:Joseph James DeAngelo

File:Joseph James DeAngelo.jpg

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. was born on November 8, 1945, in Bath, New York, to Kathleen "Kay" Louise DeGroat (June 30, 1923 – August 21, 2010) and Joseph James DeAngelo Sr. (January 19, 1920 – February 15, 1995), a sergeant in the United States Army.{{Cite web|first=Candace|last=Sutton|date=June 29, 2018|title=Accused serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo's sick words as he raped|url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/accused-serial-killers-sick-words-as-he-raped-women/news-story/681701cb27217e28eb69a0928b4ad187|access-date=June 14, 2020|website=News.com.au|publisher=News Corp Australia|location=Adelaide, Australia|language=en|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303054939/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/marriage/accused-serial-killers-sick-words-as-he-raped-women/news-story/681701cb27217e28eb69a0928b4ad187|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20180425/golden-state-killer-suspect-born-in-bath|title=Golden State Killer suspect born in Bath|date=April 25, 2018 |newspaper=The Evening Tribune|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Gannett|location=Hornell, New York|access-date=May 2, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502211547/https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20180425/golden-state-killer-suspect-born-in-bath|url-status=live}} He was of Italian ancestry and had two older sisters, Connie and Rebecca, and a younger brother, John.{{cite web |title=Exclusive: The woman behind the scenes who helped capture the Golden State Killer |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/24/exclusive-the-woman-behind-the-scenes-who-helped-capture-the-golden-state-killer/ |website=Mercury News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912231959/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/24/exclusive-the-woman-behind-the-scenes-who-helped-capture-the-golden-state-killer/ |archive-date=September 12, 2018 |date=August 27, 2018 |url-status=live}} A relative reported that when DeAngelo was a young child, he witnessed the rape of Connie by two airmen in a U.S. Air Force base warehouse in West Germany, where the family was stationed at the time.{{cite news |first=Tamar |last=Lapin |date=May 14, 2018 |title=Family of 'Golden State Killer' claim he saw men rape his 7 year-old sister |newspaper=The New York Post |publisher=News Corp |location=New York City |url=https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/golden-state-killer-witnessed-men-rape-his-sister-report/ |access-date=October 3, 2018|archive-date=October 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004021207/https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/golden-state-killer-witnessed-men-rape-his-sister-report/ |url-status=live}} Following DeAngelo's conviction, Rebecca stated that he was abused by their father while he was growing up.{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Don |date=August 22, 2020 |title=Apology at sentencing deepens mystery of Golden State Killer |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/08a241b485d1d7be03f62293e2da3277 |url-status=live |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822005111/https://apnews.com/08a241b485d1d7be03f62293e2da3277}}

Between 1959 and 1960, DeAngelo attended Mills Junior High School in Rancho Cordova, California. Beginning in 1961, he attended Folsom High School, from which he received a GED certificate in 1964. He played on the school's junior varsity baseball team.{{Cite news |last=Caraccio |first=David |date=May 7, 2018 |title=What do we know about the life story of the East Area Rapist Suspect |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article210633129.html |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |access-date=April 16, 2019 |archive-date=April 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416150143/https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article210633129.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Egel |first=Benjy |date=April 25, 2018 |title=Who is the East Area Rapist? Police say it's this ex-cop who attended Folsom High |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209823959.html |access-date=May 7, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428010913/http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209823959.html|archive-date=April 28, 2018}} Prosecutors reported that DeAngelo committed burglaries, mail theft, and tortured and killed animals during his teenage years.

DeAngelo joined the United States Navy in September 1964{{cite episode |title=Sgt. Joe DeAngelo, Exeter PD |series={{grey|[no series cited]}} |via=shows.pippa.io |number=16 |date=December 26, 1975 |url=https://shows.pippa.io/5b0b51d35d2f788725c01ea7/ep-16-sgt-joe-deangelo-exeterpd |url-status=live |access-date=June 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162114/https://shows.pippa.io/5b0b51d35d2f788725c01ea7/ep-16-sgt-joe-deangelo-exeterpd |archive-date=June 12, 2018}} and served for 22 months during the Vietnam War as a damage controlman on the cruiser {{USS|Canberra|CA-70|6}}{{Cite news |title=Joseph J. DeAngelo expected home on leave from Navy soon |date=June 1, 1967 |newspaper=Auburn Journal |publisher=Brehm Communications |location=Auburn, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19560455/joseph_j_deangelo_expected_home_on |access-date=April 26, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427023759/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19560455/joseph_j_deangelo_expected_home_on |archive-date=April 27, 2018}} and the destroyer tender {{USS|Piedmont|AD-17|6}}.{{Citation|title=Ep. 23 They Just Walked Away...|date=December 26, 1975|url=https://shows.pippa.io/5b0b51d35d2f788725c01ea7/episodes/ep-23-they-just-walked-away?ref=facebook|language=en|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015643/https://shows.pippa.io/5b0b51d35d2f788725c01ea7/episodes/ep-23-they-just-walked-away?ref=facebook|url-status=live}} Beginning in August 1968, DeAngelo attended Sierra College in Rocklin, California; he graduated with an associate degree in police science, with honors.{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Martha |title=Who is Joseph James DeAngelo? Suspect accused in 1979 of stealing a can of dog repellent, hammer |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/25/who-is-joseph-james-deangelo-ex-cop-is-suspected-golden-state-killer/ |newspaper=The San Jose Mercury News |publisher=Bay Area News Group |location=San Jose, California |date=April 25, 2018 |access-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630192537/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/25/who-is-joseph-james-deangelo-ex-cop-is-suspected-golden-state-killer/ |url-status=live }} He attended Sacramento State University in 1971, where he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. DeAngelo later took post-graduate courses and further police training at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, then completed a 32-week police internship at the police department in Roseville.{{cite web |url=http://www.thesungazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Deangelo_Article_ExeterSun_22Aug1973-1.png |title=Navy veteran serves Exeter as policeman |date=August 22, 1973 |newspaper=Williamsport Sun-Gazette |publisher=Ogden Newspapers Inc. |location=Williamsport, Pennsylvania |access-date=June 8, 2018 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626220922/http://www.thesungazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Deangelo_Article_ExeterSun_22Aug1973-1.png |url-status=live}}

From May 1973 to August 1976, DeAngelo was a burglary unit police officer in Exeter, having relocated from Citrus Heights. He then served in Auburn from August 1976 to July 1979, when he was arrested for shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent; he was sentenced to six months of probation and fired that October.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/joseph-james-deangelo.html|title=What We Know About Joseph DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer Suspect|last=Haag|first=Matthew|newspaper=The New York Times|location=New York City|date=April 26, 2018|access-date=April 29, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429120126/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/joseph-james-deangelo.html|archive-date=April 29, 2018}} During the process of being fired, DeAngelo threatened to kill the chief of police and allegedly stalked the chief's house.{{cite web |publisher=KTVU |via=YouTube |title=Full Interview: Golden State Killer investigator Paul Holes |date=May 2, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP1gni1gGvk |access-date=August 13, 2018 |archive-date=June 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611130916/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP1gni1gGvk |url-status=live}}

In May 1970, DeAngelo became engaged to nursing student Bonnie Jean Colwell, a classmate at Sierra College, but she ended the relationship in 1971 after he became manipulative and abusive,{{Cite web|date=2020-08-03|title=The Golden State killer's ex-fiance Bonnie Colwell says she "refuses to wear the blame"|url=https://www.newsweek.com/bonnie-colwell-golden-state-killer-1522401|access-date=2021-12-22|website=Newsweek|language=en}} culminating in his demand that she help him cheat on an abnormal psychology test.{{cite news |title=Man in the Window |author=Paige St. John |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/man-in-the-window-joe-DeAngelo-golden-state-killer-serial/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611120346/https://www.latimes.com/projects/man-in-the-window-joe-DeAngelo-golden-state-killer-serial/ |archive-date=June 11, 2019}} After the break-up, he attempted to force her to marry him by threatening her with a gun.{{cite news |last1=St. John |first1=Paige |title=An inside look at the Golden State Killer suspect's behavior |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-28/closing-the-golden-state-killer-case-with-a-pending-confession-circus-atmosphere-and-a-bar-of-gold |access-date=8 September 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701180110/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-28/closing-the-golden-state-killer-case-with-a-pending-confession-circus-atmosphere-and-a-bar-of-gold |url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/26/i-hate-you-bonnie-golden-state-killer-likely-motivated-by-animosity-toward-ex-fiancee-investigator-says/|title='I hate you, Bonnie': Golden State Killer likely motivated by animosity toward ex-fiancee, investigator says|last=Sulek|first=Julia|date=April 26, 2018|newspaper=The Mercury News|publisher=MediaNews Group|location=San Jose, California|access-date=May 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508131500/https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/26/i-hate-you-bonnie-golden-state-killer-likely-motivated-by-animosity-toward-ex-fiancee-investigator-says|archive-date=May 8, 2018|url-status=live}}

In November 1973, he married Sharon Marie Huddle of Citrus Heights, in a ceremony held in Auburn. In 1980, they purchased a house in Citrus Heights, where he was eventually arrested decades later. Huddle became a divorce attorney in 1982, and they had three daughters: two were born in Sacramento and one was born in Los Angeles.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

The couple separated in 1991.{{cite web |first=Margo |last=Margaritoff |date=June 24, 2020 |title=Meet Sharon Huddle, the lawyer who was married to the Golden State Killer during his bloody reign |website=All That's Interesting |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/sharon-huddle |access-date=October 20, 2020}} In July 2018, several months after DeAngelo's arrest, Huddle filed for a divorce,{{Cite web |title=Sharon M. Huddle #105101 |department=Attorney Search |publisher=State Bar of California |website=members.calbar.ca.gov |url=http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/105101 |access-date=August 13, 2018|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723003723/http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/105101 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Estranged wife of accused East Area rapist filed for divorce |website=Good Day Sacramento |date=February 18, 2019 |url=https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/02/18/joseph-deangelo-wife-divorce/ |access-date=November 7, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107175715/https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/02/18/joseph-deangelo-wife-divorce/ |archive-date=November 7, 2019}} which was finalized the following year.{{Cite news |last=St. John |first=Paige |date=June 28, 2020 |title=An inside look at the Golden State Killer suspect's behavior |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |language=en-US |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-28/closing-the-golden-state-killer-case-with-a-pending-confession-circus-atmosphere-and-a-bar-of-gold |access-date=July 2, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701180110/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-28/closing-the-golden-state-killer-case-with-a-pending-confession-circus-atmosphere-and-a-bar-of-gold |archive-date=July 1, 2020}} DeAngelo committed most of the offenses while he was married and raising a family. Neither his wife nor his children ever suspected he was committing serious crimes. His eldest daughter claimed he was a "perfect father",{{cite news |title='He is the best father I could have had': Daughter of Golden State Killer describes father in letter to court |agency=Associated Press |author=FOX40 web desk |website=KRON-TV |publisher=Meredith Corporation |date=August 25, 2020 |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/he-is-the-best-father-i-could-have-had-daughter-of-golden-state-killer-describes-father-in-letter-to-court/ |accessdate=September 18, 2021 |archive-date=September 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919061710/https://www.kron4.com/news/he-is-the-best-father-i-could-have-had-daughter-of-golden-state-killer-describes-father-in-letter-to-court/ |url-status=dead }} while his wife believed his excuses for being away from home.{{cite news |title=Golden State Killer's ex-wife breaks her silence as the former police officer awaits sentencing |first1=Madeline|last1=Holcombe|first2=Cheri|last2=Mossburg|date=August 21, 2020 |website=KMOV |publisher=Nexstar Media Group |url=https://www.kmov.com/news/golden-state-killers-ex-wife-breaks-her-silence-as-the-former-police-officer-awaits-sentencing/article_6bc00c6b-eb8a-5044-bd70-f7669c0e9ef3.html |accessdate=September 18, 2021}}

