Pictured above: Loren Hersog (left) and Wesley Shermantin were called "ice-thirsty killers" in 2001.
Loren Herzog, an ice-addicted killer born in 1968, and Wesley Shermantine, of the same age, are reveling meth addicts suspected of killing as many as 72 people in San Joaquin County in the 1980s and 1990s.
One of California's darkest seasons, haunted by some of the most notorious serial killers in history, 16-year-old Shavel " Chevelle "Chevy" Wheeler is missing. Soon, several more people in the San Joaquin County area disappeared without a trace.
Sever's disappearance was not resolved until a decade later, and San Joaquin County investigators linked Loren Hersog and Wesley Shermantin to the kidnapping and murder of at least 5 people, which put them on the label of "ice-thirsty killers."
The gathering of Loren Hersog and Wesley Shermantin turned into a violent crime scene
As shown above: Shaver " Chevro" Wheeler disappeared on October 7, 1985.
Loren Hersog and Wesley Shermantin grew up in the quiet California town of Lyndon, about 161 kilometers from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco. The town of Linden had a population of about 2,000 at the time, and Loren and Wesley were both well-known meth addicts and regulars at the local bar "Linden Hotel". The pair's childhood friends were often seen hanging out in town together.
On October 7, 1985, Sever " Before Chevro" Wheeler was sent to Franklin High School in Stockton, California, only 20 minutes from Lyndon. After her mother left, she skipped school to meet Loren and Wesley in the nearby woods because she was also an active meth addict. Sever was reported missing, but her case was put on hold.
Thirteen years later, on November 13, 1998, the Linden Hotel made headlines over the disappearance of the bar owner's daughter, Cyndi Vanderheiden. Cindy and a date who sent her home were seen at the Linden Hotel and the Old Corner Bar. She also went with Loren and Wesley to a nearby cemetery to smoke methamphetamine and disappeared. It took ten years for her case to be closed.
Evidence points to the "Ice Maniac Killer"
Pictured above: Several women killed by Loren Hersog and Wesley Shermantin.
In 1999, while the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department was struggling to find Cindy, Wesley's car was recovered, and an investigation was conducted after blood was found in the car, which was later determined to be Cindy's. Investigators then focused on extensive questioning of Loren.
Loren told investigators that Wesley killed a hunter named Henry Howell and a 24-year-old woman named Robin Armtrout in Utah in 1994. He also said he was in the car when Wesley killed Cindy, but was not actively involved in the killing.
In March 1999, Loren and Wesley were charged with multiple murders. In 2001, Wesley was convicted of murdering Cindy van der Haydn and Schevel" Chevro" Wheeler, and the 1984 murders of Howard King and Paul Cavanaugh. Loren was convicted of murdering Cindy van der Haydn, Paul Kavanaugh and Howard King.
The "Ice Maniac Killer" and their "Bone Field"
As shown above: In 2012, Wesley Shermantin led investigators to a cemetery in Lyndon.
Wesley was sentenced to death and sent to death row at St. Quentin State Prison. Loren was sentenced to 78 years in prison, but in 2004 his conviction was overturned because an appeal was granted, indicating his confession was forced. Loren accepted the plea agreement and commuted his sentence to 14 years, after he had already served 6 years.
However, in 2012, two years after Wesley's release, a bounty hunter told Loren that Wesley intended to tell police about the location of a well and two other victims. The same bounty hunter, Leonard Padilla, promised to give Wesley $30,000 for information that Wesley had drawn a map to an oil well in Lyndon. Investigators excavated the site, which information and Loren called a "bone field," and found more than 1,000 human remains, including a decaying fetus.
Excavation site: "Bone Field"
Because local authorities mishandled the excavations, the FBI took over the case and sent the remains for DNA testing. On March 30, 2012, they announced the identities of two people found in a well: Kimberly Ann Billy and Joann Hobson, who disappeared in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Wesley found two other cemeteries on land once owned by his family, where Shevell " Chevrolet" Wheeler and Cindy van der Haydn.
Disturbing unanswered questions in "Ice Maniac Killer"
Pictured above: A letter from Wesley Shermantin while in prison.
Wesley often wrote to investigators asking about the burial locations of him and other death row victims. The FBI investigated several letters, and when the results were nothing, they stopped using Wesley's letters as clues.
Elected officials, the victims' families and those identified as victims of the "ice-addicted killer" claim that the sheriff's office deliberately used an excavator to hide evidence at the first burial site, knowing that it would cause damage to the evidence. State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani said missing persons records that may have been linked to Loren and Wesley had been removed. Later, it was determined that an email had been sent to remove them from the national list of missing persons.
In 2018, the investigation into the case of the "ice-loving demon killer" was reopened. Since then, more than a thousand human remains have been found, and the mishandling of the case has been referred to the federal courts. Investigators will continue to work to identify the remains, bringing a glimmer of comfort to families who have been waiting for decades.