I'll Be Gone in the Dark's serial killer Joseph DeAngelo is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The former police officer known as the infamous Golden State Killer for his crime spree across California in the '70s and '80s pleaded guilty in June to 13 counts of first-degree murder and 13 rape-related charges after evading authorities for decades. He also admitted to dozens of more crimes that were past the statute of limitations in a plea deal that spared him the death penalty.

According to CNN, DeAngelo is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Before his sentencing, DeAngelo rose from his wheelchair and removed his face mask to address his victims and their relatives, saying, "I've listened to all your statements, each one of them, and I am truly sorry to everyone I hurt." In his sentencing statement, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman said, "When a person commits monstrous acts, they need to be locked away where they could never harm another innocent person."


Bowman gave DeAngelo 11 consecutive life without parole sentences, with an additional life sentence and another eight years. Prosecutors had called for the maximum penalty, saying DeAngelo admitted to harming 87 victims in 53 separate crimes across California. DeAngelo's series of crime sprees started while he was working as a police officer in California. His crimes escalated from breaking into over 100 homes to serial rape and murder. DeAngelo escaped authorities, and his crime sprees remained unsolved for decades before investigators linked DNA evidence to the killer using a genealogy website. DeAngelo was arrested in Sacramento in 2018.

DeAngelo's case was detailed in the recent HBO true-crime docuseries I'll Be Gone in the Dark. The series is based on writer Michelle McNamara's book of the same name that explores the notorious Golden State Killer's string of murders and the effort to identify the person behind the serial killings.