In the quiet suburb of Citrus Heights, California, the night once held a peculiar stillness. It wasn’t the kind that soothed; it watched.
Between 1974 and 1986, a series of burglaries, rapes, and murders terrorized communities across California. The crimes were initially treated as separate cases, each with its own moniker: the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker. It would take decades before investigators realized they were chasing the same man: the Golden State Killer, a man who moved like smoke through the lives of his victims, leaving behind shattered locks, whispered threats, and a trail of trauma that stretched across counties and generations.
Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer—a married father of three girls—was arrested in 2018 after investigators used forensic genealogy to match crime scene DNA to a distant relative on a public database. The arrest marked the end of one of the longest and most complex manhunts in American criminal history.
He often stalked his victims for days, entering homes beforehand to unlock windows or unload firearms. During the attacks, he used ligatures, blindfolds, and whispered threats to maintain control. In some cases, he called victims months or years later, his voice a chilling echo of control as he uttered a single word: “Remember.”
DeAngelo’s crimes were marked by a chilling level of planning and psychological manipulation. Between 1974 and 1986, he committed at least 13 murders, over 50 rapes, and more than 100 burglaries. His crimes were methodical, ritualistic.
Until DNA finally spoke.
The breakthrough came when investigators uploaded DNA from a rape kit to a genealogy website. From there, they built a family tree that led to DeAngelo. He was arrested outside his home in Citrus Heights, California, at the age of 72. The arrest itself was quiet. He was found in his home, eating a salad.
But the reckoning was loud.
Survivors testified. Families mourned anew. And the courtroom became a place where decades of silence were finally given voice.
In 2020, DeAngelo pled guilty to 13 counts of murder and 13 counts of kidnapping. He also admitted to numerous rapes and burglaries that could no longer be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The case not only brought long-awaited justice to survivors and families—it also reshaped the future of forensic investigation. But at its core, it remains a story of lives interrupted, communities haunted, and the enduring strength of those who refused to be forgotten.
Stories with soul. Strategy with spine. 