‘Golden State Killer’ suspect pleads guilty to 13 murders, admits dozens of rapes

By Nathan Frandino

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – An elderly ex-policeman confessed on Monday to being the violent serial prowler known as the “Golden State Killer,” pleading guilty to 13 murders and admitting to dozens of rapes and break-ins that terrorized California during the 1970s and ’80s.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, entered the pleas as part of a broader deal with prosecutors sparing him from a potential death sentence in return for his admission to all of the offenses he stood accused of – charged and uncharged – in 11 California counties.

Under terms of the unusual plea agreement, approved by Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman at Monday’s hearing, DeAngelo faces life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than a potential death sentence.

Prosecutors said the deal ensured that aging survivors and victims’ relatives lived to see the case resolved, sparing them further legal proceedings likely to have dragged on for 10 years.

“The time for justice stands in front of us now,” said Amy Holliday, deputy district attorney for Sacramento County.

The hearing was held in a Sacramento university ballroom, rather than a courthouse, to allow for socially distanced seating amid the coronavirus pandemic. The defendant and his attorneys wore medical-style, clear plastic face shields.

DeAngelo, dressed in orange jail garb, sat expressionless and slack-jawed in a wheelchair throughout the seven-hour proceeding.

He spoke in a weak, raspy voice only to give yes and no answers to procedural questions from the judge, and later to answer “guilty” when Bowman asked his plea to each of 13 counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

He also replied “I admit” to dozens of allegations of rape, robbery, and other crimes as prosecutors took turns presenting “factual-basis” statements graphically detailing every murder, sexual assault and burglary with which DeAngelo was accused. His admissions encompassed a total of 161 uncharged crimes, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also revealed that on the day of his arrest, while alone in an interview room, DeAngelo was overheard having an animated conversation with himself, referring to an apparent alter ego named “Jerry,” whom he described as being “in my head” and compelling him to “do those things.”

‘NOT AFRAID TO FACE HIM’

One of many surviving victims who attended the hearing, Kris Pedretti, said she felt satisfied with the outcome of DeAngelo’s plea, telling Reuters during a break, “I do think he is owning it.”

Pedretti, who was 15 when sexually assaulted, said she and other survivors “want people to know that there’s hope and that we’re not afraid to face him.”

DeAngelo’s arrest in 2018 capped more than 40 years of investigation that authorities finally solved through DNA evidence and data from commercial genealogy websites.

The breakthrough came about two months after the case gained renewed national attention in the bestselling book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.” A TV documentary series spawned by the book premiered by coincidence on HBO on Sunday.

Besides the 13 murders and kidnappings, prosecutors said DeAngelo was tied to nearly 50 rapes and more than 120 home invasions – mostly in and around Sacramento, the eastern San Francisco Bay area and Southern California.

The crime spree ran from 1975 to 1986 and began while DeAngelo was still a police officer. He served on two small-town departments during the 1970s.

The suspect, whom authorities also nicknamed the “East Area Rapist” and the “Original Night Stalker,” was notorious for creeping into his victims’ bedrooms at night, tying them up, raping them, and stealing their valuables.

Formal sentencing was set to begin on Aug. 17.

(Reporting by Nathan Frandino in Sacramento; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Richard Pullin, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and Gerry Doyle)

‘Golden State Killer’ suspect expected to plead guilty in California

By Nathan Frandino

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – An ex-policeman accused of terrorizing California with a string of murders, rapes and break-ins attributed to a serial predator dubbed the “Golden State Killer” was expected to plead guilty on Monday at a court hearing set to be held on a university campus.

The plea deal reached between Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, and prosecutors from six California counties, according to the Los Angeles Times, would spare the defendant from the death penalty while sparing survivors and victims’ families the trauma of a trial.

Prosecutors declined to confirm the plea agreement as reported by the Times earlier this month. But Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced she and her five counterparts would hold a major news conference on Monday afternoon at Sacramento State University, following a hearing in the case.

The proceeding, like the press briefing, is to be held in a campus ballroom rather than a courthouse to allow for more socially distanced seating space amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DeAngelo was charged with 13 counts each of murder and kidnapping following his arrest in 2018, capping more than 40 years of investigation in a sprawling case that authorities said was finally solved by DNA evidence.

