Swedish hitchhikers

[crystaldawn]

They aired this story today on UM. They said in an update that they did find the man named as "Loren" and that he might be further implicated in the crime. Does anyone know what Loren's last name is and if he was ever arrested for their murder?

[mercy1825]

There was a famous serial killer in California named Loren Herzog who is incarcerated. He killed many people with Wesly Shermantine? Anyone know anything else about these two guys?

[Kane]

Originally Posted by mercy1825

There was a famous serial killer in California named Loren Herzog who is incarcerated. He killed many people with Wesly Shermantine? Anyone know anything else about these two guys?

The following link should help:

http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/shermantine.html

[Chris Billings]

I may be wrong, but I thought this case was solved. Hopefully someone with more info will post, I would like know the details.

CBer

[Kane]

Originally Posted by Chris Billings

I may be wrong, but I thought this case was solved. Hopefully someone with more info will post, I would like know the details.

CBer

The murdered hitchhikers, Marie Lilienburg and Maria Wahlen, are listed at the following site:

http://www.newspress.com/coldcases/killings.htm

Since they are under a list of cold cases, it seems to me that they haven't found enough evidence to connect "Loren" to the murders. But with the names listed under Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, it couldn't hurt to contact the department for any information on the current status of the case.

[palmyrafan]

Wow.....

I have to say I am speechless. I read the link about the case listed in Kane's reply. The spiteful things people were saying back and forth to each other;
I'm worn out just from reading it! Thankfully, it has been a long time since I have seen such venom spewing.

Now hopefully, that everyone has all that out of their system, how bout y'all get back on track as to the real issue. Are people out for JUSTICE or REVENGE. There is a difference.

JUSTICE....is letting the courts take care of things and then letting God handling the rest.

REVENGE....is making someone pay. At all costs. With Hate and Venom.

I don't think y'all know the difference.

Think about it.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by palmyrafan

Wow.....

I have to say I am speechless. I read the link about the case listed in Kane's reply. The spiteful things people were saying back and forth to each other;
I'm worn out just from reading it! Thankfully, it has been a long time since I have seen such venom spewing.

Now hopefully, that everyone has all that out of their system, how bout y'all get back on track as to the real issue. Are people out for JUSTICE or REVENGE. There is a difference.

JUSTICE....is letting the courts take care of things and then letting God handling the rest.

REVENGE....is making someone pay. At all costs. With Hate and Venom.

I don't think y'all know the difference.

Think about it.

I take it that the venom spewing was at the mayhem.net profile on Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog. I noticed a few words here and there at that site.

In any case, it wasn't hard for me to find sites with information about the two killers when I googled Wesley Shermantine's name; Shermantine is not a common surname. For this reason, it didn't require too much digging.

[sdb4884]

At least Loren is in jail.

[kadrmas15]

Actually, I am not so sure Loren is still in prison. He was in 2001 convicted of three counts of first degree murder and convicted in a 4th murder as being an accessory and was sentenced to a grand total of 78 years to life in prison. However in 2004 his convictions were reversed and his interrogation and statements thrown out. This severely damaged the prosecutor's case. Loren eventually accepted a plea bargain to one count of voluntary manslaughter and to being an accessory after the fact in the three other murders and was sentenced to 14 years in prison although he was given credit for the 6 years he had already been custody. Loren's partner, Wesley Shermantine was convicted of four counts of first degree murder and was sentenced to death and he remains on California's death row at San Quentin where his appeals continue.

As of November of 2008, Loren was being housed at the California Rehabilitation Center in Santa Clara, California. Herzog in 2002 while he was at High Desert State Prison in Susanville before his convictions were overturned was stabbed by another inmate and nearly died due to blood loss. Loren Herzog has never been charged in the Swedish hitchhikers deaths.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by kadrmas15

Actually, I am not so sure Loren is still in prison.

It looks like Loren Herzog is out on parole. This article has the story.

