Joseph DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, was sentenced Friday to 12 life terms for numerous murders, rapes and other crimes he committed in California, including some in the Bay Area, a judge said at the hearing in Sacramento County Superior Court.
DeAngelo, now 74 years old, confessed in June to 13 murders and dozens of rapes that terrorized the state in the 70s and 80s. In that time, he was also called the East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker and the Visalia Ransacker.
His attacks were not only violent but later often included humiliation, especially of husbands.
DeAngelo, a former police officer, was arrested at his Citrus Heights home in April 2018 after a distant relative’s genealogy DNA linked him to crime scene evidence.
He has been seen in court using a wheelchair, though video surveillance of his cell showed an able and agile man cleaning his floors and standing on top of his desk to cover a light.
DeAngelo was sentenced to the maximum time allowed by law and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The judge said DeAngelo deserves no mercy.
Keith Burbank of Bay City News contributed to this report.