Suspected 'East Area Rapist' to appear in court ....

[dales]

.... as grim portrait emerges.

I'm glad authorities finally apprehended the son of a bitch.

That's all I have to say on that topic.

[Long Run]

The detectives used DNA of his relatives on genealogy sites to find him.

For those who were not along for the ride, here is some background.

Just how heinous was he? Here's how the East Area Rapist tortured and terrorized victims

By Ryan Sabalow

April 26, 2018 04:32 PM

A deep panic had settled over the Sacramento region in the late 1970s as the East Area Rapist, again and again, stalked neighborhoods, broke into homes and raped women.

But one man said he wasn't worried. At a town-hall meeting hosted by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, he stood up and declared husbands could keep their wives safe.

Not long after, the East Area Rapist broke into the man's home and assaulted his wife.

The rapist, detectives say, almost certainly was at the meeting and had followed the couple home.

The shudder-inducing story, told Wednesday by Carol Daly, one of the original investigators on the case, is just one of several horrifying details that have resurfaced following Tuesday's arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo. Detectives say DeAngelo's DNA linked him to 45 rapes and 12 murders credited to the East Area Rapist in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here are some of the other chilling details about the crimes that have made the East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer, one of the most notorious serial rapists and murderers in American history.

He would pause during attacks to eat his victims' food.

The East Area Rapist helped himself to food in his victims' refrigerators. During one assault, he paused, went to the kitchen and ate a slice of apple pie, according to Michelle McNamara, the author of a groundbreaking book on the case "I'll Be Gone in the Dark."

He seemed to have mommy issues.

In a piece in Los Angeles Magazine, McNamara described how the rapist seemed obsessed with his mother. The scenario described by victims she interviewed: After tying them up and assaulting them, he would go into another room and sob loudly. One victim remembered hearing him cry out: "Mummy. Mummy. Mummy." He told another that reading about his crimes in the press “scares my mommy.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/artic ... rylink=cpy

[BoSoxGal]

How much should we trust the psych tests that screen wanna be cops?

[Long Run]

'Golden State Killer' suspect pleads guilty to 13 murders, admits dozens of rapes
Former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. attends a hearing in Sacramento

By Nathan Frandino

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - An elderly ex-policeman confessed on Monday to being the violent serial prowler known as the "Golden State Killer," pleading guilty to 13 murders and admitting to dozens of rapes and break-ins that terrorized California during the 1970s and '80s.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, entered the pleas as part of a broader deal with prosecutors sparing him from a potential death sentence in return for his admission to all of the offenses he stood accused of - charged and uncharged - in 11 California counties.

Under terms of the unusual plea agreement, approved by Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman at Monday's hearing, DeAngelo faces life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than a potential death sentence.

Prosecutors said the deal ensured that aging survivors and victims' relatives lived to see the case resolved, sparing them further legal proceedings likely to have dragged on for 10 years.

"The time for justice stands in front of us now," said Amy Holliday, deputy district attorney for Sacramento County.

The hearing was held in a Sacramento university ballroom, rather than a courthouse, to allow for socially distanced seating amid the coronavirus pandemic. The defendant and his attorneys wore medical-style, clear plastic face shields.

DeAngelo, dressed in orange jail garb, sat expressionless and slack-jawed in a wheelchair throughout the seven-hour proceeding.

He spoke in a weak, raspy voice only to give yes and no answers to procedural questions from the judge, and later to answer "guilty" when Bowman asked his plea to each of 13 counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

He also replied "I admit" to dozens of allegations of rape, robbery, and other crimes as prosecutors took turns presenting "factual-basis" statements graphically detailing every murder, sexual assault and burglary with which DeAngelo was accused. His admissions encompassed a total of 161 uncharged crimes, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also revealed that on the day of his arrest, while alone in an interview room, DeAngelo was overheard having an animated conversation with himself, referring to an apparent alter ego named "Jerry," whom he described as being "in my head" and compelling him to "do those things."

'NOT AFRAID TO FACE HIM'

One of many surviving victims who attended the hearing, Kris Pedretti, said she felt satisfied with the outcome of DeAngelo's plea, telling Reuters during a break, "I do think he is owning it."

Pedretti, who was 15 when sexually assaulted, said she and other survivors "want people to know that there's hope and that we're not afraid to face him."

DeAngelo's arrest in 2018 capped more than 40 years of investigation that authorities finally solved through DNA evidence and data from commercial genealogy websites.

The breakthrough came about two months after the case gained renewed national attention in the bestselling book, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark." A TV documentary series spawned by the book premiered by coincidence on HBO on Sunday.

Besides the 13 murders and kidnappings, prosecutors said DeAngelo was tied to nearly 50 rapes and more than 120 home invasions - mostly in and around Sacramento, the eastern San Francisco Bay area and Southern California.

The crime spree ran from 1975 to 1986 and began while DeAngelo was still a police officer. He served on two small-town departments during the 1970s.

The suspect, whom authorities also nicknamed the "East Area Rapist" and the "Original Night Stalker," was notorious for creeping into his victims' bedrooms at night, tying them up, raping them, and stealing their valuables.

Formal sentencing was set to begin on Aug. 17.

[Big RR]

Interesting; I wonder what prompted him to plead guilty. Yes, the arrangement avoids the death penalty, but I think Califronia hasn't had an execution for at least 15 years, and at 74 he is unlikely ever to be out of prison again, regardless of the sentence. Yes, he could be placed in a regular prison other than on death row, but as a child rapist (at least some victims were in their teens), I doubt he would fare well in general population and he would likely be placed in some protective unit--not sure that's much better than death row. I would also think a trial ould be more interesting than sitting in a cell, and reliving his "triumphs" through testimony would be something a lot of similar criminals would enjoy, especially over and extended period of time. Is it a compuslion to confess before he dies? Or maybe he just can' be bothered fighting it?

[Long Run]

Maybe his own family wanted to put this behind them as quickly as possible and prevailed on him to work out a deal.

[Big RR]

Perhaps; but given his crimes I doubt he gives much thought as to what others want. I guess it could be different with his family.

[MajGenl.Meade]

As long as it's not "clearing the books" - yeah, I did that. Uh-huh, me there too. What else you need to get rid of?

[dales]

It came out in testimony that he had a small penis.

[Big RR]

You mean he's Trump's brother?