Golden State Killer trial to be held in Northern California

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A former police officer suspected of being one of California’s most elusive serial killers will face a trial in Sacramento County on more than two dozen charges, including 13 murder counts, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, is suspected of being the so-called Golden State Killer who terrorized residents of six counties during the 1970s and ‘80s. He was arrested in April after authorities linked him to the cold case homicides using DNA.

DeAngelo, who remains jailed in Sacramento, will face trial there because of the complexity of the case, consideration of the suspect’s rights, the locations of the crimes and the hardship of victims and witnesses, officials told reporters.

Authorities have said DeAngelo is suspected of being the sadistic attacker who killed 13 people and raped nearly 50 women.

On Tuesday, prosecutors filed amended criminal complaint charging him with 13 counts of murder and 13 new counts of kidnapping for robbery. DeAngelo is set to be arraigned Thursday.

“This human predator, DeAngelo, took a path through all of these counties in our state and wherever he went he left the wake of terror in his path. He committed vicious, violent crimes in all of these jurisdictions,” Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.

DeAngelo’s attorney, Diane Howard, declined to comment on Tuesday.

His alleged crime spree had such an impact on residents that it made “opening the window or walking your dog through the neighborhood a terrorizing experience,” Rackauckas said.

The new charges filed on Tuesday include four alleging that DeAngelo is suspected of “carrying away four women” to commit robberies in Contra Costa County in 1978 and 1979.