Victims of Golden State Killer confront him in court ahead of sentencing: 'An evil monster with no soul'
To the victims of the Golden State Killer, or the East Area Rapist, or the Visalia Ransacker, or the Original Night Stalker, or any of the other names he was given during his decades-long terror spree, the nightmare is finally over. Their tormentor will spend the rest of his life behind bars, and they took the time to make sure he knew it.
Having evaded capture for over four decades, a breakthrough in DNA testing and profiling helped authorities track down and arrest 74-year-old former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo two years ago in connection to 51 rapes and 13 murders that occurred in Northern and Southern California in the 70s and 80s. The gears of justice may move slowly, but to the victims, another two years of waiting was worth it as they got to confront their killer in court this past week on their own terms.
Almost every single one of them called him a "monster" and described in disturbing detail how his attacks on them had changed their lives forever. Many also told him that they refused to be defined by what he had done to them, projecting an air of defiance in front of a man who is now claiming to be so old and frail, he can barely stand and talk.
One woman, who was just seven-years-old and asleep when her mother was bound and raped by DeAngelo, described him threatening her mother to not make a sound because it would wake her, reported CNN. "He threatened to cut my ear off and bring it to her," she said. "I could sense evil, then all hell broke loose."
"He and his knife had complete control over me for the next two hours," Patti Casper told the court on behalf of her mom, Patricia Murphy, before showing DeAngelo the middle finger. "He truly is an evil monster with no soul. He is subhuman."
"Joseph DeAngelo, henceforth called 'the Devil Incarnate', broke into my home, blindfolded me, tied me up, threatened my life with a knife and raped me. Life, as I knew it, irrevocably changed that day," said Karen Veilleux, speaking on behalf of her sister Phyllis, before adding, "May he rot in hell."
Kris Pedretti, who was attacked as a teen by DeAngelo in 1976, described wanting to die during the ordeal, reported the Sun. "I was a normal 15-year-old kid. I loved going to school, having sleepovers, and going to church," she told the judge. "My world was small, predictable, and safe. I sang 'Jesus Loves Me' in my head as I waited - waited to die. The knowledge that DeAngelo will spend the rest of his life in prison for his heinous acts has ended my dark journey so that I may begin a new one."
In a court hearing in June, DeAngelo entered guilty pleas to 13 murders and 13 counts of kidnapping for robbery — each carrying a life sentence. He also admitted to raping 50 women and girls, and threatening and torturing their male companions in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty. Instead, he will be sentenced to 11 consecutive life without parole sentences, plus 15 more life sentences to be served at the same time.
Speaking on behalf of his mother, one man told him that his effort to avoid the death penalty was a futile one. "A lot of people might wish to carry out the death penalty themselves, but can't you see? The sentence has already been given. You have been robbed of your entire life, yet you are too stupid to notice," he said.