Kenneth Bianchi
A manipulative serial killer whose false claims of multiple personality disorder briefly fooled experts during the horrific Hillside Strangler case.
Born 1951 (age 75)·American serial killer·Birthday: May 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Kenneth Bianchi’s life is a study in pathological deception and violence. Moving from Rochester, New York, to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, he joined his cousin Angelo Buono in a spree of torture, rape, and murder that terrorized the city. Dubbed the Hillside Stranglers, they left their victims' bodies in public view as a chilling signature. After moving to Washington state, Bianchi continued killing alone. His capture was followed by an audacious attempt to evade responsibility by feigning dissociative identity disorder, a ruse initially supported by some professionals before being exposed. His eventual confession and testimony against Buono secured life sentences for both, locking away a man whose crimes were matched only by his cunning willingness to exploit psychiatric concepts for his own gain.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Kenneth was born in 1951, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Kenneth Was Born
The biggest hits of 1951
#1 Movie
Quo Vadis
Best Picture
An American in Paris
#1 TV Show
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
Kenneth's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1951Born
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1956Started school
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1964Became a teenager
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Could drive
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1969Could vote
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Turned 21
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1981Turned 30
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 40
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 50
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 60
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 70
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 75 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Convicted for the murders of ten women in Los Angeles as one half of the Hillside Stranglers with his cousin Angelo Buono.
- Pleaded guilty to two independent murders in Bellingham, Washington, which led to the unraveling of his Los Angeles crimes.
- Successfully fooled several court-appointed psychiatrists with a fabricated multiple personality disorder before the deception was uncovered.
- His testimony against his cousin Angelo Buono was instrumental in securing Buono's conviction and life imprisonment.
Did You Know?
He worked briefly as a security guard and aspired to become a police officer, studying criminal justice.
He was adopted as an infant and later sought out his birth mother, who rejected his attempts at contact.
While in prison, he earned a paralegal degree and frequently filed legal motions on his own behalf.
He was a suspect in the unsolved Alphabet murders in Rochester, New York, though never charged.
“I can't remember anything about that night, officer.”
