Golden State Killer arrives in prison to begin sentence

SACRAMENTO » A former police officer who eluded authorities for years as the Golden State Killer arrived in state prison Tuesday to begin serving multiple life sentences for rapes and murders that terrorized much of California in the 1970s and 1980s. Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, arrived at North Kern State Prison, a reception center in the Central Valley about 140 miles north of Los Angeles.

Officials there will decide his permanent prison destination based on his security, medical, psychiatric and program needs, said California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton.

DeAngelo pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and 13 raperelated charges that spanned much of California between 1975 and 1986. The plea deal spared him the death penalty.

He admitted victimizing at least 87 people at 53 separate crime scenes spanning 11 California counties, though some of the crimes were too old to be formally charged.