Suspected Golden State Killer, a former police officer, arrested on 'needle in the haystack' DNA evidence

Authorities have arrested a former police officer who is suspected of being one of California’s most prolific serial killers and rapists — the Golden State Killer.

A local and federal task force apprehended the suspect late Tuesday evening, after tying him to the crimes through “surveillance and discarded DNA,” Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told reporters Wednesday.

In the 40 years since the Original Night Stalker began his campaign of terror in Sacramento and moved south through the Bay Area and Santa Barbara and Orange counties, he had remained unidentified. Authorities say the attacker, also dubbed the East Area rapist and the Golden State Killer, is responsible for 12 killings, 45 rapes and more than 120 residential burglaries from 1976 to 1986.

A 72-year-old Citrus Heights resident, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., has been charged by prosecutors in Sacramento, Ventura and Orange counties with eight counts of murder. He is being held without bail, according to jail records.

Local and federal authorities descended on DeAngelo’s beige, single-story home Tuesday evening and remained there Wednesday morning, when they removed two cars, a boat and a motorcycle from the garage.

The suspect was a police officer in Auburn during the 1970s but was fired after he was accused of shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent, according to a 1979 newspaper article. He is suspected of committing some crimes while he was still on the force.

Tuesday’s arrest stemmed from the slaying of two married couples — Brian and Kate Maggiore, who were killed in Sacramento County in 1978; and Lyman and Charlene Smith, who were killed in Ventura County in 1980.

On Wednesday, the Orange County district attorney’s office added four other murder charges against DeAngelo for a series of slayings there in the 1980s.

The FBI has created a website dedicated to the case where the public can view police sketches of the attacker and hear from witnesses and victims’ families.

The last known crime associated with the Original Night Stalker took place in 1986, but his notoriety persists. In 2004, California voters passed an initiative, bankrolled by the brother of one of his victims, that mandates collection of DNA samples from people convicted — or even arrested — in felony cases.

By 1978, the man had attacked victims in Oakland, Danville and Walnut Creek. In 1979, he killed two in Goleta, and two years later killed yet another couple in the Santa Barbara County town. Authorities in 2011 pinpointed DNA evidence from the killer in the 1981 slayings of Cheri Domingo, 35, and Gregory Sanchez, 27. And they matched that evidence with DNA from other crime scenes.

Sanchez was shot and bludgeoned. Domingo died of massive head injuries. Some of the grisly details matched those at other crime scenes associated with the Original Night Stalker: Sanchez and Domingo lived in an upscale neighborhood and were killed in bed. Domingo's hands had been tied — as had the hands of victims at other scenes.

Authorities said the killer would sometimes place cups or plates on his bound victims' backs so he'd have an audible clue if they broke free while he was in another room. At the time of the crimes he was described as being about 5-foot-9 with blond or auburn hair. He appeared to have military or law enforcement training.

Before he became known as the Original Night Stalker — so named to distinguish him from Richard Ramirez, the serial killer dubbed the Night Stalker who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the mid-1980s — the killer was tied to no fewer than 52 sexual assaults in Sacramento County and the Bay Area.

Writer Michelle McNamara became obsessed with the case and spent years researching it. She wrote an article for Los Angeles magazine and was turning it into a book when she died in 2016. Her widower, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, helped complete the book, which is now a bestseller.

“I think you got him, Michelle,” Oswalt said Wednesday on Twitter.

The Sacramento County district attorney, the FBI and the Sheriff’s Department announced the suspects arrest at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento County,” said Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert.

In addition to charges filed in Sacramento County, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas announced that his office filed on Wednesday four felony counts of murder against DeAngelo.

Prosecutors alleged DeAngelo killed husband and wife Keith and Patrice Harrington in 1980 in Dana Point, and accused him of committing the 1981 rape and killing of a 28-year-old woman in Irvine and the 1986 rape and killing of an 18-year-old woman, also in Irvine.

