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View Winners → FBI Announces $50,000 Reward, National Campaign to Identify East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer
Arcadia Weekly Jun 15, 2016
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Composite sketches of the Golden State Killer at the time of his crimes. – Courtesy sketches
40 Year-Old Cold Case Unites Law Enforcement Agencies in the Hunt for Subject Who Stalked Citizens in Multiple California Counties
On Wednesday, June 15, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, and Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department held a press conference to announce the launch of a reward and national campaign to help identify the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer, a violent serial burglar, rapist, and murderer who terrorized multiple communities in California throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
The digital media campaign includes the launch of a webpage (www.fbi.gov/EastAreaRapist), digital billboards throughout the country; social media outreach on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube; and audio broadcasts via podcasts and radio PSAs.
The public can play an active role in helping law enforcement find the subject by sharing links to the website and official social media content.
Law enforcement asks the public to consider the following information when reviewing information about the case:
– Did they live in one of the areas of criminal activity and remember someone in the area who matches the physical description of the subject or may have been known to spend a considerable amount of time in the areas?
– Have they discovered a hidden collection of items among the belongings of a friend or family member – notably coins and jewelry – as described on the FBI webpage about the crimes?
The subject, who may be 60 to 75 years old now, was described as a White malem standing approximately five-feet-ten-inches-tall, with blond or light brown hair, and an athletic build. He may have had an interest or training in military or law enforcement techniques as he was familiar and proficient with firearms.
People who know the subject may not believe him capable of such crimes. He may not have exhibited violent tendencies or have a criminal history.
Detectives have DNA evidence from some of the crime scenes which can either positively link or exclude a suspect. This enables investigators to quickly exclude innocent parties and the public should not hesitate to provide information – even if it is the name or address of an individual who resided in the areas of the crimes – as many parties will be quickly excluded by a simple, non-invasive test.
Between 1976 and 1986, this single subject committed 12 homicides, approximately 45 rapes, and multiple residential burglaries in the state of California. All of the crimes have been linked by DNA and/or details of the crimes. His victims ranged in age from 13 to 41 and included women home alone, woman at home with their children, and couples.
The subject was active in the greater Sacramento area from June 1976 to February 1978.
Burglaries and rapes began occurring in the Sacramento area during the summer of 1976. During these crimes, the subject would ransack the homes of his victims and take small items such as coins, jewelry, and identification. These cases include the homes of families, couples, and single women; burglaries in a neighborhood tended to precede clusters of sexual assaults. On Feb. 2, 1978, Rancho Cordova couple Sergeant Brian Maggiore and his wife, Katie, were on an evening walk with their dog, chased by the subject who overcame the couple, and shot at close range.
His activity continued primarily in the East Bay Area of Northern California in 1979 and, by October 1979, his activity escalated into rapes and homicides/attempted homicides along the California Coast with homicides in Goleta (Oct. 10, 1979, Dec. 3, 1979, and July 27, 1981), Ventura (March 16, 1980), Laguna Niguel (Aug. 19, 1980), and Irvine (Feb. 6, 1981 and May 5, 1986). During the commission of the homicides, the subject tied up both victims, raped the female victim, and then murdered the couple.
After July of 1981, no associated incidents are known to have been reported for five years. In 1986, an 18-year-old woman was raped and murdered in Irvine. No additional crimes have been connected to the subject after this incident.
A graphic illustrating the general location of these crimes is available on the FBI’s webpage.
Law enforcement is seeking any information that may help identify the subject, dubbed the “East Area Rapist” in Sacramento. He has also been called the “Original Night Stalker,” “Diamond Knot Killer,” and, more recently, the “Golden State Killer.”
Individuals with information about the subject may call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Additionally, information may be submitted to the FBI’s online tip line, tips.fbi.gov.
