Herbert Mullin American serial killer Date of Birth: 18.04.1947 Country: USA

Biography of Herbert Mullin

Herbert Williams Mullin was born in 1947 in Salinas, California. He grew up in Santa Cruz, where his strict father, a World War II veteran, taught him how to use firearms from a young age. Despite his strict upbringing, Mullin felt comfortable and popular in school, with many friends.

However, tragedy struck after Mullin's high school graduation when one of his friends died in a car accident. This event deeply affected Mullin, and he even built a shrine in his room in memory of his deceased friend. There were later suspicions of Mullin's homosexuality, but it was revealed that he had a girlfriend at the time.

In 1969, at the age of 21, Mullin was sent to a psychiatric clinic by his family due to concerns about his mental health. He displayed strange behaviors such as extinguishing cigarettes on his own body, pretending to be a saint, and sometimes yelling at nonexistent individuals. Later, FBI agent Robert K. Ressler claimed that Mullin displayed all the signs of paranoid schizophrenia.

In 1972, at the age of 25, Mullin returned to Santa Cruz and began exhibiting even stranger behavior. He claimed to hear voices and believed that a devastating earthquake would strike California, and only he could save the state through murder. Mullin considered his birthday, April 18th, to be significant because it coincided with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Believing he was on a mission to save humanity, Mullin started killing.

On October 13, 1972, Mullin fatally beat a homeless man with a baseball bat. His next victim was 24-year-old Mary Guilfoyle, whom he killed while she was driving and disposed of her body in the forest. Mullin then murdered 65-year-old Father Henri Tomei, claiming that the priest willingly wanted to become his victim. After severely beating the priest, Father Tomei succumbed to his injuries.

Mullin's plan to join the U.S. Marines was thwarted due to certain aspects of his biography. In January 1973, Mullin felt an irresistible urge to kill his former school friend Jim Gianera, whom he believed was responsible for selling him drugs. Along with Jim, Jim's 21-year-old wife Joan Gianera, Kathy Francis, Kathy's 4-year-old son Daemon Francis, and 9-year-old David Hughes became victims of Mullin.

A few weeks later, Mullin encountered four campers in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. After unsuccessfully trying to scare them away, Mullin returned the next day and shot all four of them with a .22 caliber rifle.

On February 13, 1973, Mullin committed his final murder by shooting 72-year-old Fred Perez while the elderly man was tending to his lawn. Mullin was apprehended shortly after.

During the investigation, Mullin confessed to hearing voices in his head that commanded him to kill. Despite being evaluated for mental sanity and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he was deemed responsible for his actions.

In the end, Mullin was charged with 10 murders, while the remaining three cases remained unproven. On August 19, 1973, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 2025 when he will be 78 years old.

Herbert Mullin is currently incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California.