In the 1980s, DeAngelo was employed as a computer engineer and a cashier. From 1990 until his retirement in 2017, he worked as a truck mechanic at a Save Mart Supermarkets distribution center in Roseville.{{Cite news |last=Lillis |first=Ryan |date=April 25, 2018 |title=Here's where East Area Rapist suspect worked for nearly three decades before retiring |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |url=http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article209862599.html |access-date=April 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426061346/http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article209862599.html|archive-date=April 26, 2018}} He was arrested in 1996 for failing to pay for gas, but the charge was dismissed.{{Cite web |first=Crystal |last=Bonvillain |date=March 19, 2019 |title=Golden State Killer suspect was arrested in 1996 Super Bowl ticket ruse – but was released |newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |publisher=Cox Media Services |location=Atlanta, Georgia |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/national/golden-state-killer-suspect-was-arrested-1996-super-bowl-ticket-ruse-but-was-released/TXa2VKuchnYkLXkRsR7eOP |access-date=March 20, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320121206/https://www.ajc.com/news/national/golden-state-killer-suspect-was-arrested-1996-super-bowl-ticket-ruse-but-was-released/TXa2VKuchnYkLXkRsR7eOP/ |archive-date=March 20, 2019}}

DeAngelo's brother-in-law claimed that DeAngelo would casually bring up the East Area Rapist in conversation around the time of the original crimes. Neighbors also reported that he would frequently engage in loud, profane outbursts. One neighbor reported that his family received a phone message from DeAngelo threatening to "deliver a load of death" because of their barking dog.{{cite news |title='Golden State Killer' suspect threatened to kill family dog, yelled and cursed in neighborhood: Neighbors |last1=Shapiro |first1=Emily |last2=Johnson |first2=Whit |last3=Harrison |first3=Jenna |date=April 28, 2018 |website=ABC News |publisher=American Broadcasting Company |location=New York City|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/golden-state-killer-suspect-threatened-kill-family-dog/story?id=54776065 |access-date=March 18, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306064524/https://abcnews.go.com/US/golden-state-killer-suspect-threatened-kill-family-dog/story?id=54776065 |archive-date=March 6, 2019}} He was living with a daughter and granddaughter at the time of his arrest.

File:East Area Rapist Attacks Map.jpg

DNA evidence linked DeAngelo to eight murders in Goleta, Ventura, Dana Point, and Irvine; two other murders in Goleta, lacking DNA evidence, were linked by modus operandi.{{Cite web |title = A memorial to the victims and their loved ones |url = http://www.ear-ons.com |url-status = dead |access-date = April 23, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160423075333/http://www.ear-ons.com/ |archive-date = April 23, 2016}}{{Cite web |title = EAR/BK master timeline |url = http://jjmcgr.googlepages.com/EARBKTL051706.pdf |url-status = dead |access-date = June 24, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070401165427/http://jjmcgr.googlepages.com/EARBKTL051706.pdf |archive-date = April 1, 2007}} DeAngelo pleaded guilty to three other murders: two in Rancho Cordova and one in Visalia. He also committed more than 50 known rapes in the California counties of Sacramento, Contra Costa, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Yolo; and he was linked to hundreds of incidents of thefts, burglaries, vandalism, peeping, stalking, and prowling.{{Cite news |first = Lauren |last = Clark |date = April 22, 2017 |title = Connecting the dots in the search for a California serial killer |website = CBS News |url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/golden-state-killer-connecting-the-dots-in-the-search-for-a-serial-predator/ |access-date = October 31, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170809225136/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/golden-state-killer-connecting-the-dots-in-the-search-for-a-serial-predator/ |archive-date = August 9, 2017}}

It was long suspected that the training ground of the criminal who became the East Area Rapist was Visalia.{{Cite news |title = Retired officer looking to solve 1975 cold case |last = Garcia |first = Natalie |date = 2007 |newspaper = Visalia Times-Delta |url = https://www.coldcase-earons.com/2007-02-08.pdf |access-date = December 7, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122540/https://www.coldcase-earons.com/2007-02-08.pdf |archive-date = December 8, 2017 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url = http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/lewis-griswold/article136364438.html |title = The mystery of the Visalia Ransacker won't go away after 41 years |last = Griswold |first = Lewis |date = March 4, 2017 |newspaper= The Fresno Bee|publisher=McClatchy|location=Fresno, California|access-date = December 3, 2017 |language = en |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107004442/http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/lewis-griswold/article136364438.html |archive-date = November 7, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/03/25/visalia-training-ground/70406130/ |title=Was Visalia the training ground? |last=Smith |first=M.J. |date=March 25, 2015 |newspaper=Visalia Times-Delta |publisher=Gannett|location=Visalia, California|access-date=December 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613021336/https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2015/03/25/visalia-training-ground/70406130/?from=new-cookie|archive-date=June 13, 2018|language=en}}{{Cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yZAlDwAAQBAJ&q=i%27ll+be+gone+in+the+dark |title = I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer |last1 = McNamara |first1 = Michelle |last2 = Oswalt |first2 = Patton |last3 = Flynn |first3 = Gillian |publisher = HarperCollins |year = 2018 |isbn = 978-0-06-231980-7 |pages = 88–91 |language = en |author-link1 = Michelle McNamara |author-link2 = Patton Oswalt |author-link3 = Gillian Flynn |access-date = March 28, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180330004329/https://books.google.com/books?id=yZAlDwAAQBAJ&dq=i%27ll+be+gone+in+the+dark |archive-date = March 30, 2018 }}{{cite web |title = Ep. 13 VR = EAR? |url = https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-13-vr-ear |language = en |access-date = April 23, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180425103739/https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-13-vr-ear |archive-date = April 25, 2018}} Earlier Visalia crimes dating back as early as May 1973 and other sprees like that of the "Cordova Cat Burglar" and the "Exeter Ransacker",{{cite news |last=Romero |first=Sheyanne N. |date=2021-05-07 |title=Tulare County DA collecting impact statements from community on Visalia Ransacker |newspaper=The Visalia Times-Delta |language=en-US |url=https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2021/05/07/da-collecting-impact-statements-community-visalia-ransacker/4942737001/ |access-date=2021-10-15}}{{cite news |last=Large |first=Steve |date=February 28, 2018 |title=East Area Rapist linked to rash of Rancho Cordova cat burglaries |language=en |place=Sacramento, CA |website=cbslocal.com |url=http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/02/28/east-area-rapist-linked-to-rash-of-rancho-cordova-cat-burglaries/ |access-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613021055/http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/02/28/east-area-rapist-linked-to-rash-of-rancho-cordova-cat-burglaries/ |archive-date=June 13, 2018}}
{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cat-golden-state-killer-20180510-story.html|title=Golden State Killer suspect may be linked to earlier Cordova cat burglar attacks|first1=Benjamin|last1=Oreskes|first2=Richard|last2=Winton|date=May 11, 2018|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|publisher=Tribune Publishing|location=Los Angeles, California|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613020825/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cat-golden-state-killer-20180510-story.html|archive-date=June 13, 2018|access-date=June 8, 2018}}
{{Cite news|url=https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=4212543183b848e88d3432f5147321f6|title=Story Map Journal|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114743/https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=4212543183b848e88d3432f5147321f6|url-status=live}} as well as Visalia burglaries that took place after the shooting of Detective William McGowen (see below under "Shootings"), are now suspected to be linked also.{{Cite news |last=Bowker |first=Michael |date=September 28, 2018 |title=Unsolved Mystery? |newspaper=Sacramento |publisher=Hour Media LLC |location=Sacramento, California |url=http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/September-2018/Unsolved-Mystery/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018201611/http://www.sacmag.com/Sacramento-Magazine/September-2018/Unsolved-Mystery/ |archive-date=October 18, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.visaliaransacker.com/incidents.php|title=The Visalia Ransacker – Incidents|website=www.visaliaransacker.com|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421232404/http://www.visaliaransacker.com/incidents.php|url-status=live}} Over a period of 20 months, DeAngelo is believed to have been responsible for one murder and around 120 burglaries.{{Cite web |url = http://www.visaliaransacker.com/ |title = The Visalia Ransacker |website = www.visaliaransacker.com |access-date = April 21, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180421163358/http://www.visaliaransacker.com/ |archive-date = April 21, 2018}}

In late-April 2018, the Visalia chief of police stated that while there was no DNA linking DeAngelo to the Central Valley cases, his department had other evidence that played a role in the investigation; and he was "confident that the Visalia Ransacker has been captured".{{Cite news |url = http://abc30.com/alleged-serial-killer-arrested-in-sacramento-also-known-as-visalia-ransacker-officials-say/3390647/ |title = Alleged serial killer arrested in Sacramento also known as Visalia Ransacker, officials say |last1 = Haagenson |first1 = Gene |date = April 25, 2018 |website = ABC30 Fresno |access-date = April 25, 2018 |last2 = Courtney |first2 = Ricky |language = en-US |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180426000131/http://abc30.com/alleged-serial-killer-arrested-in-sacramento-also-known-as-visalia-ransacker-officials-say/3390647/ |archive-date = April 26, 2018}} Though the statutes of limitations for the burglaries have each expired,{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/video/4384222/alleged-golden-state-killer-to-be-charged-for-his-very-first-murder/|title=Alleged Golden State Killer to be charged for his very first murder|website=Global News|language=en|access-date=August 14, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814041002/https://globalnews.ca/video/4384222/alleged-golden-state-killer-to-be-charged-for-his-very-first-murder/|url-status=live}} DeAngelo was formally charged on August 13, 2018, with the first degree murder of Claude Snelling in 1975.{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/video/4385042/police-confident-golden-state-killer-committed-1975-murder-of-claude-snelling|title=Police 'confident' Golden State Killer committed 1975 murder of Claude Snelling|website=Global News|language=en|access-date=August 13, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814042354/https://globalnews.ca/video/4385042/police-confident-golden-state-killer-committed-1975-murder-of-claude-snelling|url-status=live}}
{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/video/4385041/california-district-attorney-announces-1st-degree-murder-charges/|title=California district attorney announces 1st degree murder charges against alleged Golden State Killer|website=Global News Videos|language=en|access-date=August 13, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814042358/https://globalnews.ca/video/4385041/california-district-attorney-announces-1st-degree-murder-charges/|url-status=live}} In 2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to the Snelling murder.{{cite news|url=https://abc30.com/man-accused-of-being-golden-state-killer-to-plead-guilty-in-sacramento-today/6280698/|title=Man accused of being Golden State Killer pleads guilty to 1975 Visalia murder|publisher=KFSN|date=June 29, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703054233/https://abc30.com/man-accused-of-being-golden-state-killer-to-plead-guilty-in-sacramento-today/6280698/|url-status=live}}

