Convicted for the murder of Variety theatre critic, Addison Verrill, Bateson was known in the New York City tabloid press as "The Trashbag Killer".
William Friedkin renewed his acquaintance with Bateson and used his crime as part of his film
Cruising (1980). By confessing to multiple murders he did not remember committing, Bateson received a much shorter sentence, and was released from prison in 2004.
