Landmark Cases
Golden State Killer Case
Also Known As East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker (EARONS)
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
A series of murders, rapes and burglaries committed across California between 1974 and 1986, publicly known under several monikers before genetic genealogy identified Joseph James DeAngelo as the offender in April 2018.
Facts
Case YearSourced to the subject's own accountCrimes span 1974 to 1986; 2018 is the year of identification and arrest. LocationSourced to the subject's own accountCalifornia, United States 1 Investigative or Reform SignificanceSourced to the subject's own accountThe first cold case resolved through forensic genetic genealogy: investigators uploaded a crime-scene DNA profile to the public genealogy website GEDmatch and built a family tree from distant relatives to identify the offender, a technique now used across law enforcement. 1 Case StatusSourced to the subject's own accountClosed; convicted (pleaded guilty in June 2020 as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty). 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Exemplifies
Investigated By
Used In
Investigative genetic genealogy built on a public genealogy-database DNA match identified Joseph James DeAngelo in 2018.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
Opening paragraphQuote, Opening paragraph
On April 24, 2018, California authorities charged 72-year-old DeAngelo with eight counts of first-degree murder
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
Other names, 2001 DNA linkageQuote, Other names, 2001 DNA linkage
In 2001, DNA testing indicated that the offenders labeled as the 'East Area Rapist' and the 'Original Night Stalker' were the same person, resulting in the combined acronym EARONS.
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
Opening paragraph, investigation summaryQuote, Opening paragraph, investigation summary
investigators identified members of DeAngelo's family through forensic genetic genealogy
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
Investigated By: Barbara Rae-Venter, Investigation sectionQuote, Investigated By: Barbara Rae-Venter, Investigation section
a team of five investigators working with genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter used this list to construct a large family tree
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
1. Wikipedia: Joseph James DeAngelo
Exemplifies: Cold Case, lead section, arrest dateQuote, Exemplifies: Cold Case, lead section, arrest date
On April 24, 2018, Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies arrested DeAngelo in the side yard of his Sacramento home.
Frequently Asked Questions
How was the Golden State Killer finally identified after four decades?
Investigators used genetic genealogy: DNA recovered from crime scenes was uploaded to a public genealogy database and matched to distant relatives, and the family tree that produced was narrowed until it pointed to Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer, who was arrested in April 2018. Publicly, the perpetrator had gone by several different monikers across the series of California crimes committed between 1974 and 1986 before that identification.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.