Episode 26 – Serial Killer? Ward Weaver Jr. – Part 1
Ward Weaver Jr. had a terrible upbringing. He was beaten and abused by both his father and his mother. He joined the Army and served his time in Vietnam. When he returned he became a long-haul truck driver. Along his route, dozens of women would turn up dead, but they were not tied to him. However, two couples would see a terrible fate. One couple barely survived, and another couple, Robert Radford and Barbara Levoy, well – they weren’t lucky enough to survive.
The story of Ward Weaver Jr. doesn’t end with him though, the story continues, as his son went on to commit heinous and very similar murders to Ward Junior. Join me in this episode as I tell you all about the murders of Robert Radford and Barbara Levoy and how their killer was caught.
But…this is only Part 1. In order to get the entire story – you have to listen to Wife of Crime Podcast. Part 2 of this series comes out on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Don’t miss out on the entire story! You can find Wife of Crime here.
Ward Weaver Jr.
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Ruth McCarty hold’s an image of her daughter, Barbara Levoy
Barbara was kidnapped and murdered by Weaver Jr. in 1981.
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Ward Weaver Jr., Patricia Zieske, Dorothy (Ward’s Mother), unknown
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Ward Weaver Jr. in the 1980s
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Ward Weaver “Killer” Family Genes
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Episode 26: Resources:
- People v. Ward Francis Weaver, Jr., 111 Cal. Rptr. 2d 2 (2001), https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7600222374663496614&q=ward+francis+weaver&hl=en&as_sdt=4,5 (last accessed on 4 Apr 20).
- Robert Lee Hotz & John Johnson, The Tennesean, “Sins of the Father: Can a Killer Instinct be Inherited?” July 6, 2003.
- Times Standard, “Assault Suspect Arraigned,” October 29, 1976.
- Evil Kin, Season 3, Episode 9, “Lost Highway,” Investigation Discovery.
- https://www.murderminute.com/story/a-tale-of-two-weavers
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13949851/barbara-ann-levoy
- https://www.bakersfield.com/delano-record/death-penalty-supporters-in-kern-decry-governor-s-suspension-of/article_bf797f88-478c-11e9-81da-039b290b9cd9.html (California is no longer doing death penalty)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suNhNF-4WlU
- The Sacramento Bee, “Two Truckers Jailed In Rape and Shooting,” May 8, 1991.
- Times, “The Southland,” November 2, 1981.
- Jason Kotowski, Bakersfield, “Grandson of Notorious Kern County Kern County Killer Arrested on Suspicion of Murder,” February 20, 2014, https://www.bakersfield.com/archives/grandson-of-notorious-kern-county-killer-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder/article_9365c022-4fad-5a07-9f5e-178fd8a97191.html
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