Joseph James DeAngelo, the man suspected of being the Golden State Killer, was charged on Thursday with four more counts of murder, bringing the total number homicide accusations he faces to 12. DeAngelo is suspected of perpetrating a rampage of break-ins, rapes, and killings in California, from Sacramento to Los Angeles, that spanned more than a decade.
The 12 charges, including the most recent four filed in Santa Barbara, were coordinated across Orange County, Ventura County, and Sacramento County in what law enforcement has called and “unprecedented” process. DeAngelo will appear in court on Sacramento on Monday.
The elusive criminal dubbed the “Golden State Killer” by writer Michelle McNamara, eluded police for decades after a rampage following a series of horrific killings and rapes that lasted from 1976 to 1986. Also known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker, the serial killer often targeted couples, tying up husbands before raping their wives. He then taunted some of his victims with phone calls made years after the crimes.
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DeAngelo, a 72-year-old retired police officer was linked to the crimes via DNA evidence, and arrested on April 24, in his home in a suburb of Sacramento, near where many of the crimes were committed. He now faces a possible sentence of death or life in prison without parole.
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