Golden State Killer Suspect Expected to Plead Guilty and Avoid Death Penalty [View all]

[RandySF]

The man accused of committing a series of murders and rapes in California during the 1970s and ’80s — crimes that spawned widespread fear and the sobriquet “Golden State Killer” — is expected to accept a plea deal that would allow him to avoid the death penalty, one victim and close relatives of two other victims said on Monday.

As part of the agreement, the man, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., is expected to plead guilty later this month to dozens of criminal counts, including murder and kidnapping, that would send him to prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole, a victim and victims’ family members said.

They said that prosecutors had briefed them about the likely plea agreement, which still must be approved by a judge.

It was not immediately clear if there was unanimity among the group of prosecutors involved in the case, the victims and their families. The plea agreement was widely reported by the news media in California, where the case has become a phenomenon and inspired an upcoming HBO documentary series. It was the first high-profile case to be cracked with genetic genealogy.



https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/golden-state-killer-death-penalty.html