File:Visalia Ransacker.jpg

The first recorded ransacking occurred on March 19, 1974, when a sum of $50 in coins was stolen from a piggy bank.{{cite web|title=Ep. 8 The Visalia Ransacker, Part One|url=https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-8-the-visalia-ransacker-part-one|language=en|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425144521/https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-8-the-visalia-ransacker-part-one|url-status=live}} Most of the Ransacker's activities involved breaking into houses, rifling through or vandalizing the owner's possessions, scattering women's underclothes and stealing a range of low-value items while often ignoring banknotes and higher-valued items in plain sight.{{Citation|title=Ep. 9 The Visalia Ransacker, Part Two|url=https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-9-visalia-ransacker-pt-2|language=en-US|url-status=live|publisher=SoundCloud|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425103815/https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-9-visalia-ransacker-pt-2}} The Ransacker would also often arrange or display items in the house. Items emptied included piggy banks and coin jars; and stolen items often included Blue Chip Stamps, foreign or historic coins, and personal items (such as single earrings, cuff-links, rings, or medallions) but also included six weapons and various types of ammunition.{{Cite web|url=https://12-26-75.com/back-to-the-beginning|title=Back to the Beginning - Visalia Ransacker / EARONS / Golden State Killer|author=Reid, Tony|website=12-26-75|language=en-US|url-status=dead|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421163457/https://12-26-75.com/back-to-the-beginning}}{{Cite news |url=https://truecrimearticles.com/2018/03/13/visalia-ransacker-stolen-items/ |title=The Visalia Ransacker – list of stolen items |date=March 13, 2018 |website=True Crime Articles |access-date=April 22, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206230305/https://truecrimearticles.com/2018/03/13/visalia-ransacker-stolen-items/ |url-status=live}} There were 12 separate incidents on November 30, 1974. Common characteristics of the burglaries included:{{cite news |last1=Stanton |first1=Sam |last2=Smith |first2=Darrell |title=Read the warrant documents in the East Area Rapist case |url=https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article212377094.html |access-date=September 13, 2020 |newspaper=Sacramento Bee |date=1 June 2018 |archive-date=September 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910191345/https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article212377094.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.visaliaransacker.com/basics.php|title=The Visalia Ransacker - Basics|website=The Visalia Ransacker|access-date=April 21, 2018|archive-date=April 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421163452/http://www.visaliaransacker.com/basics.php|url-status=live}}

• climbing fences and moving through established routes such as parks, walkways, ditches, and trails
• attempting to pry open multiple points of entry, particularly windows
• leaving multiple points of escape open, especially windows, as well as the house, garage, and garden doors
• moving removed window screens onto beds or into bedrooms
• placing "warning items" such as dishes or bottles against doors and on door handles
• wearing gloves (given the absence of fingerprint evidence)

On September 11, 1975, DeAngelo broke into the home of Claude Snelling, 45. Snelling, a journalism professor at the College of the Sequoias, had previously chased a prowler discovered under his 16-year-old daughter's bedroom window around 10:00 p.m. on February 5, 1975. On September 11, he was awakened around 2:00 a.m. by strange noises.{{Cite news |url=https://www.therampageonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/75_F_01_Sep18.pdf |title=Slayer of journalist sought by police|date=September 18, 1975 |newspaper=The Rampage |access-date=January 19, 2018 |publisher=Fresno City College |editor-last=Kent|editor-first=Jane|location=Fresno, California|page=8|archive-date=January 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120065950/https://www.therampageonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/75_F_01_Sep18.pdf |url-status=live}} Upon leaving his bedroom, Snelling ran through the open back door and confronted a ski-masked intruder in his carport attempting to kidnap his daughter, who had been subdued with threats of being stabbed or shot.{{Cite news |url=http://abc7news.com/visalia-ransackers-victim-speaks-out-for-the-very-first-time/3399578/ |title=Visalia Ransacker's victim speaks out for the very first time|last=James|first=Cory|date=2018-04-27 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |access-date=2018-05-01 |language=en-US |archive-date=August 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200826041721/https://abc7news.com/visalia-ransackers-victim-speaks-out-for-the-very-first-time/3399578/|url-status=live}} Snelling was then shot twice, staggered back into the house to his wife, and later died.{{Citation|title=Ep. 10 The Visalia Ransacker, Part Three|url=https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-10-visalia-ransacker-part-three|language=en|access-date=2018-04-22|archive-date=April 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425103808/https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-10-visalia-ransacker-part-three|url-status=live}} After the shooting, the assailant punched and kicked the daughter, leaving her on the ground, and fled the scene.{{Cite news|url=http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/lewis-griswold/article136364438.html|title=The mystery of the Visalia Ransacker won't go away after 41 years |newspaper=The Fresno Bee |access-date=2017-12-03|language=en|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107004442/http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/lewis-griswold/article136364438.html|url-status=live}} A stolen bicycle, linked to the assailant, was found nearby at 615 Redwood Street. After the murder, Beth Snelling, 16, underwent hypnosis in order to gather further details. The Visalia police also committed more resources to apprehending the Ransacker, and a $4,000 reward was posted. Nighttime stakeouts were set up near houses that he had previously prowled, but the ransackings continued.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

Around 8:30 p.m. on December 12, 1975,{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/380768085/DeAngelo-Redacted-Search-Warrant|title=DeAngelo Redacted Search Warrant - page 130|access-date=2018-06-30}} a masked man entered the back yard of a house at 1505 W. Kaweah Avenue, near where the Ransacker had been reported to frequent.{{Cite news |url=http://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/national-network-shining-light-on-more-than-40-year-visalia-cold-case/1050830357 |title=National network shining light on more than 40 year Visalia cold case |last=Rupe |first=Megan|date=2018-03-16 |website=YourCentralValley.com |access-date=2018-03-28|language=en-US|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612152053/http://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/national-network-shining-light-on-more-than-40-year-visalia-cold-case/1050830357|url-status=live}}{{Citation|title=Ep. 11 McGowen Shooting|url=https://soundcloud.com/12-26-75/ep-11-mcgowen-shooting?in=12-26-75/sets/12-26-75-album|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-22}} When Detective William McGowen (on stakeout inside the garage) attempted to detain the man, the suspect shrieked, removed his mask, and feigned surrender after McGowen fired a warning shot.{{cite news |last=Pedersen |first=Gary |date=December 11, 1975 |title=Prowler fires at officer, escapes |newspaper=Visalia Times-Delta |url=https://questersite.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/vr_mcg01-2_zps52f827db.jpg |access-date=December 3, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171203202139/https://questersite.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/vr_mcg01-2_zps52f827db.jpg |archive-date=December 3, 2017}} However, after jumping the fence to the house at 1501, he pulled out a revolver with his left hand and fired once near McGowen's face, shattering his flashlight.{{Cite news |last1=Priestland |first1=Anna |url=http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1976-part-1/ |title=Case 53: The East Area Rapist – 1976 (Part 1) |date=15 May 2017 |website=Casefile: True Crime Podcast |access-date=2018-03-04 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231822/http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1976-part-1/ |url-status=live}} Nearby officers rushed to aid McGowen, and the shooter was able to escape. Items collected as evidence included the flashlight, tennis shoe tracks, and dropped loot, namely Blue Chip Stamps and a sock full of coins.

File:EAR Sketches.jpg

DeAngelo moved to the Sacramento area in 1976, where his crimes escalated from burglary to rape. The crimes initially centered on the then-unincorporated areas of Carmichael, Citrus Heights, and Rancho Cordova, east of Sacramento.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

On December 18, 1976, DeAngelo entered into the home of his tenth victim, 15-year-old Kris Pedretti, who was home alone while her parents were at a Christmas party. At 6:00 pm, as she played the piano, DeAngelo, wearing a ski mask, put a knife to her throat and said to her, "Do what I say or I'll kill you and be gone in the dark," the phrase that would later serve as the title of Michelle McNamara's book on the case. For more than two hours, he raped her three times. According to Pedretti, "He alternated leaving me outside, naked in the winter cold, and bringing me in different rooms where he raped me." He ultimately left her on a couch in front of a fireplace, leaving her blindfolded, bound, and gagged, before leaving. She freed herself and called neighbors for help. Pedretti described the renewed humiliation that she felt when police asked her intimate questions that she was not equipped to answer as a 15-year-old, and again when a rape kit was administered. She referred to these interactions as the second and third victimizations that she endured that evening.{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/article/golden-state-killer-woman-reveals-path-to-healing-after-surviving-attack-from-serial-killer/1ao5641ff|title=Golden State Killer: woman reveals path to healing after surviving attack from serial killer|author=Pedretti, Kris|publisher=SBS News|language=en|url-status=live|date=June 22, 2021|access-date=January 18, 2025|archive-date=January 19, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250119020855/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/article/golden-state-killer-woman-reveals-path-to-healing-after-surviving-attack-from-serial-killer/1ao5641ff}}

DeAngelo's initial modus operandi was to stalk middle-class neighborhoods at night in search of women who were alone in one-story homes, usually near a school, creek, trail or other open space that would provide a quick escape.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=May 20, 1977|title=Sacramento is up tight over rapist and threats |newspaper=The Gettysburg Times |page=24 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19770520&id=npsyAAAAIBAJ&pg=1635,3262765 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171020223309/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19770520&id=npsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0OgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1635,3262765 |archive-date=October 20, 2017}} He was seen a number of times but always successfully fled; on one occasion, he shot and seriously wounded a young pursuer.

