Police Arrest Suspected Golden State Killer, 6 Murdered in Local Area

He committed 50 known rapes in the California counties of Sacramento, Contra Costa, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Alameda, Santa Clara and Yolo. DNA evidence conclusively links him to eight murders in Goleta, Ventura, Dana Point and Irvine, with two other murders in Goleta linked by modus operandi, or distinctive features, but not DNA. Many investigators also suspect the same killer in three other murders—two in Rancho Cordova and one in Visalia.

It’s been more than 40 years since his first recorded attacks. No one was caught or significantly identified in the case, although there were suspects. Police only had minor details about his looks, along with a sketch from an almost-victim. Although in recent years, there has been renewed interest in the case with multiple television programs and podcasts dedicated to discovering new evidence. The most significant information was detailed by the late-author Michelle McNamara’s book “I’ll be Gone in the Dark.”

McNamara extensively worked with investigators but died before the book could be published. It was finished by her husband, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, and researcher Paul Haynes. On Wednesday morning, Oswalt posted a video on Instagram stating, “Think you got him, Michelle.”

Suspected Local Connections to Golden State Killer

According to author Larry Crompton’s book “Sudden Terror,” an intruder broke in and tied up a Goleta couple on October 1, 1979. The attacker allegedly was chanting “I’ll kill ’em” to himself and when he left the room, the man and then the woman made attempts to escape during which the woman screamed. The intruder then fled on a bicycle when a neighbor, who was an FBI agent, responded to the noise and pursued. The suspect abandoned the bike and his knife and fled on foot through local backyards.

A few months later on December 30, 1979, Dr. Robert Offerman, 44, and Dr. Debra Alexandra Manning, 35, were found shot dead at Offerman’s condominium on Avenida Pequena in Goleta. The bindings on Offerman were untied, indicating he had apparently lunged at the attacker. Neighbors heard the gunshots but failed to respond to them, attributing them to innocuous causes. According to news reports, prints from a large dog were found at the scene, leading to speculation that the killer may have brought it with him. There is evidence that he fed the dog some leftover Christmas turkey from the fridge. The killer also broke into the adjoining residence, to the west of the crime scene, which was vacant at the time, and stole a bicycle from a third residence in the same complex. The bicycle was later found abandoned on a street to the north of the crime scene.

  

The October 1 attack in Goleta was later linked physically to the Offerman-Manning murders by shoeprints and the same roll of twine being used to bind the victims.

On March 13, 1980, Charlene Smith, 33, and Lyman Smith, 43, who was about to be appointed as a Judge, were found murdered in their home in Ventura. According to news reports, Charlene Smith had also been raped. A log from the fireplace was used to bludgeon both the victims to death. Their wrists and ankles had been bound with a drapery cord. in an unusual Chinese knot, known as the diamond knot. The same knot had been noted in the East Area Rapist attacks in Sacramento, with at least one confirmed case publicly known.

On July 27, 1981, Cheri Domingo, 35, and Gregory Sanchez, 27, became the 10th and 11th murder victims of the Original Night Stalker. Both were attacked in Domingo’s house on Toltec Way in Goleta, several blocks south of the Offerman–Manning crime scene. Their murder has been linked to the Original Night Stalker by DNA left at the scene. According to news reports, he is believed to have broken into the home in Goleta, which was up for sale at the time of the attack. Law enforcement believe the attacker may have worked as a painter or related role in the Calle Real Shopping Center.

“It is unknown how the Original Night Stalker selected Domingo and Sanchez as victims. Domingo’s daughter Debbi (who was 15 at the time) was staying with friends on the night of the attack. Her son was out of state with other family members. The home in Goleta belonged to Domingo’s family and she was staying there temporarily. The offender had entered the property via a small window in the bathroom. Sanchez had not been tied, he had been shot in the cheek, although not fatally. He was then bludgeoned to death with a garden tool taken from the property. Some believe Sanchez may have realized he was dealing with the man responsible for the murder of Offerman and Manning, and made a desperate attempt to tackle the killer rather than be tied up. As in the Offerman–Manning case, no neighbors responded to the sound of the gunshot. Sanchez’s head was covered with clothes pulled from the closet. Bruises on Domingo’s wrists and ankles indicated she had been tied, although the restraints were missing. She had been raped and bludgeoned. A single piece of shipping twine was found near the bed. Fibers of an unknown source were scattered over her body,” according to Wikipedia.

Local investigators involved in the murders in Goleta and Ventura did not initially believe they were connected to murders in Dana Point and Irvine. According to Crompton, one Sacramento detective strongly believed the East Area Rapist was responsible for the Goleta attacks, but at first, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department attributed them to a local career criminal who had himself subsequently been murdered. Investigating the crimes that did not occur in Goleta caused local police to follow false leads related to men who had been close to the female victims. One suspect, later acknowledged to be innocent, was charged with two murders. Linking all of the cases together was achieved mostly by DNA testing, which was not done until numerous years later.

The Arrest of DeAngelo

Law enforcement were outside of DeAngelo’s home Wednesday morning in the Sacramento area, in a part of town called Citrus Heights, according to The Sacramento Bee. The suspect was identified after a “renewed push” on the investigation by the sheriff’s department and district attorney, The Bee said.

Jail records show that DeAngelo fits the FBI profile of the killer: 5’11” and now between the ages of 60 and 75 years old. Public records show that he lived, at various times, in the Sacramento area, Whittier, and Long Beach. The Golden State Killer was, according to the FBI, thought to have an “interest in the military, or had some military training, leaving him familiar and proficient with firearms.”

DeAngelo was at one point a policeman in Auburn, outside of Sacramento, who was reportedly fired after he was accused of shoplifting a can of dog repellent and a hammer at a drug store in Sacramento in 1979. He was terminated after he “failed to answer any of the city’s investigations and did not request an administrative hearing,” the city manager said at the time, according to The Daily Beast.

His last known crime, the only one after 1981, took place in 1986. Several suspects were cleared through DNA, alibi, or other investigative means and methods. On June 15, 2016, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies held a news conference to announce a nationwide effort and a $50,000 reward for his capture.

The serial killer was known to take small, personal items from his victims’ homes, including mementos and wedding rings. He sometimes called to torment them afterward.

In 2001, he allegedly called a woman he’d attacked 24 years earlier, according to McNamara’s book. He whispered: “Remember when we played?”

The press conference can be viewed below: