The Original Night Stalker (Update)
In April of 2018, police arrested 72-year-old Joseph James Deangelo and charged him with twelve murders. Now certain to spend the rest of his life in prison, the case of the Original Night Stalker (aka the East Area Rapist, the Golden State Killer, and the Visalia Ransacker) has been put to rest…
Between 1974 and 1986, a serial offender terrorized families throughout California.
First, he struck as the Visalia Ransacker: an offender that burgled homes and stole belongings in Visalia (a small town in central California). He is rumored to have also struck in nearby towns Exeter and Cordova during this same spree, but that is unconfirmed as of yet. But we do know that between 1974 and 1975, the Visalia Ransacker committed over 120 burglaries, and was rumored to have been the culprit behind the murder of Claude Snelling in 1975; a crime that likely caused the Ransacker to relocate roughly 200 miles north to Sacramento.
There, in the summer of 1976, the East Area Rapist was born. No longer satisfied with simple burglaries, this serial offender began committing heinous sexual assaults. This sadist would break-in to his victims' homes beforehand to get a lay of the land, and would harass his victims via telephone long afterwards. While he primarily targeted young women that were home alone, this man would eventually begin attacking couples; where he could use the leverage of bodily harm to torment both man and woman. He committed at least fifty of these sexual assaults before being chased off by a prepared couple, and this seems to have scared him yet again to relocate.
The final incarnation of this offender took the form of a nameless phantom, who primarily haunted couples in southern California between 1979 and 1986. After a couple of failed attacks in a row, this offender made it a point to leave no witness alive, and would bring his kill total to a dozen over the next several years. His victims included the following: Robert Offerman, Debra Manning, Charlene & Lyman Smith, Keith & Patrice Harrington, Manuela Witthuhn, Cheri Domingo, Greg Sanchez, and finally - after a 5 year hiatus - teenager Janelle Cruz in 1986.
Years later, DNA testing would confirm that all of these crimes had been committed by the same offender: an unknown individual that had somehow managed to avoid capture and/or detection for years. They dubbed him "The Original Night Stalker," as he committed the same type of crimes as the notorious Richard Ramirez but predated his crime spree by at least a decade; but decades later, author Michelle McNamara would condense all of these nicknames into a single monicker... the Golden State Killer.
Witnesses had described this offender as a young man, who had a slender and athletic build. He was known to be physically capable, having bicycled to many of his crime scenes and having outrun survivors and police officers; and was also believed to have a flexible schedule, due to the many hours he spent prowling and tormenting his victims. But for years, police would hunt for this serial offender - who would rank among the worst in American, if not human, history - with no luck.
I originally covered this story in the first three episodes of Unresolved, which were released over four years ago: back in October of 2015. At the time, I was actually living in central California, and was totally immersed in the case, which wasn't very well-known at the time. Michelle McNamara's book, "I'll be Gone in the Dark," was still years away from release, and the tremendous multi-part Casefile podcast series was still a couple of years away.
At the time, not many believed that this infamous offender - who I referred to as "The Original Night Stalker," but has become more well-known as the "Golden State Killer" - would ever be identified or captured. But on April 25th, 2018, it was announced that law enforcement agents had finally apprehended the man behind all of these heinous assaults, who was no monster... but just a sad, lonely, despicable old man.
In the first half of 2018, investigators with the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office had the idea to upload the DNA of this mysterious offender to GEDmatch, an DNA service website that compiles genomic data to establish familial ties. Using this service, officials - led by investigator Paul Holes - were able to identify roughly one dozen relatives of the mysterious Golden State Killer, including cousins of various degrees.
Using this technology, investigators were able to create a large genealogical family tree of the mysterious individual, narrowing down the possibilities until they arrived at just two names. The first was quickly eliminated, after police obtained a close relative's DNA and compared it to the Golden State Killers.
This led police to their only other option: a recently-retired individual named Joseph James Deangelo.
Joseph James Deangelo Jr. was the son of the United States Airman of the same name (Joseph Deangelo Sr.) and Kathleen Bosano. He was the oldest of four children, having two younger sisters and a younger brother.
At some point in his youth, his parents divorced, and his mother remarried. Joseph then moved with his mother, stepfather, and siblings to California in the late 1950's or early 1960's, living in the area of Auburn (on the northeastern outskirts of Sacramento). He attended Folsom High School between 1961 and 1963, and would earn his GED in 1964.
