A Phantom Unmasked
Those of us that grew up in the Sacramento area during the 1970s remember the fear. A masked intruder was terrorizing the area – invading homes and assaulting the occupants. His reign of terror in Sacramento ended when he was spotted by a couple walking their dog. He brutally murdered them. After that tragic incident, he committed several more crimes in other areas of Northern California before making the move to Southern California. In the south part of the state, his home invasion and assault pattern escalated to include murdering the victims. For decades his identity was unknown; he remained a phantom. We could never have imagined that all that time, the man that caused so much terror lived and worked right here within our community.
Thankfully, technology advanced to the point that Joseph James DeAngelo was finally captured in 2018 by the use of genealogical DNA. This month, he will be sentenced after having pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders. He also admitted to more than 60 rapes, sexual assaults, and other crimes committed during the 70s and 80s for which the statutes of limitations had expired. On Friday, August 21st, it is expected that he will be sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. Like the prior court appearance in June, the sentencing hearing will be held in the ballroom at Sacramento State University to allow for maximum capacity with social distancing. It will also be televised.
The Victims Will Speak
Before the formal sentence is handed down, the victims of the East Area Rapist – also known as the Golden State Killer and the Visalia Ransacker, will get to speak in front of their attacker and to the Court. Prosecutors have promised that the victims will be able to give their statements without restrictions on content or time. Three days, August 18 through 20, have been earmarked for the victims’ impact statements before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman. Many who lived through his Sacramento-area sexual assaults are expected to speak. Family members of the murder victims will also be heard.
Victim Impact Statements
Victim impact statements allow crime victims to describe how they and their families have been physically, emotionally, financially, and otherwise impacted by the crime. It is important information for the Court to have and, in some cases, can affect sentencing. Written statements can be submitted to the judge, which allows time for rumination and review prior to sentencing. Oral statements offer the important elements of hearing the victim’s voice and inflections as well as putting a face to the crime. A combination of written and oral statements can be particularly impactful.
With regard to DeAngelo, the victim impact statements are not expected to have any effect on the sentencing, which is believed to have been reached through a plea deal, but they serve another, maybe even more important purpose to the victims.
Impact Statements Give Victims a Voice
Having the ability to make a statement in the presence of the offender and the Court can be a healing experience. The opportunity to communicate in your own words what you, your loved ones, and others closest to you have lived with since the crime can bring some measure of closure. The East Area Rapist operated in our Sacramento community more than 40 years ago, and his victims have been affected to varying psychological degrees since that time. The staff of AutoAccident.com hopes that the upcoming hearings give some peace to the victims of the assaults and to the families of the murder victims. We are thankful that this dark period of Sacramento history is reaching its long-awaited conclusion.
Below is a video from KCRA reporting on the guilty pleas and admissions that took place in June.
Sacramento Wrongful Death Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a wrongful death lawyer in Sacramento. Murder is one example of wrongful death. The definition is also met when negligence, rather than intent, causes fatal injuries. Nothing can ease the grief caused by the loss of a loved one, but a civil wrongful death claim can help to relieve a family’s financial burdens. I can offer compassionate, free, and friendly advice on such matters. Call us at (916) 921-6400 or toll-free from outside the local area at (800) 404-5400. I also offer an online contact option.
Photo Attribution: https://pixabay.com/photos/public-speaking-mic-microphone-3926344/
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