Court records: DNA from parking lot cracked decades-long Golden State Killer case

Joseph James Deangelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, is arraigned in a Sacramento court on April 27.

shooting death of Claude Snelling in 1975 in Visalia.

Read the full warrant and affidavit here »

Because of redactions, the documents provide only a limited sense of what prosecutors have amassed against Deangelo. It remains unclear what investigators found after they searched Deangelo’s home. The warrant describes dozens of rings, wedding bands, photographs and identification cards among the trinkets that Deangelo is accused of taking from victims’ homes after committing crimes. For example, investigators hoped to find a “green Bank of American [sic] bag with silver zipper lock” that had $1,366.31 in cash. But it’s unclear whether any of these items were recovered from his Citrus Heights home.

The documents underscore how essential a novel

and controversial DNA technique was used to build the case. Frustrated detectives placed DNA found at one of the crime scene on several genealogy websites. Eventually, they linked it to one of Deangelo’s distant relatives. Detectives have said in interviews with The Times that with that familial link, they centered on Deangelo because of his age, employment and that he lived close to where many of the crimes were committed.

With their suspect identified, detectives needed a DNA sample. They began surveillance on the onetime officer and that led them to Hobby Lobby on April 18. On April 23, they obtained a second DNA sample from a tissue in Deangelo’s trash can outside of his home, hoping to get a more conclusive match. Deangelo was arrested April 24.