Joseph DeAngelo

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar and former police officer who committed at least thirteen murders, fifty rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1973 and 1986. DeAngelo was responsible for at least three crime sprees throughout California, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same offender. In the San Joaquin Valley, he was known as the Visalia Ransacker before moving to the Sacramento area, where he became known as the East Area Rapist and was linked by modus operandi to additional attacks in Contra Costa County, Stockton, and Modesto. DeAngelo committed serial murders in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties, where he was known as the Night Stalker and later the Original Night Stalker (due to serial killer Richard Ramirez also being called the "Night Stalker"). DeAngelo is believed to have taunted and threatened both victims and police in obscene phone calls, and possibly written communications. During the decades-long investigation, several suspects were cleared through DNA evidence, alibi, or other investigative methods. In 2001, after DNA testing indicated that the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker were the same person, the acronym EARONS () came into use. The case was a factor in the establishment of California's DNA database, which collects DNA from all accused and convicted felons in California and has been called second only to Virginia's in effectiveness in solving cold cases. To heighten awareness of the case, crime writer Michelle McNamara coined the name Golden State Killer in early 2013. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law-enforcement agencies held a news conference on June 15, 2016, to announce a renewed nationwide effort, offering a $50,000 reward for his capture. On April 24, 2018, authorities charged 72-year-old DeAngelo with eight counts of first-degree murder, based upon DNA evidence; investigators had identified members of DeAngelo's family through forensic genetic genealogy. This was also the first announcement connecting the Visalia Ransacker crimes to DeAngelo. Owing to California's statute of limitations on pre-2017 rape cases, DeAngelo could not be charged with 1970s rapes, but he was charged in August 2018 with 13 related kidnapping and abduction attempts. On June 29, 2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and kidnapping. As part of a plea bargain which spared him the death penalty, DeAngelo also admitted to numerous crimes he had not been formally charged with, including rapes. On August 21, 2020, DeAngelo was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Bio from Wikipedia - See more on en.wikipedia.org Text under CC-BY-SA license