Paul Bateson (born August 24, 1940) is an American convicted murderer and former
radiographer
Radiographers, also known as radiologic technologists, diagnostic radiographers and medical radiation technologists are healthcare professionals who specialize in the imaging of human anatomy for the diagnosis and treatment of pathology. Radi ...
. He appeared as a radiologic technologist in a scene from the 1973 horror film ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...
'', which was inspired when the film's director,
William Friedkin
William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...
, watched him perform a
cerebral angiography
Cerebral angiography is a form of angiography which provides images of blood vessels in and around the brain, thereby allowing detection of abnormalities such as arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms.
It was pioneered in 1927 by the Portugues ...
the previous year. The scene, with a considerable amount of blood onscreen, was, for many viewers, the film's most disturbing scene;
medical professionals have praised it for its realism.
In 1979, Bateson was convicted of the murder of film industry journalist Addison Verrill and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison; in 2003 he was released on
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
, which ended after five years. Prior to Bateson's trial, police and prosecutors implicated him in a
series of unsolved slayings of gay men in Manhattan, killings he had reportedly boasted about while in jail, bringing it up at his sentencing.
However, no additional charges were ever brought against him. The experience inspired Friedkin to make the 1980 film ''
Cruising'' which, while based on a
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
written a decade earlier, incorporated in its storyline the city's
leather subculture
Leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. Wearing leather garments is one way that pa ...
, with which Bateson had identified.
In 2012, Friedkin recalled having visited the jailed Bateson prior to his trial, and having a conversation which suggested that either Bateson had committed the additional murders or merely that he was considering confessing to them for a lighter sentence. However, there is no other record of incriminating evidence mentioned by Friedkin in that interview. Despite this, Bateson is often inaccurately described as a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
.
Early life and career
Bateson was born on August 24, 1940
[Search on "Paul F Bateson", inmate #79A1383, at ] and grew up in
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In 1900, 2,754 people live ...
, the son of a
metallurgist
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
. He would later suggest that his appearance in ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...
'' was revenge on his father for punishing him as a child by making him stay home from Saturday matinées at the local movie theater and listen to opera on the radio instead. He served in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in the early 1960s, where he began drinking heavily out of boredom while stationed in Germany, beginning a lifetime struggle with
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
. After his discharge, he returned to Lansdale and stopped drinking.
In 1964 he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he began a relationship with a man (he would later describe himself as "not exclusively gay") who he said was "involved in music". The relationship was marked by heavy drinking, either in the form of cocktails at
The Pierre
The Pierre is a luxury hotel located at 2 East 61st Street, at the intersection of that street with Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, New York City, facing Central Park. Designed by Schultze & Weaver, the hotel opened in 1930 with 100+ employees, n ...
and frequent parties at the couple's home, as well as weekends in the
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long ...
enclave of
Cherry Grove, both with food cooked by Bateson. Five years later, Bateson's mother died of a stroke and his younger brother died by suicide.
Bateson trained as a
neurological
Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...
radiological technician and began working in that capacity. After the relationship ended in 1973, he moved to the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
neighborhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
of
Borough Park. He commuted from there to his job at
New York University Medical Center
NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...
(NYUMC),
where he was well-liked and respected by his colleagues.
''The Exorcist''
In late 1972, film director
William Friedkin
William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...
visited NYUMC while he was preparing to make ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...
'', the film adaptation of
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...
's
novel of that name. He wanted to view some medical procedures since he was considering showing some in the film. He was also looking for staff who might be willing to be
extras in the film, since he would be shooting interiors in New York although the film itself is set in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Dr. Barton Lane invited the director to watch a
cerebral angiography
Cerebral angiography is a form of angiography which provides images of blood vessels in and around the brain, thereby allowing detection of abnormalities such as arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms.
It was pioneered in 1927 by the Portugues ...
.
At the time, such angiographies were performed by puncturing the patient's
carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to:
* Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery
* External carotid artery, an artery on each side of t ...
