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Joseph DeAngelo would plead guilty for lifetime sentence, defense team says Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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>> I REMEMBER THE HEAT OF HIS BREATH ON MY NECK. I REMEMBER HIS VOICE. >> IT WAS A CRIME WAVE LIKE NO OTHER. >> GOING DOWN THE HALL HE WAS JUST HITTING ME AND THEN I PRETENDED TO BE KNOCKED OUT SO HE WOULD QUIT HITTING ME. THEN I HAD A SOCK STUFFED IN MY MOUTH, BLINDFOLDED, HANDS TIED, LEGS TIE >> SPREADING FEAR ACROSS SACRAMENTO >> GUN SALES ARE WAY UP, WITH SOME OF THE BUYERS NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH HOW TO USE FIREARMS AND THAT CAN BE DANGEROU THEN TO THE BAY AREA AND BEYOND IF CONTACTED ON THE STREET. HE WOULD BE COMPLACENT, COOPERATIVE, HOWEVER IF HE WAS PUT IN A THREATENING POSITION HE COULD BE VERY DANGEROU TONIGHT, THE CRIMES, THE VICTIMS.. AND THE NEW TOOL THAT DETECTIVES SAY FINALLY ENDED. THEIR "MANHUNT ACROSS CALIFORNIA" >> HE WOULD BECOME KNOWN BY MANY NAMES RANSAKER, RAPIST, STALKER AND KILLER. ALL OF THEM STRIKING FEAR. STARTING WITH A SERIES OF CRIMES LARGELY UNNOTICED HERE IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY. BUT, THAT WOULD CHANGE AS HIS CRIME WAVE SPREAD, AND THE VIOLENCE INTENSIFIED. IT IS THE STORY OF A RUTHLESS KILLER. TERRORIZED COMMUNITIES, AND DETERMINED DETECTIVES, A STORY THAT BEGAN MORE THAN FORTY YEARS AGO. IT WAS THE MID 1970' AND AMERICA WAS IN TURMOIL. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, I WILL RESIGN THE POST OF PRESIDENT. IN WASHINGTON, RICHARD NIXON HAD RESIGNED AMID SCANDAL AND DISGRA IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, THE LONG, BITTER AND DIVISIVE VIETNAM WAR ENDED WITH WITH THE FALL OF SAIGAON. AND IN THE SMALL CENTRAL CALIFORNIA FARMING TOWN OF VISALIA POLICE WERE CONFRONTED WITH A GROWING CRIME WAVE. BEGINNING IN MARCH OF 1974 POSSIBLY SOONER DOZENS OF BREAK-INS POSSIBLY ONE MURDER... ALL BELIEVED TO BE THE WORK OF THE SAME MAN. THEY DUBBED HIM THE VISALIA RANSACKER. A YEAR WOULD PASS WITH NO BREAKS IN THE CASE. NO ONE ARRESTE THEN IN LATE 1975 THE CRIME WAVE ENDE THE FOLLOWING YEAR AS AMERICA MARKED ITS 200TH BIRTHDAY, A NEW CRIME WAVE. THIS TIME IN EAST SACRAMENTO COUNTY, A MORE BRAZEN SERIES BURGLARIES, RAPES AND MURDERS. IT STARTED IN JUNE WITH A RAPE IN RANCHO CORDOVA. >> I JUST REMEMBER FEELING EXTREMELY THREATENED AFTER IT WAS ALL OVER AND DONE WITH HE WENT THROUGH THE STUFF IN THE ROOM. >> COME OCTOBER THE ATTACKS SPREAD TO CARMICHAEL AND CITRUS HEIGHTS BRINGING THE NUMBER OF RAPES TO FOUR. BY THE END OF THE YEAR, TEN WOMEN HAD BEEN RAPED IN THEIR HOMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. YEARS LATER VICTIMS STILL RECALLING CHILLING DETAILS. >> I REMEMBER THE HEAT OF H BREATH ON