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Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, Identified As Suspect In East Area Rapist Case Through DNA

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) - A suspected California serial killer who committed at least 12 homicides and 45 rapes throughout the state in the 1970s and '80s was identified Wednesday.

Officials identified Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, as the suspected East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer.

"The answer has always been in Sacramento," said District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert at a Wednesday press conference.

Schubert credited DNA with helping detectives identify DeAngelo as the suspect.

Authorities also confirmed that DeAngelo worked as a police officer at two California law enforcement agencies, Auburn and Exeter.

"Even though this case reaches four decades into the past, the City of Auburn and its Police Department will do everything within its power to support this investigation and any prosecution that follows," the Auburn Police Department wrote in a statement.

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones says he gave investigators unlimited resources to find the suspect. He says DNA obtained during the investigation linked DeAngelo to the murder of Brian and Katie Maggiore.

At least 12 homicides, 51 rapes and dozens of burglaries across the state are linked to the East Area Rapist case.

Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten told reporters Wednesday that his office charged Joseph James DeAngelo with two counts of first-degree murder in the 1980 killings of a couple.

TM and © Copyright 2018 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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