DeAngelo, Jr. appeared in court on Dec 6, 2018. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Sweet decided he will keep his court appointed attorney Diane Howard as he is not deemed to have enough financial means to do otherwise.
“Prosecutors from Contra Costa, Tulare, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties have agreed to a joint trial effort to be held in Sacramento and led by the city’s District Attorney’s Office. The case — from early motions to the trial itself — is expected to be among the largest in California’s history, lasting as long as 10 years and costing state taxpayers $20 million.”
Short case description: Joseph James DeAngelo, Jr. was arrested on April 25, 2018. He is known as the Golden State Killer, the Original Night Stalker, the East Area Rapist, the Diamond Knot Killer, and now we add: defendant. DeAngelo, Jr. is a serial killer, a rapist, and a burglar. He has 13 murders on his conscience, about 50 rapes, and more than 100 burglaries in California. All crimes were committed between 1974-1986 during three crime sprees. At first, they appeared to be unrelated crime sprees. Each spree got a different nickname. It wasn’t until the latest technology in forensics and familial DNA tied them all together.
Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert has not decided yet if she will ask for the death penalty. Note that as of yet, DeAngelo, Jr. has not entered a plea in any of the cases he faces.
Next court date is April 10, 2019.