MY NECK. I REMEMBER HIS VOICE. I REMEMBER THE WEIGHT OF HIS BODY, THE KNIFE, I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO MUCH. >> AT FIRST, THERE WAS NO REPORTING IN THE MEDIA AMI CONCERNS THAT IF WORD GOT OUT THE ATTACKER WOULD FLEE AND NEVER BE FOUND. WHEN FINALLY DID GET OUT THE AREA WAS GRIPPED BY FEAR. >> GUN SALES ARE WAY UP, WITH SOME OF THE BUYERS NOT THAT FAMILIAR WITH HOW TO USE FIREARMS AND THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS. >> THERE WAS A RUN ON BURGLAR ALARMS, SO MANY REQUESTS THERE WERE WAITING LISTS TO INSTALL THEM I DON'T LIKE IT. IT'S GETTING TOO CLOSE TO HOME. YOU PLANNING ON TAKING ANY PRECAUTIONS? I PUT LOCKS ON MY DOORS. >> PEOPLE BOUGHT AIR HORNS, INSTALLED PEEP HOLES, NEW ANYTHING THAT COULD STAVE OFF AN ATTACK. IDEALLY SPEAKING, THE POTENTIAL VICTIM IS SUPPOSED TO WARD OFF THEIR ATTACKER WITH THIS DEVICE. IMPORTED FROM GERMANY, AND FIRING FOUR FLASH CUBES SIMULTANEOUSLY.AND THE MAN RESPO INFAMOUS NEW TITLE, THE EAST AREA RAPIST. >> SACRAMENTO'S EAST AREA RAPIST HAS BEEN ACTIVE FOR 16 MONTHS. 15 VICTIMS. AT FIRST, A SINGLE INVESTIGATOR WORKED THE CASE FULL-TIME. NOW SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED. >> THE PRESSURE TO CATCH THI MAN HAS BEEN MOUNTING, BUT A MULTI-RAPIST OFTEN ACTS ON IMPULSE. THAT PRESSURE BEGAN TO BOIL OVER AMID FEAR AND FRUSTRATION. >> I THINK THE REASON NOTHING'S BEING DONE ABOUT IT IS BECAUSE IT'S A CRIME AGAINST WOMEN. >>I DON'T KNOW, I HAVE A GUN BUT I STILL DON'T FEEL SAFE, YOU KNOW, BEING HOME ALONE >> AS THE ATTACKS CONTINUED, INVESTIGATORS BEGA PIECING TOGETHER A POSSIBLE PROFILE. THEY BELIEVED HE LIVED IN THE AREA. HE MIGHT EVEN BE A POLICE OFFICER OR A FORMER POLICE OFFICER. SOME THEORIZED HE WAS USING A BIKE TO AVOID BEING SEEN.. UNTIL THIS POINT, THE EAST AREA RAPIST HAD ONLY STRUCK IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, BUT THAT WOULD CHANGE >>ONE OF HIS BIG MISTAKES WAS TO PICK A WOMAN WHO LIVED ONE BLOCK WITHIN THE SACRAMENTO CITY LIMITS AND THEN STEAL HER CAR, WHICH ONLY BROUGHT IN THE CITY'S RAPE DETAIL AND FOUR MORE PEOPLE TO WORK TOWARD CATCHING HI >> MORE INVESTIGATORS, MORE RESOURCES, BUT STILL NO AS THE RAPIST BECAME EVEN MORE BRAZEN. >> HELLO? >> HE WAS NOW TAUNTING LEAVING MESSAGES LIKE THIS ON ONE ON AN ANSWERING MACHIN >> GONNA KILL YOU, GONNA KIIILLLLL YOU. >> BY THE END OF 1977 NINETEEN MORE MORE WOMEN HAD BEEN ATTACKED BRINGING THE TOTAL TO 29. >> IF CONTACTED ON THE STREET. HE WOULD BE COMPLACENT, COOPERATIVE, HOWEVER IF HE WAS PUT IN A THREATENING POSITION HE COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. THE MAPS INVESTIGATORS DISPLAYED OF TARGETED AREAS WERE NOW GROWIN AND THE THREATS CONTINUING. >> HE TOLD THE FEMALE VICTIM IN EFFECT THAT IF HE SAW ANYTHING ON THE NEWSPAPERS OR ON TELEVISION OR HEARD IT