'Golden State Killer' suspect agrees to plea deal to avoid death penalty: reports
06/16/2020 2:34 pm PDT
via KTLA:
SACRAMENTO (KTLA/AP) -- A man accused of being the rapist and killer who terrorized California residents in the 1970s and 1980s has agreed to plead guilty to dozens of crimes in return for being spared the death penalty, a law enforcement source and a victim's relative said Monday.
Joseph DeAngelo, 74, a former police officer accused of being the Golden State Killer, is expected to plead guilty on June 29 and be sentenced in August to life without the possibility of parole after the surviving victims and relatives of those killed confront him in court.
DeAngelo is suspected of at least 13 murders and more than 50 rapes across California. In many of the rapes, Harrington said, “the statute of limitations has run and he could not be formally charged with them, but it's my understanding he is going to formally acknowledge or plead to them as well.”
TRUE CRIME DAILY: 'Golden State Killer' case coverage - TCD
Sentencing may well span several days in mid-August because each survivor or family member will have a chance to confront DeAngelo in person, by video or writing, according to Ron Harrington, whose younger brother Keith and new sister-in-law Patti were beaten to death in their Orange County home in August 1980.
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