(in the front of the neck) in order to insert a
catheter
In medicine, a catheter (/ˈkæθətər/) is a thin tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Cath ...
through which a
contrast agent
A contrast agent (or contrast medium) is a substance used to increase the contrast of structures or fluids within the body in medical imaging. Contrast agents absorb or alter external electromagnetism or ultrasound, which is different from radiop ...
was injected in order to make the patient's blood vessels more visible under
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
s. In the moments between the arterial puncture and the insertion of the catheter, blood freely issued from the tube mouth in rhythm with the patient's heartbeat. Friedkin was sufficiently impressed that he told Lane immediately afterward that not only did he want to depict the procedure in his film, he wanted Lane to be the one performing it on camera, along with the nurse and Bateson, the technician, who, recalled Lane in 2018, was the best he had ever had.
A few months later, Friedkin and his crew returned to shoot the scene, blocking off part of the hospital's
radiology
Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...
department for two successive weekends. It was one of the first scenes shot during
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
, in which the character of Regan (
Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...
) is examined medically to see if any of the strange behavior (later found to be the result of
demonic possession
Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and reli ...
) she has been exhibiting can be scientifically explained. Lane later recalled hearing that the crew was still trying to figure out how to make Regan's head spin for a scene later on in the film that, like the angiogram, became one of the film's best-remembered moments.
In the scene, it is Bateson who speaks most of the dialogue, demonstrating the calming bedside manner, another attribute that drew praise from those he worked alongside, that he had used with many actual child patients. He can be seen in the background early, as Regan is wheeled into the room, helping put her on the table and attaching wires to her shoulders. As the film shows Regan's face in tight closeup, alternating with takes of the procedure being finished, including her blood spurting into the air and staining her surgical gown as it had in the procedure Friedkin watched, Bateson's voice is heard off-camera, instructing her, warning her that the carotid puncture will hurt and reassuring her as she winces immediately afterward.
Upon ''The Exorcist'' release at the end of 1973, the scene became notorious as the one that audiences found most disturbing, despite its lack of any of the
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
content that underlies the rest of the film's
horror elements.
Medical professionals, including Lane and the others involved in the scene, have also praised it as a realistic depiction of the procedure, of special historic interest since it is no longer performed with a carotid puncture,
and one of the most realistic depictions of any medical procedure in a popular film.
1973–1977
Around the time ''The Exorcist'' was released, Bateson's drinking again increased, adversely affecting his social life. "Nobody likes a drunk", he later told ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''. In 1975 it affected his job performance, and NYUMC let him go.
Bateson sustained himself with odd jobs, such as doing light repair work and cleaning in apartments near where he now lived in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, and taking tickets at a theater showing
pornographic film
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...
s. He also went to
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
meetings, and was successful for a while in staying sober. He socialized with other recovering alcoholic gay men and was hoping to start another long-term relationship.
However, by 1977 Bateson had begun drinking again, more heavily. He said later that he was drinking at least a quart (0.95 L) of
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
a day, which made him passive and curtailed his social life again. "After a few shots, I'd shave and get dressed", intending to go out. But then after the vodka, "
had no energy left to move".
On those nights when he ''was'' able to go out, Bateson patronized
leather bars, something he had started doing back in 1970 with a group that styled themselves as bikers. "Leather impresses me", he said later, contrasting it with
drag and
swish. "They give gays a bad name, like any extreme group would".
Murder of Addison Verrill
On September 14, 1977, Addison Verrill, a reporter who covered the film industry for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', was found dead in his Horatio Street apartment.
He had been beaten and stabbed; there were some signs of a struggle. However, nothing of value had been taken. Police believed that if the killer's motive had been robbery, he might have been looking for cash or jewelry since those could be taken quickly.
There was no evidence of
forced entry
Forcible entry is "the unlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force or unlawful entry into or onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force". The term is also sometimes used for entry by military, pol ...
