This story is just breaking. I will update as information becomes available
(There will be a joint press conference with the FBI & California law enforcement later this evening.)
As reported today: “The Golden State Killer was the coldest of cases. Police have finally made an arrest.”
A former police officer has been arrested as a suspect in one of America’s most famous serial killer cases:
“One of the most famous unsolved serial killer cases in the US may finally be on its way to being closed.
“Authorities have confirmed the arrest of 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo in connection with the 1978 murder of Sgt. Brian Maggiore and his wife, Katie, in Rancho Cordova, California — an attack that’s believed to be part of a cold case that spanned two decades and multiple cities.”
For years, an unknown assailant terrorized suburban Californians. He was known by several media-assigned names, including the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker — usually shorthanded together as EAR/ONS — the Diamond Knot Killer, and, most recently, the Golden State Killer.
Between 1976 and 1986, EAR/ONS is believed to have burglarized hundreds of homes, raped as many as 50 people, and killed at least 12, often while family members were bound and gagged. His attacks were meticulously planned, and his assaults canvassed the state, ranging from as far north as Sacramento and San Francisco to as far south as Anaheim and Irvine.
After 1981, following a five-year period of inactivity, EAR/ONS committed only one more confirmed crime — and then disappeared. He allegedly continued to taunt at least one of his previous victims with a series of phone calls.
This is a map of just the confirmed EAR/ONS rapes in Northern California:
There is scheduled a joint press conference scheduled for later today with the FBI and California law enforcement.
What we do know right now:
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The FBI is confident they have a DNA match.
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He is in custody and he is talking.
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He was a police officer in Auburn, CA although was fired from this position after being caught shoplifting in 1979, so for most of the EAR/ONS — Golden State Killer crimes he was serving as a police officer.
UPDATE ONE: EAR/ONS/GSK’s last homicide was in 1986, the same year in which DNA profiling was introduced into a court case in the UK.
Being a former police officer, it is easy to see in hindsight that DeAngelo would have payed attention to this powerful new tool and either curtailed his crimes. Or he developed a forensic evidence counter-measure to defeat DNA profiling which may have allowed him to continue his criminal behavior.
We may find out soon just how many felony crimes, that are currently unsolved, will be tied to DeAngelo eventually.
Considering the volume of abuse they’re laboring under from the office of the Executive, for a moment let’s give the FBI a round of applause here.
When the joint press conference occurs, there will be more verifiable information, and I will update the diary.
Update Two: Online references for EAR/ONS/GSK and suspect arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo
News and Law Enforcement Sites
Unofficial Aggregate and True Crime Sites