Mack Ray Edwards

Mack Ray Edwards (October 17, 1918 – October 30, 1971) was an American child molester and serial killer who molested and murdered at least six children in Los Angeles County, California, between 1953 and 1970. Sentenced to death, he hanged himself in his prison cell. The year following his arrival in Los Angeles County he joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers and, trained in the use of heavy equipment, served as a combat engineer. He married Mary Howell in 1946. Between 1950 and 1957, Edwards resided in the cities of Pico Rivera, El Monte and Azusa in Los Angeles County. He kept horses and allowed neighborhood youths to ride them. He also took local children camping.

In the 1950s, Edwards joined the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). In the 1960s, Edwards moved to Ralston Avenue in Sylmar, Los Angeles, in the northern San Fernando Valley with his wife and two children, both adopted.

In 1970, Edwards and an unnamed 15-year-old male accomplice entered the home of Edgar Cohen of Sylmar, Los Angeles, where they kidnapped three sisters – Valerie, Cindy, and Jan Cohen who were 12, 13, and 14 years old, respectively – from their address at 15768 Roxford Avenue. They were former neighbors of his.

After three bodies were recovered, Edwards pleaded guilty in Van Nuys Superior Court to three counts of kidnapping and three counts of murder. During a preliminary hearing on March 17, 1970, Edwards tried to plead guilty, but the judge refused to accept the plea. "Guilty. I am guilty!", Edwards insisted. His lawyer asked that he could submit an innocent plea on Edwards's behalf. "I don't need a lawyer! I am guilty!", Edwards maintained. The judge scheduled Edwards's trial for May 6 but it was delayed by Edwards's multiple suicide attempts; while in prison awaiting trial, Edwards twice attempted suicide, first on March 30 by slashing his stomach with a razor blade, and then again on May 7 by taking an overdose of tranquilizers.

Victims Known victims Edwards was convicted of murdering three children: Stella Darlene Nolan, 8, who disappeared while at a refreshment stand at a flea market in Norwalk, on June 20, 1953. Edwards confessed to kidnapping her, taking her to his then-home in Azusa, then raping her before he then drove her to the Angeles Forest and manually strangled the child before throwing her tiny body over a bridge. The next day, Mack returned to the crime scene and was surprised to find Stella alive, around 100 yards from where he left her, and sitting up but unable to move or speak. Mack took out his pocket knife and stabbed her to death. In March 1970, Edwards brought the police to her skeletal remains, buried eight feet under an embankment near a Santa Ana Freeway abutment in Downey. Four cadaver dogs noted the presence of human remains.

Possible victims Edwards may have committed other murders, but his own account was inconsistent. Before he was transferred to San Quentin State Prison, he claimed to both a Los Angeles County jail guard and another inmate that he had killed between eighteen and twenty-two children. However, when questioned by the court, Edwards reversed himself, "Six is all there is…just six." Bruce Kremen, 6, was last seen near Buckhorn Flat in the Angeles National Forest on July 12, 1960, while camping with a group of approximately 80 children and adults from the Los Angeles branch of the YMCA. Bruce was playing with two other children about 300 yards from the YMCA campsite, when he became separated from his playmates and was never seen again. Quickly realising that Bruce was missing, the YMCA group conducted a search of the area, but found no sign of him. Authorities initially believed Bruce had become lost or injured in the mountains, and a massive search was conducted in the days following his disappearance. The area where he disappeared is very rugged with many chasms and cliffs, making an accident seem likely to searchers. However, authorities now believe Bruce may have been another of Edwards' victims. On June 15, 2011, the Santa Barbara Police Department announced plans to search for Price's remains in an area near a 101 Freeway overpass that was under renovation at the time of her disappearance. The police did not announce at the time what evidence led them to believe her remains may be buried there, but local news reports suggested a possible link to Edwards,