East Area Rapist Victims Look For Closure As Suspect Appears In Court

SACRAMENTO (CBS13)  — The 72-year-old former police officer accused of being the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer, entered a Sacramento courtroom Thursday afternoon, shackled and unemotional.

Joseph DeAngelo's public defender Diane Howard once again asked the judge to exclude the media from proceedings.

The judge denied the request, citing the media's right to know.

"The wounds heal but the scars remain," said Jane Carson-Sandler.

Sandler calls herself the suspect's fifth rape victim. She walked out of court in a hurry, holding onto women she refers to as survivor sisters.

"He needs to know that he no longer has the power and control. Survivors have it now," she said.

Sandler told a throng of TV cameras what happened to her 40 years ago. She says the East Area Rapist suspect broke into her home and walked into the bedroom where she lay snuggled with her 3-year-old son. Her story was one of so many.

"It was frightening... brought back a lot," another victim said.

Victims hoped to hear the suspect enter a plea.

DeAngelo's public defender avoided answering the question about when DeAngelo might enter a plea, but said, "I don't have a comment, I want everyone to remember that he's innocent until proven guilty."

Last month, the judge unsealed parts of the arrest warrant for DeAngelo.

The heavily redacted document describes how authorities finally tracked down him down, tracing his DNA through a genealogy website and sorting through his trash for a DNA sample to match.

The suspect is accused of murdering at least a dozen people and raping 50 women in the 1970s and 80s.

He'll be back in court on September 5th.