Five of six district attorneys from counties where Joseph DeAngelo Jr. is accused of killing people were in the courtroom as representatives from each of those counties read off a simple declaration.
The attorney plan to seek the death penalty is DeAngelo is in fact convicted. This announcement was made Wednesday during the pre-trial hearing in Sacramento County. The hearing lasted only four minutes as DeAngelo stood in a cage in the courtroom looking thinner and older. His public defender again objecting to the presence of cameras and microphones.
This notice comes nearly a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order suspending capital punishment in the state during his term and the demolition of the death chamber in San Quentin.
A statement released by Sacramento prosecutors reads: ``This morning, the District Attorneys of Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, Contra Costa and Tulare met to review the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in the Joseph DeAngelo case pursuant to the death review protocol of Sacramento County. Thereafter, the four jurisdictions with special circumstance allegations -- Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Orange and Ventura -- unanimously concluded to seek the death penalty in this case. There will be no further comment.''
The 73-year-old suspect, infamously known as the "Golden State Killer," allegedly committed at least 12 homicides, 50 rapes, and dozens of burglaries across 10 counties across California between 1974 and 1986.
It's been about a year since DeAngelo first appeared in court and he has yet to enter a plea.