"Do You Feel Any Remorse?": Survivors Address the Golden State Killer in Court, CBS LA Report, 2020

Name: "Do You Feel Any Remorse?": Survivors Address the Golden State Killer in Court, CBS LA Report, 2020
Uploaded: 2020-08-18T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 42 s
Description: CBS LA's KCAL 9 report from August 18, 2020, as survivors of the Golden State Killer, among them Kris Pedretti, addressed a silent Joseph James DeAngelo in a Sacramento courtroom.

CBS LA's KCAL 9 report from August 18, 2020, as survivors of the Golden State Killer, among them Kris Pedretti, addressed a silent Joseph James DeAngelo in a Sacramento courtroom.

Subject: Joseph James DeAngelo
Recorded: about August 18, 2020
Runtime: 2:42

Content warning: Survivors describe rape and a home invasion in which a 7-year-old boy was tied to a bedpost while his mother was assaulted; no further graphic detail.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Joseph James DeAngelo, who is not heard in it. It is a 2:42 report by KCAL 9, broadcast by CBS LA on August 18, 2020, the first day on which survivors of his attacks and their relatives addressed him in a Sacramento courtroom before his sentencing. It includes short excerpts of statements by four or five speakers, among them survivor Kris Pedretti and Pete Schultz, whose mother was attacked.

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. On June 29, 2020, he pleaded guilty to 13 murders and 13 kidnappings and admitted dozens of uncharged attacks; the rapes could not be charged because the statute of limitations had run.

Circumstances

Judge Michael Bowman set aside August 18 to 20, 2020, for victim impact statements, with the sentence to follow on August 21. Pool cameras were allowed. The reporter says 16 victims spoke on the first day (the station's figure) while DeAngelo "sat silently." Families of murder victims, including from Southern California, were to speak on Thursday, August 20.

What the Recording Covers

The report opens with Kris Pedretti: "At three different times that night, I thought I was going to die." One survivor says DeAngelo "stole my formative years"; another says that "after 42 years, I still always look over my shoulder." Pete Schultz describes being tied to the bedpost "until my hands turned blue" while his mother was assaulted. Kris Pedretti, who the reporter says was 15 when DeAngelo broke into her home and raped her, asks him, "Do you feel any remorse for what you did to me?" The reporter summarizes the 2018 DNA arrest and the plea. A final speaker says, "He's a horrible man, and none of us have to worry about him anymore."

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records, in same-day coverage, survivors facing DeAngelo in court more than four decades after the attacks on them, including Kris Pedretti, who spoke publicly under her own name.

Archival Importance

The report is from CBS LA's own channel. It complements DeAngelo's own statement to the court on August 21.

Important Caveats

DeAngelo is not heard. Only Kris Pedretti (named by the reporter) and Pete Schultz (named in an on-screen caption) are identified in the video; the other survivors must not be named on the page, even though press reports name some of them, and Pete Schultz's mother must not be named. The reporter's "13 rape related charges" is wrong: DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 murders and 13 kidnappings, and the rapes were uncharged. The reporter's list of counties for the 13 murders (Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange) leaves out the three Northern California murders included in the plea (two near Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, and one in Visalia, Tulare County). "Nearly 50 rapes" and "16 victims spoke" are the station's statements and were not verified; the Ventura County DNA source is correct (a rape kit from the 1980 Smith murders in Ventura). The reporter's surname is not verified.

Kris Pedretti: At three different times that night, I thought I was going to die.

Anchor: A former police officer who terrorized people across California for more than a decade is now facing his victims. The so-called Golden State Killer pleaded guilty to 13 murders and nearly 50 rapes. Today some of Joseph DeAngelo's victims got a chance to share their stories. KCAL 9's Jasmine [unclear: "Vale" (captions) / "Vail" (Whisper)] here now with the disturbing stories. Jasmine.

Kcal 9 Reporter: And Chris, just heartbreaking to hear their pain and suffering. Sixteen of his victims spoke out today about the impacts his crimes had on their lives. DeAngelo will hear three days of testimony from his victims and survivors before he is sentenced.

Survivor: DeAngelo stole my formative years. He stole my youth, my innocence, my faith, and my trust.

Kcal 9 Reporter: Joseph DeAngelo sat silently as one by one his victims and their family members told stories of how the Golden State Killer stole their sense of security.

Survivor: I was raped multiple times. I have had nightmares for years, but after 42 years, I still always look over my shoulder when someone approaches me from behind.

Pete Schultz: DeAngelo woke us up, tied me to the bedpost until my hands turned blue, locked my sister in her room, and performed horrific acts against my mother while she was bound and blindfolded.

Kcal 9 Reporter: Kris Pedretti was 15 years old when DeAngelo broke into her home in the middle of the night and raped her.

Kris Pedretti: Do you feel any remorse for what you did to me? For the people whose lives you sadistically cut short, or for the years of pain to your victims and their family?

Kcal 9 Reporter: Police captured DeAngelo, dubbed the Golden State Killer, using a new form of DNA tracing in 2018: DNA that was taken from one of his Ventura County murder victims, decades after a statewide crime spree between 1975 and 1986. DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 murders, with victims in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange counties, and 13 rape-related charges in June to avoid the death penalty. But he publicly admitted to dozens of attacks across 11 California counties.

Survivor: Finally, the end of this trauma is here. He's a horrible man, and none of us have to worry about him anymore.

Kcal 9 Reporter: And family members of those murdered victims, including from right here in Southern California, will speak Thursday. And while DeAngelo has admitted to dozens of other crimes, many could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations expired. Susie, Chris.

Anchor: All right, Jasmine. Thank you. ---