“It is time for the victims to begin to heal,” said Bruce Harrington, Keith Harrington’s brother and one of those who helped to finance the voter initiative Proposition 69, which expanded California's DNA database to include every convicted felon in the state.

Jennifer Carole, the daughter of victim Lyman Smith, said she had long thought that the person who bludgeoned her father and stepmother to death had probably died in the following decades.

To find out he was not only alive, but living among them in Sacramento, was an overwhelming revelation, she said.

“In my mind I thought he was dead the whole time,” Carole said. “I’d compartmentalized it. But to find out … he’s been in Sacramento, where all my family lives … it’s unbelievable. How can he have just been here?”

Throughout the morning Wednesday, authorities combed through DeAngelo’s home, a wood and brick-trim structure with a “Beware of dog” sign on the fence. A crush of police vehicles and media filled the quiet subdivision of winding roads and cul-de-sacs.

“I think you got him, Michelle,” Oswalt said Wednesday on Twitter.

The Sacramento County district attorney, the FBI and the Sheriff’s Department announced the suspects arrest at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

“We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento County,” said Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert.

In addition to charges filed in Sacramento County, Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas announced that his office filed on Wednesday four felony counts of murder against DeAngelo.

Prosecutors alleged DeAngelo killed husband and wife Keith and Patrice Harrington in 1980 in Dana Point, and accused him of committing the 1981 rape and killing of a 28-year-old woman in Irvine and the 1986 rape and killing of an 18-year-old woman, also in Irvine.

“It is time for the victims to begin to heal,” said Bruce Harrington, Keith Harrington’s brother and one of those who helped to finance the voter initiative Proposition 69, which expanded California's DNA database to include every convicted felon in the state.

Jennifer Carole, the daughter of victim Lyman Smith, said she had long thought that the person who bludgeoned her father and stepmother to death had probably died in the following decades.

To find out he was not only alive, but living among them in Sacramento, was an overwhelming revelation, she said.

“In my mind I thought he was dead the whole time,” Carole said. “I’d compartmentalized it. But to find out … he’s been in Sacramento, where all my family lives … it’s unbelievable. How can he have just been here?”

Throughout the morning Wednesday, authorities combed through DeAngelo’s home, a wood and brick-trim structure with a “Beware of dog” sign on the fence. A crush of police vehicles and media filled the quiet subdivision of winding roads and cul-de-sacs.

Area residents said they were familiar with the story of the Golden State Killer and were shocked to learn that the suspect had lived among them.

“It’s a little surreal,” said Richelle Taylor, 42.

As he walked his dog past the police tape and evidence trucks, resident Mike Foulk, 51, eyed the spectacle. “It’s got to be a little heartbreaking and shocking for the people who [live across the street],” he said. “They’ll probably never look at the house the same way again.”

Jack Haddad, 51, and wife Hala Doumat, 35, live within view of DeAngelo ’s driveway. Neither knew him, but Doumat said she regularly walks by his house with her three kids.

The couple said they had recently watched a documentary on the Golden State Killer. “I knew there was a $50,000 reward,” Haddad said.

He said he was shocked it had taken so long to solve the case.

“I have mixed feelings,” Haddad said about the arrest. “If something so horrific can happen so close to you, anything goes.”

Austin explosions: Police investigating blasts ask residents to stay inside

Police told residents of a neighborhood in southwest Austin to stay at home until 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) Monday after the fourth explosion in less than a month hit Texas' capital, injuring two men.


In a late-night news conference on Sunday, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley raised the possibility that a tripwire triggered the device in Travis County.


“We will not be able to send school buses into the neighborhood on Monday,” he said. “In addition to that, we're going to ask the residents in the Travis County neighborhood to stay in your homes tomorrow morning and give us the opportunity to process the scene once the sun comes up.”

The men hurt in Sunday's blast — both in their 20s — were being treated for non-life threatening injuries, officials said.


