It has been said that "there's no such thing as bad publicity."
Ned York would disagree with that.
As Ned told Associated Press writer Virginia L. Tyson, "Being an actor, I always wanted to be famous. I never wanted to be infamous. God knows it wasn't a publicity stunt. Who the hell would want that kind of publicity?"
It's probably fair to say that Ned York wasn't destined to be one of the greatest actors of his time, but by 1978 he was working fairly regularly and earning $400.00 a day whenever he did land a role.
Ned's first on screen performances were in a pair of films by Albert Zugsmith, both released in 1966. Since then credits included bit parts on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and "Starsky & Hutch." He supplemented his TV and film work with theatrical productions, most notably with the Christian-based Hollywood Free Theater.
As active as he was, Ned was far from a household name until February 8, 1978 when he was held for questioning in the death of Kristina Weckler. He was 32-years-old.
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| Kristina Weckler |
On November 20, 1977, the nude body of 20-year-old Kristina Weckler had been found by two hikers on a hillside between Glendale and Eagle Rock, California. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled and dumped. In life, Kristina had been an honors student at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. LAPD detective Bob Grogan described Kristina as a "loving and serious young woman who should have had a bright future ahead of her."
There were ligature marks on her wrists, ankles and neck. Also present were two puncture wounds in her arm but no indication that Kristina was a drug addict or living a "high risk lifestyle." It would later be revealed that the needle marks were left when Kristina had been injected with Windex.
In all likelihood, Kristina was another victim of a man whom everyone was calling The Hillside Strangler. There were no solid leads and it was believed that the Strangler had so far killed as many twelve women.
On February 8, 1978, Ned York phoned the LAPD. He was rambling and incoherent but police responded because he claimed to have information about the murders and Kristina Weckler in particular. One day earlier, police released to the press a portion of a 6 page handwritten letter Mayor Tom Bradley had received from someone claiming to be The Strangler.
The LAPD couldn't ignore any lead, no matter how improbable. Ned was taken into custody but he passed out before he could be questioned.
The media was on it like a shot - "Strangler Suspect Arrested." A press conference was called just so police could tell people not to get their hopes up. They didn't honestly believe Ned to be the Strangler but he was he was conscious he interviewed extensively. Numerous samples of blood, hair and saliva as well as dental impressions, nail clippings and fingerprints were taken.
They searched Ned's home and car, finding nothing but marijuana in the form of a Thai stick.
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| photo from Florida Today, Feb. 10, 1978 |
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| photo from Press and Sun Bulletin, Feb. 9, 1978 |
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| Thai Stick, circa 1978 photo from Nectarball.com site |
At the press conference, police Commander William Booth confirmed that Ned York "has claimed responsibility for the murders." However, he still wasn't considered a serious suspect. "This is rapidly developing into nothing," Booth told reporters.
There was nothing tying Ned York to any of the victims except statements he had made to police. Ned's car had a sticker on it that read "Peace with Christ" and the frame around his license plate advised people to "Read the Bible."
After 12 years of working in film and television, well-known gossip columnist Marilyn Beck finally mentioned Ned in her column. While Ned was still in custody, Marilyn wanted to tell her readers that Ned had recently been fired from his guest starring role on the TV series "Alice." He had rehearsed with the cast for 4 days but was fired because, according to Marilyn, "it became apparent he simply couldn't handle the role.
"The role called for York to portray a uniformed policeman who comes to Alice's apartment in response to her complaint that she has been the victim of a flasher. He's of the opinion that she must be one of "those women" who encourages men to commit sex crimes and humiliates her with questions such as "Were you dressed the way you are now, in that tight sweater, in those same tight jeans?""
For those who care about such things - this was the first episode of the second season, it aired on October 2, 1977 and the role of Officer Hertzig ultimately went to Lewis Arquette.
Ned's termination from the set of "Alice" came one month prior to the first murder that was attributed to the Hillside Strangler. This was Yolanda Washington. Her body had been found on October 18, 1977.
Marilyn wanted to remind everyone there was a theory floating around that the Strangler may have lured women into his car by posing as a policeman.
On February 11, 1978, after three days in prison, police released Ned, charging him only with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Cmdr. William Booth announced that "Ned York is no longer a suspect" but the damage to his burgeoning career was done.
Ned tried to make the most of a terrible situation by using his arrest and subsequent release as way to inform people of the dangers of smoking PCP. He even hoped he'd be able to convince the real killer to turn himself in.
You see, the night before he was arrested, Ned had been sitting in his living room, smoking PCP (aka angel dust) and talking to friend who knew Kristina Weckler. This (unnamed) individual had been interviewed by police as part of their investigation after finding his name in her diary.
It was a combination of Ned's drug use and the depression he was feeling since the break up of his marriage to that lead him to call police the following morning. He wasn't even sure what he told them when they showed up at his house on February 8th.
Estranged wife Leah joined Ned at a February 13, 1978 press conference, following his release. Ned told reporters, "I hope people will realize I made a terrible mistake and am sorry for it. The only good thing I hope comes out of it is that the real strangler will realize people want to help him. The police were kind to me, very concerned," York said. "I know they'll treat him the same way."
When AP reporter Virginia L. Tyson caught up with Ned in June 1978, she learned that for the first time in 8 years, Ned was unable to find work; he had been forced to file for unemployment and move out of the Hollywood Hills home he had rented for the last three years. Unemployment benefits were $104.00 a week and his rent was $475.00 a month.
Since his arrest, Ned's agent dropped him and a friend punched him. Ned felt that people on the street still suspected him of being the strangler and believed the police only released him because they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute.
"I know it's my fault," York said. "You're sitting in your own living room smoking angel dust and you think the worst that could happen would be this stuff could kill you.
"I'll never smoke again, unless someone ties me down and forces me to."
The real Hillside Stranglers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, Jr. were still at large when Ned gave this interview. Together they abducted, raped and murdered 10 women, including Kristina Weckler. After the dissolution of their partnership, Bianchi killed an additional 2 women. They never did take Ned's advise and turn themselves in.
Good friend Pat Boone, had warned Ned "The Lord will forgive you but the public won't."
Ned's career never did rebound. While he is in the cast of one of my favorite TV Movies from 1978, "Go West, Young Girl," this aired on April 27, 1978 and was probably work he had done prior to the arrest.
IMDb lists only 2 more appearances from Ned - "The Mystery of Willoughby Castle" (1979) and "Super Christian II" (1986).
If Ned is remembered today it is mainly for his false confession. This incident even appears in two of Roddy Piper's autobiographies as Roddy was good friends with Ned's brother Jay York, a Hollywood stuntman and professional grappler who wrestled under the names The Masked Terror and The Alaskan.
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| photo from The Town Talk - Feb. 11, 1978 |
Ned died of a heart attack on December 31, 1998, he was 53-years-old.
There's plenty of information available about Bianchi and Buono, online and in books, so I'm not going to rehash the crimes that occurred between October 16, 1977 and February 16, 1978. This blog post is just about Ned York and his false confession.
YouTube user Rocketman 1984 has uploaded nearly two hours of NBC news coverage relating to the Hillside Strangler cases. I've isolated the broadcasts concerning Ned York and uploaded that footage to the As Close to Crime channel. Here's the link - https://youtu.be/Rpl2jTH2ZKI
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