Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings

The Golden State Killer

The Golden State Killer is a serial killer, serial rapist, and burglar who committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California from 1974 to 1986. He is believed to be responsible for at least three crime sprees throughout California, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same person. In the Sacramento area he was known as the East Area Rapist, and was linked by modus operandi to additional attacks in Contra Costa County in Stockton and Modesto. He was later known for his southern California crimes as the Original Night Stalker. He is suspected to have begun as a burglar (the Visalia Ransacker) before moving to the Sacramento area, based on a similar modus operandi and circumstantial evidence. He taunted and threatened his victims and police in obscene phone calls and other communications.

During the decades-long investigation, several suspects have been cleared through DNA evidence, alibi, or other investigative methods. In 2001, DNA testing indicated that the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker were the same person. 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. To heighten awareness that the uncaught killer operated throughout California, crime writer Michelle McNamara coined the name "Golden State Killer" in early 2013.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law-enforcement agencies held a news conference on June 15, 2016, to announce a renewed nationwide effort, offering a $50,000 reward for his capture. On April 24, 2018, authorities charged 72-year-old United States Navy veteran and former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo with eight counts of first-degree murder based upon DNA evidence. This was also the first announcement connecting the Visalia Ransacker crimes to the Golden State Killer. Due to California's statute of limitations on pre-2017 rape cases, DeAngelo cannot be charged with 1970s rapes, but he was charged in August 2018 with 13 related kidnapping and abduction attempts.

Crimes

DNA evidence links the Golden State Killer to eight murders in Goleta, Ventura, Dana Point, and Irvine; two other murders in Goleta, lacking DNA evidence, are linked by modus operandi. Investigators suspect the same killer was involved in three other murders: two in Rancho Cordova and in Visalia. The offender also committed more than 50 known rapes in the California counties of Sacramento, Contra Costa, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Alameda, Santa Clara and Yolo, in addition to hundreds of incidents of burglaries, thefts, vandalism, peeping, stalking, and prowling.

Visalia Ransacker (April 1974–December 1975)

It was long suspected that the training ground of the criminal who would become the Golden State Killer was Visalia, California (although earlier Visalia crimes dating back as early as May 1973 and other sprees like the 'Cordova Cat Burglar' or the 'Exeter Ransacker', as well as burglaries that took place after the McGowen shooting, are now suspected to be linked as well). Over a period of 20 months, the Ransacker is believed to have been responsible for one murder and around 120 burglaries. Most of the Ransacker's activities involved breaking into houses, rifling through (or vandalizing) the owner's possessions, scattering women's underclothing, stealing coins and low-value or personal items, while often ignoring banknotes and other valuable items in plain sight.

In late April 2018, the Visalia chief of police stated that while there is no DNA linking DeAngelo to the Central Valley cases, his department has other evidence that will play a role in the investigation, and that he was "confident that the Visalia Ransacker has been captured." Though the statutes of limitations for the burglaries have each expired, DeAngelo was formally charged on August 13, 2018, with the first degree murder of Claude Snelling in 1975.