The Birthday Cake Killers: Inside the 1973 Victor Massacre

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,080
November 6, 1973, a family returns home from a boulding night out to find their babysitter

2
00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:16,680
held hostage. Within hours, nine people are dead. Two children executed on a bed, adults

3
00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:22,460
bound and shot in a closet. And when it's over, the killers go to the kitchen and eat

4
00:00:22,460 --> 00:00:28,080
chocolate cake. This is the story of the greatest murder spree you've never heard of.

5
00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:49,800
[Music]

6
00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:56,760
There's this case from 1973 that nobody talks about. 17 people dead. Nine of them killed

7
00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:03,240
in a single night in a tiny California town. The whole thing just disappeared into history.

8
00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:09,360
You know how we know all about Ted Bundy, the zodiac, Manson. Well, these guys flew

9
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:16,600
completely under the radar. It's 1973, Nixon's imploding over Watergate. The oil crisis is

10
00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,360
hitting. The whole country feels like it's coming apart of the seams. Somewhere in that

11
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,560
chaos, two guys meet in Denver and decide to go on a road trip that's going to leave

12
00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:33,000
bodies scattered across three states. Their names are Douglas Gretzler and Willie Steeleman.

13
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:38,120
They weren't killing for some twisted sexual thing, which is often the case. They weren't

14
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:43,480
trying to get famous. They were killing because they didn't want witnesses. As simple as

15
00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:49,960
that. Douglas Gretzler was born in 1951 in the Bronx, middle-class family. When he was

16
00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:56,080
a teenager, his older brother died by suicide. And that broke something in Douglas. He got

17
00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:02,240
diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 13, which, back then, basically meant nobody did

18
00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:08,560
anything about it. By his late teens, he was doing masculine and LSD, just trying to escape

19
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:16,760
his own mind. By 1970, he gets married in Miami. He has a daughter. December 26, 1972, he

20
00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:22,760
just up and leaves. Doesn't say a word to his wife or his baby. Waits until they go out,

21
00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:29,760
packs a duffel bag and drives west in his MGB. It ends up in Casper, Wyoming for six months.

22
00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:36,400
Low paying jobs gets arrested for vagrancy in June 1973. By autumn, he's drifting through

23
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:42,740
Denver with no real direction or no purpose. That's when he meets Willie Steeleman. Willie

24
00:02:42,740 --> 00:02:49,000
Steeleman was born in 1945 in California's San Joaquin County. His dad died when he was

25
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:55,280
13. Steeleman dropped out of school, started terrorizing his mom because she remarried. He

26
00:02:55,280 --> 00:03:00,640
had serious head injuries from motorcycle accidents. That kind of trauma can fundamentally

27
00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:06,240
damage how your brain works. He'd been diagnosed with schizophrenic tendencies, spent time

28
00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:12,360
in mental institutions in Stockton and Modesto. He had this charisma, though. This ability

29
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,960
to talk people into things, especially people who were lost. They meet in Denver in autumn,

30
00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:25,600
1973. Steeleman's the older guy who knows how things work. Gretzler's looking for someone

31
00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:32,400
to tell him what to do. They start small, purses, checkbooks. When Steeleman steals his own

32
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:38,040
sister's purse, that's when you know they've crossed over. October 11th, they leave Denver

33
00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:46,720
for Arizona. The killing starts. Around October 13th to 15th in Globe, Arizona, Steeleman

34
00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:52,480
later confessed he met up with a drug dealer called preacher to settle a dispute. Things

35
00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:58,460
went sideways. Preacher ended up dead, killed by his own brother. Then Steeleman and some guy

36
00:03:58,460 --> 00:04:04,080
named Larry killed the brother and another man said they buried the bodies in the Arizona

37
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:09,400
desert. Police never found them. Those three guys were probably the first victims.

38
00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:16,400
October 17th in Phoenix, they meet Ken Unrain, 21, and Michael Adshade, 19. Living in a

39
00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:23,000
VW van, they befriended them, overpower them, then kidnapped them, drive them across state

40
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:28,920
lines into California, find a remote spot, and then stab them, strangle them, hide the

41
00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:35,400
bodies and the bushes, drive right back to Arizona. That's their system. No witnesses.

