Billy Lee Chadd

Billy Lee Chadd (born December 14, 1954) is an American serial killer and rapist. Raised by two alcoholics, he began committing crimes at a young age, first getting into trouble with the law for a rape he committed when he was 15. Between 1974 and 1978, he raped and fatally stabbed two women in California. After being arrested for those crimes, he confessed to murdering a man at an apartment in Nevada and a male hitchhiker in Kansas, the latter claim never being verified. Initially sentenced to death for one of his murders, his sentence was appealed, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment at his retrial. He is now serving his sentences at a California state prison.

Early life Billy Lee Chadd was born in San Diego in 1954. His mother and stepfather were both alcoholics. At an early age, his friends taught him how to steal, and he got away with multiple car thefts. When he was 15, he met his future wife.

In July 1970, Chadd was arrested for rape. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in juvenile detention based on the victim's testimony and a partial footprint found in her driveway. He escaped from the California Youth Authority (CYA) twice. After his second escape, he knocked on the door of a house. When a woman answered the door, Chadd claimed that his car had broken down and requested to use her phone. The woman refused, explaining that her husband was at work, and she never let strangers into her house while she was alone. When Chadd heard that she was home alone, he decided to break into her home through the front door using a brick he retrieved earlier. Once inside, he found the woman in her bathroom and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her into her bedroom. There, he pushed the victim onto her bed and took off her clothes at knifepoint. After pulling his own pants down, he froze, dropping his knife. A few seconds later, he picked up his knife, told her to stay on the bed, and left the house. blindfolded her with a towel, and forced her into her bedroom. There, he raped her multiple times vaginally, anally, and orally. During the ordeal, Chadd nearly bit off one of her nipples. He later strangled Franklin and stabbed her 15 times with a steak knife, killing her. Afterwards, he ransacked the home before leaving. Franklin's body was soon discovered by her roommate. Investigators found one fingerprint at the crime scene, but unable to connect it to Chadd, the case became inactive.

On August 7, 1975, Chadd met Delmar Bright, a 29-year-old busboy for a hotel in Las Vegas. Chadd stated that Bright offered him $20 and a six-pack of beer in exchange for Chadd posing nude. Chadd agreed, and the two went to Bright's apartment. Once they arrived, Bright asked Chadd to tie him up with extension cords. He obliged, telling Bright to lie on his stomach, after which he tied the man's hands together. He then retrieved another cord and wrapped it around his neck in a slip knot. Chadd asked Bright for one reason not to kill him. Bright thought he was joking until Chadd showed him his knife. Chadd proceeded to cut the victim's throat and strangled him to death. Afterwards, he masturbated before cleaning the apartment in an attempt to get rid of forensic evidence. Then, he left the apartment and hailed a taxi.

On February 15, 1978, Chadd raped and murdered Linda Hewitt at the house she was babysitting for in National City. He bound Hewitt, who was with her 9-month-old son, with a drapery cord, and raped her. At one point, he picked up her son by the hair, threatening to harm him if Hewitt did not sexually satisfy him. He then stabbed her several times, the fatal wound being to her throat. One hour later, shortly after noon, the two kids she was babysitting returned home and discovered her body. They alerted their neighbor, who called the police. Hewitt was last seen alive at a drugstore. The store's clerk witnessed a man with her, who he described as a short, clean shaven man with short hair in his early 20s who had a medium-build. He also wore a t-shirt and jeans.

Arrest On the same week as the Chula Vista rapes, Chadd was arrested in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Legal proceedings While imprisoned, he wrote, "Dark Secrets," a 57-page autobiography detailing his life and crimes. Chadd intended to profit from the manuscript's publication, but instead it was taken as evidence for his trial. In 1979, Chadd changed his plea from innocent to guilty, and was sentenced to death for Hewitt's murder and received a life sentence for Franklin's murder, as the death penalty was deemed unconstitutional at the time of that crime. Although Chadd had originally been adamant about receiving the death penalty, he decided that he wanted to live after being convicted. The California Supreme Court ordered a retrial because Chadd changed his plea against his lawyer's wishes, and the court deemed that defendants can not plead guilty to capital crimes if their lawyers object. After receiving a life sentence in Nevada for murdering Delmar Bright, he again pleaded guilty to Franklin and Hewit's murders in exchange for the prosecution not to seeking a death sentence. In all he received three life sentences in prison for the murders and an additional 13 years for the Chula Vista rapes and kidnappings. He is now imprisoned at Mule Creek State Prison.