Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the Golden State Killer here.
The suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, has pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including 13 counts of first-degree murder.
DeAngelo is also accused of committing more than 50 rapes during his killing spree between 1975 and 1986.
Here’s what you need to know about the hearing:
The suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, is admitting to uncharged offenses in an effort to avoid the death penalty during his court appearance in Sacramento.
One prosector laid out the horrific details of DeAngelo raping a woman while her young daughter was in the house. DeAngelo admitted to the rape.
DeAngelo, who is 74 years old, agreed to plead guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances (including murder committed during burglaries and rapes), as well as 13 counts of kidnapping, to avoid the death penalty, Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Amy Holliday said.
As for other uncharged offenses in seven counties, DeAngelo has admitted to multiple uncharged offenses of rape so far in exchange for those counties to not charge him.
Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo continued to plead guilty to a slew of charges this afternoon as he heard details of the crimes from prosecutors.
The hearing just went into a short recess in Sacramento.
According to Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Amy Holliday, DeAngelo will also admit to all the uncharged offenses that have been alleged in seven counties in exchange for those counties not charging him.
When the lengthy hearing has concluded, he will have pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances (including murder committed during burglaries and rapes), as well as 13 counts of kidnapping, the prosecution said.
DeAngelo was known by many names. After committing scores of burglaries as the Visalia Ransacker, DeAngelo’s crimes became more violent in 1975, with the slaying of Claude Snelling, prosecutors allege.
For the next 11 years, he terrorized communities from Sacramento to Orange County, prosecutors say. Headlines attributed the crimes to the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker and, finally, the Golden State Killer.
Throughout today’s hearing, California prosecutors have taken turns detailing the Golden State Killer-linked crimes that happened in their counties.
The hearing is back from its lunch recess, and Orange County officials are now the 1980 killings of Keith and Patrice Harrington.
A hearing for suspected Golden State Killer Joseph DeAngelo started about three hours ago, and it will resume later this afternoon after a lunch break.
DeAngelo — who was arrested in April 2018, decades after the California crime spree — has agreed to plead guilty to each individual crime, prosecutors and his defense team said.
That means prosecutors from the counties where DeAngelo committed his crimes are reading the specifics of each offense, laying out horrific details about him binding, robbing, raping, sodomizing, beating and killing various victims. After one double murder in 1979, a prosecutor, DeAngelo snacked on leftover Christmas turkey from a victim’s fridge and left the bones behind.
By the time the lengthy hearing concludes later today, he will have pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and special circumstances (including murder committed during burglaries and rapes), as well as 13 counts of kidnapping, the prosecution said.
He will also informally admit to numerous other crimes, it said.
Prosecutors laid out the grim details of the charges against Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo this afternoon during a hearing in Sacramento, California.
DeAngelo pleaded guilty to several crimes committed across the state. He faces 26 charges, including 13 counts of first-degree murder.
What happens next: The hearing is now in recess for lunch. When the hearing resumes, Orange County prosecutors will lay out their case against DeAngelo.
The hearing for Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo has resumed after a short break.
California prosecutors have resumed reading the details of the charges against the suspected killer.
DeAngelo has already pleaded guilty to several of the counts against him.
The suspected Golden State Killer suspect is appearing before a judge today, and while he faces 13 counts of first-degree murder for crimes in several countries across California, it’s happening at a single hearing.
In 2018, prosecutors from Sacramento, Contra Costa, Orange, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties filed 26 charges against Joseph James DeAngelo and consolidated the cases against him.
At today’s hearing, each prosecutor will detail the crimes DeAngelo committed in their counties before asking for his plea. Prosecutors from Tulare, Santa Barbara and Ventura have all already presented their cases, and DeAngelo has uttered “guilty” or “I admit.”
The hearing is on a short break now, but other prosecutors will continue to describe the crimes from their communities when it resumes.
All of the prosecutors are expected to hold a news conference later today.
Today’s hearing for Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo just went into a recess in Sacramento.
The judge, lawyers and DeAngelo are expected to resume the hearing in about half an hour, around 2:15 p.m. ET or 11:15 a.m. PT.
DeAngelo has already pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him, and prosectors are working their way through the extensive list of charges.
By the end of today’s hearing, DeAngelo is expected to plead guilty to all of the charges, including counts of murder, rape and kidnapping.
The suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, has pleaded guilty to one of the murder charges against him.
DeAngelo, 74, faces a number of charges, including 13 counts of first-degree murder. At an ongoing hearing, a Sacramento judge is going through each charge now and asking DeAngelo for his plea.
DeAngelo is expected to plead guilty the all of the charges.
Thien Ho, assistant chief deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, described the fear and impact suspected Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo had on communities throughout the state.
“The scope of Joseph DeAngelos’ crime spree is simply staggering, encompassing 13 known murders and almost 50 rapes between 1975 and 1986,” the prosecutor said.
The accused killer’s monikers — the “Visalia Ransacker,” “East Area Rapist,” “the Original Night Stalker” and “Golden State Killer” — reflect the “sweeping geographical impact of his crimes,” Ho said.
The accused killer, he said, left “communities terrified for years.”
“For over 40 years, the biggest question remained unanswered who was the serial killer and rapist,” the prosecutor said.
Sacramento County deputy district attorney Amy Holliday said that “the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic has contributed” to the decision to reach a plea agreement in the Golden State killer case.
Holliday said court closures, the dangers of bringing elderly to court, and other complications brought on by coronavirus have already “contributed to extending the timeline” of the case.
She added that the pandemic could “further impact” the case if they delayed it further.
Amy Holliday, deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, said in court today that the suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, will plead guilty “to all charged counts” today.
This includes pleading guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder
As part of proposed agreement, Holiday said, DeAngelo will be sentenced to life without parole.
A hearing for the suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, is underway today in Sacramento.
Lawyers and DeAngelo appeared before a judge in the Union Ballroom on the campus of Sacramento State University – a venue to accommodate for social distancing.
DeAngelo and the lawyers are wearing face shields.
DeAngelo is accused of terrorizing California in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Golden State Killer — suspected to have committed a series crimes in the 1970s and 1980s — is believed to have committed at least 13 killings and at least 50 rapes in at least 10 counties in California.
The Golden State Killer was also known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker.
When suspect Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested in 2018, officials released a long list of crimes that prosecutors said they believe were committed by the East Area Rapist between June 1976 and July 1979, and the Golden State Killer between October 1979 and May 1986.
Here’s a look at the murders on the list:
Later DeAngelo was charged with a 13th murder — the September 1975 murder of college professor Claude Snelling.
You can read the full list of crimes linked to the Golden State Killer here.
The suspected Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, accused of terrorizing California in the 1970s and 1980s, will appear before a Sacramento judge this morning.
While various outlets have reported DeAngelo, 74, will plead guilty to an extensive list of charges that include murder, rape and kidnapping, prosecutors demurred.
Lawyers and DeAngelo will appear before a judge in the Union Ballroom on the campus of Sacramento State University – a venue to accommodate for social distancing. The six district attorneys will hold a joint press conference immediately after court at 3 p.m local time, or 6 p.m. ET.
In March, a motion to dismiss charges filed by DeAngelo’s attorneys included a footnote that said, “Mr. DeAngelo is 74 years old. He has offered to plead to the charges with a lifetime sentence.” Defense attorneys would not elaborate on the statement.
In August 2018, district attorneys from six different counties filed 26 charges against DeAngelo, consolidating the cases against him.
DeAngelo, a former police officer, was arrested in April 2018, after DNA from a crime scene matched genetic material from a relative registered on a genealogy site.