Following this, at the onset of the Vietnam War, Deangelo enlisted in the US Navy. He would serve on the USS Canberra and the USS Piedmont. The exact time he was in the service is contested, but he served for at least 22 months, and is rumored to have served for at least a few years.
After his return stateside, Deangelo began attending colleges and universities in California, earning degrees in criminal justice and police science. He seems to have set his sights on law enforcement as a profession, and followed up a police internship with his first job as an Exeter, California Police Officer in the Spring of 1973. He worked primarily as a patrolman, but was involved on at least one burglary task force, giving him required knowledge of cat burglars and prowlers. Ironically, the month that he became a police officer - May of 1973 - the offenders known as the Cordova Cat, as well as the Exeter and Visalia Ransackers, began to strike in the area.
In 1976 - when the Visalia Ransacker disappeared and the East Area Rapist emerged - Deangelo moved back home, north from the Exeter Police Department to the Auburn Police Department. Here, he worked just outside of Sacramento for the next few years, while the East Area Rapist tormented families throughout the region.
On July 5th, 1979, the East Area Rapist would strike for the final time, after being chased off by a prepared couple that nearly overpowered the unassuming attacker. In another twist of fate, just weeks later - on July 21st - Joseph James Deangelo was caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellant from a store in Citrus Heights. The following month, he was fired from the Auburn Police Department, and his career in law enforcement would be permanently ended.
It was at around this time that the attacks in southern California began occurring, which were later attributed to "The Original Night Stalker" (and then the "Golden State Killer"). Conveniently, the crime spree temporarily ended just two months before the birth of Deangelo's first child, but would pick up again five years later... just months before the birth of his second child. Then, this criminal seemed to disappear forever, just as Joseph James Deangelo settled into a relatively quiet life.
Deangelo and his wife, Sharon, would have a grand total of three kids (two were born in Sacramento, and one was born in Los Angeles). They had married in 1973, and would remain married until 2019; but unofficially separated in the early 1990's, and began living apart. He would remain at their Citrus Heights home, which they had purchased in the early 1980's.
For the next few decades, Deangelo worked a number of low-maintenance jobs. He had started working as a mechanic for a Sacramento-area Save Mart Distribution Center in August of 1989, and he would work there until his retirement in 2017.
He was still in the early months of his retirement when police arrived at his home in April of 2018, announcing that he was under arrest. Despite the statute of limitations on the sexual assaults having lapsed, he was being charged with eight counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances; a total that would be amended to twelve the following month.
Three days after his arrest, Deangelo would appear in court for the first time, and tried to play up his age as much as possible, speaking quietly and feigning confusion; an act that earned him a number of groans throughout the courtroom.
When I originally brought you an update in this case - back in April of 2018 - I was ecstatic. This news was almost surreal, especially since the news of Deangelo's arrest came on my birthday. I woke up to so many messages and texts from you wonderful listeners that morning, and I honestly almost thought that I was dreaming.
For so long, the Original Night Stalker - the East Area Rapist - the Visalia Ransacker - the Golden State Killer... had been my personal boogeyman. Hearing that he was just a normal man... nothing but old flesh and brittle bones... it honestly changed my perspective of the monsters I typically cover on this show: these aren't people to fear, they're people to pity.
For decades, Joseph James Deangelo had been a monster to many, but has now been awaiting trial for the better part of two years. He last appeared in court in August of 2019, and looked to be a shell of the man that was arrested back in 2018; likely due to him going on a hunger strike behind bars.
Nothing of major importance has happened in the court proceedings to-date, other than Deangelo being charged and the groundwork being laid for his imminent trial. It has been ruled upon that the trial will be televised, and I'm sure major networks will be covering it when the time approaches. Deangelo is next scheduled to appear in court on January 22nd, 2020, and I can only hope that justice will be found for the countless victims of the Golden State Killer and their loved ones.
In the months since I released this audio update, even more information has come to light.
On June 29th, 2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and kidnapping - a plea that would save him the mercy of having to endure a months-long trial, amidst the COVID 19 outbreak. Because of this plea deal, the death penalty was taken off of the table, ensuring that this vile killer would spend the rest of his life in prison. As a concession, DeAngelo began admitting to several crimes that he had not been charged with (including rape).
In August of 2020, DeAngelo would be called back into court to hear the testimony from his surviving victims and their loved ones. Then, on August 21st, he would receive his official prison sentence: life in prison without the possibility in parole.
Thankfully, this case is now resolved.