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Survivors Banded Together For Latest Golden State Killer Suspect Court Appearance
The appearance was not televised, and Joseph DeAngelo's lawyers tried to have the media completely banned from the Sacramento courtroom.
Golden State Killer suspect Joseph DeAngelo appeared before a judge, and in front of victim’s families and survivors, in Sacramento on Thursday.
The appearance was part of a procedural hearing. DeAngelo, the ex-cop turned alleged serial rapist and murder suspect, was arrested in April and has been charged with all 12 murders attributed to the Golden State Killer. His crimes sprawled from Sacramento all the way to Southern California, investigators believe. Besides the killings, he's suspected in over 50 rapes and numerous break-ins, but hasn’t been officially charged with any of those incidents.
This hearing wasn't televised. The judge ordered phones to be off during the appearance, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Melody Gutierrez, who tweeted after the hearing, which lasted only a few minutes. During the hearing, DeAngelo's lawyers requested that media be completely barred from the courtroom, a motion the judge overruled. DeAngelo is set to appear in court again on Sept. 5.
Survivors banded together to face DeAngelo and they were disappointed in the brevity of the hearing, according to Gutierrez. Several of them had been prepping themselves for the event so they could face the man they believe is responsible for inflicting pain on so many.
Jane Carson-Sandler, who is believed to be the killer’s fifth rape victim, and Debbi Domingo, daughter of murder victim Cheri Domingo, flew across the country for the brief court appearance.
The two women call themselves "sister survivors."
"I hope that they're gonna let us hold up this banner that says, 'Now we... have the power and the control,'" Carson-Sandler told KTXL in Sacramento.
Carson-Sandler showed up to court on Thursday carrying a black tote back with a message for DeAngelo.
Since DeAngelo's arrest, the presiding judge has gone back and forth over allowing cameras and electronic devices. In one other hearing, held in May, cameras and phones were also banned. A sketch artist drew DeAngelo during the first appearance where he wasn't in a wheelchair. Since then, he's been in a steel cage. He was standing and in a cage for Thursday's appearance, Gutierrez told Oxygen.com.
DeAngelo did not turn around and face the survivors in the courtroom.
[Photos: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook]
