The prosecutor said investigators linked the East Area Rapist and the Visalia Ransacker.
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The Ransacker broke into homes in the evening hours by prying open doors and windows.
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Nearby Visalia was where EARONS committed the crimes that led to his first moniker, the Visalia Ransacker.
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Though investigators had long suspected a connection between the Ransacker and EARONS, no connection was confirmed until Wednesday.
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Known as the Visalia Ransacker, the man was suspected of committing 19763 burglaries between April 1974 and December 1975.
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As the officer confronted him, the Ransacker pulled out a handgun and fired at the officer hitting his flashlight.
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He went by many names: the East Side Rapist, the Visalia Ransacker, the Original Night Stalker, the Golden State Killer.
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Authorities were able to link the gun used to kill Snelling to a firearm stolen earlier in another of the Ransacker burglaries.
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They learned DeAngelo had worked as a police officer in the nearby town of Exeter during the years the Visalia Ransacker was active.
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In different counties he had different monikers — the Visalia Ransacker, the Original Night Stalker, the East Area Rapist, and the Diamond Knot Killer.
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The break-ins are believed to have begun in or near Visalia, starting around 250; for this, the suspect was named the Visalia Ransacker.
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DeAngelo was an officer with the nearby Exeter Police Department around the time a criminal dubbed the "Visalia Ransacker" was burglarizing homes in the community.
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Police said DeAngelo was a police officer in nearby Exeter from May 1973 to August 1976 at the time of the Ransacker spree and Snelling murder.
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Authorities indicated that DeAngelo was also being investigated for the Visalia Ransacker crimes, which took place in 1974 and 1975, before the East Area Rapist attacks.
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After DeAngelo was arrested earlier this year, investigators said they were eyeing fingerprints and shoe tracks left by the Visalia Ransacker for a possible link to DeAngelo.
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Police had linked that burglary to the so-called Visalia Ransacker, a prolific burglar police believed was responsible for over 100 residential burglaries from April 1974 to December 1975.
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Salazar said they believe the Visalia Ransacker also shot at a police officer three months later, on December 10, when he was confronted entering the backyard of a residence.
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Investigators have long believed that DeAngelo is the man known as the "Visalia Ransacker" who terrorized the small California community in 1974 and 1975, committing over 100 burglaries and sexual assaults.
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The investigation into the Ransacker had never been closed, and members of the community had submitted more than a thousand tips over the years about the man who'd terrorized their streets — and sometimes homes — 40 years ago.
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"Joseph DeAngelo is the man responsible for these crimes," Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar Officials said Monday they believe DeAngelo is the "sole suspect" in the incidents linked to the so-called "Visalia ransacker" and Snelling&aposs murder.
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Authorities said DeAngelo was working as a police officer in the city of Exeter from May 1973 to August 1976, the period in which the Ransacker cases were occurring in Visalia and at the time of the Snelling homicide.
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Because of the statute of limitations, Ward said he could not charge DeAngelo for the burglaries, attempted kidnapping, or for a December 1975 incident in which he fired a shot at a police officer working a surveillance detail in the hunt for the Ransacker.
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The recent and startling arrest of the elusive Golden State Killer, aka the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker/Diamond Knot Killer/Visalia Ransacker in what was arguably the most vexing and disturbing constellation of interlinked cold cases in American history, has raised more questions than answers.
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DeAngelo, who worked as a police officer in the Central Valley town of Exeter from 1973 to 1976, is believed to be responsible for a series of crimes attributed to the Visalia Ransacker, a serial prowler and burglar who murdered local journalism professor Claude Snelling in 1975 in a failed kidnapping attempt of his teenage daughter.
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In the mid-1970s, the area was known for the serial burglaries of the then unidentified Visalia Ransacker. More recently, Visalia served as a host city for the Amgen Tour of California in 2009 and 2010.
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After the murder, Beth Snelling, 16, a cheerleader at Mt. Whitney High School, underwent hypnosis in order to gather further details. The Visalia Police Department also committed more resources to apprehending the Ransacker, and a $4000 reward (equivalent to $19,264 in 2020) was posted. Nighttime stakeouts were set up near houses that he had previously prowled, but the ransackings continued. Around 8:30 p.m.
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Holes decided not to approach the home for fear of causing a disturbance or tipping off DeAngelo of any suspicion of his involvement as a suspect in the case. Using discarded DNA samples from DeAngelo's home, detectives were able to match his DNA to that known to be from the Golden State Killer. DeAngelo was later taken into custody by the Sacramento Police on April 24, 2018. While researching the EAR case, it began to be strongly suspected by some that another high profile unsolved case, the Visalia Ransacker, and the EAR were the same person based on evidence similarity.
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To heighten awareness of the case, crime writer Michelle McNamara coined the name Golden State Killer in early 2013. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law-enforcement agencies held a news conference on June 15, 2016, to announce a renewed nationwide effort, offering a $50,000 reward for his capture. On April 24, 2018, authorities charged 72-year-old DeAngelo with eight counts of first-degree murder, based upon DNA evidence; investigators had identified members of DeAngelo's family through forensic genetic genealogy. This was also the first announcement connecting the Visalia Ransacker crimes to DeAngelo.
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After becoming interested in the crimes of what was then known as the "East Area Rapist" (among other names) McNamara wrote a 2013 Los Angeles magazine article about the serial killer, and ultimately signed a book deal with HarperCollins to write about the case. McNamara is credited with coining the moniker Golden State Killer to refer to the serial killer/rapist who had previously been referred to by various other names including the East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker, Visalia Ransacker, East Bay Rapist and Diamond Knot Killer. McNamara's coining of the Golden State Killer moniker is credited with heightening awareness of the uncaught killer that operated throughout California. With her book two-thirds completed, McNamara died in her sleep on April 21, 2016 at the age of 46 due to an accidental prescription drug overdose in conjunction with atherosclerosis.
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Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar and former police officer who committed at least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1973 and 1986.; DeAngelo was responsible for at least three crime sprees throughout California, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same offender. In the San Joaquin Valley, he was known as the Visalia Ransacker before moving to the Sacramento area, where he became known as the East Area Rapist and was linked by modus operandi to additional attacks in Contra Costa County, Stockton, and Modesto. DeAngelo committed serial murders in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties, where he was known as the Night Stalker and later the Original Night Stalker (due to serial killer Richard Ramirez also being called the "Night Stalker").
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