Investigators say DNA links retired policeman to California serial killings
Joseph James DeAngelo held after a sample matched the Golden State Killer of the 1970s and 1980s
A DNA match has tied a former police officer to crimes committed by a California killer responsible for at least 12 homicides and 45 rapes in the 1970s and 1980s, police officials said.
Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested after a DNA sample came back as a match to the Golden State Killer, said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.
Officials said DeAngelo was arrested on suspicion of committing four killings in Sacramento and Ventura counties and charged with two counts of murder in the Ventura case.
“We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack but we also knew that needle was there,” Ms Schubert said.
“We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento. The answer was always going to be in the DNA.”
Armed with a gun, the masked attacker terrorised communities by breaking into homes while single women or couples were asleep.
“He sometimes tied up the man and piled dishes on his back, then raped the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled.
“He often took souvenirs, notably coins and jewellery, from his victims who ranged in age from 13 to 41.”
DeAngelo was sacked by the Auburn Police Department in 1979 after he was arrested for stealing a tin of dog repellent and a hammer, the Auburn
Journal reported at the time. The FBI said it had a team looking for evidence at a Sacramento address linked to DeAngelo.
Jane Carson-Sandler was sexually assaulted in California in 1976 by a man who was believed to be the so-called East Area Rapist.
She received an email on Wednesday from a retired detective who worked on the case telling her they had identified the culprit and that he was in custody.
“I have just been overjoyed, ecstatic. It’s an emotional roller coaster right now,” said Mrs Carson-Sandler, who now lives near Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of a dream and I’m going to wake up and it’s not going to be true. It’s just so nice to have closure and to know he’s in jail.”
Mrs Carson-Sandler was attacked in her home in Citrus Heights, California.
In 2016, FBI and Californian officials renewed their search for the East Area Rapist and announced a $50,000 (Dh183,625) reward for his arrest and conviction. He has been linked to more than 175 crimes between 1976 and 1986.
As he committed crimes across the state, authorities called him by different names. He was dubbed the East Area Rapist after his start in Northern California, the Original Night Stalker after a series of murders in Southern California, and the Diamond Knot Killer for using an elaborate binding method on two of his victims.
He was most recently called the Golden State Killer.
Authorities decided to publicise the case again in 2016 in advance of the 40th anniversary of his first known assault in Sacramento County.
Neighbour Kevin Tapia, 36, said that when he was a teenager, DeAngelo falsely accused him of throwing things over their fence, prompting a heated exchange between DeAngelo and Mr Tapia’s father.
He said DeAngelo could often be heard cursing in frustration in his back yard.
“No one thinks they live next door to a serial killer,” Mr Tapia said. “But at the same time, he was a weird guy. He kept to himself. When you start to think about it you’re like, I could see him doing something like that but I would never suspect it.”