ON THE RADIO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ATTACK HE WOULD KILL TWO PEOPLE TONIGH DEATH THREATS WOULD BECOME PART OF THE EAST AREA RAPISTS' MO AND THERE WERE OTHER SIMILARITIES. WHEN HE TARGETED THE HOME OF A COUPLE HE WOULD TIE UP THE MAN AND PLACE DISHES ON HIS BACK. HE'S THEN TELL THE COUPLE IF HE HEARD A SINGLE DISH BREAK HE'D KILL THEM BOTH MARGARET WARDLOW WAS JUST THIRTEEN WHEN HE TIED UP HER MOTHER AND RAPED HER >> DID NOT WANT HIM TO GET ANY SATISFACTION FROM BEING THERE HE THREATENED EVERYTHING WITH A HARSH WHISPER. SHUT UP SHUT UP. WHEN I DID ANSWER HIM I WANTED SEE . >> SHE WOULD BE THE YOUNGE VICTIM, BUT FAR FROM THE LAST. GOING DOWN THE HALL HE WAS JUST HITTING ME AND THEN I PRETENDED TO BE KNOCKED OUT SO HE WOULD QUIT HITTING ME. THEN I HAD A SOCK STUFFED IN MY MOUTH, BLINDFOLDED, HANDS TIED, LEGS TIE >> HE CAME IN, I DON'T KNOW, FIVE TIMES DURING THE COURSE OF THE NIGHT AND RAPED ME. >> FOR THE LAST NINE YEARS, DETECTIVE CAROL DALY HAS COUNSELED RAPE VICTIMS. DETECTIVE CAROL DAILY WAS ONE OF THOSE WORKING TO CATCH THE EAST AREA RAPIS >> A LIGHT IS USUALLY SHINING IN THE EYES. THE WOMAN IS USUALLY THE FIRST ONE TO AWAKEN. AND THE ONLY THING THAT IS VISIBLE IS THE ROUND LIGHT AND THE SHADOW OF A GUN BEING POINTED DIRECTLY AT HER. >> AS THE ATTACKS CONTINUED. COMMUNITY GROUPS, MET WITH POLICE AND SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES. >> CONCERN ABOUT RAPE IS MOUNTING IN THIS COMMUNITY. MANY OF THE WOMEN IN THIS WORKSHOP WILL GATHER AGAIN FOR A SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT WORKSHOP TO TALK ABOUT SAFETY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. >> THAT WASN'T THE ONLY WAY WOMEN RESPONDED. >> WE BELIEVE THAT RAPES CANNOT CONTINUE THE WAY THEY HAVE AND THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE INTIMIDATED AND WE ARE GOING TO TAKE ACTION OURSELVES. WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER WITH OTHER WOMEN FROM SACRAMENTO AND DON'T JUST RELY ON THE POLICE OR JUST MYSELF IN MY OWN HOME THAT WE ARE GOING TO FORCE ANY KIND OF CHANGE TO HAPPEN. >> WOMEN GATHERED ON THE SACRAMENTO COURTHOUSE MARCHING IN SUPPORT OF RAPE AWARENESS AND DEMANDING FUNDING FOR RAPE CRISIS CENTERS. >> THESE WOMEN ARE TAKING THEI MESSAGES TO VARIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BUT THEY'RE CONVINCED THE POLICE CANNOT PROTECT THEM AGAINST RAPE. THEY MUST PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEY'VE DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO LEARNING SELF-DEFENSE. >> PROTESTORS ALSO FOCUSED ON OUTDATED PHONE SYSTEMS THAT MADE IT HARD FOR VICTIMS TO GET HOLD OF POLICE. IN 1977, EMERGENCY CALLS WERE STILL BASED ON OPERATORS MANUALLY PATCHING THEM THROUGH >> A RECENT RAPE VICTIM HAD PRECIOUS SECONDS TO TELEPHONE FOR HELP. SHE DIALED "OPERATOR." UNFORTUNATELY, THE OPERATOR DID NOT COME IN ON THE LINE. EVEN WHEN CALLING THE LOCAL SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WHEN ALL CIRCUITS ARE TIED UP THE NUMBER STILL RINGS IN AN ANNEX AND CANNOT BE HEARD OR ANSWERED UNTIL A LINE CLEARS. >> AT ONE POINT, POLICE SUGGESTED IT MIGHT BE FASTER FOR VICTIMS TO CALL A NEIGHBOR FOR HELP >> I IMAGINE A LOT OF THE WOMEN IN THE AREA ARE SCARED. IF THEY COULD JUST TRY TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHERS' HABITS, THEIR NEIGHBORS' HABITS, AND CALL IN IF THEY SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS AT ALL. DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET INVOLVED >> BUT WOMEN WERE PUSHING >> BUT WOMEN WERE PUSHING BACK, ASKING FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY, A WAY CALLS...SOMETHING CALLED THE 911 SYSTEM. THEN CAME A NEW ESCALATION. >> I HEARD TWO SHOTS INSIDE THE HOUS >> IN FEBRUARY OF 1978 THE EAST AREA RAPIST BECOME A KILLER. BRIAN AND KATIE MAGGIORE WERE WALKING THEIR DOG IN RANCHO CORDOVA WHEN THEY CAME UPON HIM.. THEY TRIED TO RUN, BUT WERE SHOT AND KILLED. >> I COULD HEAR HIM FALLING IN THE BUSHES AND IT TOOK HIM A FEW SECONDS TO GET OUT OF THE BUSHES BUT I COULD TELL HE WAS REALLY SCRAMBLING. >> ANOTHER MAN OUT WALKING CAME FACE TO FACE WITH THEIR ATTACKER. >> RIGHT AS HE CAME TO THE TREE HE LOOKED UP AND HE SAW ME STANDING RIGHT HERE. AND HE TURNED AROUND QUICK AS HE HE WAS PRETTY SURPRISED...AND HE TURNED AROUND AND RAN AS QUICK AS HE COULD THE OTHER DIRECTION. >> THAT WITNESS WAS AN ART STUDENT AND HELPED INVESTIGATORS BUT THE EAST AREA RAPIST W STILL AHEAD OF POLICE AND NOW MOVING BEYOND SACRAMENTO COUNTY. >> THE RAPIST STRUCK IN NORTH MODESTO ABOUT THREE O'CLOCK MONDAY MORNING. >> TWO RAPES IN MODESTO IN 1978. THEN DAVIS AND WALNUT CREEK. >> MUCH OF THE METHOD OF OPERATION IS THE SAME WHERE HE DID ENTER A HOUSE WHERE THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE PRESEN OUTSIDE OF THE VICTI HE BOUND HIS VICTIM. HE ALSO LEFT AT AN UNDETERMINED TIME, WHICH IS COMMON, THE VICTIMS ARE NEVER SURE WHEN HE LEAVES. THERE WAS A KNIFE USED AND HE WAS WEARING A MASK OR A HOOD OF SOME SORT. >> OTHER BAY AREA CITIES WOULD JOIN THE LIST CONCORD, SAN RAMON, SAN JOSE, DANVILLE AND MARTINEZ >> POLICE TELL ME THIS PARTICULAR RAPE HAPPENED WITHIN ONE BLOCK OF ANOTHER RAPE THAT HAPPENED HERE IN RANCHO SAN MIGUEL ON JUNE 2ND. AT THAT TIME, A 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL WAS RAPED. THAT, TOO, IS AN EAST AREA RAPIST CASE >> BY THE SUMMER OF 1979, DOZENS OF RAPES AND TWO MURDERS HAD BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THE EAST REA RAPIST. AND THEN NOTHING. NO MORE RAPES. NO MORE MURDE WHEN WE COME BACK, A NEW CRIME WAVE IN A NEW PART OF CALIFORNIA AND THE NEW TOOL THAT INVESTIGATOR