‘Golden State Killer’ Suspect, A Former Police Officer, Arrested After DNA Match, Officials Say
More than 40 years after the so-called “Golden State Killer” began terrorizing California, raping dozens of women and killing at least 12, authorities announced Wednesday that they had arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo in the case.
DeAngelo’s arrest offered a shocking, abrupt development in what had long been one of the most notorious unsolved crime sprees in U.S. history. The gruesome string of attacks unfolded across California for more than a decade, shattering families and communities, and then remained a mystery for a generation, with little sign the case would ever be solved.
The trail ultimately led authorities to DeAngelo, a former police officer living in Citrus Heights, Calif., a city outside Sacramento. Authorities said DeAngelo — who was an officer when at least some of the attacks occurred — was found through DNA evidence, though they declined to elaborate on what that evidence was or how it was obtained.
SOURCE ⇒ WASHINGTONPOST
