Golden State Killer sentenced to life in prison for 13 murders

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joseph James DeAngelo was sentenced to multiple life prison sentences for a decade-long string of rapes and murders that terrorized California.

Prior to the sentencing he said in a statement Friday that he was “truly sorry.”

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman sentenced the former California police officer, dubbed the Golden State Killer, under a plea deal that called for him to be sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus 15 life terms with the possibility of parole and eight years for other enhancements.

The punishment means DeAngelo will die in prison for the crimes committed between 1975 and 1986.

He has publicly admitted dozens more sexual assaults for which the statute of limitations has expired. Prosecutors called the scale of the violence “simply staggering,” encompassing 87 victims at 53 crime scenes spanning 11 California counties.

DeAngelo eluded capture for four decades until investigators used a new form of DNA tracking to unmask and arrest him in 2018.

Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, but settled for a life term given California’s moratorium on executions, the coronavirus pandemic, and the advancing age of DeAngelo, his victims, and the witnesses they needed to make their case.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Cox Media Group