Former police officer suspected of being Golden State Killer

After six days of surveillance and the analysis of a discarded DNA sample, police in Sacramento arrested a 72-year-old ex-cop Wednesday suspected of being the Golden State Killer in a series of rapes and murders that terrorized California communities in the 1970s and ’80s.

Joseph James DeAngelo, who worked for two California police departments, was charged with two counts of murder under a warrant from the Ventura County Sheriff ’s Department, according to jail records.

The elusive masked killer is blamed for 12 murders, 45 rapes and the ransacking of more than 100 homes.

DeAngelo was under surveillance for six days as police sought to learn his pattern of movement to see how he might react if confronted, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said. Officers developed a plan to arrest him outside rather than in his car or in his home.

“He was very surprised,” Jones said.

Over the years, as a series of horrendous crimes erupted across 10 counties, the perpetrator was variously dubbed the Golden State Killer, East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker and Visalia Ransacker, but it was not clear whether the incidents were related. New DNA techniques and beefed-up databases helped investigators tie the cases together and led them to their suspect.

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

“We all knew as part of this team that we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we all knew the needle was there.”

Authorities credited the persistence of investigators and DNA expertise.

“This was a true convergence of emerging technology and dogged determination by detectives,” Jones said. “When we got general information, he looked like he might be our guy, (then) we got a discarded DNA sample that gave us more confidence that this was our person.” He didn’t elaborate on how the DNA sample was obtained.