File:ONS composites.jpg

Most victims had seen or heard a prowler on their property before the attacks, and many had experienced break-ins. Police believed that the offender would conduct extensive reconnaissance in a targeted neighborhood—looking into windows and prowling in yards—before selecting a home to attack. It was believed that he sometimes entered the homes of future victims to unlock windows, unload guns, and plant ligatures for later use. He frequently telephoned future victims, sometimes for months in advance, to learn their daily routines.{{Cite news |url=http://www.lamag.com/thejump/hear-the-golden-state-killer/ |title=Hear the Golden State Killer |last1=McNamara |first1=Michelle |authorlink=Michelle McNamara|date=February 27, 2013 |magazine=Los Angeles |access-date=March 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171020223446/http://www.lamag.com/thejump/hear-the-golden-state-killer/ |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |url-status=live}}

Although DeAngelo originally targeted women alone in their homes or with children,{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=March 25, 1977 |title=Rape fear hovers in Sacramento Valley |newspaper=Eureka Times-Standard |place=Eureka, CA |page=22 |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11968401/206_ear_the_times_standard_eureka_ca/ |url-status=dead |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171031230448/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11968401/206_ear_the_times_standard_eureka_ca/ |archive-date=October 31, 2017 |quote=The attacks are at a home where no man is present. Either the woman, usually under 35, lives alone, or her husband or family is away.}} {{Free access}} he eventually preferred attacking couples.{{Cite news |last=Fetherling |first=Dale |date=May 22, 1977 |title=Sacramento Area Rapist Sends Public into Streets |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |pages=3, 25 |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10011003/original_night_stalkereast_area_rapist/ |access-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403205042/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10011003/original_night_stalkereast_area_rapist/ |archive-date=April 3, 2017}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14808021/the_indiana_gazette/ |title=City in Fear of Rapist's Kill Threat |date=May 19, 1997 |newspaper=Indiana Gazette |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171031230813/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14808021/the_indiana_gazette/ |archive-date=October 31, 2017 |url-status=dead |agency=Associated Press |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Free access}} This change in modus operandi is believed to be a direct result of media reports claiming he only attacked women alone in the home. His usual method was to break in through a window or sliding glass door and awaken the sleeping occupants with a flashlight, threatening them with a handgun. Victims were subsequently bound with ligatures (often shoelaces) that he found or brought with him, then blindfolded and gagged them with towels that he had ripped into strips. The female victim was usually forced to tie up her male companion before she was bound.{{Cite news |last1=Packer |first1=Bill |title=Sacramento rapist hits again – 27th time in 16 months |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10011007/valley_news/ |access-date=March 22, 2017 |newspaper=Valley News |via=Newspapers.com |date=November 11, 1977 |page=6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403200427/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10011007/valley_news/ |archive-date=April 3, 2017}} {{Free access}} The bindings were often so tight that the victims' hands were numb for hours after being untied. He then separated the couple, often stacking dishes on the man's back and threatening to kill everyone in the house if he heard them rattle. He would then move the woman to the living room and rape her repeatedly.{{Cite news |title=$50K reward offered for 'Original Night Stalker' as 40th-anniversary nears |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/06/50k_reward_offered_original_ni.html |access-date=March 8, 2017 |newspaper=The Oregonian |agency=Associated Press |date=June 15, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107004930/http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/06/50k_reward_offered_original_ni.html |archive-date=November 7, 2017}} A decade later, police reported that DeAngelo repeatedly said, "I hate you, Bonnie” (the name of his former fiancée) during a 1978 rape, the 37th attack.{{cite web |title=Golden State Killer's ex-fiancee joins long line of victims confronting him in court |date=2020-08-19 |language=en-US |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-19/golden-state-killer-victims-impact-statements |access-date=2021-12-22}} DeAngelo sometimes spent hours in the home ransacking closets and drawers,{{Cite news |title=Suspect in Brutal 1983 Fairfield Murder Commits Suicide After Positive DNA Test |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/03/05/suspect-in-1983-fairfield-murder-commits-suicide-after-dna-test/ |access-date=March 8, 2017 |publisher=CBS |location=San Francisco |date=March 5, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308222552/http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/03/05/suspect-in-1983-fairfield-murder-commits-suicide-after-dna-test/ |archive-date=March 8, 2017}}
{{cite news |agency=The Associated Press |date=March 20, 1978 |title=East Area Rapist strikes second time in Stockton |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884510/the_los_angeles_times/ |access-date=March 1, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164339/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884510/the_los_angeles_times/ |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |quote=The rapist spent more than an hour in the house, ransacking it and taking articles of value, police said.}} {{Free access}} eating food in the kitchen, drinking beer, raping the woman again, or making additional threats. Victims sometimes thought he had left the house before he "jump[ed] from the darkness".

File:EAR-ONS Maggiore Suspects 1978.jpg

A young Sacramento couple—21-year-old Brian Keith Maggiore, a military policeman at Mather Air Force Base, and his 20-year-old wife Katie Lee Maggiore—were walking their dog in the Rancho Cordova area on the night of February 2, 1978, near where five East Area Rapist attacks had occurred.{{Cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2016/june/help-us-catch-the-east-area-rapist |title=Help Us Catch the East Area Rapist |date=June 15, 2016 |website=FBI.gov |access-date=June 16, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615162224/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2016/june/help-us-catch-the-east-area-rapist |archive-date=June 15, 2016}} The Maggiores fled after a confrontation in the street but were chased down and shot to death.{{Cite news |last1=Mettler |first1=Katie |title=After 40 years, 12 slayings, and 45 rapes, the 'Golden State Killer' still eludes police |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/16/after-40-desperate-years-fbi-offers-50000-reward-for-information-about-one-of-californias-most-prolific-criminals/ |access-date=January 2, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 16, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102193017/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/16/after-40-desperate-years-fbi-offers-50000-reward-for-information-about-one-of-californias-most-prolific-criminals/ |archive-date=January 2, 2018}} Some investigators suspected that they had been murdered by the East Area Rapist because of their proximity to the other attacks' locations, and a shoelace was found nearby. The FBI announced on June 15, 2016, that it was confident that the East Area Rapist had murdered the Maggiores.{{cite web |title=Reward offered in 40 year-old California serial killer case |last=Thompson |first=Don |url=http://www.salon.com/2016/06/15/reward_offered_in_40_year_old_california_serial_killer_case/ |date=June 15, 2016 |access-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808180636/http://www.salon.com/2016/06/15/reward_offered_in_40_year_old_california_serial_killer_case/ |archive-date=August 8, 2016}} On June 29, 2020, DeAngelo entered a plea of guilty to these murders.{{cite web |title=Joseph DeAngelo pleads guilty to killing Brian and Katie Maggiore |date=June 29, 2020 |place=Sacramento, CA |website=cbslocal.com |url=https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/video/4607790-joseph-deangelo-pleads-guilty-to-killing-brian-and-katie-maggiore |access-date=July 1, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705070155/https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/video/4607790-joseph-deangelo-pleads-guilty-to-killing-brian-and-katie-maggiore/}}

Shortly after the rape committed on July 5, 1979, DeAngelo moved to Southern California and began killing his victims, first striking in Santa Barbara County in October. The attacks lasted until 1981, with a lone 1986 attack. Only the couple in the first attack survived, alerting neighbors and forcing the intruder to flee; the other victims were murdered by gunshot or bludgeoning. Since DeAngelo was not linked to these crimes for decades, he was known as the Night Stalker in the area, before being renamed the Original Night Stalker after serial killer Richard Ramirez had been designated with the former nickname.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-golden-state-killer-20180425-htmlstory.html|title=Suspected Golden State Killer, a former police officer, arrested on 'needle in the haystack' DNA evidence|last=Myers|first=Joseph Serna, Richard Winton, Sarah Parvini, Melanie Mason, John|website=Los Angeles Times|date=April 25, 2018 |access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-date=January 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102051016/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-golden-state-killer-20180425-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}

On October 1, an intruder broke in and tied up a Goleta couple. Alarmed at hearing him say, "I'll kill 'em" to himself, the man and woman tried to escape when he left the room, and the woman screamed. Realizing that the alarm had been raised, the intruder fled on a bicycle. A neighbor (an FBI agent) responded to the noise and pursued the perpetrator, who abandoned the bicycle and a knife and escaped on foot through local backyards.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

On December 30, 44-year-old orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Offerman and 35-year-old clinical psychologist Dr. Debra Alexandria Manning were found shot to death in the bedroom of Offerman's condominium on Avenida Pequena in Goleta. Manning had also been raped. Two of her rings were found hidden between the mattress and bed frame near her body. Offerman's bindings were untied, indicating that he had lunged at the attacker. Neighbors had heard gunshots.{{cite news |title = Motive and slayer sought in murders |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5262433/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/ |access-date = November 2, 2017 |newspaper = The San Bernardino Sun |agency = Associated Press |via = Newspapers.com |date = January 2, 1980 |page = A5 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020144/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5262433/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|archive-date = November 7, 2017}} {{Free access}} Paw prints of a large dog were found at the scene, leading to speculation that the killer may have brought one with him. The killer ate leftover Christmas turkey from Offerman's refrigerator, leaving the remnants in the kitchen. There was also evidence the killer had broken into the vacant adjoining condo and stolen a bicycle, later found abandoned on a street north of the scene, from a third residence in the complex.{{cite book |last=Shelby |first=Richard|title=Hunting a Psychopath: The East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker investigation – the original investigator speaks out |publisher=Booklocker |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-63263-508-2}}

On March 13, 33-year-old interior designer Charlene Smith and 43-year-old attorney Lyman Smith were found murdered in their Ventura home.{{Cite news |title = Slain attorney, wife were beaten to death |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5262482/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/ |access-date = November 1, 2017 |newspaper = The San Bernardino Sun |agency = Associated Press |via = Newspapers.com |date = March 19, 1980 |page = A6 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022303/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5262482/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|archive-date = November 7, 2017}} {{Free access}} Charlene had also been raped. A log from a woodpile on the side of the house was used to bludgeon the victims to death. They were discovered three days later by Lyman's 12-year old son when he stopped by to mow the lawn. The bedroom alarm clock was still going off.{{Cite news |last1 = Hurst |first1 = John |title = 'Night Stalker' Theory Connecting Eight Southland Slayings Disputed |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884686/the_los_angeles_times/ |access-date = March 1, 2018 |newspaper = The Los Angeles Times |via = Newspapers.com |date = August 2, 1981 |page = A3, A24 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164449/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884686/the_los_angeles_times/ |archive-date = March 1, 2018}} {{Free access}} Their wrists and ankles had been bound with drapery cord. An unusual Chinese knot, a diamond knot, was used on Charlene's wrists; the same knot was noted in the East Area Rapist attacks, at least one confirmed case of which was publicly known. The murderer was, therefore, briefly given the name Diamond Knot Killer.{{cite news |last1=Barry |first1=Dan |last2=Arango |first2=Tim |last3=Oppel |first3=Richard A. Jr. |date=April 28, 2018 |title=The Golden State Killer left a trail of horror with taunts and guile |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/28/us/golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo.html |access-date=January 1, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128070942/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/28/us/golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo.html |archive-date=November 28, 2018}}

