Steven John Wood was 16 when he vanished on April 10, 1980, while walking to school in Bellflower, California. He knew William Bonin through his older brother and accepted a ride in Bonin’s van; Steven was abducted, sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled. His nude body was found the next day in an alley behind an industrial complex near the Pacific Coast Highway and Long Beach Freeway. The autopsy noted ligature marks on his neck, wrists, and ankles consistent with the method used in Bonin’s series of murders.

William Bonin, called the Freeway Killer, is linked in this case and others; the text names several accomplices as having assisted in aspects of the crimes. Bonin was arrested on June 11, 1980, convicted of multiple murders, and sentenced to death in 1982. Steven’s killing is one of a string of brutal abductions and strangulations that terrorized Southern California in 1979–1980.

If anyone knew Steven, his routine, or saw him on April 10, 1980, please share what you remember.