Accomplice of notorious ‘Freeway Killer’ is beaten to death in prison

An accomplice of serial killer William G. Bonin — the so-called Freeway Killer who murdered as many as 21 people along Southern California’s highways — has died after being beaten by another inmate at Mule Creek State Prison, authorities said.

Officials said Gregory M. Miley died Wednesday from injuries sustained at the prison in Ione in Northern California on Monday. Miley was attacked at about 7:25 p.m. during “the evening yard program,” state corrections officials said.

“He was escorted to the prison medical facility where he was evaluated and medically cleared to return to his housing unit,” California Department of Corrections Lt. Angelo Gonzalez said in a statement. “Miley returned to the prison medical facility and at approximately 9:07 p.m. became unconscious.”

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He was airlifted to a hospital and died Wednesday afternoon after being removed from life support. Miley’s death is being investigated as a homicide, Gonzalez said. Authorities have not identified the inmate who allegedly attacked Miley.

Miley was serving a life sentence for his role, with Bonin, in the murder of two teenage boys. Bonin was believed to be responsible for as many as 21 slayings from 1978 to 1980. The Downey truck driver was convicted of 14 killings, and for that became the first California inmate to die by lethal injection.

Bonin’s rampage during the late 1970s left young men and teenage boys dead along the region’s highways.

Miley, one of his helpers in some of the slayings, ended up testifying against the serial killer. Miley, who was 19 at the time, would be convicted in the killings of Charles Miranda, a 14-year-old from Bell Gardens. and James McCabe, a 12-year-old from Garden Grove. Both boys were abducted the same February day in 1980.

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Miley helped strangle Miranda after both he and Bonin sexually assaulted the boy. McCabe was suffocated to death -- a shirt twisted around his neck.

Miley was serving a sentence of 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas had fought efforts by Miley to obtain parole in recent years. In fighting his release, prosecutors noted that Miley was a regular rule breaker in prison and still prone to violence.

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