Manley asked the community “to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device whether it be a package, a bag, a backpack, anything that looks out of place and do not approach it.”


Police are working under the belief that the incident is related to a string of unsolved package bombings this month which killed two and injured two others, though that has not yet been confirmed.


Stephen House, 39, was killed on the morning of March 2, and Draylen Mason, 17, died on the morning of March 12. Both were African-American members of the same church, Nelson Linder, the local NAACP chapter president, told NBC News last week.


The men hurt in Sunday's blast — both in their 20s — were being treated for non-life threatening injuries, officials said.


Manley asked the community “to have an extra level of vigilance and pay attention to any suspicious device whether it be a package, a bag, a backpack, anything that looks out of place and do not approach it.”


Police are working under the belief that the incident is related to a string of unsolved package bombings this month which killed two and injured two others, though that has not yet been confirmed.


Stephen House, 39, was killed on the morning of March 2, and Draylen Mason, 17, died on the morning of March 12. Both were African-American members of the same church, Nelson Linder, the local NAACP chapter president, told NBC new last week.                 

Mason's 41-year-old mother was also critically injured in the explosion.


Then, just before noon on March 12, a third bombing critically injured a 75-year-old Hispanic woman, Esperanza Herrera.


Linder, of the NAACP, added that someone connected to the House or Mason families was the intended target in the third explosion, although he declined to provide additional details.


Asked Sunday whether the bombings were racially motivated, Manley said it was possible.


Police believe the two earlier bombings were "meant to send a message," though Manley didn't say what that message was during a news conference earlier Sunday.


The fourth explosion came just hours after officials made a direct appeal to the person responsible to contact them.


In that press conference, Manley said that he hoped the bomber was watching and would "reach out to us before anyone else is injured or killed."


The plea came as local and federal authorities increased the reward for information leading to a conviction to $100,000, Manley said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was also offering $15,000.


"We don't have any evidence," he said. "What we know for certain is: We have three victims that are victims of color, and we have three package bombs that have exploded on the east side of Austin," where many of the city's minority residents live.


NBC News analyst and former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said while it's not clear whether this latest package explosion was done by the same person responsible for the previous ones, the fact that this one used a tripwire implies the methods used are "evolving."


"This is something we see with serial offenders, serial killers, serial bombers, serial arsonists. Unfortunately they learn as they go," Van Zandt said. "And they're wondering what police know so they can change."


Brian Jenkins, an analyst with Rand Corp. who has studied bombings, said in an interview that Manley's invitation to contact authorities could prove fruitful.

He pointed to the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured nearly two dozen more during a bombing campaign that lasted two decades, and his "desire to communicate, to have some kind of pronouncement or manifesto."


"He made the offer that he'd suspend his campaign if his manifesto was published," Jenkins said. "The publication of that ultimately led to him being identified."


Such bombings aren't easy to solve without communication — or without more "events" to provide more clues, Jenkins said.


"This isn't like a convenience store holdup," he said.


"This requires reconnaissance," Jenkins added. "This requires target selection. They have to think about building a device that works. They have to build that device. They have to think about delivering that device in a way that enables them to conceal their identity."

A key question, Jenkins said, is determining what motivated the bomber or bombers.

"These individuals who become serial bombers — they start campaigns and we don't necessarily understand what their campaigns are," he said. "Motives that seem reasonable to them are not discernible to us."

In 2002, for instance, college student-turned-suspected-pipe-bomber Lucas Helder planted bombs in mailboxes across the United States in an arrangement that would allow someone looking at the United States from space to see a smiley face.

"Those are things that are not easy for outsiders to figure out," Jenkins said.

Gonzaga accepts new role as NCAA blue blood, moves on to Sweet 16

BOISE, Idaho — It wasn’t too long ago that Gonzaga was one of the teams celebrated for being a giant slayer in March, for being the little school from Spokane, Wash., that came to epitomize what it meant to be a Cinderella story in the NCAA tournament.

