Victims of Golden State Killer could get restitution from California

By Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES A proposed bill related to the California budget may make alleged victims of the Golden S...

By Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES

A proposed bill related to the California budget may make alleged victims of the Golden State Killer or East Area Rapist eligible for restitution from a fund used to compensate victims of crimes.

Senate Bill 858, which has passed the Senate budget committee and is now being considered by the Assembly's budget committee, was introduced at the behest of Gov. Jerry Brown's administration. It's expected to receive a vote in both houses over the next few days.

If it passes, the California Victims Compensation Board will be able to compensate victims who come forward before the end of 2019. Normally victims of a crime must seek restitution from the board within three years of the crime being committed.

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. has been charged in the shooting deaths of two people in Sacramento and 10 more counts of murder in three other counties. He's also suspected of committing around 50 rapes across the state in the 1970s and '80s.

His arrest came at the end of a four-decade manhunt for the serial burglar and rapist who often hit multiple homes in one night, stole mementos from his victims or taunted them later with phone threats.

After DeAngelo's arrest in late April, the Victims Compensation Board began to hear from victims across the state, according to a State Department of Finance spokesman.

So far, 25 victims in four counties have reached out to the board. In addition, the Board and the Office of Emergency Services have been coordinating with representatives from 10 counties where DeAngelo allegedly committed crimes.

© Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee/TNS
Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected East Area Rapist, is arraigned in a Sacramento courtroom and charged with murdering Katie and Brian Maggiore in Rancho Cordova in 1978 on Friday, April 27, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif.

The number of victims will likely grow as counties make contact with more people who were affected. For example, Sacramento County created a tip line about the Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist and are "reportedly receiving many calls from previously unknown victims who were victimized during the period in which the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer was actively committing crimes," according to a Department of Finance spokesman.

"At this time, the Board estimates 50 direct survivors and about 12 family members," the spokesman said.

It's not clear how much each victim would receive. Compensation depends on the financial losses and harm claimed by victims.

The money in the State Restitution Fund comes from the various payments convicted criminals are forced to make.

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