On August 19, 24-year-old Keith Eli Harrington and 27-year-old Patrice Briscoe Harrington were found bludgeoned to death in their home on Cockleshell Drive in Dana Point's Niguel Shores gated community.{{Cite journal |last1 = Logan |first1 = Dan |title = Fingering a killer |journal = Orange Coast |date = October 1988 |volume = 14 |issue = 10 |pages = 122–128 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J2EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA122 |access-date = January 6, 2018 |issn = 0279-0483 |archive-date = June 26, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190626220906/https://books.google.com/books?id=J2EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA122 |url-status = live }} Patrice Harrington had also been raped. She was bludgeoned so severely that her face and skull were pulverized.{{Cite news |last1 = Leonard |first1 = Jack |title = Victims' relatives urge public to help solve serial killings |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-05-me-31819-story.html |access-date = April 23, 2017 |newspaper = The Los Angeles Times |date = October 5, 2000 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170424085721/http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/05/local/me-31819 |archive-date = April 24, 2017}} Although there was evidence that the Harringtons' wrists and ankles were bound, no murder weapon or ligatures were found at the scene. The Harringtons had been married for three months at the time of their deaths. Patrice was a pediatric nurse in Irvine, and Keith was a fourth year medical student at UC Irvine. He was on course to graduate early in December 1980. Keith's brother Bruce later spent nearly $2 million supporting California Proposition 69, authorizing DNA collection from all California felons and certain other criminals.{{cite news |last1 = Chawkins |first1 = Steve |last2 = Santa Cruz |first2 = Nicole |date = May 6, 2011 |title = DNA testing sheds new light on Original Night Stalker case |newspaper = The Los Angeles Times |url = https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-dna-night-stalker-20160615-snap-story.html |access-date = October 7, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161124055733/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/06/local/la-me-original-night-stalker-20110506 |archive-date = November 24, 2016}}

On February 6, 28-year-old Manuela Witthuhn was raped and murdered in her Irvine home.{{Cite news |last1 = Emery |first1 = Sean |title = 'Original Night Stalker' focus of new cable special |url = http://www.ocregister.com/2009/05/05/ocs-original-night-stalker-focus-of-new-cable-special/ |access-date = November 2, 2017 |newspaper = Orange County Register |date = May 5, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055141/http://www.ocregister.com/2009/05/05/ocs-original-night-stalker-focus-of-new-cable-special/ |archive-date = November 7, 2017}} Although Witthuhn's body had signs of being tied before she was bludgeoned, no murder weapon or ligatures were found. At the time of the attack, her husband David was in the hospital due to an illness, leaving her alone. Manuela's murder haunted David thereafter, in part because the killer continued to stalk them and called the house several times after the murder, and also because police and neighbors suspected him as Manuela's killer. This suspicion heightened when David married a sympathetic co-worker named Rhonda not long after the murder. David became an alcoholic, and his second marriage ended after nearly a decade when Rhonda Witthuhn divorced him. Years later he was exonerated by DNA testing. He died in 2008.{{cite web|url=https://laist.com/news/kpcc-archive/before-nabbing-alleged-golden-state-killer-police|title=Until DNA tied his wife's murder to serial killer, an OC man under suspicion 'went off the deep end'|author=Gilbertson, Annie|publisher=LAist|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=April 26, 2018|access-date=January 17, 2025|archive-date=January 17, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250117193318/https://laist.com/news/kpcc-archive/before-nabbing-alleged-golden-state-killer-police}}

On July 27, 35-year-old Cheri Domingo and 27-year-old Gregory Sanchez became the Original Night Stalker's tenth and eleventh murder victims.{{cite news |last1 = Chawkins |first1 = Steve |last2 = Santa Cruz |first2 = Nicole |title = DNA testing sheds new light on Original Night Stalker case |url = https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-dna-night-stalker-20160615-snap-story.html |access-date = April 10, 2017 |newspaper = The Los Angeles Times |date = May 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161124055733/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/06/local/la-me-original-night-stalker-20110506 |archive-date = November 24, 2016}} Both were attacked in Domingo's residence on Toltec Way in Goleta (several blocks south of Robert Offerman's condominium), where Domingo was living temporarily; it was owned by a relative and up for sale.{{Cite news |last1 = Malnic |first1 = Eric |title = Tie hinted in pair of Goleta murders |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884705/the_los_angeles_times/ |access-date = March 1, 2018 |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |via = Newspapers.com |date = July 29, 1981 |page = A20 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164525/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17884705/the_los_angeles_times/ |archive-date = March 1, 2018}} {{Free access}} The offender entered the house through a small bathroom window.

Some believe that Sanchez may have realized he was dealing with the man responsible for the Offerman–Manning murders and tried to tackle the killer rather than be tied up. Again, no neighbors responded to the gunshot. Sanchez's head was covered with clothes pulled from the closet. Domingo was raped and bludgeoned; bruises on her wrists and ankles indicated that she had been tied, although the restraints were missing. A piece of shipping twine was found near the bed, and fibers from an unknown source were scattered over her body.{{Cite web |url = https://www.coldcase-earons.com/ons6.php |title = ONS Attack No. 6 |publisher = Cold Case: East Area Rapist |access-date = November 2, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014001/https://www.coldcase-earons.com/ons6.php |archive-date = November 7, 2017}} Authorities believed that the attacker may have worked as a painter or in a similar job at the Calle Real Shopping Centre.{{Cite web |url = http://www.thequesterfiles.com/murder_8___9_--_cheri_domingo_.html |title = Murder 8 & 9 – Cheri Domingo & Greg Sanchez – Night Predator EAR/ONS Files – Goleta, 1981 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160623092751/http://www.thequesterfiles.com/murder_8___9_--_cheri_domingo_.html |archive-date = June 23, 2016}}{{Cite news |last1 = Macfadyen |first1 = William M. |title = Public's Help Sought with New Clue in 1981 Original Night Stalker Double Murder in Goleta |url = https://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_news_original_night_stalker_case_201309 |access-date = March 8, 2017 |website = Noozhawk |date = September 7, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160826002737/https://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_news_original_night_stalker_case_201309 |archive-date = August 26, 2016}}

In May 18-year-old Janelle Lisa Cruz was found dead after she was raped{{Cite web |url = http://www.ear-ons.com/investigate5.html |title = East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker |access-date = April 23, 2016 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160504195634/http://www.ear-ons.com/investigate5.html |archive-date = May 4, 2016}} and bludgeoned in her Irvine home.{{Cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TKWRBAAAQBAJ |title = She Survived: Jane |last1 = Carson-Sandler |first1 = Jane |last2 = Phelps |first2 = M. William |publisher = Pinnacle Books |year = 2015 |isbn = 978-0-7860-3457-4 |pages = 70–71 |author-link2 = M. William Phelps |access-date = October 7, 2017 |archive-date = September 21, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190921005144/https://books.google.com/books?id=TKWRBAAAQBAJ |url-status = live }} Her family was on vacation in Mexico at the time of the attack. The house was for sale and her body was discovered by a realtor who stopped by to show the house to a prospective buyer. Janelle's body was found on her bed, beaten beyond recognition, with her teeth found in both her hair and lungs. A pipe wrench, reported missing by Cruz's stepfather, was thought to be the murder weapon.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

After DeAngelo was arrested, he was also suspected of committing the 1974 Visalia rape and murder of Jennifer Armour, the 1975 Exeter rape and murder of Donna Jo Richmond, and a 1978 murder of a woman and her son in Simi Valley, but was cleared as a suspect in all four murders by DNA testing.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc30.com/golden-state-killer-exeter-teen-murder-victims-tulare-county-district-attorney/5036965|title=Tulare DA: Golden State Killer not suspect in Exeter teen's 1975 murder|publisher=ABC 30|date=January 8, 2019|access-date=January 8, 2020|first=Brian|last=Johnson}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article224086930.html|title=DNA clears Golden State Killer suspect in girl's murder. Old conviction stands|website=The Fresno Bee|date=January 8, 2019|access-date=January 8, 2020|first=Lewis|last=Griswold}}{{cite web|url=https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2018/07/11/tulare-county-sheriffs-cold-case-detectives-say-former-exeter-police-officer-is-a-suspect-in-the-murder-of-jennifer-armour-of-visalia/|title=Tulare County Sheriff's cold case detectives say former Exeter police officer is a suspect in the murder of Jennifer Armour of Visalia|date=July 11, 2018|access-date=January 8, 2020|website=The Sun Gazette|first=Reggie|last=Ellis}}{{cite web|url=https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/framed-by-the-golden-state-killer/103-20893343-62c5-4898-a4d2-c9df2b8985df|title=Framed by the Golden State Killer?|date=October 18, 2019|access-date=January 8, 2020|publisher=ABC 10|first=Lilia|last=Luciano}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/25/he-just-won-million-after-years-wrongly-locked-up-he-has-one-cop-thank-freeing-him/|title=He just got $21 million after 39 years wrongly locked up. He has one cop to thank for freeing him|last=Farzan|first=Antonia Noori|authorlink=Antonia Noori Farzan|date= February 25, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{cite web|url=https://www.toacorn.com/articles/exonerated-man-now-works-to-educate-law-enforcement/|title=Exonerated man now works to educate law enforcement|date=December 5, 2019|access-date=January 8, 2020|website=Thousand Oaks Acorn|first=Melissa|last=Simon}} Victoria Police ruled out a link between DeAngelo, who docked in Australia during his Navy service, and the Melbourne serial child rapist and murderer known as "Mr Cruel".{{cite news |last=Dowd |first=Katie |date=August 24, 2018 |title=Investigators reportedly sought links between Australia's 'Mr. Cruel' and the Golden State Killer |website=SFGate |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/australia-mr-cruel-golden-state-killer-ear-links-12860517.php |access-date=September 20, 2021}}

In December 1977, someone claiming to be the East Area Rapist sent a poem, "Excitement's Crave", to The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento mayor's office, and television station KVIE. On December 11, a masked man eluded pursuit by law-enforcement personnel after alerting authorities by telephone that he would strike on Watt Avenue that night:{{Cite news |url = http://www.ear-ons.com/bike.html |title = In Brief: Masked Bike Rider Eludes Police |date = December 12, 1977 |newspaper = The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy|location=Sacramento, California|archive-url = https://archive.today/20171031003758/http://www.ear-ons.com/bike.html |archive-date = October 31, 2017 |url-status=dead}}

{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100%; | text=Excitement's Crave

All those mortal's surviving birth

Upon facing maturity,

Take inventory of their worth

To prevailing society.

Choosing values becomes a task;

Oneself must seek satisfaction.

The selected route will unmask

Character when plans take action.

Accepting some work to perform

At fixed pay, but promise for more,

Is a recognized social norm,

As is decorum, seeking lore.

Achieving while others lifting

Should be cause for deserving fame.

Leisure tempts excitement seeking,

What's right and expected seems tame.

"Jessie James" has been seen by all,

And "Son of Sam" has an author.

Others now feel temptations call.

