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Today’s killer tale might resonate a bit more with our viewers, as the story is ongoing.
Over the last year, we took you back to the 19th century with Jack the Ripper and H.H.
Holmes; we made you want to throw up your popcorn after outlining the despicable acts
of Ted Bundy, and we no doubt perplexed you with the story of human-skinsuit designer,
Ed Gein.
One other killer we’ve featured that was never caught, is known as the Zodiac Killer.
Looking at the news as we write this, we see its being reported that police believe they
might finally catch this guy.
How are they going to do it?
Well, the same way they got the Golden State Killer, the maniac being featured in this
episode of the Infographics Show, What Do We Know About the Golden State Killer?
Ok, so the Golden State Killer, we now know, is named Joseph James DeAngelo, and he’s
a 72-year old man who is allegedly responsible for 12 murders and at least 50 rapes that
cops say he committed in California in the 70s and 80s.
In case you didn’t know, California is nicknamed the Golden State because gold was found there
in the mid-18th century.
It’s got nothing to do with the many sunny days the region experiences.
The police had been looking for this man for many years, and if you are an arch-criminal,
you should know that while the cops don’t always get their man, they do keep looking.
He moved around the state and picked up various monikers from the press, such as the Visalia
Ransacker (from the city Visalia), the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker (for
killings in Santa Barbara) and the Diamond Knot Killer (due to his acumen for tying knots
around his victims).
The police linked all those rapes and murders because he fits the bill due to his modus
operandi, which basically means someone’s mode of operating, or how they do stuff.
Police believe that this man, who once was a cop himself, would surveil houses, and the
victims contained in them, before he committed his vicious acts.
He would usually choose women in middle class areas who lived alone in single story houses.
He would also always choose houses near a place where one could easily escape from,
such as near a creek or some kind of trail.
He was a cop; he knew which places offered the best kind of getaway plan.
But he went even further.
It’s said for weeks, or even months before he attacked, he would sneak into the house,
empty guns of their bullets, leave windows unlocked, and occasionally call his victims
to better know their daily schedule (he hung up on them, of course).
Once he had their routine down and was confident he could easily escape from the scene of the
crime, he would strike, which often entailed tying the victim up with shoelaces.
If there was a man around, he would tie the woman and man together, and it’s said he
would sometimes leave dishes on the man’s back, telling him if he heard them fall the
couple would die.
With this set up, he would leisurely ransack the place.
He would sometimes steal valuable stuff, but also take things that didn’t have much monetary
value.
It’s believed in 1974 and 1975, he was very active as a burglar in Visalia, and one time
killed a journalism professor who was just trying to help his 16-year old daughter, but
it’s also said most of the time the people he robbed didn’t get hurt besides the wounds
they suffered from being tied up.
In the case of the prof, news reports tell us De’Angelo was stealing things when he
and the girl woke up and confronted him.
“The masked man pulled out a gun, fired twice, kicked the girl in the face and ran,”
we are told.
Many more burglaries happened, but after a while they stopped, only for similar things
to happen in other parts of California.
Police were always aware that one man was probably behind the many similar crimes.
As he was seen by many of his victims, he was described as being a big white chap around
200 pounds (90.7 kilos) with size 9 shoes (apparently he was a fan of Converse) and
at the time said to be about 25 to 35 years old.
He moved on to the areas of Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Carmichael, and so got
the name the East Area Rapist.
In the late 70s and early 80s, he moved to the areas of Goleta, Ventura, and Dana Point,
and was then known as the Original Night Stalker (the other Night Stalker is the vicious Satanist
and serial killer Richard Ramirez).
Then it all stopped, with police saying this clever killer gave up because police were
using DNA to catch culprits and he was too smart to think he could keep getting away
with these crimes.
“If you believe you saw him anywhere in Santa Barbara County, or personally know him,
please contact the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Bureau,” police said in one newspaper back
in the day.
Then in 2016, cops offered a $50,000 reward, telling the public they didn’t need much
more to get him as DNA from some of the houses where he had killed had given police a possible
suspect.
It’s sounds crazy, but the cops used an online genealogy database to find out who
he was or who he was related to.
They found relatives of his who had used the same service.
According to news reports, around 100 users of this service matched the killer as a distant
relative.
“It took us only four months to get to the right pool of people,” an investigator told
CNN, “This guided us to the right pool of people without having to ruffle the sensibilities
of a whole lot of people.”
The police then looked at this small pool and knew they had got their man.
Cops couldn’t charge De’Angelo with some crimes due to the statute of limitations (too
much time had passed) but he was charged with eight counts of murder.
In court he said nothing, other than to confirm who he was.
His arrest has caused some speculation regarding the capture of other serial killers that were
never caught, and we are not talking about the infamous Jack.
The one guy everyone wants caught is the murderer we have already featured in this series, none
other than the Zodiac Killer.
One man whose spent his life informally investigating the cryptogram maniac, told the press that
the Zodiac no doubt used saliva when he licked those envelopes he liked sending to the press.
“You just need to get the evidence, get it to the lab.
Just copy what was done with the Golden State Killer” Voigt told the media.
Similar sentiments were echoed by a real police investigator, albeit former investigator,
when talking to the Sacramento Bee.
The killer of at least seven people remains at large, but if he’s still alive, he might
still get caught, said the ex-cop.
“I hope with all of the news and revelations about the Golden State Killer that it will
kind of be the impetus for the Zodiac,” she told The Bee.
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So, what do you think?
Is there still hope of finding the Zodiac?
Is law enforcement overreaching by using DNA from commercial genealogical companies?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called What Happens When You Die?!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!