But back to the hitchhikers. Do we really think that Herzog is the suspect mentioned by the anonymous tipster? His mugshot from the above article does not meet the description of red hair and "protruding watery eyes" given by the tipster. Also, Herzog is from California and the tipster said that the suspect lived in Canada but traveled through California annually. He drove a van with a green canoe on top, and I have not found a mention of that vehicle connected with Herzog.

Whoever this Loren guy is, I am not so sure he's Loren Herzog, or that he has ever been solidly connected to the murders of the Swedish women. Does anyone know the timing of the UM update vs. the timing of Herzog's arrest/trials? I would like to know who the suspect is, what evidence they found in his home that connected him to the murders, and where the investigation went from there.

[Vito Vranicar]

In my opinion, Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine are the men that murdered the Swedish hitchhikers Marie Lilienberg and Marie Wahlen in 1983. The “Speed Freak Killers” lived outside of Stockton – a direct line to Interstate 5 – and a likely place for hitchhikers to pick up a ride to LA or SF. The decomposing bodies of Lilienberg and Wahlen were found decapitated and discarded on SR166. Herzog and Shermantine, teenagers, most likely mapped the route from 1-5 to SR166 to US101 to City of Commerce where the Swedish women’s belongings were found in a dumpster. Then, after having dispensed with the bodies and belongings, returned to Linden CA on I-5. Another probability is a truck with a camper-shell can give the impression of a van, and addicts often look like they have protruding watery eyes. As the Speed Freak Killers aged (Herzog married with children) they may have become complacent. With the advancements in Forensic Science and Crime Scene Technology from 1983 to 1998, I believe these serial killers were finally convicted and incarcerated for the homicides of young Caucasian females.

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by Vito Vranicar

In my opinion, Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine are the men that murdered the Swedish hitchhikers Marie Lilienberg and Marie Wahlen in 1983. The “Speed Freak Killers” lived outside of Stockton – a direct line to Interstate 5 – and a likely place for hitchhikers to pick up a ride to LA or SF. The decomposing bodies of Lilienberg and Wahlen were found decapitated and discarded on SR166. Herzog and Shermantine, teenagers, most likely mapped the route from 1-5 to SR166 to US101 to City of Commerce where the Swedish women’s belongings were found in a dumpster. Then, after having dispensed with the bodies and belongings, returned to Linden CA on I-5. Another probability is a truck with a camper-shell can give the impression of a van, and addicts often look like they have protruding watery eyes. As the Speed Freak Killers aged (Herzog married with children) they may have become complacent. With the advancements in Forensic Science and Crime Scene Technology from 1983 to 1998, I believe these serial killers were finally convicted and incarcerated for the homicides of young Caucasian females.

Can't argue with that

[Severiano Rossi]

Update February 2012:
From San Quentin death row Wesley Shermantine gave clues and a map that lead to a search for long-lost murder victims. San Joaquin Sheriff's Office heading up the search for human remains dredged from an old well in Linden, CA and unearthed 1,000 bone fragments in a mass grave Shermantine calls "Herzog's Boneyard". Herzog committed suicide in January 2012 after learning his partner in crime was planning to reveal the locations of these serial killers victims. The killings spanned two decades-80's and 90's-and two states, California and Utah. I believe Marie Wahlen and Marie Lilienberg fell victim to the "Speed Freak Killers" in the 1980's. Likely the young women hitch-hikers were a few of the first on a long drug induced killing spree. Because the bodies were found, the killers began dumping the other victims in wells on rural properties where they were less likely to be found by hunters.

[sdb4884]

Interesting on Amazon all references to Loren were cut out and there was no update at the end. Not sure what the official status of this case is to be honest. I guess by the vagueness of the leads in this update it's still open and unsolved.

[James T]

Always amazed that women thought it was a good idea to stand on a motorway & climb into vehicles with men they have never met. Nowadays with CCTV everywhere the chances of getting away with it are really slim, but up until this century it must have been a rapist serial killers dream-usually attractive, young women begging to get in your lorry or car.