Sacramento should make an offer.

To make a movie of my life

That will pay for my planned exile.

Just now I'd like to add the wife

Of a Mafia lord to my file.

Your East Area Rapist

And deserving pest.

See you in the press or on T.V.}}

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=400

| image1 = EAR-ONS-"Mad is the Word" Front.jpg

| alt1 = Manuscript in childish writing

| caption1 = Front of "Mad is the Word"

| image2 = EAR-ONS-"Mad is the Word" Back.jpg

| alt2 = See caption

| caption2 = Reverse of "Mad is the Word"

| image3 = EAR-ONS-"Punishment" map.png

| alt3 = Hand-drawn map

| caption3 = Front of the "punishment" map

| image4 = EAR-ONS-Back of "Punishment" map.png

| alt4 = See caption

| caption4 = Reverse of the map, with the word "punishment" scrawled across the page

}}

During the investigation in Danville of the 42nd attack, investigators discovered three sheets of notebook paper near where a suspicious vehicle had reportedly been parked. They believe the pages were dropped accidentally, perhaps by falling out of a bag. The first sheet appears to be a homework essay on General George Armstrong Custer.

The second sheet contains a journal-style entry describing a teacher who made students write lines, which the author found humiliating:

{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100%; | text="Mad is the word, the word that reminds me of 6th grade. I hated that year ... I wish I had know what was going to be going on during my 6th-grade year, the last and worst year of elementary school. Mad is the word that remains in my head about my dreadful year as a 6th grader. My Madness was one that was caused by disapointments that hurt me very much. Dissapointments from my teacher, such as feild trips that were planed, then canncled. My 6th-grade teacher gave me a lot of dissapointments which made me very mad and made me built a state of haterd in my heart, no one ever let me down that hard before and I never hated anyone as much as I did him. Disapointment wasn't the only reason that made me mad in my sixth-grade class, another was getting in trouble at school espeically talking thats what really bugged me was writing sentances, those awful sentance that my teacher made ... me write, hours and hours Id sit and write 50-100-150 sentance day and night I write those dreadful Paragraphs which embarrased me and more inportant it made me ashamed of myself which in turn, deep down in side made me realize that writing sentance wasn't fair it wasn't fair to make me suffer like that, it just wasn't fair to make me sit and wright until my bones aked, until my hand felt every horrid pain it ever had and as I wrote, I got mader and mader until I cried, I cried because I was ashamed I cried because I was discusted, I cried because I was mad, and I cried for myself, kid who kept on having to write those dane sentances. My Angryness from Sixth grade will scar my memory for life and I will be ashamed for my sixth grade year forever"}}

On the last sheet was a hand-drawn map of what appears to be a suburban neighborhood, with the word "punishment" scrawled across the reverse side.{{Cite news |url = http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pool-525184-killer-stalker.html |title = Original Night Stalker: Could O.C. clues lead to killer? |last1 = Koerner |first1 = Claudia |date = September 10, 2013 |newspaper = The Orange County Register |publisher=Freedom Communications |location=Anaheim, California |access-date = March 22, 2017 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20171031003910/http://www.ocregister.com/2013/09/13/original-night-stalker-could-oc-clues-lead-to-killer/ |archive-date = October 31, 2017 |url-status=dead}} Investigators were unable to identify the area depicted in the map, although the artist clearly had knowledge of architectural layout and landscape design.{{Cite news |url = http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1978-1979-part-4/ |title = Case 53: The East Area Rapist 1978–1979 (Part 4) |date = June 3, 2017 |website = Casefile: True Crime Podcast |access-date = March 4, 2018 |language = en-US |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231838/http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1978-1979-part-4/ |archive-date = March 4, 2018}} According to Detective Larry Pool, the map is a fantasy location representing the rapist's desired striking ground.

On March 18, 1977, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office received three calls from a man claiming to be the East Area Rapist; none were recorded.{{Cite web |last1 = Winters |first1 = Kat |title = Attack #15 |url = https://www.coldcase-earons.com/15.php |website = coldcase-earons.com |access-date = January 13, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180425103537/http://www.coldcase-earons.com/15.php |archive-date = April 25, 2018}} The first two calls, received at 4:15 and 4:30 p.m., were identical and ended with the caller laughing and hanging up.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

A man claiming to be the rapist called the Sacramento Police Department, saying: "You're never gonna catch me, East Area Rapist, you dumb fuckers; I'm gonna fuck again tonight. Be careful!" The call was recorded and later released.

Shortly before 10:00 p.m. on December 10, 1977, Sacramento authorities received two identical calls, saying, "I am going to hit tonight. Watt Avenue." Both were recorded, and the caller was identified as the same person who placed the call on December 2. Law-enforcement patrols were increased that night; and at 2:30 a.m., a masked man eluded officers after being seen bicycling on the Watt Avenue bridge. When spotted again at 4:30 a.m., he discarded the bicycle and fled on foot.

The first known rape victim received a wrong-number call asking for "Ray" on January 2, 1978. The call was recorded, and police suspect that it may have been the same caller who made a threatening call to her later that evening.{{Cite news |url = http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1976-part-1/ |title = Case 53: The East Area Rapist – 1976 (Part 1) |date = May 14, 2017 |website = Casefile: True Crime Podcast |access-date = March 4, 2018 |language = en-US |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231822/http://casefilepodcast.com/case-53-east-area-rapist-1976-part-1/ |archive-date = March 4, 2018}} That call was also recorded and identified by the victim as the voice of her assailant. The caller said, "Gonna kill you ... gonna kill you ... gonna kill you ... bitch ... bitch ... bitch ... bitch ... fuckin' whore."

A man claiming to be the East Area Rapist called the Contact Counseling Service and said, "I have a problem. I need help because I don't want to do this anymore." After a short conversation, the caller said, "I believe you are tracing this call" and hung up.{{Cite web |url = https://www.coldcase-earons.com/december77.php |title = Letters, Calls, and Sightings from December 1977 to January 1978 |access-date = May 24, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171017093818/https://www.coldcase-earons.com/december77.php |archive-date = October 17, 2017}}

In 1982, a previous victim received a call at her place of work—a Denny's restaurant—during which the rapist threatened to rape her again. According to Contra Costa County investigator Paul Holes, the rapist must have chanced to patronize the restaurant and recognized his victim there.{{Cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Ana |title=New details released in hunt for 'Golden State Killer' |url=https://crimewatchdaily.com/2017/12/12/new-details-released-in-hunt-for-golden-state-killer/ |access-date=July 11, 2018 |publisher=Crime Watch Daily |date=December 12, 2017 |archive-date=July 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712023434/https://crimewatchdaily.com/2017/12/12/new-details-released-in-hunt-for-golden-state-killer/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Pt. 2: New Clue in East Area Rapist Mystery |first=Chris |last=Hansen |date=December 12, 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaeIJefSAX0 |publisher=Crime Watch Daily |access-date=December 29, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425134508/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaeIJefSAX0 |archive-date=April 25, 2018}}

In 1991, a previous victim received a phone call from the perpetrator and spoke with him for one minute. She could hear a woman and children in the background, leading to speculation that he had a family.

On April 6, 2001, one day after an article in The Sacramento Bee linked the Original Night Stalker and the East Area Rapist, a victim of the rapist received a call from him; he asked, "Remember when we played?"

File:Original night stalker - east area rapist - golden state killer - cold case - artist rendering.jpg

Before officially connecting the Original Night Stalker to the East Area Rapist in 2001, some law-enforcement officials (particularly from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department) sought to link the Goleta cases as well.{{Cite news |url=https://coldcase-earons.com/1980-03-13.pdf |title=Police Debate Tie Between East Area Rapist, Killings |last1=Wilson |first1=Wayne |date=March 13, 1980 |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |access-date=October 7, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008030636/https://coldcase-earons.com/1980-03-13.pdf |archive-date=October 8, 2017}}
{{cite news |url=https://coldcase-earons.com/1980-02-16.pdf |title=Link to East Area Rapist Probed in Couples' Slaying |last1=Wilson |first1=Wayne |date=February 26, 1980 |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |access-date=October 7, 2017 |page=B1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008030325/https://coldcase-earons.com/1980-02-16.pdf |archive-date=October 8, 2017}} The links were primarily due to similarities in modus operandi. One of the already-linked Original Night Stalker double murders occurred in Ventura, {{Convert|40|mi}} southeast of Goleta; and the remaining murders were committed in Orange County, an additional {{Convert|90|mi}} southeast. In 2001, several rapes in Contra Costa County believed to have been committed by the East Area Rapist were linked by DNA to the Smith, Harrington, Witthuhn, and Cruz murders. A decade later, DNA evidence indicated that the Domingo–Sanchez murders were also committed by the East Area Rapist (also identified as the Golden State Killer).{{Cite news |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/goleta-slayings-serial-killer.html |title=30 year-old slayings of Goleta couple linked to serial killer |last1=Chawkins |first1=Steve |date=May 5, 2011 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=October 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710223106/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/05/goleta-slayings-serial-killer.html |archive-date=July 10, 2012 |url-status=dead}}

On June 15, 2016, the FBI released further information related to the crimes, including new composite sketches and crime details; a $50,000 reward was also announced.{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/fbi-renews-40-year-hunt-californias-most-prolific-serial-killer-by-offering-50000-reward-1565705 |title=$50,000 reward for California's 'most prolific' serial killer 30 years on |last=Piggott |first=Mark |date=June 15, 2016 |work=International Business Times UK |access-date=January 27, 2018 |language=en-UK |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129004327/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/fbi-renews-40-year-hunt-californias-most-prolific-serial-killer-by-offering-50000-reward-1565705 |archive-date=January 29, 2018}} The initiative included a national database to support law enforcement's investigating of the crimes and to handle tips and information.{{Cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/sacramento/press-releases/2016/fbi-announces-50-000-reward-and-national-campaign-to-identify-east-area-rapist-golden-state-killer |title=FBI Announces $50,000 Reward and National Campaign to Identify East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer |date=June 15, 2016 |website=FBI |access-date=June 16, 2016 |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821180815/https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/press-releases/fbi-announces-50-000-reward-and-national-campaign-to-identify-east-area-rapist-golden-state-killer |url-status=live}} Eventually, "through the use of genetic genealogy searching on GEDmatch, investigators identified distant relatives of DeAngelo—including family members directly related to his great-great-great-great grandfather dating back to the 1800s. Based on this information, investigators built about 25 different family trees. The tree that eventually linked to [DeAngelo] alone contained approximately 1,000 people. Over the course of a few months, investigators used other clues like age, sex, and place of residence to rule out suspects populating these trees, eliminating suspects one by one until only DeAngelo remained."

