Arrest made in Golden State Killer case; elusive serial killer suspect in custody

Authorities have arrested a 72-year-old man in California who is suspected to be the elusive Golden State Killer.

The Daily Beast reports that Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested Tuesday night. Billy Jensen, who helped complete Michelle McNamara’s posthumously published book on the case, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, reportedly told the Daily Beast the identity of the suspect.

Jensen told the Daily Beast that while “it looks good,” there is no confirmation yet that DeAngelo is the suspected serial killer responsible for 12 homicides, dozens of rapes, and over 100 burglaries in the Sacramento area that spanned a decade beginning in the late 1970s.

 

McNamara had devoted the final years of her life to investigating and writing about the case before she died unexpectedly in April 2016. Her husband, Patton Oswald, worked with Billy Jensen and researcher Paul Haynes to complete the book for publication earlier this year.

Sacramento police are expected to hold a news conference today at noon Pacific time.

 

[Feature image: Golden State Killer suspect sketch/FBI]