Golden State Killer

The Golden State Killer is a serial killer, serial rapist and serial burglar who committed 50 rapes in Northern California during the mid-1970s and murdered twelve people in Southern California from 1979 through 1986. Other monikers include the Original Night Stalker, East Area Rapist, the East Bay Rapist, and the Diamond Knot Killer. The "Golden State Killer" moniker was coined by true crime writer Michelle McNamara. The crimes initially centered on the then-unincorporated areas of Carmichael, Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova, all east of Sacramento, where at least fifty women were raped between June 18, 1976, and July 5, 1979. Some suspect that earlier incidents in Visalia are also connected. In 2001, several of the Northern California rapes were linked by DNA to murders in southern California. All of the DNA-linked assaults occurred in Contra Costa County, but the distinctive modus operandi (MO) of the rapist makes it very likely the same man was also responsible for the attacks in the Sacramento area. His last known crime, the only one after 1981, took place in 1986. Several suspects were cleared through DNA, alibi, or other investigative means and methods. On June 15, 2016, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies held a news conference to announce a nationwide effort and a US$50,000 reward for his capture. On April 25, 2018, Sacramento Police announced the arrest of suspect 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo on two counts of first-degree murder. Investigation into this case- Detectives connect the crimes: Prior to officially connecting the Original Night Stalker to the East Area Rapist in 2001, some law enforcement officials, particularly several from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, sought to link the Goleta cases separately to the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. These postulated links were considered primarily due to similarity in modus operandi. One of the already linked Original Night Stalker double murders did take place in Ventura, California, 40 miles southeast of Goleta, while the remaining murders took place in Orange County, California, a further 90 miles to the southeast. In 2001, several rapes in Contra Costa County believed to have been part of the East Area Rapist series were linked by DNA to the Smith, Harrington, Whithuhn, and Cruz murders. In 2011, DNA evidence proved that the Domingo–Sanchez murders were committed by the Original Night Stalker. Suspects eliminated- Throughout the course of the investigation into the Golden State Killer murders, the following persons were eliminated as suspects: Brett Glasby – From Goleta, California, considered a suspect by investigators in Santa Barbara County. He was murdered in Mexico in 1982, prior to the murder of Janelle Cruz, so was eliminated as a suspect. Paul "Cornfed" Schneider – A high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. Schneider was a career criminal living in Orange County, California, when the murders of the Harringtons, Manuela Witthuhn, and Janelle Cruz occurred. In the late 1990s, while serving time at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California, Schneider provided a DNA sample to authorities. This sample cleared him as the Golden State Killer. Joe Alsip – A business partner of the victim Lyman Smith. Alsip was a friend of the Smiths and visited their home on High Point Drive in Ventura the day before the murders. Alsip's pastor claimed that he had confessed to him, during a family counseling session, but this confession was considered dubious by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Nevertheless, Alsip was arraigned for the murders of Lyman and Charlene Smith in 1982. After the preliminary hearing, however, all charges against him were dropped. He was also tested in 1997 for DNA and was cleared. In November 2002, journalist Colleen Cason wrote a newspaper series about the Golden State Killer murders for the Ventura County Star. According to Cason's articles, Detective Larry Pool of the Orange County Sheriff's Department visited California's Death Row at San Quentin State Prison in an attempt to locate the Golden State Killer. Detective Pool suspected that the Golden State Killer had been captured and sentenced to death for some other violent crime. Nevertheless, none of the genetic samples collected from Death Row inmates at San Quentin matched the DNA of the Golden State Killer. Continuing investigation: On June 15, 2016, the FBI released further information in relation to the crimes including new composite sketches, along with testimonies from victims and local/federal investigators. A press conference was held this same day in Sacramento, local and FBI law enforcement agencies announced a US$50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the East Area Rapist. The initiative includes a national database to support law enforcement investigating the crimes and to handle tips and information. Joseph DeAngelo arrest: On April 25, 2018, Sacramento Police announced the April 24 arrest of a suspect in the case; 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo (born November 8, 1945). DeAngelo, a former police officer in both Auburn and in Exeter, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Responses: The Original Night Stalker/East Area Rapist case was the motivating factor in the passage of legislation leading to the establishment of California's DNA database, which authorizes the collection of the DNA of all the accused and convicted felons in California. California's DNA data retrieval and storage program is considered by researchers to be second only to Virginia's in size and effectiveness in solving cold cases. While the California DNA database motivated by this case has solved numerous previously unsolved cold cases across the country, no suspect for the original case was identified until 2018. Significance: 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.