The breakthrough came about two months after the case gained renewed national attention in the bestselling book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.” A TV documentary series based on the book was due to premiere on HBO on Sunday.

Twelve of the murder counts DeAngelo faced carried “special circumstance” allegations, such as rape of the victim, making him eligible for capital punishment. The FBI has said DeAngelo was linked with 45 rapes in all, and more than 120 burglaries in and around Sacramento, the eastern San Francisco Bay area and Southern California.

His alleged crime spree spanned a total of 10 California counties over an 11-year period – from 1975 to 1986 – and began while he was a police officer, authorities said. DeAngelo served on two small-town departments during the 1970s.

Nicknamed the Golden State Killer by investigators before he was caught, the suspect became known for creeping into the homes of couples at night, tying them up and raping the woman before killing both victims.

(Reporting by Nathan Frandino in Sacramento; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Richard Pullin)

California couple faces sentencing in severe child abuse case

FILE PHOTO: Louise Anna Turpin (L) and David Allen Turpin make a court appearance in Riverside, California, U.S. May 4, 2018. Watchara Phomicinda /The Press -Enterprise/Pool via REUTERS

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Southern California couple who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from grim, headline-making accusations they beat, starved and shackled their 13 children in the family’s home were due to be sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison.

David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise Turpin, 50, agreed to the long prison terms as part of an agreement with Riverside County prosecutors that saw them plead guilty in February to torture, child abuse and false imprisonment charges.

The plea deal, which calls for additional charges against both spouses to be dropped, means they will spend the rest of their lives in prison unless granted parole after a mininum of 25 years behind bars.

The sentencing marks the culmination of a criminal case that has convulsed the community of Perris, California, some 70 miles (113 km) east of Los Angeles, since an emaciated 17-year-old girl climbed out of a window of the family’s home and called 911.

Deputies who raided the residence found the girl’s 12 brothers and sisters, ranging in age from 2 to 29, trapped inside the darkened, foul-smelling house, some of them chained to beds.

The siblings, found to be suffering from malnourishment, muscle wasting, stunted growth and other signs of severe abuse, were taken into protective custody, and the parents were arrested.

Prosecutors said the victims had been denied proper nutrition, basic hygiene and medical care and were harshly punished for perceived infractions such as wasting water by washing their hands above the wrist.

The couple also were accused of taunting their children with pies and other food that they were forbidden to eat.

David Turpin’s parents, James and Betty Turpin of West Virginia, have said their son and daughter-in-law were a deeply religious couple who home-schooled their children and required them to memorize Bible scripture.

The children, whose ages now range from 3 to 30, are in the care of child and adult protection agencies.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Tom Brown)

Charleston church shooter pleads guilty to state murder counts

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – The white supremacist sentenced to death in federal court for the 2015 shooting massacre at a historic black church in South Carolina pleaded guilty to separate state murder charges on Monday.

Dylann Roof, 23, was charged in state court with murdering nine African-American parishioners as they closed their eyes in prayer at a Bible study session.

Roof agreed to plead guilty in state court under a deal with prosecutors after being convicted of 33 federal crimes, including hate crimes and obstruction of religion resulting in death. In January, a jury found he deserved the death penalty.

Pleading guilty to the state charges allows for Roof’s transfer to death row and spares survivors and relatives of the victims a second round of courtroom testimony detailing his rampage on June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

He will receive a sentence of life in prison on the state charges, which include attempted murder of three survivors of the shooting, solicitor Scarlett Wilson said last month. State prosecutors abandoned efforts to seek a second death penalty.

Roof was ordered into the custody of U.S. Marshals last week. He has been held at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston County awaiting his state trial.

Standing shackled in a striped prison jumpsuit beside his attorney, Roof on Monday told the court he understood he would serve life in prison without eligibility for parole. He waived his right to any appeal.

He is expected to be transferred to the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, that holds male death-row prisoners, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit group that monitors U.S. capital punishment.

Since 1988, when the federal death penalty was reinstated, 76 defendants in the United States have been sentenced to death and three prisoners have been executed, according to the center’s website.

Roof becomes the 62nd current federal death row inmate, and appeals in such cases can take a decade or more, the center’s executive director, Robert Dunham, said in a telephone interview.

(Editing by Letitia Stein and Matthew Lewis)