Paul Bateson is on record for one killing: the murder of Addison Verrill in New York City in September 1977, for which he was convicted. He is also remembered for two connections outside the courtroom. He appeared, playing himself, in a hospital scene in William Friedkin's film The Exorcist (1973), and Friedkin later visited him in jail, a meeting the director has said fed into his 1980 film Cruising. A further matter attaches to his name: six men who died in New York in the 1970s, whose cases were never solved. Prosecutors tried to tie Bateson to them at his trial. The judge ruled that the evidence was not enough, and he was never charged with any of those deaths.
His birth date, family and early life are not on record, and neither is the name of the court that tried him or the date of the verdict.
Bateson worked as a radiographer, a technician who carries out imaging examinations, at a New York hospital. Collider, drawing on an Esquire profile, describes him as working at New York's University Hospital, and a Looper article describes him as a radiologist's assistant. According to Collider he appeared as himself in the angiography scene and had a few lines of dialogue. Friedkin, the film's director, said in a 2013 interview that Bateson "appeared in The Exorcist in the scene in the hospital." It was Bateson's only film appearance.
How long he kept the hospital job after the film, and when he left it, is not on record.
Addison Verrill was killed in New York City in September 1977. His birth date, family and the rest of his life are not on record. His death is the only one for which Bateson was convicted.
Police came to Bateson through statements made to a newspaper columnist. LGBTQ Nation, in a 2019 article about the Netflix series Mindhunter, says Bateson telephoned Arthur Bell of The Village Voice and admitted killing Verrill. Bateson later disputed those calls. According to Collider, he denied making the anonymous calls that named him; he did make incriminating statements, which he later said were made while he was drunk and were inspired by Bell's article. The date of his arrest is not on record.
Bateson's lawyers argued that his statements to police should not be heard at trial. LGBTQ Nation reports that he claimed he was intoxicated and had not been read his Miranda rights. The trial judge ruled the statements admissible. CBR reports that he was convicted "thanks to his confession," and describes the charge as second-degree murder. LGBTQ Nation dates the conviction to 1979, and Collider says the news of the conviction reached his former co-workers that year.
The sentence is given in slightly different terms. LGBTQ Nation says he was sentenced to 20 years to life, while CBR and Collider give a minimum of 20 years. Both agree on a minimum term of 20 years. He began his time in custody at Rikers Island, the New York City jail complex, according to CBR. The court's name, the judge's name, whether a jury sat and the date of sentence are not on record, and neither is any appeal.
Six men, none of whom was identified, died in New York in the 1970s, and TV Guide says the killer was never caught. Three strands tie his name to those deaths.
First, prosecutors at his trial sought to link him to them. Collider reports that the judge dismissed the claim that he was involved because the evidence was insufficient. Second, LGBTQ Nation says prosecutors stated that he had bragged about the deaths to a friend. Looper puts the same allegation in a different form: after his conviction, it says, he reportedly told a friend that he had also killed other men. Third, Bateson himself denied it. LGBTQ Nation reports that he said he had only repeated details he had read in the newspapers.
CBR states plainly that there was no evidence for the other killings and that "the only death he was proven to be linked to was Verrill's." TV Guide likewise says he was suspected of the six deaths and denied them. No court has found that he caused any of those men's deaths. The deaths remain unsolved and the men unidentified.
William Friedkin directed both The Exorcist and Cruising, a 1980 police thriller. LGBTQ Nation reports that the New York deaths inspired Cruising. Friedkin has spoken of Bateson himself. In a 2013 interview with Windy City Times he called Bateson a "confessed killer of some of these men" and said he visited him at Rikers: "I went to see him in his cell at Rikers." He said the contact gave him "a really unique background for a murder mystery."
Looper, citing the documentary Exorcising Cruising, says Friedkin and Bateson "had a very pleasant chat," and dates the visit to before the conviction. Collider, citing The Hollywood Reporter, says it has been alleged that the conversation inspired Cruising at least in part. TV Guide reports that Friedkin has said Bateson confessed to another murder during the visit. Friedkin's statements are his own account. They are not a court finding, and Bateson denied admitting to the other deaths.
The Netflix series Mindhunter, in its second season, includes a portrayal of Bateson, which LGBTQ Nation says runs about seven minutes. TV Guide notes that in the series he avoids discussing the six deaths.
Bateson became eligible for parole in 1997, according to LGBTQ Nation. Collider states that he was released from prison on August 25, 2003, after 24 years of incarceration. CBR and LGBTQ Nation both say his parole ended in 2008. The parole board's reasons, the conditions of his release and where he lived under supervision are not on record.
Where Bateson is now is not established. Collider says the New York corrections department had no record of his death and that his last known residence was in New York State. TV Guide says he "may have died" in 2012. CBR says it is uncertain whether he is still alive. LGBTQ Nation says it is unknown where he is or whether he is living. No death is on record.
Convicted: the murder of Addison Verrill. The conviction rests on statements Bateson made, which the trial judge admitted over his objection that he had been intoxicated and not read his rights.
Suspected, never charged: the deaths of six unidentified men in New York in the 1970s. The trial judge found the evidence insufficient. A friend's account that he spoke of them, as prosecutors relayed it, was disputed by Bateson, who said he had repeated newspaper details.
Claimed by a third party: Friedkin's statement that Bateson was a "confessed killer of some of these men," and the report that Bateson confessed to another murder when the director visited him. These are not findings.
Variations between reports: the sentence is given as 20 years to life in one report and as a 20-year minimum in others; the conviction year appears as 1979 in two reports; the visit to Rikers is placed before the conviction by Looper; TV Guide gives 2012 as the year he may have died, though no death is on record.
1973: The Exorcist is released; Bateson appears as himself in a hospital scene.
September 1977: Addison Verrill is killed in New York City.
1977 or 1978: Bateson makes statements to a newspaper columnist and to police and is arrested; the date is not on record.
Before conviction: Friedkin visits Bateson at Rikers Island.
1979: Bateson is convicted of murder (reported), sentenced to a term reported as 20 years to life.
1980: Cruising is released.
1997: Bateson becomes eligible for parole (reported).
August 25, 2003: released from prison (reported).
2008: parole ends (reported).
2013: Friedkin describes his visit to Bateson in an interview.
2019: Mindhunter's second season portrays Bateson.