Ex-cop is suspected serial killer

Murderer-rapist plagued Calif. in the 1970s, ’80s

A 72-year-old ex-cop has been arrested in a decadeslong search for the Golden State Killer who terrorized California communities in the 1970s and ’80s with a series of murders and rapes, authorities said Wednesday.

Sacramento police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo in connection with the infamous cases, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones announced at a news conference.

The elusive, masked killer, also known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker, is believed to have killed 12 people, raped 45 and ransacked more than 100 homes.

“For over 40 years, countless victims have waited for justice,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said at the news conference Wednesday.

Sacramento County jail records show DeAngelo was arrested and charged early Wednesday with two counts of murder. He was arrested under a warrant from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, according to the jail records.

FBI and California officials last year renewed their search for a suspect in the cases and announced a $50,000 reward for an arrest and conviction.

Armed with a gun, the masked rapist would break into homes while single women or couples were sleeping. He would tie up the man and pile dishes on his back, then rape the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled.

He often took souvenirs, notably coins and jewelry, from his victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 41.

The Sacramento Bee reports DeAngelo was fired from the Auburn Police Department in California in 1979 after being charged with shoplifting.

A woman, now living in South Carolina, who was sexually assaulted by a man believed to be the East Area Rapist in 1976 told The Island Packet newspaper Wednesday that two detectives had informed her about the arrest.

“I just can’t tell you how I feel,” Jane Carson-Sandler said. “After 42 years — wow!”