The Golden State Killer

Between 1974 and 1986, an unidentified assailant committed a string of burglaries, rapes, and murders across California, known at various points in the investigation as the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker, and eventually the Golden State Killer. He is confirmed responsible for at least 13 murders and roughly 50 rapes.

A cold case for four decades

Despite extensive investigation over the decades, the case went unsolved and cold, with the trail growing colder as forensic technology of the era reached its limits.

Solved through genetic genealogy

In April 2018, investigators used investigative genetic genealogy, uploading crime-scene DNA to a public genealogy website to find relatives and narrow down a family tree, to identify Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer, as the suspect. It was one of the first major cases solved using this technique, which has since been used in many other cold cases.

Trial and sentence

DeAngelo pleaded guilty in 2020 to 13 counts of murder and 13 kidnapping-related charges as part of a deal that spared him the death penalty, also admitting to dozens of additional uncharged crimes. He was sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.