. Verrill had likely let his killer in to the apartment; there were several empty beer cans and half-full liquor glasses at the scene. Gay activist and journalist
Arthur Bell, a friend of Verrill's, wrote an article about the case in ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' setting it against the larger issue of how murders of gay men, several of which occurred yearly in the Village, were rarely taken seriously by police or reported on in the media since they were seen as the results of sexual encounters gone wrong. The police, Bell wrote, had learned that Verrill had been at the
Mineshaft, a popular leather bar, until 6 a.m., talking to many other patrons.
According to Bell, Verrill's friends said that while he did not seek the
kink
Kink or KINK may refer to:
Common uses
* Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior
* Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist
Geography
* Kink, Iran, a village in Iran
* The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote east ...
that was abundant at the Mineshaft, he nevertheless "liked the attitudes" of many of the customers. He was considered a regular, holding court at a corner table, not only at the Mineshaft but the
Anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
, another popular leather bar, and other popular gay bars of the era. His presence was seen as making those bars popular.
Phone calls, confession, and arrest
Bell ended his article by giving the phone number of the
New York Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
's homicide bureau and asking anyone with information to call them. However, eight days after the killing someone called ''him'' claiming to be the killer, apparently to correct Bell's assumption that the killer was a
psychopath
Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...
who
targeted gays. "I like your story and I like your writing", the caller told him, "but I'm not a psychopath".
In a story that ran on the ''Voice'' front page, the caller recounted the events of the night that ended in Verrill's murder. "I'm gay and I needed money and I'm an alcoholic", he said. After three months of sobriety, he claimed, he had gone out to Badlands, a
Christopher Street
Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue.
It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher St ...
bar, in the early hours of September 14 where Verrill, whom he did not know, offered to buy him a beer, a proposition the caller accepted. That beer became several, with the two consuming
poppers
Popper is a slang term given broadly to drugs of the chemical class called alkyl nitrites that are inhaled. Most widely sold products include the original isoamyl nitrite or isopentyl nitrite, and isopropyl nitrite. Isobutyl nitrite is also ...
and
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
in addition to the drinks.
At 3 a.m., they left Badlands and went to the Mineshaft, where they continued their alcohol and drug consumption. The caller told Bell he was impressed by how popular his companion was. "I didn't realize he was such a superstar, and I wanted to go home with him". After two hours, they took a taxi to Verrill's apartment, something the caller said Verrill was reluctant to do because he had to get up early and work on a story.
There the two had more alcohol and cocaine, followed by sex at 7:30 a.m. The caller said that afterwards he realized that was as far as Verrill had wanted the relationship to go. "I needed money and I hated the rejection", so, still intoxicated, "I decided to do something I'd never done before". After incapacitating Verrill with a frying pan from his kitchen, the caller recounted, he stabbed the journalist with a knife, although he said he chose the wrong part of his chest.
After the killing, the caller said, he took cash, totaling $57 ($ in modern dollars) and Verrill's
Master Charge card, passport, and some clothes. He used the money to buy liquor and was consequently drunk for the entire next day. Bell confirmed with another source that the man had been seen at a popular
bathhouse
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
that night.
The caller offered some information about himself besides that relevant to understanding the crime. He claimed to be the son of an orchestra leader, to have a wife in Berlin who did not understand his homosexuality, and a teenage son. He had an interest in the arts, and had wanted to be a dancer when he was younger.
Bell noted that he talked about wanting to "atone" for the crime several times, which he connected to the conversation taking place on
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
, the Jewish day of atonement. "
t I don't want to give myself up. I wouldn't be able to practice again. I'd lose my license". He declined to tell Bell what sort of practice the license was for, suggesting that would help identify him.
When Bell contacted police about the call, they told him that it seemed like the first solid lead in the case. The caller had known about the stolen credit card, a detail police had not made public, and described a white substance found on the floor of Verrill's apartment as
Crisco
Crisco is an American brand of shortening that is produced by B%26G Foods. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil, originally cottonseed oil. Additional products marketed un ...
, a
shortening
Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to bu ...
frequently used at the time by gay men as a
sexual lubricant
Personal lubricants (colloquially termed lube) are specialized lubricants used during sexual acts, such as intercourse and masturbation, to reduce friction to or between the penis and vagina, anus or other body parts or applied to sex toys to red ...
