Mack Ray Edwards

Mack Ray Edwards (October 17, 1918 – October 30, 1971) was an American child molester and serial killer who molested and murdered at least six children in Los Angeles County, California, between 1953 and 1970.

Sentenced to death, he hanged himself in his prison cell.

Little is known of Mack Ray Edwards’s early life.

He was born in Montgomery County, Arkansas, on October 17, 1918, and moved to Los Angeles County, California, in 1941.

The year following his arrival in Los Angeles County he joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers and, trained in the use of heavy equipment, served as a combat engineer.

He married Mary Howell in 1946.

Between 1950 and 1957, Edwards resided in the cities of Pico Rivera, El Monte and Azusa in Los Angeles County.

He kept horses and allowed neighborhood youths to ride them.

He also took local children camping.

In the 1950s, Edwards joined the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

As a heavy equipment operator contracted by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and other agencies, he worked on freeway construction sites in the 1950s and 1960s, driving backhoes and other equipment.

Edwards sexually molested and murdered three children from 1953 to 1956; he molested and murdered three more in 1968 and 1969.

He later stated that all of his crimes were motivated by a desire for sex.

The body of one of Edwards's victims was found underneath the Santa Ana Freeway, and he claimed to have disposed of others under the Ventura Freeway.

In the 1960s, Edwards moved to Ralston Avenue in Sylmar, Los Angeles, with his wife and two children, both adopted.

In 1970, Edwards and an unnamed 15-year-old male accomplice entered the home of Edgar Cohen of Sylmar, California, where they kidnapped three sisters – Valerie, Cindy, and Jan Cohen who were 12, 13, and 14 years old, respectively – from their address at 15768 Roxford Avenue.

They were former neighbors of his.

After forcing the girls to write a note to their parents saying that they were running away from home, Edwards and his accomplice then took them by car to remote Bouquet Canyon in Angeles National Forest north of Newhall, California.

When two of the girls escaped, Edwards released the third and– knowing they could identify him – walked into a San Fernando Valley police station on March 6, 1970, and surrendered to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Foothill Division detectives.

He handed them a loaded handgun, confessed that he had planned to molest and kill the three girls, and confessed to having murdered six other children.

In his kidnap confession, he told Sergeant George Rock how his conscience bothered him.

As officers placed him in handcuffs, Mack lamented how he was not able to sleep or eat, "I have a guilt complex. I couldn't eat, and I couldn't sleep, and it was beginning to affect my work. You know I'm a heavy equipment operator. That long grader I'm using now costs a lot of money — $200,000. I might wreck it. Or turn it over and hurt someone."

In addition, regarding the Cohen sisters, he gave the following statement, "I'm glad they got away because it would have been nine [murders] instead of six."

After three bodies were recovered, Edwards pleaded guilty in Van Nuys Superior Court to three counts of kidnapping and three counts of murder.

During a preliminary hearing on March 17, 1970, Mack tried to plead guilty, but the judge refused to accept the plea.

"Guilty. I am guilty!", Mack insisted.

His lawyer asked that he could submit an innocent plea on Mack's behalf.

"I don't need a lawyer! I am guilty!", Mack maintained.

The judge scheduled Mack's trial for May 6 but it was delayed by Mack's multiple suicide attempts.

In prison awaiting trial, Edwards twice attempted suicide, first on March 30 by slashing his stomach with a razor blade, and then again on May 7 by taking an overdose of tranquilizers.

He was transferred to San Quentin State Prison on June 11, 1970, where he occupied a cell next to Charles Manson on the other.

Mack's trial resumed on May 17, 1971.

Deputy District Attorney David Kenner instructed the jury, "If ever there was a case that cried out for the imposition of the death penalty, this is the case. This defendant has forfeited whatever right a person has to live in this society."

Mack agreed and begged for the death penalty since he allegedly wanted to pay the ultimate price for his crimes and was willing to trade places with the next man in line for the gas chamber.

"My attorney got a bit mixed up and pleaded for my life," said the confessed killer.

"I want the chair. That's what I've always wanted. I told them that when I went into the police station, they didn't say that in court. This was sadistic to bring these parents and other witnesses down here and put them through this!"

Sentencing was scheduled for June 5 of the same year.

He was sentenced to death in a gas chamber.

On October 30, 1971, Edwards killed himself by hanging using an electrical television cord in his cell in San Quentin State Prison.

Edwards was convicted of murdering three children: