SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A former police officer suspected of being California’s elusive Golden State Killer has been arraigned on 13 new rape-related charges along with 13 slayings spanning five counties.
The hearing Thursday in Sacramento County Superior Court sets up a trial that prosecutors this week agreed will eventually be held in the state capital. It was among several cities terrorized by the rapes and killings during the 1970s and 1980s.
The statute of limitations has long run out for charging 72-year-old Joseph DeAngelo with the rapes. So prosecutors are lodging 13 new related kidnapping for robbery charges that aren’t barred by the passage of time.
His attorney, Diane Howard, declined comment.
DeAngelo was arrested in April at his home in Sacramento County. He has yet to enter a plea.
Joseph James DeAngelo
