With “The Exorcist” in 1973, William Friedkin directed one of the greatest horror films of all time, still able to send shivers down the spines of his audience nearly 50 years after its premiere. But that’s not all: Paul Bateson, who embodies a radiologic technologist in the film, can be seen in a small supporting role. Does the name mean nothing to you? Then hold on tight, because the man is a real killer.
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In 1979, Paul Bateson, who appeared only briefly in The Exorcist, was convicted of the murder of film journalist Addison Verrill and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bateson was released on parole in 2003. But that’s not all: Before Bateson was convicted, police and the prosecution charged him with a series of unsolved murders, which Bateson reportedly bragged about several times while in prison. However, there has never been an additional conviction. But what exactly happened then?
Paul Bateson is a former soldier who became addicted to alcohol through extreme boredom while stationed in Germany. Although he was repeatedly asked to stop drinking after his return to the United States, alcohol always caught up with him. After training as a neurological radiologic technician, he moved to New York, where he was eventually discovered by William Friedkin, who saw him do a so-called cerebral agiography in preparation for “The Exorcist”. Bateson was then allowed to join Regan (Linda Blair) in the film as an assistant. You can rewatch the scene here (Bateson’s face is first seen from 0:16):
Bateson himself stated that his performance in The Exorcist an act of revenge on his father used to be. As a child, he was not allowed to attend the Saturday matinees at the local cinema. Instead, he had to listen to operettas on the radio. But with “The Exorcist” the problems increased again, because although Bateson was respected by his medical colleagues and Friedkin was very impressed with his radiological skills, Bateson started drinking excessively again.
Soon after, he lost his job at New York University Medical Center and supported himself with odd jobs. At the same time, he attends some Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but could not refrain from doing everything and drank at least a liter of vodka a day. When he wasn’t too drunk, he hung out in the dark in the New York leather bars in the 1970s. According to some accounts, Bateson was deeply fascinated by the subculture, not least because it was so infamous at the time.
On September 14, 1977, journalist Addison Verrill was found dead at his home on Horatio Street in New York. He was beaten and then stabbed. However, nothing was stolen from Verrill’s home, leading the police to believe the killer’s motive had nothing to do with a robbery. There was also no evidence of forced entry into the house, suggesting that Verrill voluntarily let the killer into his home.
Journalist Arthur Bell, a close confidant of Addison Verrill, then began a topic that William Friedkin eventually worked on in “Cruising” with Al Pacino in the 1980s: the murders of gay men in New York in the 1970s. Such incidents were usually not taken seriously by the police and the media usually spoke of “failed sexual encounters”. Verrill himself was a regular at several leather bars.
Arthur Bell ended his article at the time with the New York Homicide phone number to get possible clues. Eight days after publication, Bell finally got a call. The man on the other end of the line shared how he met Verrill that night, walked around with him, had sex with him, and eventually killed him the next morning. Another caller, named “Mitch,” who met Bateson while sobering up at St. Vincent’s Hospital, eventually gave Bell the name of the killer, which Bell had not previously revealed during the phone call.
Bateson was arrested by the police shortly after, in early 1979, at his home, where he lay drunk on the floor. When the police asked him if he knew why he was being arrested, he pointed his finger at Arthur Bell’s article. Bateson eventually gave police a tangible confession that matched exactly what he told Bell over the phone. Mitch also had to be interrogated, but was released after a few hours. Bateson was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison on March 5, 1979.
Since there was a slew of murders of gay men during that time, which followed a pattern similar to Addison Verrill’s, Bateson quickly became a suspect. He also confessed to the murders to Richard Ryan, a friend who testified for him at the trial. In court, however, Bateson denied being involved in the other murders.
Although prosecutor William Hoyte believed Bateson was responsible for the six unsolved murders, there was no direct evidence. The judge at the time, Morris Goldman, therefore only convicted Bateson for the murder of Addison Verrill, the connection with the further actions was ultimately not watertight enough. It is still unclear whether Bateson, who is now 82 years old, killed only one person or is actually a serial killer.