40-year manhunt leads to ex-cop
A suspect was arrested Tuesday in the case of an elusive serial killer believed to be responsible for hundreds of burglaries, dozens of rapes, and at least 12 murders that began in the Sacramento area in 1976 and spread to southern California in the late 1970s and 1980s.
This killer was dubbed “the original Nightstalker” and “East Bay Rapist.” The “Golden State Killer” moniker was affixed by a true crime author who died while writing a book about him. She predicted he was still alive.
The suspect, James Joseph DeAngelo Jr., 72, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, was a small-town California police officer from 1973 to 1979. He was fired from his last police job for shoplifting.
DeAngelo was arrested Wednesday morning at the suburban Sacramento County home where he has lived for over 20 years. Some of his neighbors described him as an odd and angry person. At this point he has not been convicted of anything and is only a suspect. He is being charged with two murders, with other charges likely to follow.
Photo: Police sketches of the suspect were displayed at a 2016 news conference. The officials in the background are Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, FBI Special Agent in Charge Monica Miller, and Sacramento County D.A. Anne Marie Schubert. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)