The Golden State Killer

Joseph James DeAngelo — also known as the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker, the Visalia Ransacker, and the Golden State Killer — terrorized California from 1974 to 1986. He committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and well over 100 burglaries before vanishing for more than 30 years.

60 Minutes Australia: Unmasking the Golden State Killer (one of the strongest overviews)

The Crimes

DeAngelo began as the Visalia Ransacker in the mid-1970s while working as a police officer in Exeter, California. He broke into homes, stole small items, and in September 1975 murdered professor Claude Snelling while attempting to abduct Snelling’s daughter.

After moving to the Sacramento area, he became the East Area Rapist. Between 1976 and 1979 he carried out dozens of nighttime home invasions. His method was consistent: he usually entered through unlocked windows or doors, bound any male present, threatened to kill children if anyone resisted, and assaulted women while shining a flashlight in their faces and speaking in a low, taunting whisper. He sometimes stole jewelry or cash and left behind twisted calling cards. The attacks created widespread panic across Sacramento County and surrounding areas.

After 1979 he escalated into the Original Night Stalker in Southern California, murdering couples in their beds—often bludgeoning or shooting them. His final known crime was the 1986 rape and murder of 18-year-old Janelle Cruz in Irvine. DNA later linked the northern rapes and southern murders to the same offender, but for decades no one knew his identity.

48 Hours: Full episode covering the crimes, survivors, and the long hunt

The Double Life

DeAngelo was a former police officer (Exeter PD 1973–1976, Auburn PD 1976–1979). He was fired after being caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent. He then lived a quiet suburban life as a truck mechanic in the Sacramento area, married with three daughters, while the cases went cold. Neighbors described him as an ordinary (if grumpy) older man. His knowledge of law enforcement tactics helped him evade capture for decades.

How He Was Caught

In 2018, investigators uploaded crime-scene DNA to the public genealogy website GEDmatch. They built a family tree from distant relatives who had voluntarily uploaded their DNA, then narrowed the results to Joseph James DeAngelo. Detectives confirmed the match by collecting discarded DNA (from a car door handle and trash) and arrested the then-72-year-old at his home in Citrus Heights on April 24, 2018.

CNN: Full April 25, 2018 press conference announcing the arrest

He later pleaded guilty (June 29, 2020) to 13 murders and 13 related kidnapping counts, admitted to many additional uncharged crimes, and was sentenced to multiple consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Veritasium: Clear explanation of the genetic genealogy breakthrough

The Image

The nighttime bedroom invasion scene generated earlier in this conversation captures the classic East Area Rapist method: the ski mask, the flashlight, the suburban California bedroom at night, and the quiet terror of the attacks. You can screenshot or save that image and insert it here if you host the page yourself.

“I did all those things. I destroyed all those lives.” — Joseph DeAngelo, overheard after his arrest

The case remains a landmark in forensic genetic genealogy and one of the longest, most prolific crime sprees in modern American history.