Golden State Killer's Orange County Homicide Detective Reflects

DANA POINT, CA — Over the course of 40 years, police have sifted through the faces of 8,000 suspects to determine the man responsible for the Golden State Killings.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's investigator responsible for researching the southernmost cases, the 72-year-old Sacramento man arrested on suspicion of the crimes was not among them.

OCSD Investigator Larry Pool first came to the case in 1998 as an aspiring homicide investigator. For the next 20 years, he studied the case with other investigators across the state of California. Now he at last has a face and a name to put with the four Orange County killings.

Read Also: Suspected Serial Killer Suspect Linked To Dana Point Murders

Pool stated that he felt "elation, a sense of relief that I have not had felt the depth of in a good 20 years. Satisfaction and also a sense that our work has just begun. There's a lot of work behind us and a lot of work ahead of us," he told reporters.

DNA helped break the case.

Learning that a solid arrest had been made, thanks to DNA evidence, was a "feeling I've been longing for for 20 years," he said. "When it does happen it takes your breath away a little bit. I'm still experiencing what the survivors are experiencing -- that we'll wake up tomorrow and pinch ourselves -- is it real?"

Read: Golden State Killer: 5 Chilling Theories Once Seen As Crazy

Over years of research, Pool's theories on who the Golden State Killer was evolved. Initially, he felt that he was chasing someone "really specific as regards to their behavior," Pool said. "Eventually, we broadened the net."

It was widely suspected by investigators that the killer may have had a law enforcement or military background.

DeAngelo worked for two police departments in California in the 1970s.

"It's possible DeAngelo's law enforcement background helped him evade authorities," Pool said.

After the Arrest

One of the thrills Pool had was calling a colleague who also worked the case for many years to convey the good news.

It was late when Pool dialed up retired Contra Costa sheriff's investigator Larry Crompton.

"I could hear in his voice that he was just shocked and that kind of astonishment you hear" at unexpected news, Pool said. "I prepped him quickly. I didn't want to torture him. Again, that was one of those calls you look forward to for a very long time."

Related Story: Joseph James Deangelo: 5 Things To Know About The Golden State Killer

Joseph James DeAngelo Complaint by Ashley Ludwig on Scribd

City News Service and Patch Editor Paige Austin contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Booking photo via Sacramento County Sheriff's Department;