FBI Launches National Search for Sacramento Serial Killer

Thursday, June 16, 2016

GoLocalPDX News Team

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, and Contra Costa Sheriff's Department held a press conference on Wednesday to announce the launch of a reward and national champaign to help identify the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer, a violent serial burglar, rapist, and murderer who has terrorized multiple communities in California throughout the 70's and 80's.

The digital media campaign includes a website and digital billboards throughout the country, social media outreach on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, as well as audio broadcasts via podcasts and radio PSAs.

Law Enforcement is asking the public to consider the following information when reviewing the case:

* Did they live in one of the areas of criminal activity and remember someone in the area who matches the physical description of the subject or may have been known to spend a considerable amount of time in the areas?

* Have they discovered a hidden collection of items among the belongings of a friend or family member--notably coins and jewelry--as described on the FBI webpage about the crimes?

The Subject

The subject who may be 60-75 years old now, was described as a white male standing approximately 5 feet, 10 inches tall with blond or light brown hair and an athletic build. He may have had an interest in training in military or law enforcement techniques as he was familiar with firearms.

This who know the subject may not believe him capable of such crimes. He may not have exhibited violent tendencies or have a criminal history.

The Evidence Collected

Detectives have DNA evidence from some of the crime scenes which can either positively link or exclude a suspect. This enables investigators to quickly exclude innocent parties and the public should not hesitate to provide information even if it is the name or address of an individual who resided in the areas of the crimes as many parties will be quickly excluded by a simple, non-invasive test.

Between 1976 and 1986, the single subject committed 12 homicides, approximately 45 rapes and multiple residential burglaries in the state of California. All of the crimes have been linked by DNA and or details of the crimes. His victims ranges from age 13 to 41 and included women home alone, woman at home with their children and couples.

Crime History

The subject was active in the Sacramento area from June 1976 to February 1978.

Burglaries and rapes began occurring in the Sacramento area during the summer of 1976. During these crimes, the subject would ransack the homes of his victims and take small items such as coins, jewelry, and identification. These cases include the homes of families, couples, and single women; burglaries in a neighborhood tended to precede clusters of sexual assaults. On February 2, 1978, Rancho Cordova couple Sergeant Brian Maggiore and his wife, Katie, were on an evening walk with their dog, chased by the subject who overcame the couple, and shot at close range.

His activity continued primarily in the East Bay Area of Northern California in 1979 and, by October 1979, his activity escalated into rapes and homicides/attempted homicides along the California Coast with homicides in Goleta (October 10, 1979, December 3, 1979, and July 27, 1981), Ventura (March 16, 1980), Laguna Niguel (August 19, 1980), and Irvine (February 6, 1981 and May 5, 1986). During the commission of the homicides, the subject tied up both victims, raped the female victim, and then murdered the couple.

After July of 1981, no associated incidents are known to have been reported for five years. In 1986, an 18-year-old woman was raped and murdered in Irvine. No additional crimes have been connected to the subject after this incident.