Those days, however, are over. Gonzaga is now one of those giants the little guys are hoping to take down, one of the teams that many with even a casual understanding of college basketball will recognize. So, in a weekend that’s already had its fair share of upsets, the idea that the Bulldogs would beat a school with the size and prestige of Ohio State — as they did here Saturday night with a 90-84 victory — wasn’t a surprise.

“They’re what you want a program to be,” Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann said. “That is, year after year after year they have good, young players, so there’s never going to be a significant dip in the program.

“That’s what you want in an elite program.”

The Bulldogs, a year after their breakthrough run to the national championship game, advanced to a fourth straight Sweet 16, where they await the Xavier-Florida State winner.

The victory did not come easy, despite fourth-seeded Gonzaga (32-4) scoring the first 15 points in this West Region game.

The fifth-seeded Buckeyes (25-9) slowly fought their way back and trailed 44-33 at halftime. They then stormed out to a 25-10 run to open the second half.

Ohio State took its first lead on Kam Williams’s three-pointer with 10:35 remaining that made it 56-54, and after the two teams went back and forth over the next few minutes, the Buckeyes took a 67-62 lead on a three-pointer by Keita Bates-Diop — who finished with 28 points in what will likely be his final game before declaring for the NBA draft — with 6:03 to go.

“The run they made in the second half has us back on our heels,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said.

At that moment, it looked like the Zags’ hopes of yet another deep tournament run were beginning to fade. But then the Bulldogs scored the next 11 points — a run began by a three from redshirt freshman Zach Norvell Jr., who led Gonzaga with 28 points, and was ended by a three-pointer from Rui Hachimura (who hadn’t made one since December) that swung the game back in Gonzaga’s favor for good.

“I was just told that,” Holtmann said with a wry smile of Hachimura’s three. “That’s nice to hear.

“But, yeah. Those were crushing.”

So Gonzaga’s 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament continues.

“Professionally, I can’t think of any better feeling than winning games in March,” Few said. “Any win in the NCAA tournament, I think, is the hardest thing you can do. To be able to advance now to that second weekend . . . we’re guaranteed of at least five more days with our team, with the hope of getting to that next week [the Final Four] that many of us have experienced how special that is.

“We’ve built this thing the right way. And we have do have followers all over the country, and it’s because my guys are what college basketball is all about.”

On the Bright Side: Moose Lodge salutes St. Patrick with corned beef, cabbage feast

Around this time of year, we toast to the luck of the Irish. There are as many ways to celebrate as there are shades of green. The Chicago River runs green, Guinness sales nearly double, T-shirts tell us who to kiss, and, of course, the Irish-American staple of corned beef and cabbage is at the top of every menu.

On Friday, at the Moose Lodge in a tucked away corner of Oneonta, Women of the Moose hosted an event where for $10 at the door patrons received a healthy portion of the St. Patrick's Day meal, along with potatoes and carrots, finished off with a dessert of ice cream.

The dinner is one of many the Women of the Moose host throughout the year. Heidie Elie, recorder and Moose Lodge member, said they try to do one for every major holiday.

The motto of the Moose, “A burden heavy to one is borne lightly by many,” is on display at this dinner, where the proceeds go to the services the Moose fraternity provides for underprivileged children and the elderly.

According to the Moose website, the fraternal order annually contributes between $75 million and $100 million worth of community service through volunteer hours and monetary donations.

Elie's been a member for 10 years and the dinners had been going on before she got there.

Women of the Moose, of which there are 55, do all the cooking and serving for this meal, which Elie said consisted of four generous heads of cabbage and four slabs of corned beef.

For some, this dinner would be their only celebratory St. Patrick's Day event. Others planned on eating more corned beef and attending a parade.

Elie jested maybe this would be the year she tried green beer.

Attendees were cracking jokes and eating ice cream together, discussing the activities that pop up when spring is near. Someone teased the Elie about the flavor of ice cream they got. This casual jabs and conversations are part of why people come to the dinner, to connect again.

