Joseph DeAngelo, the man known as the Golden State Killer, has been given the life sentence.
A Sacramento County judge granted DeAngelo, 74, life sentence without the possibility of parole after teary-eyed victims and their family members read out statements in the court.
DeAngelo, who confessed to 13 counts of rape and 13 rape-related charges, showed no trace of emotion during the two-hour hearing at a makeshift courtroom inside a ballroom at the Sacramento State University. The courtroom was set up so that the victims and family members could spread out amid the coronavirus pandemic.
When allowed to speak, DeAngelo rose from a wheelchair, took off a mask, and said: "I've listened to all your statements. Each one of them. And I'm really sorry to everyone I've hurt." Prosecutors said later that they did not think DeAngelo's apology was sincere. DeAngelo carried out his cries between 1975-1986 and confessed to the crimes to save himself from a potential death sentence.
DeAngelo, also publicly admitted to dozens more rapes for which the statute of limitations had expired. The crimes committed by Deangelo remained unsolved and his identity a mystery until his arrest on April 24 2018. DeAngelo, a former police officer was a Vietnam war veteran and later was an auto mechanic. His crimes started with lurking, stalking and theft, which escalated to murder and rape. His crimes have impacted lives of 87 victims in 11 counties in California.
One of the victim’s daughter—Courtney Strouse— recalled how her mother, who had been raped by DeAngelo in the 1970s until her death in 2016 awoke repeatedly during the nights to check on her children and make sure all doors and windows were locked.
During his crime spree, DeAngelo is said to have invaded 120 homes.
DeAngelo, whose crimes had traumatised generations in California’s capital, was traced through family DNA from commercial genealogy websites.
