Golden State Killer

The Golden State Killer is a serial killer, serial rapist and serial burglar who committed 50 rapes in Northern California during the mid-1970s and murdered twelve people in Southern California from 1979 through 1986. Other monikers include the Original Night Stalker, Visalia Ransacker, East Area Rapist, the East Bay Rapist, and the Diamond Knot Killer. The "Golden State Killer" moniker was coined by true crime writer Michelle McNamara.

The crimes initially centered on the then-unincorporated areas of Carmichael, Citrus Heights and Rancho Cordova, all east of Sacramento, where at least fifty women were raped between June 18, 1976, and July 5, 1979. Earlier incidents in Visalia are now thought to be connected. In 2001, several of the Northern California rapes were linked by DNA to murders in Southern California. All of the DNA-linked assaults occurred in Contra Costa County, but the distinctive modus operandi (MO) of the rapist makes it very likely the same man was also responsible for the attacks in the Sacramento area. His last known crime, the only one after 1981, took place in 1986.

Several suspects were cleared through DNA, alibi, or other investigative means and methods. On June 15, 2016, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies held a news conference to announce a nationwide effort and a US$50,000 reward for his capture. On April 25, 2018, authorities announced the arrest of suspect 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo on six counts of first-degree murder.