Golden State Killer given life in prison for rapes, murders that terrorized a generation
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - All that now awaits the Golden State Killer is an end of his days in prison.
A Sacramento County judge on Friday sentenced 74-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. to life without parole for killing 13 people and raping 50 in a series of break-ins that terrorized a state for decades.
Judge Michael Bowman handed down the sentence in the ballroom at Sacramento State University, where DeAngelo, a former police officer, graduated nearly 50 years ago with a degree in criminal justice.
Among those in attendance for the filled-to-capacity proceedings were victims, family members, prosecutors from nearly a dozen counties - including the six prosecuting DeAngelo - former case detectives, and even newspaper reporters who covered the first of the crimes in the 1970s.
Before he was officially sentenced, DeAngelo rose briefly to speak.
"I've listened to all your statements,
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