Home Scandal and Gossip Golden State Killer neighbors: ‘We used to call him freak’

Golden State Killer neighbors: ‘We used to call him freak’

Christopher Koulouris: About author bio at bottom of article.
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Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors
Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors: 'He had a mean side....' Pictured the suburb of Citrus, California where the Golden State Killer lived an unassuming while keeping a dark secret.
Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors
Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors: ‘He had a mean side….’ Pictured the suburb of Citrus Heights, California where the Golden State Killer lived an unassuming while keeping a dark secret.

Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors recall the unassuming man who lived amongst them in the middle class suburb of Citrus Heights, California who they remember as having a mean streak and being a freak.

Unsuspecting neighbors who had lived years next door to 72 year old man, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr since revealed to be serial murderer and rapist, the Golden State Killer have told of their experiences with the ‘grouchy neighbor’ who had a mean streak.

In an expose via The Sacramento Bee, neighbors told how the unassuming old man who lived amongst them for over 30 years in the Californian suburb of Citrus Heights appeared for the most part to be your ‘typical grouchy old man’.

Local residents described DeAngelo who had only just retired two weeks ago and planning on ‘doing a lot of fishing’ having the ‘cleanest house’ with the neatest, most well-kept yard, and a ‘quirkiness of getting mad’.

DeAngelo who unbeknownst to the outside world had allegedly murdered over a dozen individuals and raped over 45 victims along with orchestrating 120 break-ins starting from the mid 1970’s until suddenly stopping in 1986 lived at the well to do middle class suburb with his daughter and granddaughter- who by now was well known for his tantrums.

‘Not at anybody, just (expressing) his self-frustration,’ explained Natalia Bedes-Correnti, who lives just a few houses down from the alleged murderer and rapist.

Adding, ‘Usually because he couldn’t find his keys.’

Little did everyone know, at the time, was that the ex-police officer and former Vietnam War veteran was allegedly hiding a dark secret.

According to cops, DeAngelo spent eight years sexually assaulting women — and sometimes men -— from different cities across California, along with murdering some of his victims and carrying out a wide host of break ins.

The neighbor who also notoriously wore the mantle the East Area rapist, the Original Night Stalker and the Diamond Knot Killer carried out his crime spree between 1976 and 1986 before suddenly stopping.

Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors: ‘It’s terrifying to think this man could have hopped the fence and come into my backyard.’

The unassuming next door neighbor was only arrested Tuesday night, some 40 odd years after his last exploit after Sacramento authorities put him under surveillance a few days ago and matching ‘discarded DNA’ from him — which they then linked to previous crime scenes.

‘It’s terrifying to think this man could have hopped the fence and come into my backyard. I have children,’ said Beth Walsh, who lives behind DeAngelo. ‘I’m glad to know they caught this guy.’

Bee along with other neighbors went on to describe the former retired policeman as being a ‘regular guy’ with a ‘mean streak’. 

‘I can’t even believe, I can’t even believe it,’ said resident Corey Harvey of DeAngelo’s alleged past.

Joseph James DeAngelo neighbors: ‘This guy just had this anger that was just pouring out of him’.

While DeAngelo may have a predisposition towards anger issues, neighbors conceded the ex-Auburn and Exeter cop also having done good deeds for his neighbors, including building a new fence for Walsh and her husband. But some described his behavior as off-putting — and even disturbing at times.

Explained neighbor Bedes-Correnti, ‘We used to just call him ‘Freak”. 

‘I had the creeps about this guy for a long time,’ added Eddie Verdon, another neighbor who allegedly caught DeAngelo snooping around his property.

Longtime resident Grant Gorman grew up behind the alleged killer, and claimed to be deathly afraid of him when he was younger.

‘This guy just had this anger that was just pouring out of him,’ Gorman said, noting how he avoided DeAngelo and his daughter at all costs.

‘I felt sorry for her,’ Gorman added. ‘He’d just be yelling at nothing in the backyard, pacing in circles.’

Gormon added DeAngelo leaving a voicemail message for his family around 1994 in which he said would ‘deliver a load of death’ if they didn’t stop their dog barking.

The 5-foot, 10-inch septuagenarian appears to have spent most of his life in the suburbs and foothills of Sacramento, according to the Bee.

He was reportedly injured while serving in the military and is said to be missing a finger.

Kevin Tapia, who also grew up behind DeAngelo, claimed he was painstakingly diligent — and extremely paranoid about his boat. He told reporters that DeAngelo had permanent markings on his driveway to outline where to park it.

‘No one thinks they live next door to a serial killer,’ Tapia said. ‘But at the same time I’m just like, he was a weird guy. He kept to himself. When you start to think about it you’re like, I could see him doing something like that, but I would never suspect it.’

Following DeAngelo’s arrest, investigators had yet to say what motivated the man’s long string of violent crimes, which often saw the Golden State Killer stealing personal mementos belonging to his victims and in one instance calling up a former victim 20 years later to torment them before suddenly just like he first began in 1976, one day stopping his reign of physical and psychological terror in 1986 as he sought to live a normal life- as normal as DeAngelo could have ever dared being…

How Joseph James DeAngelo aka East Area Rapist eluded arrest for over 40 years.

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