Sacramento police: Former Exeter cop is Visalia Ransacker

A man believed to be the notorious Visalia Ransacker — also known as the East Area Rapist, Golden State Killer or the Original Night Stalker — has been arrested after allegedly killing 12 people and raping another 45 victims between 1975 to 1986.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

Detectives say the man served as an Exeter police officer before leaving the Tulare County area.

Law enforcement identified the suspect as 72-year-old Joseph DeAngelo. DeAngelo was recently booked in Sacramento on two counts of homicide stemming from a Ventura County death case.

But his crimes span across the state and may have started in Tulare County.

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DeAngelo's crime spree began in 1975, while employed as a police officer with the Exeter Police Department, said Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones.

Exeter Police Chief John Hall has been trying to link DeAngelo to Exeter since news broke, but police officer records from the 70s don't exist, he said.

The Exeter Sun newspaper, however, profiled DeAngelo in 1973. They said the officer started with the force in May of that year.

DeAngelo is a native New Yorker but attended high school in Folsom before joining the Navy, according to the Foothills Sun-Gazette, which pulled the 1973 Sun article. The suspected killer served nearly two years in Vietnam before leaving the service and joining the Exeter Police Department, the newspaper reported.

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Although there is no DNA linking DeAngleo to roughly 100 burglaries and a murder in Visalia, he is believed to be the Visalia Ransacker.

Visalia detectives will continue to try and link DeAngleo to the Visalia cases using DNA and witness statements collected at the time.

Visalia Chief Jason Salazar is optimistic the arrest will bring comfort to those still seeking closure.

"There has long been a belief that the Golden State Killer and Visalia Ransacker are one in the same and we are working with those investigators in hopes of bringing resolution to a case that has long been of interest here in Visalia," Salazar said.

Visalia detectives haven't closed the case, though.

“There is still a lot of work to do on this case on our part, by no means have we concluded this investigation,” Salazar said. “Although, the news out of Sacramento today and the arrest of Mr. DeAngelo certainly provides a great new lead for us to continue to work with.”

DeAngelo’s name never came up during the department’s investigation, Salazar said.

FBI and California officials last year renewed their search for the suspect dubbed the East Area Rapist and announced a $50,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. He’s linked to more than 175 crimes in all between 1975 and 1986.

Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, formed the task force that included district attorney's offices and law enforcement in 10 counties, as well as federal agents.

"We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack," Schubert said. "We found the needle and it was right here in Sacramento."

Research and DNA from more than 80 rapes and 13 killings helped link the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker cases.

DeAngelo was arrested at his Citrus Heights home on Tuesday. Jones said law enforcement had been tracking the man for several days, learning his habits.

"He was very surprised," Jones said.

A man by many names

A further look into the modus operandi of those crimes led detectives to the Visalia Ransacker, who has been credited with more than 85 burglaries in Visalia and the Sept. 11, 1975, slaying of College of the Sequoias journalism professor Claude Snelling.

Snelling’s family was contacted following DeAngelo's arrest, Salazar said.

“Obviously they were pleased to hear the development,” he added.

Russ Whitmeyer, a private detective, noticed that all of the crimes up and down the state shared several identifying characteristics. Whitmeyer investigated the cases for more than 10 years.

The investigator said the notorious killer and rapist started in Tulare County.

These characteristics include:

In all cases, the perpetrator was described as having medium-length brown hair, standing about 5 feet, 10 inches, weighing about 180 pounds and wearing a size 9 shoe.

In at least four counties, the criminal rode a stolen bicycle.

He liked to steal jewelry, guns, piggy banks and Blue Chip stamp books.

He often wore a ski mask.

He used a special diamond knot to tie his victims. That could indicate a military background.

Visalia police also indicate that the Visalia Ransacker would place dishes and objects in doorways so he could hear if someone was coming (a characteristic shared by the Original Night Stalker and East Area Rapist).

Police say the criminal left Tulare County in late 1976 and continued his crime spree.

He is believed to have burglarized dozens of homes in Sacramento County, beginning in 1976, along with raping 50 women and killing a young couple.

RELATED: Golden State Killer: Ex-cop Joseph James DeAngelo arrested as suspect in serial murder-rapes

There's a remote possibility that Terri Lynn Ray, the 15-year-old Anderson High School student from Redding found stabbed to death in a creek near her mother's south Redding home in 1976, may have been the second victim claimed by the Visalia Ransacker. Investigators in Redding, however, have said there's no evidence of that, although they've reached out to prosecutors in the wake of D'Angelo's arrest.

Early in 1978, he began raping women in Contra Costa County and continued his crime spree through 1979, when he began killing and raping in Santa Barbara County. He moved back and forth between Goleta, Ventura County and Orange County between 1979 and 1986 when his crimes stopped.

"[Deangleo] has been called a lot of things," said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackaucaks. "Today, it's our pleasure to call him a defendant."

Charges are expected to be filed against DeAngelo by numerous district attorneys across the state.

Visalia

Nearly 100 burglaries in the city caught the attention of police in 1975, who conducted several efforts in an attempt to apprehend the thief. It wasn't until the thief turned murderous that authorities knew the problem was getting out of hand.

The death of Snelling in 1975 led to a ballistics test that confirmed the gun used was the same as a firearm stolen by the Visalia Ransacker during a previous burglary.

Beth Snelling was there when her father was killed and has talked to police repeatedly, but the identity of the killer remained a mystery.

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The statute of limitations has expired on the rapes and burglaries, but under the law, the killer can still be charged with Snelling's homicide.

A few months after Snelling's death, an effort to catch the suspect led to Visalia Officer Bill McGowen being shot at. The bullet shattered the lens of McGowen's flashlight and injured the officer. Until McGowen's death a couple of years ago, he had carried the investigation, often working out of his garage after retirement.

He left the files to Whitmeyer.

The department has worked with the Golden State Killer task force for years to help identify the suspect behind the seemingly-related crimes, Salazar said.

“As I stand here today, I’m confident the Visalia Ransacker has been captured,” he said.

AP contributed to this report