Who was Joseph DeAngelo’s last known victim?

Janelle Cruz, eighteen, killed in Irvine in May 1986.

How long did Joseph DeAngelo go without a known crime?

Thirty-two years. After May 1986 there is nothing until he was identified in 2018. He fixed trucks, raised three daughters and lived in a Sacramento suburb.

What does the FBI say about serial killers stopping?

The FBI lists ‘serial killers cannot stop killing’ as a myth in ‘Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators’, published in 2008 from a 2005 symposium. Some stop as family involvement and other diversions take over.

The FBI says serial killers can stop

Timeline · No. 04

Thirty-two years of nothing

The line
Event
The catch
A wait

Notation

The line: Time, left to right. Down the screen on a phone.
Event: A fact on the record.
Missed chance: The system had him and let him go.
The catch: The error that ended it, knocked out of line.
Open case: No one charged.
A wait: Time passes and nothing moves.

Data table

Thirty-two years of nothing
Year	Event	Notation
1986	Janelle Cruz, 18	Event
2018	genetic genealogy ID	The catch
2020	guilty plea · 13 murders	Event
1986–2018	32 years · nothing	A wait
1975–1986	active	The line

Drawn from: FBI, Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators (2008) · People v. DeAngelo (2020)

The case

California · 1975–2020

California, 1975 to 1986. Thirteen murders, some fifty rapes. The last known victim: Janelle Cruz, eighteen, Irvine, May 1986. Then nothing for thirty-two years. Joseph DeAngelo fixed trucks, raised three daughters, lived in a Sacramento suburb. In 2018 genetic genealogy matched DNA from the scenes. He pleaded guilty in 2020.

The mechanism

Can serial killers stop killing?

‘Serial killers cannot stop’ made the FBI’s 2008 list of myths. Some stop when family and other diversions take over. Dennis Rader stopped in 1991 and never killed again. The drive does not vanish. The acting on it can.

The rule

They can stop. The evidence they left cannot.

The record

No. 04 · The Myth

Sources

01
FBI, ‘Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators’ (2008; 2005 symposium) — myth: ‘serial killers cannot stop killing’; some stop as family involvement and other diversions take over
02
People v. DeAngelo, Sacramento County Superior Court, plea June 2020, sentence Aug 2020

Transcript57.8 s

0:00
Claim
The FBI retired the myth that serial killers can’t stop in 2008.
0:05
Case
California, 1975 to 1986. Thirteen murders, some fifty rapes. The last known victim: Janelle Cruz, eighteen, Irvine, May 1986. Then nothing for thirty-two years. Joseph DeAngelo fixed trucks, raised three daughters, lived in a Sacramento suburb. In 2018 genetic genealogy matched DNA from the scenes. He pleaded guilty in 2020.
0:33
Mechanism
‘Serial killers cannot stop’ made the FBI’s 2008 list of myths. Some stop when family and other diversions take over. Dennis Rader stopped in 1991 and never killed again. The drive does not vanish. The acting on it can.
0:50
Rule and source
They can stop. The evidence they left cannot. Source: FBI, Serial Murder, 2008.

Educational analysis. Adjudicated cases only. Victims named with respect.

Questions

Who was Joseph DeAngelo’s last known victim?: Janelle Cruz, eighteen, killed in Irvine in May 1986.
How long did Joseph DeAngelo go without a known crime?: Thirty-two years. After May 1986 there is nothing until he was identified in 2018. He fixed trucks, raised three daughters and lived in a Sacramento suburb.
How was Joseph DeAngelo identified?: In 2018 genetic genealogy matched DNA from the scenes. He pleaded guilty in 2020 to thirteen murders.
What does the FBI say about serial killers stopping?: The FBI lists ‘serial killers cannot stop killing’ as a myth in ‘Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators’, published in 2008 from a 2005 symposium. Some stop as family involvement and other diversions take over.