A DNA sample taken from the door handle of Joseph James DeAngelo’s car was the key to his arrest as the suspected Golden State Killer, a prolific serial killer and rapist who terrorized California in the late 1970s until the mid-’80s, according to documents released Friday by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators had zeroed in on DeAngelo as a suspect by comparing DNA taken from crime scenes with genetic information obtained from a genealogical website. But they needed samples from him to confirm the link.
DeAngelo, 72, a former police officer, was arrested last month in Sacramento, and remains in custody there.
A heavily redacted search warrant, arrest warrant and accompanying affidavits issued in connection with the case were released Friday upon the request of several news organizations.
“On April 18, 2018, a surreptitious sample from DeAngelo was collected from the driver’s side car door handle he was directly observed driving,” according to the affidavit.
“DeAngelo’s vehicle was parked in a public location at the parking lot of the Hobby Lobby store in Roseville, CA. A swab was collected from the door handle while DeAngelo was inside the store.”
The sample was submitted to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Crime Lab, where tests revealed it was a likely match for DNA collected at crime scenes connected to the Golden State Killer in Ventura and Orange counties, according to the affidavit.
Five days later, investigators were able to surreptitiously obtain additional DNA samples from items in DeAngelo’s trash after he placed his trash can on the street in front of his residence in Citrus Heights, near Sacramento.
Multiple samples were taken, and one — a piece of tissue — provided “interpretable DNA results” linking DeAngelo to the crimes, according to the affidavit.
The Golden State Killer, also known as the Original Night Stalker and the East Area Rapist, is believed responsible for at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and 120 burglaries throughout the state, according to the FBI.
Santa Barbara County prosecutors have filed four counts of capital murder against DeAngelo in connection with four homicides committed in Goleta.
Included among his alleged victims are two Goleta-area couples: Drs. Robert Offerman, 44, and Debra Alexandria Manning, 35, who were killed Dec. 30, 1979, in their condo on Avenida Pequeña just west of North Patterson Avenue south of Cathedral Oaks Road; and Cheri Domingo, 35, and Gregory Sanchez, 27, who were killed on July 27, 1981, in a residence on Toltec Way, less than a half-mile away.
DeAngelo also is believed to be the suspect in an attack that occurred on Oct. 1, 1979, when a third couple was attacked in their home on Queen Ann Way, also in the same area. They managed to escape.
In Sacramento County, DeAngelo is charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 2, 1978, murders of Katie and Brian Maggiore, who were shot to death while walking in their Rancho Cordova neighborhood.
He also is charged with murders in Ventura and Orange counties.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with