Joseph James DeAngelo (Golden State Killer) by ROBERT LEVASSEUR

Education

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He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento in 1972. He also completed some post-graduate work as well.

Family Life

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His parents divorced when he was in junior high. While in high school, he allegedly abused animals and broke into homes. One of his three siblings also ended up with a criminal record.

Positive Deviance

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Served in the Vietnam War and participated in the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. He also interned at Roseville PD and became an officer at the Exeter PD.

Negative Deviance

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Dismissed from PD because of shoplifting a hammer and dog repellant from a drugstore. He was convicted of theft and sentenced to probation for 6 months.

Primary Deviance

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He started becoming a juvenile delinquent after the divorce off his parents, when he started killing animals and breaking into homes.

Early Indicators

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Was obsessively compulsive, entitled, intelligent, cheated in school, responded with anger to rejection.

Defense

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Plead guilty in exchange for, 11 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus 15 life terms with the possibility of parole and eight years for other enhancements.

Conclusion

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Joseph DeAngelo received life in prison, no death penalty as California does not execute prisoners.

Modus Operandi

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Over his course of 10 murders and over 50 rapes, DeAngelo started off with home invasion and burglary. Later, he started to commit rapes and moved to murders. Throughout all his crimes he would stack dishes on doorknobs and doors as a "warning sign" and make calls to his victims and would stalk and case his victims.

Organized Killer

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DeAngelo would stalk his victims and provide them with warning signs. He would target single family homes in 3 distinct areas across California including Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. DeAngelo would prepare for his crimes and plan them out making him an organized killer. Additionally, he would later tie up and bind men, placing plates on their backs, while raping the women saying if the man moved and caused the plates on his back to fall, he would kill them all.

He was very criminally sophisticated, speaking in different accents and using counter-surveillance techniques taken from his police background. He wore ski masks and concealed his identity.

Power/ Control | Background Influences

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DeAngelo liked feeling the power in the moment of deciding the fate of his victims. He had an immense angry response to rejection and based upon his family circumstances growing up. Wanted to regain power and control through his crimes.

By making the men watch as their spouse was raped and by deciding whether to kill his victims, he had total power in the moment. Additionally, he liked to further taunt the victims after the crimes through phone calls as well as calling police to taunt them as well.

Different Behaviors

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After and before his kills he remained under the radar. After his kills, he had achieved his high and behaved normally until he wanted a new victim.

Home life

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His parents divorced when he was in junior high. While in high school, he allegedly abused animals and broke into homes. One of his three siblings also ended up with a criminal record.

Why?

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Victims

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Started off as women, then moved to killing and torturing couples and raping the women in front of the men. He would only target single family homes after stalking and casing them.

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Victims Description

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The victims were all white females, between 13-40, either single or with a significant other. During his crimes he would rob, rape, and kill these women.

Location

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Committed crimes in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, California.

Strain theory

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Innovation: Unable to achieve power/ respect from reasonable means, DeAngelo sought it through his rapes and killings instead.

Retreatism: In his later life he stopped his crimes and lived very secluded and invisible.

Control Theory

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Attachment: His lack of stable background and family shows weak attachments to society.

Commitment: Though he was employed and married, it was very shallow and non-meaningful.

Involvement: He was involved in Law Enforcement but he was increasingly isolated and had little other connections to society.

Differential Association Theory

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His brother was in jail and his family life was very troubled

Labeling Theory

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He was not labeled a deviant early on, instead he avoided suspicion by remaining invisible. His deviance was however predicted by his past trauma.

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Works Cited

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Works Cited

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Works Cited

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