42
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:42,280
October 23rd, superstition mountains. They come across Steven Lowrain, 18 years old. Steeleman

43
00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:48,080
makes the kid crawl into a sleeping bag. He zips it up, shoots him in the head. The sleeping

44
00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:54,760
bag serves no practical purpose. It was about control, making the victim feel helpless.

45
00:04:54,760 --> 00:05:01,160
October 24th and 25th, Bob Robbins and Catherine Mystistas, people Steeleman actually knew from

46
00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:07,440
a trailer park. He killed them anyway. Social connections meant nothing. Gretzler

47
00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:12,160
later admitted to these murders riding in an elevator with detectives. Just mentions

48
00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:17,920
it like he's remembering where he left his keys. November 2nd and 2son. Gilbert Sierra

49
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:24,120
stops to give two hitchhikers a ride. They force him to drive to a ravine. Steeleman runs

50
00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:30,000
him down, shoots him in the face and the temple. Witnesses said Gretzler was laughing. That

51
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,200
detail is important because later, his lawyers argue that he was under Steeleman's control.

52
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:40,680
But you don't laugh at someone's execution if you're just going along for the ride.

53
00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,680
Same day, they kidnap Vincent Armstrong and 2son. They take his firebird. Armstrong sees

54
00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:52,440
an opening, scrambles over a wall and runs into a church. He is the only one out of all

55
00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:59,480
of this who gets away. Armstrong gives police descriptions. They create sketches. In 1973,

56
00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:05,920
a photo, communication between jurisdictions is terrible. 2son cops have faces, but California

57
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:12,040
has no idea what's coming. November 3rd, Michael in Patricia Sandberg's condo in 2son.

58
00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:18,880
It's a young couple, home at the wrong time. This one takes hours. They tie Michael up in

59
00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,760
an elaborate hog tie using parcel post twine. The ligature connects his ankles to his neck

60
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:30,840
in a V pattern. He tries to straighten his legs. He strangles himself. They force Patricia

61
00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:36,840
to take volume while they ransack the house. When they're done, Steeleman shoots Michael,

62
00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:42,960
shoots Patricia. She's still moving though, so he grabs a golf club and beats her to death.

63
00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,480
They steal the Sandberg's Dotson and head west to California.

64
00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:55,720
November 6th, 1973. Victor, California. Small town, population 275. This is Steeleman's

65
00:06:55,720 --> 00:07:02,480
home turf. The target is Walter Parking's house. Wally Parking owned the local supermarket,

66
00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:07,240
building a new home for his growing family. That night, Wally and his wife Joanne are out

67
00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:13,120
bowling. The babysitter, Debbie Earle, is watching their kids. Debbie's boyfriend Mark Lang

68
00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:19,880
is there. Richard and Wanda Earle, Debbie's parents, are visiting. Their son, Ricky, too.

69
00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,920
Gretzler and Steeleman show up while the parkins are out. Take control of everyone. They

70
00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:31,800
wait. When the parkins come home from bowling, they walk right into it. Nine people total,

71
00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:38,000
including 11-year-old Lisa and nine-year-old Robert. They bind everyone with nylon cord,

72
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:43,760
with complex knots, gag them with neck ties. The adults and teenagers get herded into the

73
00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:50,120
walk-in closet in the primary bedroom. The two little kids go on the bed. Then they start

74
00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:56,600
shooting. Forensics recovered 25 bullets. Debbie Earle was shot four times. Her father

75
00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:03,000
Richard, five times. Every single person executed. There are bodies stacked in the closet

76
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:08,760
and two children shot dead on the bed. These guys walk into the kitchen and Gretzler eats

77
00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:14,080
a slice of chocolate birthday cake and drinks wine while Steeleman pours himself some

78
00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:19,320
sea-grims whiskey. They are sitting there having a snack and a house full of corpses, like

79
00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,800
they just finished a long day at work. Around 120 in the morning, they leave. The next

80
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:31,000
morning, a house guest named Carol Jenkins discovers the bodies. Victor is a town of 275

81
00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:37,760
people. As I said, this obliterates the community. Sheriff Mike Candles reaches out to the FBI.

82
00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,320
Willie Steeleman's name comes up immediately. They release his booking photo to the press.

83
00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:48,440
On November 8, a desk clerk at the Clooney Hotel in Sacramento sees the photo in the newspaper.

84
00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:53,240
Recognizes the guy who checked in. Police surround the hotel. Gretzler gets arrested when

85
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:59,320
he comes back. Tells them where to find Steeleman. After 17 murders in less than a month, it's

86
00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:05,960
all over. A hotel clerk with a good memory is the hero. California dealt with them first.

