Herbert Mullin: Serial Killer

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Herbert Mullin viciously murdered thirteen innocent people. Herbert believed he was a hero. He thought of himself as a “sacrificial scapegoat”, who killed to save California from a disastrous earthquake. He believed that his father had contacted him telepathically, ordering him to kill. He was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Paranoid schizophrenics “have an organized system of delusions and auditory hallucinations that may guide their lives” (Comer, 2013).
Herbert Mullin was born on April 18, 1947 in Salinas, California. April 18th is the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake as well as the anniversary of Albert Einstein’s death. Both events would ultimately give Herbert an obligation to kill. He grew up in a stable home with educated parents and was kind and intelligent himself. Herbert’s father, Martin William Mullin, was a military hero in World War II. He was proud of what he had accomplished and told his son many stories about the war and taught him how to use a gun. Before dinner Martin would often box playfully with Herbert. “Herb would later interpret these matches as a deadly challenge by his sadistic father” (Scott).
When Herbert was in high school him and his family moved to a small town in Santa Cruz County. Herbert was able to make friends quickly and became very popular. He was a varsity football player, had a girlfriend, and was voted “most likely to succeed.” After graduating from high school Herbert went to Cabrillo College to study engineering and even considered joining the army.
The summer after high school graduation Herbert’s best friend, Dean Richardson, was in a fatal car accident. Dean’s death was devastating. Herbert built shrines to Dean in his room and spent most of his ti...

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...d in that area. It angered Herbert when the boys laughed at him so he shot and killed them and after took their gun and money.
On his way to deliver firewood to his parents’ house in February, he received another message telling him to kill. As Herbert drove he saw a man in his driveway and decided to shoot him. A neighbor seen him and called the police. Herbert was arrested and charged with ten counts of murder. Herbert was later found guilty and legally sane. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility for parole in 2025.
Herbert Mullin should not have been released each time he was committed to mental hospitals. Maybe if he had been forced to stay these killings would have never taken place. Herbert is a paranoid schizophrenic who killed because his father telepathically told him to. He believed he was saving California from disastrous earthquakes.

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