Identification of DeAngelo began in December 2017 when officials, led by detective Paul Holes and FBI lawyer Steve Kramer, uploaded the killer's DNA profile from a Ventura County rape kit to the personal genomics website GEDmatch.{{Cite web |last=Stirling |first=Stephen |date=April 26, 2018 |title=How an N.J. pathologist may have helped solve the 'Golden State Killer' case |url=http://www.nj.com/data/2018/04/how_a_nj_pathologist_may_have_helped_solve_the_gol.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504014817/http://www.nj.com/data/2018/04/how_a_nj_pathologist_may_have_helped_solve_the_gol.html |archive-date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=May 3, 2018 |website=NJ.com}}
{{Cite news |last1=Arrango |first1=Tim |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Fuller |first3=Thomas |date=April 27, 2018 |title=To Catch a Killer: A Fake Profile on a DNA Site and a Pristine Sample |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/golden-state-killer-case-joseph-deangelo.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502192131/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/us/golden-state-killer-case-joseph-deangelo.html |archive-date=May 2, 2018}}
{{Cite news |last1=Lillis |first1=Ryan |last2=Kasler |first2=Dale |last3=Chabria |first3=Anita |date=April 27, 2018 |title='Open-source' genealogy site provided missing DNA link to East Area Rapist, investigator says |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |publisher=McClatchy |location=Sacramento, California |url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209987599.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427183438/http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209987599.html |archive-date=April 27, 2018}} The website identified 10 to 20 people who had the same great-great-great-grandparents as the Golden State Killer; a team of five investigators working with genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter used this list to construct a large family tree.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Heather |date=August 29, 2018 |title=She helped crack the Golden State Killer case. Here's what she's going to do next |language=en |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/science/barbara-rae-venter-gsk.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904045704/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/science/barbara-rae-venter-gsk.html |archive-date=September 4, 2018}} From this tree, they established two suspects; one was ruled out by a relative's DNA test, leaving DeAngelo the main suspect.{{Cite news |last=Jouvenal |first=Justin |date=April 30, 2018 |title=To find alleged Golden State Killer, investigators first found his great-great-great-grandparents |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=Nash Holdings |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/to-find-alleged-golden-state-killer-investigators-first-found-his-great-great-great-grandparents/2018/04/30/3c865fe7-dfcc-4a0e-b6b2-0bec548d501f_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501161029/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/to-find-alleged-golden-state-killer-investigators-first-found-his-great-great-great-grandparents/2018/04/30/3c865fe7-dfcc-4a0e-b6b2-0bec548d501f_story.html |archive-date=May 1, 2018}}

On April 18, 2018, a DNA sample was surreptitiously collected from the door handle of DeAngelo's car; another sample was later collected from a tissue found in DeAngelo's curbside garbage can.{{Cite web |title=Search warrant |url=http://www.sacda.org/files/9415/2789/1272/P_v_DeAngelo_Redacted_Search_Warrant_Final.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605033916/http://www.sacda.org/files/9415/2789/1272/P_v_DeAngelo_Redacted_Search_Warrant_Final.pdf |archive-date=June 5, 2018 |access-date=June 7, 2018 |publisher=Sacramento County, California}} Both were matched to samples associated with Golden State Killer crimes. Since DeAngelo's arrest, some commentators have raised concerns about the ethics of the secondary use of personally identifiable information.{{Cite news |last=Scutti |first=Susan |title=What the Golden State Killer case means for your genetic privacy |website=CNN |publisher=Turner Broadcasting Systems |location=Atlanta, Georgia |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/27/health/golden-state-killer-genetic-privacy/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429025519/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/27/health/golden-state-killer-genetic-privacy/index.html |archive-date=April 29, 2018}}
{{Cite news |last=Molteni |first=Megan |date=May 27, 2018 |title=The Creepy Genetics Behind the Golden State Killer Case |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |publisher=Condé Nast |location=New York City |url=https://www.wired.com/story/detectives-cracked-the-golden-state-killer-case-using-genetics/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427214045/https://www.wired.com/story/detectives-cracked-the-golden-state-killer-case-using-genetics/ |archive-date=April 27, 2018}} During the investigation, several people were considered and later eliminated as suspects:

• Brett Glasby, from Goleta, was considered a suspect by Santa Barbara County investigators. He was murdered in Mexico in 1982 before the murder of Janelle Cruz, eliminating him as a suspect.{{Cite book |first=Richard|last=Shelby|title=Hunting a Psychopath |publisher=Booklocker.com, Inc.|location=St. Petersburg, Florida |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-63263-508-2 |pages=392–393}}
• Paul "Cornfed" Schneider, a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood, was living in Orange County when the Harringtons, Manuela Witthuhn, and Janelle Cruz were killed. A DNA test cleared him in the 1990s.{{Cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Court-says-inmate-must-give-DNA-Suspect-in-2845640.php |title=Court says inmate must give DNA / Suspect in 20 year-old murders |last1=Goodyear |first1=Charlie |date=April 25, 2002 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Publishing|location=San Francisco, California|access-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105214004/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Court-says-inmate-must-give-DNA-Suspect-in-2845640.php |archive-date=January 5, 2018 |last2=Hallissy |first2=Erin}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.coldcase-earons.com/2002-07-03.pdf |title=DNA Tests Clear Convict in Ventura Killings Paul Schneider Didn't Kill Attorney Lyman Smith, Wife |last=Cason |first=Colleen |date=July 3, 2002 |newspaper=Ventura County Star |publisher=Gannett|location=Camarillo, California|access-date=August 29, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830010353/https://www.coldcase-earons.com/2002-07-03.pdf |archive-date=August 30, 2017}}
• Joe Alsip, a friend and business partner of the victim Lyman Smith. Alsip's pastor said that Alsip had confessed to him during a family-counseling session. Alsip was arraigned for the Smith murders in 1982, but the charges were later dropped,{{Cite web |last1=Cason |first1=Colleen |title=The Silent Witness |url=http://www.coldcase-earons.com/2002-Cason-SilentWitness.pdf |newspaper=Ventura County Star |publisher=Gannett|location=Camarillo, California|access-date=May 12, 2018 |date=November 28, 2002 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425103545/http://www.coldcase-earons.com/2002-Cason-SilentWitness.pdf |archive-date=April 25, 2018}}{{Cite book |title=Hunting a Psychopath |last=Shelby |first=Richard |year=2016 |asin=B00P9UP3KS|edition=Second |publisher=Booklocker.com, Inc.|location=Bradenton, Florida|page=406}} and his innocence was confirmed by DNA testing in 1997.{{Cite news |newspaper=Ventura County Star |publisher=Gannett|location=Camarillo, California|date=October 8, 2000 |url=http://www.coldcase-earons.com/2000-10-08.pdf |title=DNA Findings Throw New Light on Old Case By |first=Aron|last=Miller |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308041636/http://www.coldcase-earons.com/2000-10-08.pdf |archive-date=March 8, 2018}}
• Gregory Gonzalez, from Garden Grove, attended the same drug rehabilitation class that Janelle Cruz was enrolled in. An informant told police that Gonzalez confessed to killing her and he was arrested,[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-arrest-made-in-wom/165270603/ Tue, Jun 24, 1986 ·Page 63]. The Los Angeles Times. June 24, 1986. but charges were dropped a year later when a DNA test confirmed his innocence.Serna, Joseph; Oreskes, Benjamin (May 27, 2018). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-gsk-27-may-2018-f/27684689/ Frustrated by a killer's elusiveness]. The Los Angeles Times.

On the evening of April 24, 2018, Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies arrested DeAngelo in the side yard of his Sacramento home.{{Cite news |last = Myers |first = Paul |date = April 25, 2018 |title = Sacramento Sheriff's Department arrests Visalia Ransacker, confirms he was an officer of the Exeter Police Department in 1973 |url = http://www.thesungazette.com/article/news/2018/04/25/sacramento-sheriffs-arrest-visalia-ransacker-confirm-he-was-an-officer-of-the-exeter-police-department-in-1973/ |newspaper = Williamsport Sun-Gazette |publisher = Ogden Newspapers Inc. |location = Williamsport, Pennsylvania |access-date = April 25, 2018 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180426021847/http://www.thesungazette.com/article/news/2018/04/25/sacramento-sheriffs-arrest-visalia-ransacker-confirm-he-was-an-officer-of-the-exeter-police-department-in-1973/ |archive-date = April 26, 2018}}{{Cite book |last=Holes |first=Paul |title=Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases |publisher=Celadon Books |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-250-62279-2 |location=New York |pages=258}} He was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances.{{Cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/us/golden-state-killer-serial.html |title = Ex-Cop Arrested in Golden State Killer Case: 'We Found the Needle in the Haystack' |last1 = Fuller |first1 = Thomas |date = April 25, 2018 |newspaper = The New York Times |location = New York City |access-date = April 26, 2018 |last2 = Hauser |first2 = Christine |language = en-US |issn = 0362-4331 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180426005045/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/us/golden-state-killer-serial.html |archive-date = April 26, 2018}}
{{Cite news |last1 = Egel |first1 = Benjy |title = Who is the East Area Rapist? Police say it's this ex-cop who attended Folsom High |url = http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209823959.html |access-date = April 25, 2018 |newspaper = The Sacramento Bee |publisher = McClatchy |location = Sacramento, California |date = April 25, 2018 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180426003609/http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article209823959.html |archive-date = April 26, 2018}}
{{Cite news |last1 = Stanglin |first1 = Doug |title = Golden State Killer: Ex-cop Joseph James DeAngelo arrested as suspect in serial murder-rapes |url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/25/golden-state-killer-joseph-james-deangelo-arrested/550544002/ |access-date = April 25, 2018 |newspaper = USA Today |publisher = Gannett |location = Mclean, Virginia |date = April 25, 2018 |language = en |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180425192646/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/25/golden-state-killer-joseph-james-deangelo-arrested/550544002/ |archive-date = April 25, 2018}} On May 10, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office charged DeAngelo with four additional counts of first-degree murder.{{Cite news |url = https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2018/05/10/santa-barbara-county-da-announces-golden-state-killer-murder-charges/595858002/ |title = Santa Barbara County DA files charges in murders believed connected to Golden State Killer |first = Megan |last = Diskin |date = May 10, 2018 |access-date = May 10, 2018 |newspaper = The Ventura County Star |publisher=Gannett |location=Camarillo, California |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180517015404/https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/2018/05/10/santa-barbara-county-da-announces-golden-state-killer-murder-charges/595858002/ |archive-date = May 17, 2018}} DeAngelo made a confession of sorts after his arrest that cryptically referred to an inner personality named "Jerry", who had forced him to commit the crimes.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

