Summary: Veronica Compton began writing to convicted killer Kenneth Bianchi while researching a screenplay and developed a relationship that she later said was influenced by drug use and trauma. In September 1980 she attempted to strangle Kim Breed in an apparent effort to mimic the Hillside Strangler and make it seem the killer remained at large; the victim survived and Compton was convicted of first-degree attempted murder. Compton escaped custody in 1988 but was recaptured, was eventually released in 2003, pursued creative work and died in October 2023 at age 67.
How Veronica Compton Fell for a Hillside Strangler — Then Tried to Stage a Copycat Killing
Associated Press ; Museum Americana/YoutubeConfessed Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi sits on the witness stand on June 23, 1982 in Los Angeles, California ; Veronica Compton.
The Hillside Strangler case — a string of brutal abductions and murders that terrorized Los Angeles in 1977–78 — later reached beyond the original perpetrators when Veronica Compton developed a relationship with convicted killer Kenneth Bianchi and attempted a copycat attack to help free him.
Background
Bettmann/Getty ; Lennox McLendon/AP PhotoKenneth Bianchi, the Hillside Strangler, testifies in a courtroom against his cousins and accomplice Angelo Buono ; Angelo Buono leaves the Los Angeles court building after pleading innocent.
Kenneth Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered at least 10 women and girls in the Los Angeles area between October 1977 and February 1978, often posing as police officers to lure victims. Bodies were left on hillsides, spawning the moniker “Hillside Strangler.” After Bianchi’s January 1979 arrest, he pleaded guilty to five murders and accepted responsibility in part to secure a testimony arrangement; he received two consecutive life terms and is incarcerated at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Buono was convicted at a lengthy California trial, given a life sentence and died in prison in 2002.
Veronica Compton: Early Life and Struggles
Museum Americana/YoutubeVeronica Compton.
Veronica Compton was born Sept. 28, 1956, and raised in Los Angeles by a single mother. In later interviews she described a traumatic childhood that included alleged molestation and a separate sexual assault, plus chronic health problems. She pursued art, drama and screenwriting, studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute with support from her father Armando Campero, and worked in modeling and acting. Compton also struggled with substance abuse, which she said affected her judgment and choices.
Correspondence and Prison Visits
Bettmann/GettyKenneth Bianchi during legal proceedings.
Compton initially contacted Bianchi while researching a screenplay about murder. Their correspondence led to approved prison visits. Authorities viewed the visits as potentially stabilizing for Bianchi, but Compton later said she quickly became emotionally involved and that drug use clouded her decision-making.
The Attempted Copycat Attack
Bettmann Archive/GettyKenneth Bianchi gets out of a sheriff's car on arrival at Criminal Courts Building here for arraignment on October 22, 1979 in Los Angeles, California.
In September 1980 in Bellingham, Washington, Compton befriended Kim Breed at a bar and later accompanied her to a motel. According to investigators, Compton produced a ligature and began to strangle Breed. Breed fought back, escaped and alerted police. At trial Breed testified that she believed she was going to die. Compton maintained the incident had been staged as a publicity stunt for her writing and claimed Breed was a willing participant; a jury rejected that defense and convicted her of first-degree premeditated attempted murder. She was sentenced to life in prison.
Prison, Escape, Marriage and Later Life
Bettmann Archive / Getty Images Kenneth Bianchi
Compton escaped custody on July 26, 1988, cutting through multiple fences, but she and another escapee were recaptured on Aug. 5, 1988; she received an additional two-year sentence. While incarcerated she married James Wallace, a university professor she had met during a prison talk, in August 1989. She embraced religion, tutored inmates, and after a conjugal visit gave birth to a daughter in 1993 before returning to custody.
Compton was paroled in February 1996 but returned to custody within weeks for parole violations and concerns about her household. She was released from prison in 2003. In later years she published a book (2003), released an album titled Home (2013), co-hosted the podcast Jax Corner, and produced more than 200 works of art while living in the Arleta neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Museum Americana/YoutubeVeronica Compton.
Death and Legacy
Veronica Compton died Oct. 4, 2023, at age 67 from internal bleeding and cardiac arrest, according to her podcast co-host. She is survived by her daughter, Juliet Wallace, and her son, Steve Compton. Her life — from creative ambition and personal trauma to criminal conviction and later artistic output — remains a complex footnote to the larger Hillside Strangler saga.
Note: This account synthesizes media reporting, documentary interviews and public records about the Hillside Strangler case and Veronica Compton’s life. Quotations and attributions in original reporting reflect the perspectives of investigators, victims and Compton herself.
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