Ex-policeman arrested for Golden State killer murders

A DNA match leads to the arrest of a 72-year-old former police officer in one of the most baffling and sadistic crime sprees in US history.

A photo of accused rapist and killer Joseph James DeAngelo is displayed during a news conference in Sacramento, California.

A man once sworn to protect the public from crime was accused yesterday of living a double life terrorising suburban neighbourhoods at night, becoming one of California’s most feared serial killers and rapists in the 1970s and 80s before leaving a cold trail that baffled investigators for more than three decades.

Former policeman Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested at his home after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer. He was charged with eight counts of murder and could face dozens more charges.

The culprit, also known as the East Area Rapist, among other names, is suspected of at least 12 slayings and 50 rapes from northern to southern California.

The armed and masked prowler climbed through windows at night and surprised sleeping victims ranging in age from 13 to 41. When encountering a couple, he was known to tie up the man and pile dishes on his back. He threatened to kill both victims if he heard plates crash to the floor while he raped the woman. He ransacked the house, taking souvenirs, notably coins and jewellery, before fleeing on foot or bicycle.

Joseph James DeAngelo Jnr

Mr DeAngelo’s name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week.

“We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we also knew that needle was there,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said. “It was right here in Sacramento.”

A break in the case and the arrest came together in “light speed” across six days, she said, although authorities refused to reveal what led them to Mr DeAngelo.

Sacramento sheriff Scott Jones said detectives with “dogged determination” were able to get a sample of DNA from something Mr DeAngelo had discarded, though he refused to say what the item was. The genetic material was not a match but there were enough similarities for investigators to return before they were able to get a conclusive match.

After watching Mr DeAngelo for several days, police took him by surprise. “It looked as though he might have been searching his mind to execute a particular plan he may have had” but never had time to act, Mr Jones said.

GRAPHIC: The Golden State Killer’s victims

Mr DeAngelo was arrested on suspicion of committing double killings in Sacramento and Ven­tura counties and later was charged with four counts of murder in Orange County, officials said. Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten said that before prosecutors decided whether to seek the death penalty, there would be a “solemn and formal death review process that typically takes many months”.

Mr DeAngelo, who served in the US navy, was a police officer in Exeter, in the San Joaquin Valley, from 1973 to 1976, at a time a burglar known as the Visalia Ransacker was active, Mr Jones said.

An FBI investigator enters the home of accused rapist and killer Joseph James DeAngelo on April 24, 2018 in Citrus Heights, California.

He transferred to the force in Auburn, in the Sierra foothills near where he grew up outside Sacramento. About 50 crimes, including two killings, were attributed to the East Area Rapist in the three years Mr DeAngelo worked there.

Mr DeAngelo was sacked from the Auburn department in 1979 after stealing a can of dog repellent and a hammer from a shop, according to The Auburn Journal reports at the time. He was convicted of the theft and fined $US100.

Ten killings occurred after he was sacked, all in southern ­California.

Although it is unusual for serial killers to stop, Mr Jones said authorities had no reason to think Mr DeAngelo committed crimes after 1986, when the last rape and killing occurred in Orange County.

“We have no indication of any crimes with a similar or at least a close enough link to his MO and other things that he’s done in the past to link him to anything from ’86 on,” Mr Jones said. “We just have nothing at this point.” He said he always thought the rapist was alive but might be in prison.

For prosecutors and investigators, the arrest marked not only a significant professional achievement but also a personal one that had touched their early careers.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley was a student volunteering at a rape crisis centre and “sat with survivors who had been assaulted by this guy”.

Police sketches of the Golden State Killer.

The wave of horrifying crimes had brought an end to a more innocent era in the Sacramento suburbs when children rode bicycles to school, played outside until dark and people did not lock their doors, Ms Schubert said.

“It all changed,” said Ms Schubert, who was 12 at the time. “For anyone that lived here in this community, in Sacramento, the memories are very vivid. You can ask anyone who grew up here. Everyone has a story.”

In 1999, Orange County homicide detectives were able to use DNA to link the Irvine slaying of Keith and Patrice Harrington to nine other slayings. The genetic evidence later was used to connect the same suspect to dozens of rapes. Keith Harrington’s brother, Bruce, helped bankroll a successful 2004 push to take DNA from all convicted felons and some people arrested. “To the victims, sleep better tonight, he isn’t coming through the window,” he said.

Jane Carson-Sandler was one of the first victims when she was sexually assaulted in 1976 in her home in Citrus Heights, where Mr DeAngelo was arrested at home. “I have just been overjoyed, ecstatic. It’s an emotional rollercoaster right now,” said Ms Carson-Sandler, who lives in South Carolina.

AP

Comments are now closed.