Born in Oklahoma in 1935,[2] in a family with multiple brothers and sisters, his first known conviction dates back to July 1965, when he raped a 70-year-old landlady in East Oakland during a burglary.

Herstein, a student at Theodore Roosevelt High School, also worked as a newsie for The Fresno Guide, and had been reported missing by her mother two days prior.

[4] Seminal fluid found in the latter's underwear linked her to Sims, an acquaintance of Ortega as she was his wife's friend and had even visited their house on several occasions.

[9] The next killing occurred on November 14, 1975, when 18-year-old Robin McCullar was raped and murdered and the final known attack happening on June 9, 1976, when the body of 15-year-old Eva Hernandez Lucio, last seen walking home from school, was found in a local vineyard.

[4] In December 2001, Sims was transported from San Quentin State Prison to Fresno County Jail, where he was charged with the four murders and two rapes a few days later.

[4] Because Sims had already been sentenced to life imprisonment and his possibility of parole was considered extremely low, the Fresno County District Attorney's Office ultimately dismissed the charges for the remaining murders, even though DNA proved that he was guilty beyond any doubt.