Events
9 events in this investigation
Golden State Killer
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Timeline
26 events from 1973 to 2020
DeAngelo served as an Exeter police officer from 1973-1976, committing crimes while employed in law enforcement.
DeAngelo committed over 100 burglaries as the Visalia Ransacker while serving as a police officer in nearby Exeter.
Sacramento Sheriff's Department was the primary agency investigating the EAR attacks from 1976 to 1979.
DeAngelo committed at least 50 sexual assaults across the Sacramento area from 1976 to 1979.
DeAngelo committed the majority of his sexual assaults in Sacramento-area communities.
Shelby was a lead detective on the original EAR investigation in Sacramento County.
Crompton investigated the EAR cases in Contra Costa County and documented the crimes in "Sudden Terror."
DeAngelo committed at least 13 murders in Southern California from 1979 to 1986.
DeAngelo committed murders across Southern California counties as the Original Night Stalker.
DNA proved the ONS murders were committed by the same person as the EAR rapes.
DNA analysis linked the EAR Sacramento rapes to the ONS Southern California murders.
McNamara wrote the 2013 LA Magazine article that coined the name "Golden State Killer."
McNamara wrote the majority of the book before her death in 2016; it was completed posthumously.
Holes worked with Rae-Venter on the forensic genealogy investigation that identified DeAngelo.
Rae-Venter uploaded crime scene DNA to GEDmatch and built family trees from partial matches.
Oswalt ensured McNamara's unfinished book was completed and published after her death.
Rae-Venter's forensic genealogy work identified DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer through family tree analysis.
Parabon NanoLabs became a leading forensic genealogy provider, solving hundreds of cases after the GSK breakthrough.
The use of GEDmatch in the GSK case catalyzed the broader adoption of forensic genealogy and sparked privacy debates.
DeAngelo's arrest through forensic genealogy triggered nationwide adoption of the technique for cold cases.
FBI provided lab resources and support for the forensic genealogy investigation.
GEDmatch's public DNA database provided the partial matches that led to DeAngelo's identification.
Holes' decades-long investigation and advocacy for forensic genealogy directly led to DeAngelo's identification.
Schubert announced DeAngelo's arrest at a press conference and led the prosecution effort.
Schubert oversaw the multi-county prosecution that resulted in DeAngelo's guilty plea and life sentence.
DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 counts of murder and admitted to the full scope of his crimes.
Showing 9 of 9
"I'll Be Gone in the Dark" Published (2018)
Entertainment & Media
Michelle McNamara's book "I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer" was published on February 27, 2018 — just two months before DeAngelo's arrest. Completed posthumously by Paul …
2 connections
DeAngelo Arrested (April 24, 2018)
Arrests
On April 24, 2018, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested at his home in Citrus Heights, California. Investigators had used forensic genealogy — uploading crime scene DNA to GEDmatch and building family trees from partial ma…
5 connections
DeAngelo Pleads Guilty & Sentenced (2020)
Legal Entities
On June 29, 2020, Joseph DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of kidnapping in a deal that spared him the death penalty. In exchange, he admitted to the full scope of his crimes, incl…
2 connections
DNA Links EAR to ONS (2001)
Breakthrough
In 2001, the Orange County Crime Lab used newly developed STR DNA profiling to match biological evidence from the East Area Rapist Sacramento cases to crime scenes from the Original Night Stalker murders in Southern Cali…
2 connections
East Area Rapist Attacks (1976-1979)
Crime
Series of home-invasion sexual assaults in Sacramento and the East Bay from June 1976 to July 1979, later tied by DNA to the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo.
5 connections
Forensic Genealogy Revolution (2018-Present)
Innovation
The Golden State Killer case catalyzed a revolution in forensic genealogy. Following DeAngelo's identification, the technique of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) was rapidly adopted by law enforcement agencies acros…
3 connections
McNamara Coins "Golden State Killer" (2013)
Entertainment & Media
In February 2013, Michelle McNamara published "In the Footsteps of a Killer" in Los Angeles Magazine, coining the name "Golden State Killer" for the still-unidentified East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker. The name ca…
1 connection
Original Night Stalker Murders (1979-1986)
Crime
From October 1979 to May 1986, the offender later known as the Original Night Stalker committed at least 13 murders in Southern California, including couples in their homes in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Orange, and other co…
2 connections
Visalia Ransacker Spree (1974-1975)
Crime
From 1974 to 1975, a burglar dubbed the "Visalia Ransacker" committed over 100 burglaries in Visalia, Tulare County. The burglar ransacked homes in a distinctive pattern, stealing personal items and women's undergarments…
1 connection