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(NewsNation) — The prosecutor of the “Golden State Killer” has released a new book revealing the inside story leading to his multiple life-sentence convictions in 2020.
Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho joined “Banfield” on Monday to discuss his new book, “The People vs. The Golden State Killer,” which provides a behind-the-scenes look into the investigation of serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo.
DeAngelo’s murder and attack spree in California spanned the 1970s and ‘80s, but he managed to escape justice until 2018, when the new investigative field of forensic genetic genealogy led police to his door.
In 2020, he pleaded guilty to 13 murders and was sentenced to life without parole. Ho said a break came in the case when DeAngelo was sitting for two hours in an interrogation room.
“When left alone in the room, he started mumbling to himself, and he tried to set up a mental defense of a split personality that this alternative personality named Jerry made him commit all these crimes,” Ho said.
Ho added his book differs from others on the topic in that it “covers the investigation and the prosecution of this case. But more than that, it turns the attention on the generation of law enforcement officers that never gave up the pursuit of justice.”
DeAngelo, 80, now spends his days in prison “looking over his shoulder,” according to Ho.
“He’s afraid that he’s going to get beaten or attacked. He’s living in his own version of hell, where he belongs and where he deserves to be,” Ho added.