Golden State Killer Admits to 13 Murders And Rapes

DANA POINT, CA —In a darkened college ballroom filled with his victims — and in some cases, their survivors — the man dubbed the Golden State Killer admitted Monday to 13 murders and dozens of rapes. The crimes committed by Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. had remained unsolved in California for decades until investigators got a DNA break in the case in 2018.

The case of the Golden State Killer would be the first time a person publically arrested through genetic genealogy: DNA traced from a family member to DNA left behind at a crime scene. Since DeAngelo's arrest, over 150 criminal suspects have been identified in the same manner.

Ultimately, the 74-year-old from Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty to 13 murders and rapes, while confessing to 62 rapes and abductions that have passed the statute of limitations. The confessions bought him his life. The plea deal spares DeAngelo the death penalty and frees up elderly witnesses from testifying during the pandemic, according to prosecutors. For many in the crowded ballroom at Cal State Sacramento, it was a morning they spent almost a lifetime waiting for.

The horror story of DeAngelo's reign of terror played out for all to witness during Monday's proceedings. He was known as the East Area Rapist, and the Original Night Stalker in the 1970s. Later, his moniker changed to the Golden State Killer as crime bloggers, and detectives worked to solve the convoluted case of over 50 rapes and 13 murders.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman heard detailed descriptions of DeAngelo's crimes from prosecutors across California. The accused man's voice rang hollow across the ballroom as charges were read, and he repeatedly answered "guilty," admitting to all charges filed against him.

DeAngelo, charged in 13 murders, was brought into the modified courtroom by his attorney, Diane Howard, she offered up her client's guilty plea to the string of murders across the state in the early 1980s after prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty.

Todd Spitzer, Orange County's District Attorney, voice full of emotion, took the plea for the county's four murder cases.

In Orange County, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to the murders of 24-year-old Keith and 28-year-old Patrice Harrington on Aug. 19, 1980, in Dana Point; 28-year-old Manuela Witthuhn in Irvine in February 1981; and 18-year-old Janelle Cruz in Irvine on May 5, 1986.

The Harringtons, a newlywed couple, lived in a single-story home in the gated Niguel Shores community. They were attacked in their bedroom, Spitzer said.

Their bodies were found on their blood-spattered bed with ligature marks on their wrists and Patrice's ankles, Spitzer said. Their killer left the bindings on the bed.

It appears the killer tied the victims' hands behind their backs, covered them in a comforter, and slammed a blunt object over their heads, according to Investigator Larry Pool of the Golden State Killer task force.

Read also: Golden State Killer's 'Murder Habit' Unraveled In HBO Miniseries

Witthuhn was attacked sometime between 11 p.m. on Feb. 5, 1981, and 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, 1981, when investigators believe she died, according to Spitzer. The cause of death was skull fractures from being bludgeoned. Her mother discovered Witthuhn's body in a sleeping bag.

There was no evidence of a struggle and she had ligature marks on her wrists and on her right ankle.

Cruz, 18 at the time of her death, was killed about 5 p.m. on May 5, 1986, in her bed in her Irvine home.

Blood covered her head and neck, and she was partially covered by her blanket.

Cruz had "hemorrhaging in her eyes and bruises on the bridge of her nose, and three of her teeth" were knocked out — two discovered in her hair.

"You attacked her, you beat her, and you raped her," Spitzer spoke directly to DeAngelo in a voice rich with emotion.

Unlike the other victims, Cruz had no ligature marks on her wrists. However, abrasions marred her skin. Investigators speculated that Cruz's killer squeezed her wrists so hard he "left a mark," Pool said. Her body was found with a swollen lower lip and bitten tongue.

An ultraviolet light spotlighted semen on her body, according to Pool. No murder weapon was found, but a pipe wrench in the backyard was missing.

Cruz's cause of death was "crushing skull fractures," he said.

In 1996, investigators matched semen at the crime scene to the killer in the two other Orange County cases. By 1998, DNA from the scene of all four Orange County murders were matched. By 2011, DNA from murders committed in Contra Costa county, Ventura County and Santa Barbara County were matched to the Orange County murders.

North of Orange County, DeAngelo also pleaded guilty to the murders of Lyman and Charlene Smith in the city of Ventura on March 13, 1980; Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez in Goleta on July 27, 1981; Robert Offerman and Alexandria Manning in Goleta on Dec. 30, 1979; Brian and Katie Maggiore in Rancho Cordova on Feb. 2, 1978; and Claude Snelling in Visalia on Sept. 11, 1975.

DeAngelo also admitted his involvement in the so-called Visalia Ransacker burglaries from April 1974 through December 1975, a spree that ended with the attempted murder of Visalia Police Department Officer Bill McGowan as he tried to apprehend the suspect.

With some key witnesses now 80-years-old or above, including multiple detectives who investigated these murders, support among the victims' families has been "overwhelming'' for a plea deal, City News Service reported.

During a news conference following the court proceedings, Spitzer's voice was heavy with emotion, breaking at one point, as he talked about what victims and survivors endured. "I will tell you, I swear I saw the devil today," Spitzer said of DeAngelo. Anyone who could do what he did, over and over, is the devil, he asserted.

Spitzer also praised his team, from the prosecutor's office to law enforcement. He noted the current calls around the nation to de-fund police forces. But, Spitzer said, DeAngelo was caught and held accountable because of police work.

The Golden State Killer is additionally now known to be the East Area Rapist. He admitted to 52 attacks in Contra Costa, Sacramento, and Santa Clara counties from June 1976 through July 1979.

HBO has released a miniseries telling multiple rape victims' stories and searching for the Golden State Killer, as researched by Michelle McNamara in her posthumously released book, "I'll Be Gone In The Dark."

DeAngelo will return to court in August when victim impact statements will begin.

City News Service contributed to this report.