. Police had not thus far been able to identify it and had also not made the information public.
Detectives suspected the caller would call Bell again, and went to his apartment to wait with him. At 11 p.m. his phone rang; it was not the original caller but a man who identified himself as "Mitch". He told Bell the killer was Paul Bateson, whom he had gotten to know while the two were drying out at
St. Vincent's Hospital a few months earlier. While he believed Bateson was not the man's real name, since he knew the man to have used the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
"Johnny Johnson" at one point, he said Bateson was an unemployed X-ray technician and that he had called him earlier and confessed to the crime.
Mitch asked to meet Bell in person, but the police told Bell not to do so.
Instead, they just arrested Bateson at his East 12th Street apartment, where he was lying around drunk;
when he was asked if he knew why he was being arrested, he pointed to an open copy of the ''Voice'' with Bell's article and indicated that that was probably why. A detective went to the bar and brought Mitch in for questioning as well; he was released after a few hours. Bateson eventually gave police a handwritten confession that was consistent with what he had told Bell.
Arrest and jailhouse conversations
Bateson was charged with
second-degree murder and detained while awaiting trial. Bell interviewed Bateson in person a month later, visiting him at
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...
. Bateson talked generally about his life, something he said he did often
(as did other acquaintances of Bateson whom Bell spoke with
). Jail, he said, was helping him to again get sober; his biggest regret about being in custody was missing the new season of the
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...
, at the time based in New York. Bell admitted that he, too, might have taken Bateson up on an offer to go to his apartment if he had met him in a bar rather than a jail.
While Bateson avoided talking about the crime he was charged with (on what Bell supposed to be advice from his attorney) he did talk about the trial. He had pleaded not guilty and expected that to be the verdict after a long trial. "A lot of people will be hurt—parents, friends ... Then, I'll tear up my roots and settle somewhere else".
Suspicion in serial killings
At the time of Bateson's arrest, police had also been investigating a series of murders of gay men over the previous two years which they believed were committed by the same person due to similarities in the killings' ''
modus operandi
A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
''. Six corpses of men had been found, dismembered, in bags floating in the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. None of them have ever been identified, but police traced the clothes on them to shops in Greenwich Village that catered to the gay community.
Since the bags reportedly had wording on them connecting them to NYUMC's neuropsychiatric unit,
and the dismemberment of the bodies appeared to have been done by someone skilled in using a knife, investigators began to suggest publicly that Bateson might be a suspect in, as they were referred to officially, the "CUPPI" killings, for "Circumstances Unknown Pending Police Investigation",
as well.
Those killings were the subject of another interview Bateson gave, although it would not be made public until 2012.
Friedkin, who recalled him from both his initial visit to NYUMC and the filming of the angiography for ''The Exorcist'' as a "nice young man" who stood out due to the earring and studded bracelet he wore, neither of which were common accessories for men at the time, read a long story about the case in the ''
Daily News''. Surprised that the gentle Bateson he recalled could have even been accused of a murder, Friedkin came to Rikers to talk with him after getting permission from Bateson's lawyer.
In an interview with
Mubi
Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...
's ''The Notebook'' that coincided with the release of his film ''
Killer Joe'', Friedkin said Bateson admitted killing Verrill, although the director then incorrectly stated that Bateson had dismembered the body and thrown the bagged body parts in the river. Bateson said that the prosecutors were offering him a deal whereby if he confessed to the bag murders and some other unsolved killings he would receive a shortened sentence. He told Friedkin he was not sure if he would accept it.
In a 2018 episode of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' "It Happened in Hollywood"
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
, Friedkin attributed to Bateson a confession to the unsolved murders.
As a result of his conversation with Bateson, Friedkin decided it was time to make
the film adaptation of ''New York Times'' reporter Gerald Walker's 1970 novel ''
Cruising'' about a police officer going undercover in the gay community to catch a serial killer.
