true crime

When police searched the home of a killer, they found photos of 54 women.

Shari Miller had always dreamed of being a model.

The bright 21-year-old graduated top of her class at Culver City High School in California.

On July 4, 1984, Shari was working a shift at the Meet Market bar in downtown Los Angeles. There she met a man named William “Bill” Bradford.

Shari told Bradford about her modelling dreams and he told her he was a professional photographer and offered to take her photos for free.

Bradford then lured the young woman to a remote desert area north of Los Angeles. Once they arrived at the deserted location, Bradford took some photos of Shari. Then he strangled her with her own boot lace.

william bradford victims
Shari before her death. Image: Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

After killing Shari, Bradford sliced off her tattoos and removed her blouse.

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Two days later, Shari's body was found wrapped in a blanket, and dumped in an alley way behind a carpet store in West Los Angeles.

As there was nothing on the scene to identify the 21-year-old, Shari was listed as "Jane Doe #60".

A few days later, 15-year-old Tracey Campbell went missing.

The teenager lived next door to Bradford and he was soon arrested for her murder. When police searched Bradford's apartment they found several photos of the woman they had come to know as "Jane Doe #60".

Police later found Tracey's body in a remote area, her face was covered with the blouse that belonged to Shari.

In 1987, Bradford was tried and convicted for both the murder of Tracey Campbell and the murder of Shari Miller.

However, investigators believe he could be responsible for the deaths of many more women across the US.

At his trial, Bradford said to the jury, "Think of how many you don't even know about".

While searching Bradford's apartment, police found photos of 54 women in various modelling poses. They later realised these photos may have captured the women in the moments just before they were killed by Bradford. They released a compilation of the photos to the public and appealed for people to come forward if they recognised themselves or someone else in the photos.

william bradford victims
Image: Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
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Some of the women have been identified as Bradford's ex-wives but at this stage police don't know their whereabouts and whether they too were victims of the serial killer.

One of the women, #28 on the list, was identified as Donnalee Campbell Duhamel. Donnalee's decapitated body was found in 1978, and she was last seen leaving a bar with Bradford.

The sister of CSI: Miami actress, Eva LaRue, also came forward when she recognised herself in one of the photos.

However, now 30 years since Bradford was captured and over 10 years since his death, most of the women in the photographs remained unidentified.

The new podcast, Jensen and Hole's The Murder Squad, covered the case in their first episode which dropped on April 1.

Crime writer Billy Jensen and former detective Paul Holes are appealing for anyone with information about the unidentified women to come forward.

You can read more about Bradford and his potential victims on their website.