True Crime: The Golden State Killer

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In this episode, we explore one of the most notorious and far-reaching serial crime cases in American history.

Important: If you don't want to know what happened before listening to our podcast, do not read this description!

The Golden State Killer is the name later given to a man responsible for a wave of crimes that terrorised California from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s.

For years, these offences were believed to be the work of several different criminals. He was known at various times as the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. It was only decades later that investigators conclusively linked all of these crimes to a single individual.

In this episode, we examine how the offender operated and why he proved so difficult to catch. His crimes included dozens of sexual assaults, numerous burglaries and at least thirteen murders.

He targeted victims across multiple counties, often surveilling them in advance and exploiting weaknesses in local policing systems that, at the time, were not equipped to share information effectively.

We also explore how the case went cold for years, becoming a haunting example of an offender who appeared to vanish without trace. Advances in forensic science eventually transformed the investigation.

In 2018, detectives used genetic genealogy, comparing crime scene DNA with publicly available ancestry databases, to identify a suspect who had lived an apparently ordinary life.

That suspect was Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer. His arrest shocked both the public and law enforcement, raising difficult questions about trust, authority and how someone with policing experience was able to evade capture for so long.

In 2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and sexual assault, receiving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.

This episode examines not only the crimes themselves, but the investigative breakthroughs that finally brought an end to decades of uncertainty. It is a story about patience, persistence and the evolving nature of justice.

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