“It's good to have the community come out for a good cause,” Senior Regent member Kayla DeSilva said, as she sat at the front table taking money and doling out tickets for the 50/50 raffle.

Most of the people in the hall were familiar faces, with a few newcomers. Dale Gordon and Georgetta Skovsende, both first-timers who live in Franklin, came in search of the corned beef and cabbage, a tradition for them.

As the dinner was winding down at 7 o'clock, Skovsende and Gordon were returned to the lodge, pulling giant metal cooking pots from the trunk of a small SUV. They said their church didn't need them anymore and thought that the Moose Lodge might. One burden, a little lighter.

Country singer Tim McGraw collapses on stage

Country music star Tim McGraw collapsed on stage during a performance Sunday night in Dublin, Ireland, Rolling Stone 
magazine reported.

McGraw's wife, singer Faith Hill, can be seen in a video on a fan's Instagram page saying, "He's been super dehydrated. I apologize, but I made the decision that he cannot come back out on stage."

He was attended to by local medical staff on-site and will be fine, a representative for McGraw said in a statement.

McGraw, who was performing as part of the Country to Country festival in the U.K., had performed Friday night in London and Saturday night in Glasgow as part of C2C, a three-day, three-city country-music festival.

One of country music's biggest names, he has also starred in several movies, including "The Blind Side" and "Friday Night Lights."

The duo is scheduled to begin their 29-city Soul2Soul tour in the U.S. on May 31 in Richmond, Virginia.

Faith Hill apologizing for husband Tim McGraw collapsing on stage at #c2cdublin. #c2c #c2cdublin #timmcgraw #faithhill #soul2soul #countrymusic @c2cfestival

A post shared by Anita McSorley (@anitaactually) on Mar 11, 2018 at 5:14pm PDT

ABOUT MORE THAN YOUR AVERAGE HAUNTED HOUSE SHARE

                                                                                                                              

Paco Plaza's Verónica was released on Netflix last week with little fanfare, some good critical buzz, and no major expectations from anyone other than fans of Plaza's [Rec] films. Only a few days after its Netflix release, however, articles began appearing calling it perhaps one of the scariest movies ever made. Audiences took to Twitter to record their dread in real time, often talking about how they had to turn the movie off because it was so scary. No film can accumulate that sort of immediate pop imprimatur without escaping the notice of any tenacious horror fan, eager to discover if Verónica lives up to its hype.

I too have now watched Verónica, and I can declare handily: It's not the scariest movie ever made. It is, however, a skillfully made haunted house movie that seeks to be about more than your average haunted house movie. And while director Plaza may have more interest in his excellently creepy visuals – if you've heard about the demon in the hallway, then you know what to prepare for – he does not mishandle the film's more pertinent themes of sexual hysteria, burdened adolescence, and the death of childhood.

Verónica is based on the true story of Estafania Gutierrez Lazaro who, after staging a séance with a Ouija board, began to experience increasingly violent paranormal phenomenon. Scratches appeared on her body, and she became convinced that a monster was coming after her younger siblings. The night she died, Lazaro called the police screaming “He's in here!” The police rushed to the scene only to find a trashed apartment, a lot of blood, and a dead girl. She was 18.

Veronica is from Spanish director Paco Plaza (co-creator of the [Rec] film franchise).

Verónica envisions its young heroine, played by Sandra Escacena, as the put-upon substitute mom of her household. Her real mother works nights and sleeps during the day, leaving Verónica to take care of her three younger siblings. Verónica is too busy to have the concerns of the average teenager, and her nascent sexuality is something she's had to actively ignore. She also longs to talk to her absent father, a figure whose negative space fills a lot. Our heroine's dark journey begins when she sneaks off to the attic with a pair of friends to play with a Ouija board in the attic of her school... during a total solar eclipse. This opens a demonic doorway of some sort, and it's not long before a lanky, featureless figure is stalking the hallways of Verónica's tiny apartment, hurting her siblings, taking advantage of her fatigue and parental solitude.

