SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Days before the man known as "the Golden State Killer"' is set to be formally sentenced, his victims had their say in court starting Tuesday.
74-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo admitted to 13 murders and more than 50 rapes during a horrific crime spree that began nearly half a century ago, spanning from Sacramento to Orange County.
Cutting-edge DNA technology finally helped authorities DeAngelo to justice in 2018, decades after the former police officer carried his crimes.
One by one, victims of DeAngelo, now in a wheelchair, had the opportunity in a courtroom in Sacramento Tuesday to confront the man who altered their lives forever.
"My safety and security were taken away that night and I would never get that back," said one victim, identified as Peggy. "I have had nightmares for years."
"You have lived over 70 years carefree, and the victims and survivors have had long-lasting scars," added another, identified to the court as Jane Doe #5.
DeAngelo formally pleaded guilty in June to 13 counts of first-degree murder and an additional 13 counts of kidnapping-related charges.
Though the statute of limitations has already passed, he also admitted to a disturbing string of other attempted murders, rapes, robberies, and other felonies, taking place n the 1970s and '80s, spanning 11 counties in California.
Pete Schultz was 11 when DeAngelo broke into his family's home and tied him to a bedpost.
"(He) locked my sister in her bedroom and performed horrific acts on my mother while she was bound and blindfolded," Schultz told the court.
Kris Pedretti was only 15 years old when DeAngelo broke into her home just days before Christmas in 1976 and raped her.
"Do you have any remorse for what you did to me?" Pedretti asked him in court Tuesday,. "For the people whose lives sadistically you cut short, or the years of pain to your victims and their families?"
Several victims expressed disappointment that, because of the statute of limitations, DeAngelo could not face formal charges for dozens of the crimes he has confessed to.
"But I understand that to move forward and to lock him up brings some closure to the horrific crimes he committed with the assurances he will never hurt anyone ever again," said another of his victims, identified as Kathlyn.
"I heard him admit to the crime and the rape, and now finally, the end of this trauma is here," Peggy added. "He's a horrible man, and none of us have to worry about him anymore."
Some of the victims had family members read their statements.
One of the East Area Rapist victims recounted how his attack on her in Sacramento County on June 18, 1976, changed her life.
"I was a normal young woman of 22, happy and carefree, and the only dark spot in my young life was the death of my mother 18 months earlier," she said. "I was vivacious, loved life and I was shy."
She said "the devil incarnate" broke into her home when she was alone that night, "blindfolded me, tied me up, threatened my life with a knife and raped me." She said she became "fearful, suspicious and hyper-vigilant" afterward.
"My sense of safety was shattered. The ringing of the telephone would invoke terror," she said because he called her to "taunt her" after the attack.
Another woman said DeAngelo raped her when she was 15, with her sister tied up in the next room. The two were home alone for the first time while their parents were out of town.
"I was hit several times on the head before I was tied up and gagged," she said. "We were both threatened and I was raped several times."
She and her sister suffered numbness in their hands for weeks after the attack because of how tightly they were bound, she said and recounted the terror of the ensuing years of her high school days as the East Area Rapist continued preying on victims.
"Everyone was scared," she said. "Big headlines in both local newspapers, helicopters flying overnight [were] constant reminders of the rape and fear that would never go away."
She said she continues to check doors and windows multiple times to ensure they are locked before she goes to bed, saying she still doesn't "feel safe in a locked house alone."
In 2004, a nun at her local parish helped her "forgive" her attacker, so she could move on from her trauma.
"It's not about letting him off the hook or forgetting the rape. The forgiveness is for me and my peace of mind. Something I badly needed," she said.
Another victim recounted how DeAngelo attacked her from behind on Sept. 4, 1976, while she was separated from her husband and struggling as a single mom of three children. She said her attacker broke her nose and she sustained a concussion when her head slammed into the driveway as she fell backward, but DeAngelo shook her awake with threats and raped her at knifepoint.
"The lump on my nose never went away," she said. "I learned to accept it as a part of my face."
DeAngelo's victims will continue to have a chance to deliver their victim impact statements Wednesday and Thursday.
DeAngelo is then expected to be formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Friday.