 2nd degree.
Mullin was given multiple life sentences. He was eligible for parole beginning in 1980 and was denied 11 times, with his final attempt in 2021.
He died August 18, 2022 of natural causes.
And that is the story of this creep. Sayonara, jerk.
On the YouTube...
Excellent video allllll about this monster. Give it a watch!
WHAT OTHER RANDO STUFF DID WE TALK ABOUT?
Restroom etiquette of the normal, functional, considerate human being!
Close…and lock…the door…when you go to the bathroom. Nobody wants to see you on the toilet. Nobody. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Triskaidekaphobia
Fear of the number 13…
Rūaumoko
The Maori god of earthquakes, volcanoes, and seasons…
Suicide Squad
Shout out to Mike Oh from That Chapter on YouTube!
If you haven’t checked him out yet, what are you doing with your life? Do it! You won’t regret it. He’s awesome.
That wraps up another one! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Always fun to talk about horrible people getting what they deserve!
Remember to lock your door when you are pooping and knock before you enter a bathroom. As we’ve established, nobody wants to see or smell you defecating. And don’t forget…
STAY STRANGE! 😉
Some articles and sources:
Peter’s wife. Registered nurse. Uber-fan of The Strange Woods Podcast.
