Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho speaking about the investigation, capture and prosecution of Joseph DeAngelo in his book, “The People vs. The Golden State Killer,” at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Craig Lee/The Examiner

For decades, Californians lived in uncertainty and fear as a rapist and serial killer waged chaos in counties from as far north as Sacramento to as far south as San Clemente, killing 13 people total and assaulting dozens more.

The serial killer went dormant in the 1980s, but survivors still traumatized by their experiences wouldn’t feel relief until 2018, when Joseph DeAngelo, known to police by names like the “East Area Rapist” and “Visalia Ransacker,” was identified, arrested, and officially dubbed the “Golden State Killer.

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