'Speed Freak Killer' Reveals Possible 3rd Murderer In New Letter
SACRAMENTO (CBS) – Convicted killer Wesley Shermantine has sent another letter from death row to the CBS affiliate in Sacramento, saying there is possibly a third killer.
The letter was addressed to reporter Koula Gianulias. In the letter, Shermantine also talks about a range of topics including his childhood and family, how he gets along with other inmates in San Quentin and what he wants his legacy to be.
Shermantine, one of the so-called "Speed Freak Killers," is currently on death row for killing four people in a spree that lasted from 1984 to 1999. Officials believe Shermantine and Loren Herzog are responsible for many more deaths. Herzog committed suicide last year.
In his new letter, Shermantine said Herzog and the third man committed more than 70 murders. "Multiple 24×3. This is what I was told by Herzog. Take your top three serial killers. Herzog will top that," Shermantine wrote.
Shermantine mentioned Joann Hopson, who went missing from Stockton in 1985, saying her remains can be found in a second well investigators have yet to find. He wrote that he met with Hopson's mother recently and that she "knows I did not kill her daughter."
Related Coverage:
'Speed Freak Killer' Speaks Out In Letter
The letter was also very critical of bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, who had promised to Shermantine $33,000 for information on the victims. As in his first letter, Shermantine said he hasn't received a dime and doesn't expect to be paid.
Padilla said he tried to mail Shermantine a check and it was sent back. He said he then tried to use the prison currency system to pay Shermantine and doesn't know why he hasn't received it.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