Some of the imagery in Verónica is supremely creepy, and, as with most horror films, best consumed alone, at night, in the dark. Plaza knows how to startle an audience with a well-timed jump scare, but also to unnerve with an unexpected nightmare sequence; In the film's most potent and terrifying segment, Verónica imagines herself to be poetically victimized (I will refrain from saying how) by her brother and sisters.

Sandra Escacena stars in Veronica, now on Netflix.

This is all a metaphor, of course, about how working class families have had to disassemble in order to function. Verónica is all of 16, but has more or less become the mother of the house. This is a trial for anyone, but is especially trying for a teenage girl who still has to wrangle a relationship with her best friend, do homework, and finish growing up. The demon is a specter of unwanted maturity. The echo left behind by a callous, absent male. It's telling that the demon is a man.

After having seen many thematically empty haunted house films, this type of metaphor is appreciated; it puts flesh on Verónica's bones. It's doesn't necessarily make the film bottomlessly profound or groundbreakingly philosophical, but it's nice to note that it at least has something on its mind. And even if you aren't ignited by the thematic underpinnings, Plaza is going to pace and light his scenes in such a way that you'll be reaching for a pillow (or a date) to grasp in comfort as the darkness grows and the creatures lurk.

(For an international haunted house film that is equally creepy, and features equally potent images, and explores similar themes, I would like to recommend Babak Anfari's 2016 film Under the Shadow. Make it a double feature. I think they'd play well together.)

THE VERDICTIt's not “the scariest film of all time,” but Verónica is still plenty scary, and it features some rather well-executed haunted house imagery that will certainly get under your skin. Also, the film's messages of a decayed modern family add a lot of emotional heft to an already stressful scenario.

Richard Sherman could be done in Seattle, reportedly saying goodbye to teammates

After seven seasons with the Seahawks, it looks like the Richard Sherman era could be coming to an end in Seattle. 

According to NFL.com, Sherman has reached out to multiple teammates over the past 24 hours to say goodbye and let them know that he won't be on the team in 2018. One of those teammates who got a message from Sherman appears to be Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane, who sent out a cryptic tweet referring to No. 25 (Sherman) on Wednesday. 

That text message got my heart hurting ... damn 25 was my Dawg #WhatsNext

— jeremy lane (@StayingInMyLane) March 7, 2018

 Although the Seahawks haven't announced any moves in regards to Sherman, a decision on his future will likely be coming soon. According to NFL.com, Sherman was scheduled to meet with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider at some point Wednesday. 

Of course, this meeting doesn't necessarily mean Sherman is going to be released or traded. As a matter of fact, when asked about the meeting, Sherman told NFL.com that he's "just having a conversation with management." 

On the other hand, it was probably slightly more serious than that because NFL.com is also reporting that Sherman is expected to be released in the next couple of days. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has reported that the Seahawks have been trying to trade Sherman, but they haven't been able to find any suitors because everyone is expecting him to get cut. 

If the Seahawks do decide to move on from Sherman, it wouldn't be a total surprise. Not only did they attempt to trade him last offseason, but the 31-year-old has been battling injuries over the past year. Sherman missed seven games in 2017 after tearing his right Achilles tendon, and also had to have surgery on his left leg this offseason to clean out bone spurts. 

The Seahawks would also pick up some serious salary cap space by releasing Sherman. The cornerback is scheduled to count $13.2 million against the cap in 2018 and the Seahawks would get $11 million of that back if they were to release him. Sherman has been in Seattle since 2011, when the Seahawks selected him in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. Over the past seven seasons, Sherman has been voted to the Pro Bowl four times and been named a first-team All-Pro three times. The cornerback also led the NFL in interceptions in 2013, the same year the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII over the Broncos.