Golden State Killer faces his victims in 1st day of hearings

Posted: Aug 18, 2020 / 06:02 AM EDT / Updated: Aug 18, 2020 / 06:02 AM EDT

FILE – In this June 29, 2020, file photo, Jane Carson-Sandler, a 1976 rape victim of Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo, stands and gives a double thumbs-up to agree with a prosecutor’s statement about part of DeAngelo’s anatomy, during a court hearing in Sacramento, Calif. Carson-Sandler says she’s served an effective life sentence in the more than four decades since she was among the first of dozens of rape victims of a one-time police officer who eventually became known as the Golden State Killer. Carson-Sandler is among survivors who plan to confront DeAngelo this week during an extraordinary four days of court hearings before the 74-year-old is sentenced to life in prison. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Killer, a former police officer in California who eluded capture for four decades, faces his victims in court Tuesday on the first of four days of hearings before he is sentenced to life in prison.

Joseph DeAngelo has admitted to 13 murders and nearly 50 rapes between 1975 and 1986. All told, he admitted to harming 87 victims in 53 separate crimes scenes spanning 11 California counties in a plea deal that spares him the death penalty.

Sixteen of his rape victims plan to confront him Tuesday. A similar number will tell a Sacramento County judge on Wednesday and Thursday how DeAngelo’s crimes changed their lives, before he is formally sentenced Friday.