Hollywood, CA – Today horror and shock turned into sympathy and understanding as serial murderer Harry Weinberg admitted to the public that he is in fact a victim of murder addiction. Just a week ago it was finally discovered that Weinberg had been murdering young female actresses for over 2 decades, and police had thought they caught one of the most monstrous serial killers in U.S. history, but todays heartfelt speech by Weinberg softened the hearts of many when they realized, that like many of us or people we know, he too was suffering from addiction.
Weinberg is a Hollywood mogul known to many for producing some of the most prolific films over the last 30 years and owner of one of the biggest Hollywood Studios Mallowmax. Having scores of great films under his belt it was hard for even this journalist to not give him some leeway after his impassioned words. Weinberg said, “I guess you could say that I might be responsible for that first murder, but you know I felt I had pretty good reasons for it. You never think that doing it once will spark a lifelong desire that you can’t explain. Before I knew it I had murdered 5 more young actresses in a week. It’s like it didn’t even matter if they were talented or not at first, and then it became sort of a game. Like the more talented they were, the more I wanted to murder them. It really escalated in ways I never imagined. But now I know I need help and am going to check myself into a clinic that specializes in murder addiction and get the treatment I need…finally…it’s been so long…” Weinberg then broke into sobs at which point law enforcement officer Sgt. David Wolski, who had initially arrested Weinberg, also became overwhelmed by emotion. We had a chance to talk to Wolski after Weinberg’s announcement. “When I first started investigating this case I was in a state of horror. Finding out how he took advantage of the dreams and hopes of young actresses who had no recourse but to trust him and walk into his home. This type of manipulation is typical of your average serial killer. FBI profilers made this quite clear. But now after hearing about how he’s struggling with addiction…well to be honest I don’t know if it’s moral anymore to put him in jail. He’s sick, and he needs help. Law enforcement will be meeting with the District Attorney’s office later today to discuss our next move. But I think it’s clear at this point that a lot lighter sentence is warranted.”
Others in Hollywood have also come under fire during this scandal for not alerting authorities earlier of the murders that were heavily rumored to be taking place. Several big actors have been named in knowing about Weinberg’s behavior including Hollywood star Bob Afflert. Afflert, however denies any explicit knowledge when we talked to him, “Listen you hear rumors sure. It happens all the time. This is a tough business. Sometimes people say it’s murder getting ahead here, but you know…you think that’s just an expression. I never thought someone would actually be getting murdered. I mean sure there are many days that go by where a young actress doesn’t show up to a set, but dreams are dashed 20 times a minute in this industry, you just figure, here’s another actress who couldn’t make it and has gone back to her farm in Iowa or something. As I look back, yeah I can see now that a lot of them were probably being murdered. It’s sad to look back and think of all those lives lost. But no more sad than a powerful and wealthy man suffering from addiction. I hope he gets the help he needs. As a powerful and wealthy male myself, I realize it’s all too easy to fall into addiction like this. Nobody is going to bring those girls back to life, so I hope that moving forward we can focus more on the help he needs and not the hurt he caused.”
Nevertheless public outrage remains high and questions the structure of an industry that could support this type of behavior so long. They worry that Weinberg isn’t the only one who has behaved this way, as young actresses going missing has been a common theme throughout Hollywood’s history. People wonder if this incident will finally change the culture of silence and looking the other way that has been a mainstay in the industry, or whether more young actresses will be murdered under the guise of everybody’s favorite cliché: “That’s show business!”