The man alleged to be the Golden State Killer, whose years-long crime spree included four killings in Orange County, was charged Thursday with four counts of capital murder in Santa Barbara County.
Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was charged with killing two people — Robert Offerman and Alexandria Manning — on Dec. 30, 1979, and with the 1981 killings of Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez in Goleta.
With the filing of the charges, DeAngelo is now charged with all 12 of the killings attributed to the Golden State Killer.
In Orange County, DeAngelo is charged with the 1980 killings of Keith and Patrice Harrington in Dana Point, the 1981 killing of Manuela Witthuhn in Irvine and the 1986 killing of Janelle Cruz, also in Irvine.
He is facing charged for two killings in Ventura County and two in Sacramento County.
It’s still unclear where DeAngelo will be tried first, or if all of the cases will be handled together. Prosecutors from the various jurisdictions are planning to hold meetings to discuss how to proceed with the cases.
DeAngelo, a former police officer, was arrested April 24 in the Citrus Heights area of Northern California. In addition to the killings, the Golden State Killer is suspected in about 45 rapes and multiple residential burglaries between 1976 and 1986.