According to Sacramento County prosecutor Thien Ho, DeAngelo said the following to himself while alone in a police interrogation room after his arrest in April 2018: "I didn't have the strength to push him out. He made me. He went with me. It was like in my head, I mean, he's a part of me. I didn't want to do those things. I pushed Jerry out and had a happy life. I did all those things. I destroyed all their lives. So now I've got to pay the price."{{Cite news |url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/29/alleged-golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo-set-plead-guilty-monday-sacramento/3279438001/ |title = Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. pleads guilty to murders tagged to California's Golden State Killer |date = June 29, 2020 |newspaper = USA Today |publisher = Gannett |location = Mclean, Virginia |access-date = June 29, 2020 |language = en-US |url-status = live |archive-date = June 29, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200629192240/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/29/alleged-golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo-set-plead-guilty-monday-sacramento/3279438001/ }} Detectives ignored DeAngelo's initial requests to speak to an attorney, later citing a legal theory that this potential Miranda violation would be justified, with the understanding that prosecutors could not use the interview against the defendant in court.{{cite podcast |title=Evil |website=Man in the Window |date=22 December 2022 |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=Los Angeles Times |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evil-10/id1465334342?i=1000503172333}}

DeAngelo could not be charged with rapes or burglaries, as the statute of limitations had expired for those offenses, but he was charged with 13 counts of murder and 13 counts of kidnapping. DeAngelo was arraigned in Sacramento on August 23, 2018. In November 2018, prosecutors from six involved counties collectively estimated that the case could cost taxpayers $20 million and last 10 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/golden-state-killer-trial-10-years-766141/|title=Golden State Killer Trial: Joseph DeAngelo Case Could Last 10 Years|last1=McDonell-Parry|first1=Amelia|last2=McDonell-Parry|first2=Amelia|date=December 7, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media|location=New York City|language=en-US|access-date=January 12, 2019|archive-date=January 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126134737/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/golden-state-killer-trial-10-years-766141/|url-status=live}} At an April 10, 2019, court proceeding, prosecutors announced that they would seek the death penalty, and the judge ruled that cameras could be allowed inside the courtroom during the trial.{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/joseph-deangelo-hearing-sacramento-trial-13757418.php/|title=Golden State Killer suspect appears in court nearly one year after arrest|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=San Francisco, California|date=April 10, 2019|access-date=April 11, 2019|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411002722/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/joseph-deangelo-hearing-sacramento-trial-13757418.php/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/24/us/golden-state-killer-one-year-later/index.html |title=Golden State Killer one year later |date=April 24, 2019|publisher=CNN|location=Atlanta, Georgia|access-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424200321/https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/24/us/golden-state-killer-one-year-later/index.html |url-status=live}}

On March 4, 2020, DeAngelo offered to plead guilty if the death penalty was excluded as a possible sentence, which was not accepted at the time. On June 29, as part of a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances (including murder committed during burglaries and rapes), as well as thirteen counts of kidnapping.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/us/golden-state-killer-plea-expected/index.html|title=Hearing details ghastly crimes of Golden State Killer as he pleads guilty to killings |website=CNN |publisher=Turner Broadcasting Systems |location=Mclean, Virginia|date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-date=July 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717203850/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/us/golden-state-killer-plea-expected/index.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo.html |title=Joseph DeAngelo pleads guilty in Golden State Killer cases |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630014044/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/golden-state-killer-joseph-deangelo.html |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |first=Luke |last=Kenton |title=New documentary tells how an unsolved neighborhood murder in her childhood inspired the late true-crime author Michelle McNamara's journey to unmask the Golden State Killer |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-documentary-tells-how-an-unsolved-neighborhood-murder-in-her-childhood-inspired-the-late-true-crime-author-michelle-mcnamaras-journey-to-unmask-the-golden-state-killer/ar-BB13L0vz#image=BB13L0vz_1%7C9|date=May 8, 2020 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |publisher=MSN|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630014714/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-documentary-tells-how-an-unsolved-neighborhood-murder-in-her-childhood-inspired-the-late-true-crime-author-michelle-mcnamaras-journey-to-unmask-the-golden-state-killer/ar-BB13L0vz#image=BB13L0vz_1%7C9 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.wbtv.com/2020/03/05/suspected-golden-state-killer-seeks-plea-deal-avoid-death-penalty/ |title=Suspected Golden State Killer seeks plea deal to avoid death penalty |website=WBTV |date=March 5, 2020 |access-date=March 9, 2020 |archive-date=May 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510011533/https://www.wbtv.com/2020/03/05/suspected-golden-state-killer-seeks-plea-deal-avoid-death-penalty/ |url-status=live}} On August 21, 2020, DeAngelo received multiple consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

DeAngelo offered a brief apology after listening to days of pre-sentencing victim impact statements: "I've listened to all your statements, each one of them, and I'm truly sorry to everyone I've hurt."{{cite web |last=Shapiro |first=Emily |title='Golden State Killer' addresses the court: 'I'm truly sorry' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/living-witness-teen-dads-murder-confronts-golden-state/story?id=72473195 |access-date=2020-08-21 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821171831/https://abcnews.go.com/US/living-witness-teen-dads-murder-confronts-golden-state/story?id=72473195 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/may-you-rot-in-prison-us-golden-state-killer-victims-speak-out |title='May you rot in prison': US 'Golden State Killer' victims speak out |newspaper=The Straits Times |place=Singapore |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=23 October 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-golden-state-killer-jailed-for-life-apologises-to-victims |title=US 'Golden State Killer' jailed for life for decade-long crime spree including murders and rapes |newspaper=The Straits Times |place=Singapore |date=22 August 2020 |access-date=23 October 2021}} In November 2020, DeAngelo was transferred to the North Kern State Prison.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-03/golden-state-killer-arrives-in-prison|title=Golden State Killer arrives at prison to start life sentence|website=Los Angeles Times|date=November 3, 2020}} As of February 2025, DeAngelo is incarcerated in protective custody at California State Prison, Corcoran.[https://www.kget.com/news/state-news/cdcr-moves-golden-state-killer-to-protective-housing-at-corcoran-state-prison/ CDCR moves 'Golden State Killer' to protective housing at Corcoran State Prison] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027011348/https://www.kget.com/news/state-news/cdcr-moves-golden-state-killer-to-protective-housing-at-corcoran-state-prison/ |date=October 27, 2021 }}, KGET, February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.

• List of serial killers in the United States
• List of serial rapists by number of victims
• List of longest prison sentences

{{Clear}}

{{reflist|25em}}

• {{cite book |last = Crompton |first = Larry |year=2010 |title = Sudden Terror |publisher = AuthorHouse |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn = 978-1-4520-5241-0}}
• {{Cite book |author1 = Morford, Michael |author2 = Ferguson, Michael |date = 2018 |title = The Case of the Golden State Killer: Based on the Podcast with Additional Commentary, Photographs and Documents |publisher = WildBlue Press |isbn = 978-1947290556}}
• {{cite book |author = McNamara, Michelle |author-link = Michelle McNamara |date = 2018 |title = I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer |title-link = I'll Be Gone in the Dark |publisher = HarperCollins |isbn = 978-0-06-231978-4}}
• {{Cite book |author = Shelby, Richard |date = 2015 |title = Hunting a Psychopath: The East Area Rapist / original Night Stalker investigation – the original investigator speaks out |title-link = Hunting a Psychopath |publisher = Booklocker |isbn = 978-1-63263-509-9}}

• {{cite magazine |title = Help us catch a killer |magazine = Los Angeles |url = http://www.lamag.com/killer |url-status = bot: unknown |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130302072921/http://www.lamag.com/killer |archive-date = March 2, 2013}} (includes numerous photos and maps)
• {{cite report |title = Unmasking a Killer |publisher = CNN |date=2018-02-13 |url = http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2018/02/13/hln-renews-search-for-golden-state-killer-in-unmasking-a-killer-premiering-march-18/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180302012702/http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2018/02/13/hln-renews-search-for-golden-state-killer-in-unmasking-a-killer-premiering-march-18/|url-status = dead|archive-date = March 2, 2018}} A seven-part series that profiles California's most prolific uncaught serial killer.

• {{cite AV media |title=3 Golden State Killer podcasts that go deep on the case |publisher=Time |medium=podcast links |url=https://time.com/5257553/golden-state-killer-podcasts/}}
• {{cite AV media |title=Man in the window |publisher=Los Angeles Times |medium=podcast |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/man-in-the-window-podcast/}}
• {{cite AV media |title=The Creep Among Us |website=Stitcher |medium=podcast |url=https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/blogtalkradio/true-murder/e/57159981}}
• {{cite AV media |title=The Golden State Killer (Joseph James DeAngelo) |medium=podcast |url=https://www.golpo.app/playlist?ID=686f4210-408f-4690-a700-82a26bb6cb90}}

• {{cite episode |series = Cold Case Files |season=2 |number=22 |title = The Original Nightstalker |network = A&E Television Networks |url = http://www.aetv.com/shows/cold-case-files/season-2/episode-22}}
• {{cite episode |url=https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/dark-minds/ |title=Dark Minds: The Original Nightstalker |series=Investigation Discovery}}
• {{cite episode |series = Investigation Discovery |title = Golden State Killer: It's Not Over |url = https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/golden-state-killer-its-not-over/}}
• {{cite episode |series=I'll Be Gone in the Dark |year=2020 |network=HBO documentary}}
• {{cite episode |series = Very Scary People | title = The Golden State Killer |year =2021 |network=Investigation Discovery}}

• {{cite journal |first=Joseph |last=Zabel |date=2019 |title=The killer inside us: Law, ethics, and the forensic use of family genetics |language=en |journal=Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law |volume=24 |issue=2 |ssrn = 3368705 |url=https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1136717 |access-date=May 4, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630153701/https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1136717 |archive-date=June 30, 2020}}

{{commons category}}

• {{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP1gni1gGvk |title=Full Interview: Golden State Killer investigator Paul Holes |medium=video |via=YouTube}}
• [https://www.coldcase-earons.com/ Cold Case – EARONS] at coldcase-earons.com
• [http://casefilepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CASEFILE_EARONS_magazine.pdf EAR/ONS magazine] – 188-page magazine of related photos and news articles (from Casefile)
• {{Cite web |url = http://casefilepodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Case-53-The-Original-Nightstalker-map-part-5a.jpg |title = The Original Nightstalker Map, Part 5a |website = casefilepodcast.com}} Map of the EAR/ONS crimes
• {{Cite web |url = http://www.ear-ons.com/crimes.html |title = East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker |website = ear-ons.com |access-date = June 11, 2016 |archive-date = June 17, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160617073815/http://www.ear-ons.com/crimes.html |url-status = dead }}
• [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1s4VrLhNtwumBfcJbZ43NSqyTNsA&ll=36.557418499833105%2C-118.83859792578124&z=6 Map of the East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker / Golden State Killer Crimes]
• [http://truecrimediary.com/index.cfm?page=cases&id=231 True Crime Diary] at truecrimediary.com
• [https://www.newspapers.com/profile/DeAngelo_Hunt/ Collection of newspaper clippings about the Golden State Killer] at Newspapers.com

{{Portal bar|Biography|California|Law}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeAngelo, Joseph James}}

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