Man who killed 8, raped 45 people, arrested after 40 years

Joseph James DeAngelo, a 72 year-old former policeman, has been arrested and charged with serial killings in California during the 1970s and 1980s. .

The suspect was said to be responsible for eight murders and dozens of rapes and slayings that terrorised parts of California. .

Officials at a press conference in Sacramento said the suspect was finally nabbed following DNA evidence about two months after the Golden Gate Killer gained renewed attention in the bestselling book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.” .

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones credited the book with helping to generate new tips but said no information was “extracted from that book that directly led to the apprehension.” .

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has previously said that the man sought in the 40-year-old case was tied to 12 slayings, 45 rapes and more than 120 burglaries.

The crime spree spanned 10 California counties in all. The suspect, also dubbed by investigators as the “East Area Rapist” and the “Original Night Stalker,” is considered one of the state’s most prolific serial killers.