Sentencing proceedings for Joseph James DeAngelo, the admitted Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist whose 12-year rape and murder spree included three Davis assaults, will span four days this month as his dozens of victims finally get their day in court.
DeAngelo, 74, pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and acknowledged more than 60 sexual assaults and other crimes during the 1970s and 80s, his plea agreement sparing him a potential death sentence while offering long-awaited closure to the victims and the families they left behind.
He is expected to be sentenced on Friday, Aug. 21, to life in prison without the possibility of parole during a two-hour hearing slated for a Sacramento State University ballroom to accommodate media and the public while adhering to social-distancing guidelines.
That’s also where DeAngelo admitted to his crimes during a day-long proceeding during which prosecutors detailed the horrific offenses that terrorized 11 California counties, decades before DNA technology led to his identification and arrest in April 2018.
He preyed upon three Davis households during the summer of 1978, his victims including a UC Davis student, a mother at home with her two sons, and a couple who also had two children, one of whom DeAngelo locked inside a bathroom when he awoke during the assault.
Prosecutors pledged to allow DeAngelo’s victims to speak out with no restrictions on time or content, allowing three days for impact statements in Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman’s courtroom. Those proceedings are scheduled for Aug. 18-20.
DeAngelo’s sentencing hearing will be open to limited members of the public, with attendees chosen through a lottery process. Those interested in attending the hearing in person should submit their names to the Sacramento Superior Court public information officer at sscpio@saccourt.ca.gov by noon on Friday, Aug. 14.
All those entering the facility will be administered a no-contact temperature screening and required to wear a face covering, court officials said. Social distancing practices will also be enforced.
The victim-impact statements and sentencing hearing also will be live-streamed on YouTube through this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNMbqmTbdctFGFe_7GJDYQQ/.
‘Guilty’: Golden State Killer admits to statewide rape, murder spree