87
00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:12,200
On June 6, 1974, Gretzler pleaded guilty to all nine counts of first-degree murder for

88
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:18,320
the Victor massacre and received nine concurrent life terms. Arizona extradited both of them

89
00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,800
to stand trial for the Sandberg murders. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death.

90
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:29,240
Willie Steeleman never made it to the execution chamber. He died of cirrhosis on August 13,

91
00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:37,000
1986, at 41 years old, on death row, at Florence State Prison. Douglas Gretzler spent over 24

92
00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:44,560
years on death row. On June 3, 1998, at Florence State Prison, Arizona conducted its first daytime

93
00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:50,680
execution. Gretzler was put to death by lethal injection in front of 35 witnesses, including

94
00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:57,200
relatives of the victims. His last words were an apology that took 25 years to arrive.

95
00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:03,200
From the bottom of my soul, I'm so deeply sorry and have been for years for murdering Patricia

96
00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:09,600
and Michael Sandberg. Though I'm being executed for that crime, I apologize to all 17 victims

97
00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:16,160
and their families. So why don't we know about this? 17 people dead, nine of them killed in

98
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:22,480
a single night. Gretzler and Steeleman are just footnotes in true crime history. Part of it

99
00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:30,080
is timing. In 1973, America was drowning in watergate, Vietnam, and the oil crisis. A massacre

100
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:36,000
in a tiny California farm town couldn't compete for attention. Part of it is the victims. They

101
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,200
were rule and working class, for the most part. The parkans weren't celebrities. They were

102
00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,960
regular people who happened to be home on the wrong night. And part of it is the killers

103
00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:53,160
themselves. No catchy nickname, no mystery, no manifesto. But 17 families were destroyed.

104
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:58,200
Kids who never got to grow up, parents who never saw their children again. A town that still

105
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:03,560
carries the trauma 50 years later. The park in house was once a place where a family was building

106
00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:09,000
their future. It became the site of one of the most brutal mass murders in American history.

107
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:14,760
A place where killers ate birthday cake while nine bodies grew cold around them. That's the story

108
00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:20,440
of the greatest murder spree you've never heard of. 17 victims over 30 days of terror.

109
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,640
A criminal justice system that eventually caught them but couldn't give the families the one

110
00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:32,520
thing they really wanted. Which was an answer to why. Why did this happen? Why their loved ones?

111
00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:38,200
Why that night? Gretzler and Steeleman took those answers with them to their graves. And Victor

112
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:53,960
California carries the scars forever. Thanks for listening to 10 Minute Murder.

113
00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:59,560
Bingeable True Crime Stories. I'm Joe. I'm the host. Here's an email from one of you that listens

114
00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:05,560
subject. I didn't know that part. Hi, Joe. I've lived in Texas my whole life and have heard about

115
00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:10,200
the yogurt shop murders more times than I can count. But I've never heard the detail you mentioned

116
00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:15,160
about how quickly the narrative shifted during the investigation. Especially with the early suspects

117
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:20,760
and public pressure. It made the case feel less like a mystery and more like a slow motion failure.

118
00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:25,560
I appreciate you slowing down and explaining that instead of jumping straight to the theories.

119
00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:30,840
Miguel and San Marcos, Texas. Miguel, thanks a lot for the email. And yeah, that's

120
00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:37,240
case. I think is a perfect example of how momentum can push an investigation in the wrong direction.

121
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:43,240
Because once that happens, it's incredibly hard to undo the damage that you've done with that.

122
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,960
Thanks for the email. Hey, if you're a new listener to the podcast, you can go to 10minute

123
00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:53,560
murder.com and check out more about the podcast. You can sign up for the newsletter. You can read

124
00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:58,840
the murder blog, find all the places you can follow the podcast on social media, and send me an email

125
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:04,360
if you want to. Also, if you're a new listener, most importantly, subscribe to the podcast. Before

126
00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,240
you do anything else, hit the subscribe button right now. If you're an OG listener, you know that I

127
00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,960
love you. Keep listening, keep sharing this podcast with your friends and your family, and also

128
00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,360
keep rating and reviewing it anywhere that's possible. And that's going to do it. That's your

129
00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,760
episode for today. Thank you again for listening to 10 Minute Murder.