Gov. Brown Signs Bill To Let 'Speed Freak Killer' Out Of Prison To Help In Search For Victims

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill to allow a death-row inmate to help authorities search for the remains of his long-dead victims.

The governor announced Tuesday that he had signed AB2357 by Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani of Tracy. The bill gives California's corrections secretary the authority to let convicted serial killer Wesley Shermantine help investigators search for more bodies.

Shermantine and a friend were known as the "Speed Freak Killers" for their drug-induced killing spree in the 1980s and 1990s. The other man, Loren Herzog, hanged himself earlier this year after learning that Shermantine provided crude maps to lead authorities to the remains of four of their victims.

Lawmakers say there could be dozens of other victims, including Galgiani's cousin, who disappeared 31 years ago.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.)