Life had already imitated art, with an NYPD officer, Randy Jurgenson, going undercover in gay bars since he was similar in appearance to the victims of the bag killer. Intrigued by the leather subculture Bateson had told him about, Friedkin knew
Matthew Ianniello
Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 – August 15, 2012) was a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family, of which he was once the acting boss. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ianniello controlled the lucrative sex indus ...
, the
mafioso who owned the
Mineshaft and other
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
gay bars of the era, and was able to visit the bar himself. He later added scenes set there to his film,
released in 1980 to mixed reviews after heavy protests by the city's gay community during production.
Trial
In pretrial motions, Bateson, through his attorney, attempted to have his confession
suppressed. He argued that he had been drunk at the time, and the police had not yet
read him his rights. Bateson also denied having made the phone call to Bell, claiming his purported confession was just based on what he had read about the case in the ''Voice''.
Bateson went on trial in early 1979. The state entered both his confession and Bell's ''Voice'' article into evidence against him. Contrary to his prediction of a long trial in the wake of his arrest, Bateson was convicted after four days, on March 5, 1979.
At Bateson's sentencing a month later, prosecutor William Hoyt called him a "psychopath" and reiterated his belief that he was responsible for the six unsolved murders. While Hoyt admitted there was "no direct proof" of this, he said that Bateson had confessed to those crimes in a conversation with Richard Ryan, a friend who had testified for the state at the trial that Bateson had confessed the Verrill murder to him. Speaking for himself, Bateson denied any role in the other murders.
Justice Morris Goldman sentenced Bateson to 20 years to life in prison, five years less than the minimum Hoyt had asked for. He ultimately found the connection to the other murders "too ephemeral" to merit any consideration in sentencing Bateson. In a 2018 ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' article about Bateson, writer Matt Miller was unable to find what that evidence might have been as the
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
court clerk
A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...
's office could not find a copy of the trial transcript. But nothing Miller had been able to review mentioned either the bags purportedly being traced to NYUMC or any mention of a deal offered to Bateson if he confessed to the other murders.
Prison term and release
Bateson ultimately served 24 years and 3 months of his sentence, becoming eligible for
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
in 1997. On the day after his 63rd birthday, in August 2003, he was released from
Arthur Kill Correctional Facility Arthur Kill Correctional Facility was a medium security correctional facility on Arthur Kill Road in Charleston, Staten Island, New York City. It operated from 1976 to 2011, run by what was then the New York State Department of Correctional Service ...
on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. According to online records kept by the state's
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, his parole was successfully completed in November 2008.
That was the last public record of Bateson available ; where he is living, or even if he is alive, is not known. Miller attempted to contact Bateson for his ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' article in 2018 at his last known address, in the
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
village of
Freeport, but was unsuccessful as the phone had been disconnected; emails to different addresses either bounced or were not answered.
In his podcast interview around the same time, Friedkin said he had heard Bateson was living somewhere in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
.
A record in the
Social Security Death Index
The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the Social Security Administration, United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Mas ...
shows that a Paul F. Bateson, with the same birthdate and a
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to ...
issued in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, died on September 15, 2012.
Media portrayals
Bateson was portrayed by
Morgan Kelly
Morgan Kelly (born 23 June, 1976) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles on ''Being Erica'' and '' Killjoys''.
Career
Kelly is known for his role on '' Fries with That?'' as Alexander "Alex" Kurzi. He also appears on ''Falcon Beach'' as ...
in the second season of the Netflix series ''
Mindhunter''.
See also
*
Crime in New York City
Crime rates in New York City have been recorded since at least the 1800s. They have spiked ever since the post-war period. The highest crime totals were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged, and then declined c ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bateson, Paul
1940 births
20th-century American criminals
American people convicted of murder
Criminals from Pennsylvania
Gay men
LGBT people from New York (state)
LGBT people from Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
People convicted of murder by New York (state)
People from Borough Park, Brooklyn
People from Greenwich Village
People from Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Possibly living people
Radiographers
Suspected serial killers
United States Army soldiers
Violence against gay men