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The Golden State Killer terrorized the entire state of California for nearly 40 years. His crimes began in Visalia, California in the mid-1970’s. Between April 1974 and December 1975 there were over 120 reported burglaries just in the Visalia area. The intruder was known to enter the home, rifle through the homeowner’s possessions and even scatter women’s underclothing around the house. Law enforcement nicknamed their suspect the “Visalia Ransacker”.

The Visalia Ransacker’s crimes escalated from simple home burglaries to his first murder victim on September 11, 1975. The ransacker entered the home of 45-year old Claude Snelling and fatally shot him while attempting to kidnap Snelling’s teenage daughter.

Law enforcement nicknamed their suspect the “Visalia Ransacker”.

Photo of Claude Snelling

Photo Source: Daily Mail

By mid-1976, the crimes moved to Sacramento, CA and progressed from burglaries to rapes. Most of the attacks occurred in the unincorporated areas of Carmichael, Citrus Heights, and Rancho Cardova. His M.O. was to target middle-class neighborhoods, in search of women living alone in single story homes, usually close to a trail or creek for an easy escape. This is the time he became known as the “East Area Rapist.”

Composite sketch of the East Area Rapist

Unfortunately, law enforcement in Visalia, CA couldn’t connect the house burglaries to the rapes occuring in the East Bay.

The East Area Rapist didn’t only attack single women, living alone. He began targeting couples. He would break in usually through a window or sliding glass door, shine a flashlight in the couple’s face, and tie them up. The East Area Rapist would place dishes from the kitchen on the man’s back and threatened to kill everyone in the house if he even heard a peep from the dishes. 

Reports indicate that the East Bay area held a Community Town Hall meeting to discuss the increase in rapes throughout the community. At this town hall meeting, a man reportedly stood up and verbally criticized the police for their investigation of the case. It’s reported he said quote “how can anyone get away with raping a woman in front of her husband”, mocking the intruder. The man and his wife were attacked inside their home shortly after the town hall meeting. Many people speculated that the East Area Rapist must have personally attended the meeting. 

Alleged photo of the East Area Rapist attending the Town Hall Meeting

Photo Source: Reddit

However, the Town Hall Meeting happened in 1976, and the East Area Rapist is believed to have arrived in Sacramento in 1977. You be the judge.

By this point, the killer moved to Southern California and became known as the “Original Night Stalker” where he committed murders in Goleta, Dana Point, Irvine, and Ventura.

Golden State Killer Victims Top left to right: Dr. Debra Manning, Brian and Katie Maggiore, Manuela Witthuhn, Lyman and Charlene Smith; bottom from left: Keith and Patrice Harrington, Dr. Robert Offerman, Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez, and Janelle Cruz

The last known attack by the Golden State Killer occurred in 1986. After 1986, there were zero burglaries, zero rapes, and zero rapes committed by GSK. Nearly 20 years would pass until there was a break in the case.

On June 15, 2015, the FBI released further information into the hunt for the Golden State Killer and offer the public a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Law enforcement began thinking of creative ways to catch their suspect. 

Police used a tool referred to as genetic genealogy. Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA tests combined with traditional genealogical methods to connect biological relationships between people. If you’ve ever submitted your DNA through an at home DNA testing kit like 23-And-Me or GEDMatch, you’ve submitted your unique DNA profile for genetic genealogy.  

Police investigators used the database made available by GEDMatch, which contains close to one million unique DNA profiles, to search for someone related to their suspect.

They got a hit. At first, investigators were able to find the Golden State Killer’s great-great-great grandparents on GEDMatch. From there, law enforcement narrowed their search based on expected age of their suspect at the time of the crimes and where he would have been living.

Law enforcement found their needle in a haystack.

On April 24, 2018, authorities arrested 73-year old Joseph James DeAngelo, the man they believed is the Golden State Killer. Police waited 42 long years for this moment.

This is one of the first known cases in which genetic genealogy has been used to catch a killer. 

Right now, Joseph James DeAngelo is in police custody facing 13 murder charges and 13 rape-related charges. DeAngelo is a former Auburn Police Department officer, a Vietnam war veteran, a father, and a husband.

Joseph James DeAngelo booking photo next to composite sketch

Photo Source: WPTV

Episode Sources and Links:

Murder Squad Podcast with Paul Holes and Billy Jensen 

Golden State Killer Wikipedia

The Killer Encyclopedia