A CONVICTED US serial killer has led authorities to an area in which up to ten more victims could be buried after recently agreeing a deal with a bounty hunter under which he would disclose the location in exchange for $33,000.
Wesley Shermantine is one of two men dubbed the ‘Speed Freak Killers’ for a methamphetamine-fuelled murder spree.
The other man, Loren Herzog, was paroled two years ago and committed suicide last month.
Shermantine was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death, while Herzog was convicted of three murders and sentenced to 77 years to life in prison. Herzog’s sentence was later reduced to 14 years and an appeals court quashed his first-degree murder convictions after ruling that his confession was illegally obtained.
Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla promised to pay Shermantine up to $33,000 to disclose the locations of the bodies of further victims. The killer claimed that more victims were buried at a cattle ranch about 60 miles south of Sacramento which had once been owned by his family.
Responding to his information, a search was conducted at the site.
Authorities say that human remains were discovered at an abandoned well on the property on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It is unclear how many individual victims are involved.
San Joaquin County sheriff spokesperson Deputy Les Garcia said that dental records had identified some of the remains as belonging to Cyndi Vanderheiden. The 25-year-old disappeared in 1998. DNA tests are being carried out to confirm the identification.
The family of 16-year-old Chevelle ‘Chevy’ Wheeler who disappeared in 1985 said that police told them they believed that remains discovered on Friday belong to their daughter, however the identification has not been confirmed.
MSNBC reported on Friday that retired FBI agent Jeff Rinek said that Shermantine’s engagement with the bounty hunter had appeared genuine and that he had claimed the bodies of Vanderheiden and Wheeler were left at the ranch site. Rinek also said that the authorities could discover up to 20 bodies through Shermantine.
- Additional reporting by Susan Ryan
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