DeepSummary
On July 15, 1976, a school bus carrying 26 children and the driver Ed Ray was hijacked by three men wearing pantyhose over their faces in Chowchilla, California. The kidnappers transferred the children and Ed to two vans and drove them for 11 hours without stopping, eventually burying them alive in a moving trailer underground. After 16 hours, Ed and the children managed to dig their way out and were found by a quarry employee.
Despite this being one of the largest kidnapping cases in U.S. history, the kidnappers' motive was simply money - they wanted $5 million from the state of California. The three kidnappers were identified as Fred Woods, the son of a wealthy quarry owner whose property was used to bury the trailer, and brothers James and Richard Schoenfeld, also from wealthy families.
While the kidnappers were eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison, their sentences were later overturned on appeal. Richard was paroled in 2012, James in 2015, and Fred, whose trust was worth over $100 million, was paroled in 2022 despite appearing unremorseful about the horrific crime.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- In 1976, a school bus carrying 26 children was hijacked and the children and bus driver buried alive in an underground trailer by three wealthy young men seeking a $5 million ransom from the state.
- The kidnappers were eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison, but controversially had their sentences overturned on appeal years later and were released on parole from 2012-2022.
- One of the kidnappers, Fred Woods, came from immense wealth with a $100+ million trust fund, yet appeared unremorseful about the horrific crime.
- The child victims suffered immense trauma from being buried alive and testifying at the trial, with lasting impacts requiring extensive therapy.
- The kidnappers' ransom plan ironically failed due to the massive attention and chaos caused by their own crime.
- The motive for the bizarre kidnapping appeared to simply be greed and a desire for money by the wealthy young men.
- While the survivors received a settlement, it was described as inadequate to fully compensate for the trauma endured.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Now, several victims have to testify to the level of harm that they were subjected to, having to relive their trauma all over again.“ by Ashley Flowers
- “They caused their own chaos, and they couldn't get through to make their own ransom demands.“ by Ashley Flowers
- “Court documents suggested that his trust, Fred's trust, was worth over $100 million.“ by Ashley Flowers
- “According to a CB's news article by George Osterkamp, the trust settled a suit with survivors in 2016. Now, regarding the settlement, one survivor was quoted as saying that it was enough to pay for some serious therapy, but not enough to buy a house.“ by Ashley Flowers
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Episode Information
Crime Junkie
audiochuck
5/20/24