"That Silence Is Broken Now": Survivors Face the Golden State Killer on the First Day of Victim Statements, 2020

Name: "That Silence Is Broken Now": Survivors Face the Golden State Killer on the First Day of Victim Statements, 2020
Uploaded: 2020-08-19T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Description: ABC10's report from August 18, 2020, the first day survivors of the Golden State Killer confronted Joseph James DeAngelo in court, as he sat masked and silent.

ABC10's report from August 18, 2020, the first day survivors of the Golden State Killer confronted Joseph James DeAngelo in court, as he sat masked and silent.

Subject: Joseph James DeAngelo
Recorded: about August 18, 2020
Runtime: 1:41

Content warning: A survivor describes being blindfolded, tied up, threatened with a knife and raped; a relative describes finding her or his mother bound and gagged.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Joseph James DeAngelo, who is not heard in it. It is a 1:41 news report by Sacramento station ABC10 from August 18, 2020, the first day on which survivors of his attacks and relatives of victims addressed him in court before his sentencing. It includes short excerpts of their statements in the courtroom and two soundbites recorded afterward.

Historical Context

Between the mid-1970s and 1986 an unidentified man committed dozens of rapes and at least 13 murders across California and became known as the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker and finally the Golden State Killer. Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer in Exeter and Auburn, California, was arrested on April 24, 2018, after a genetic genealogy investigation.

Circumstances

Judge Michael Bowman set aside four days, August 18 to 21, 2020, for victim impact statements and sentencing in Sacramento County Superior Court. The court allowed pool cameras. DeAngelo sat at the defense table wearing a face mask. As the reporter explains, the first two days were for survivors of rapes in Northern California, Thursday for the families of murder victims, and Friday for the sentence.

What the Recording Covers

The report opens with three short courtroom excerpts. For once in your life, be a man." Another describes being blindfolded, tied up, threatened with a knife and raped; a third speaker recalls seeing "my mother bound, gagged, blindfolded." The reporter describes DeAngelo sitting in silence, "eyes not looking at the survivors." A survivor described as one of the youngest victims says outside court that "that silence is broken now." Survivor Linda O'Dell, who stood before DeAngelo beside former investigator Carol Daly, says she will not "walk around in fear" and will not let him "take up any more time in my space." The reporter closes with the schedule for the rest of the week.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records, in local coverage made the same day, the first day on which survivors addressed DeAngelo in court, more than four decades after the attacks on them, and shows him silent before them.

Archival Importance

The report is from ABC10's own channel. It complements DeAngelo's own statement to the court three days later.

Important Caveats

DeAngelo is not heard. Apart from Linda O'Dell and Kris Pedretti, the survivors and the relative heard in the video are not named, and their names must not be added to the page. Kris Pedretti is not named in this video; she is named here because the same courtroom audio of her remorse question is in CBS LA's report, where the reporter names her, and she speaks publicly under her own name. The excerpts are short; where one speaker ends and the next begins is not certain without listening. The YouTube title's "Evil Monster" quotes a statement made that day by another survivor (reported by NBC News) that does not appear in this clip. The YouTube description's "spoke one after the Tuesday" is a typo in the original.

Abc10 Reporter: Survivors of the East Area Rapist, also known as the Golden State Killer, faced the man who terrorized them for decades. This is their moment. Let me take you inside.

Kris Pedretti: Do you feel any remorse for what you did to me? For once in your life, be a man. Look at her.

Survivor: ...blindfolded me, tied me up, threatened my life with a knife and raped me.

Relative Of A Survivor: Some people are wired wrong. I was stunned when I saw my mother bound, gagged, blindfolded.

Abc10 Reporter: He sat in silence, mask on and eyes not looking at the survivors, the women and families he terrorized decades ago as the East Area Rapist, Golden State Killer. Strong words from one of the youngest victims, now a survivor, and one who does not shy away from her story.

Survivor: It was a long time of silence, and that silence is broken now, you know, forever. And it's, it's amazing. It's very liberating.

Abc10 Reporter: Linda O'Dell, another survivor, stood and faced DeAngelo next to longtime former investigator Carol Daly. Her emotions continued outside the courtroom.

Linda O'Dell: I'm not going to walk around in fear like this. I'm going to be careful, but I'm not going to let him take up any more time in my, in my space.

Abc10 Reporter: This is their moment: uninterrupted time to tell their abuser their story. The man who held them captive will soon be held captive on his own in prison for the crimes he pleaded guilty to. This is day one of the weeklong sentencing for DeAngelo. Tomorrow we will hear from more rape survivors in Northern California. On Thursday, we'll hear from the families of the murder victims that happened from Northern to Southern California. Then on Friday, DeAngelo is expected to be sentenced to life in prison. Stay with us at ABC10, on air and online, for updates. ---