The Golden State Killer

The Original Night Stalker, also referred to as The East Area Rapist, EAR-ONS, and, more recently, The Diamond Knot Killer and The Golden State Killer, is a still-unidentified serial rapist-turned-killer who was active in Northern California from 1976 to 1979 and Southern California from 1979 to 1986. He is not to be confused with serial killer Richard Ramirez, who holds a similar title of The Night Stalker.

Case History
On June 18, 1976, the first attack committed by The East Area Rapist occurred in Rancho Cordova, at 4:00 a.m. About six months and exactly seven attacks later, the affected communites began to worry, while the Sheriff Department of Sacramento advised to the news stations to not report the rapes. In October 18, two attacks occurred on the same day, to which authorities held neighborhood meetings set up to inform civilians and dispel false rumors. On April 2 of 1977, after over 15 attacks occurred, the first couple was attacked. On May 17, Sacramento County was thrust into a state of panic after The East Area Rapist threatened to murder his next two victims. As a result, sheriff patrols were increased and even civilians formed their own patrols. However, The East Area Rapist sent a taunt to the heightened security by attacking his first couple in Sacramento's South Area, near the office of a dentist who contributed an additional $10,000 to the $15,000 reward for his apprehension.

On September 6, the first couple in Stockton was attacked, leading to the same effect of heightened security found in Sacramento County. Believing that The East Area Rapist permanently relocated his crimes, patrols in Sacramento County disappeared, only for another couple to be attacked in the College Greens/Glenbrook area. On February 2, 1978, Brian and Katie Maggiore were found dead, having been shot to death while walking their dog. Their murders weren't initially pinned on The East Area Rapist until later. On June 5, 1978, The East Area Rapist turned up for the first time in Stanislaus County, assaulting a couple living in Northeast Modesto. Between that date and July 5 of 1979, The East Area Rapist had been active in Modesto, Davis, Concord, Danville, San Ramon, San Jose, Fremont, and Walnut Creek. The attacks abruptly ended after an attempted attack on July 5, 1979, when a would-be victim who was a light sleeper woke up and found a man putting on a ski mask, chasing the intruder away. The East Area Rapist briefly resurfaced on October 1, entering the home of a couple (their names were revealed as pseudonyms, Mary Brown and John Davis) and tying them up. As he ransacked the house for valuables, the couple escaped and the intruder was forced to flee on a bicycle.

On December 30, The East Area Rapist committed his first murders as The Original Night Stalker, killing Dr. Robert Offerman and Debra Manning by shooting both to death, presumably after Offerman managed to escape from his bonds and attempted to fight back. On March 13 of the following year, the second victims, Lyman and Charlene Smith, were found dead, this time by bludgeoning with a fireplace log. At this time, it was revealed that the bonds used to restrain their victims were tied in a "diamond knot". The following year, on March 13, the second victims, Lyman and Charlene Smith, were found dead, both fatally bludgeoned. Months later, Keith and Patrice Harrington were also murdered, and then, on February 5 of 1981, The Original Night Stalker killed his first lone murder victim, Manuela Witthuhn. Following this murder were three more murders, of Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez on July 27 and Janelle Lisa Cruz on May 4, 1986. In 1990 or 1991, the criminal made his last known contact with the public, on a phone call he made to one of his victims. Then, he disappeared completely and no murders or rapes committed by him have followed. About a decade later, in 2001, a remarkable connection was made by authorities, who have made the discovery that The Original Night Stalker and The East Area Rapist were the same criminal, making him "the most prolific serial offender" in Californian history. As of date (May 2012), the criminal remains uncaught and the case is still open.

Modus Operandi
The criminal known as The Original Night Stalker would travel around middle- to upper-middle-class neighborhoods in search of victims living in single-story houses on or near cul-de-sacs or adjacent to vacant fields, schools, parks, creeks, or construction sites. When a suitable victim was found, the criminal, after waiting for night to dawn, would stealthily break into the house with the occupant(s) still inside, a sub-type of burglary known as a hot-prowl burglary. Initially, the perpetrator targeted lone women, but began to shift his focus towards couples. He would surprise the occupants and put them under control by threatening them with a handgun, then bind them with ligatures tied in a diamond knot, hence his most recent nickname.

As The Original Night Stalker, the perpetrator would then kill the present male, should there be one, by bludgeoning. He would then sexually assault the females before murdering them as well. In the case of his first murders, both victims were shot only. During his time as The East Area Rapist, the criminal killed Brian and Katie Maggiore by shooting them both as they walked their dog, presumably in an attempted attack that went wrong. During all of his attacks, the perpetrator wore a ski mask to obscure his true identity.

Suspects

 * Brett Glasby (?-c. 1982):
 * Born in Goleta, California, the same location of the botched attack of Mary Brown and John Davis and the murders of Dr. Robert Offerman and Debra Manning
 * Alleged to be a drug dealer and gangbanger
 * Killed in Mexico sometime in 1982
 * Eliminated as a suspect due to his death being prior to the murder of Janelle Cruz
 * Paul "Cornfed" Schneider:
 * Career criminal and high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood
 * Lived in Orange County during the murders of Keith and Patrice Harrington, Manuela Witthuhn, and Janelle Cruz
 * Eliminated as a suspect after providing a DNA sample at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City
 * Joe Alsip:
 * Worked as Lyman Smith's business partner
 * A pastor claimed that he confessed of the murders, but the confession was deemed as "dubious"
 * Arraigned for the Smith murders in 1982, but the charges were dropped

Profile
During the investigation, criminalists compiled a psychological profile for The Original Night Stalker, which stated that he was a white male in the age of 18 to 25 at the time the crimes were committed, with blue or hazel eyes, a height of between 5'8" and 5'11", and physically fit. He most likely wears a Size 9 shoe and has Type A blood. He lived in the Sacramento area between 1976 and 1979 and has been known to pose as a realtor, building inspector, or prospective homebuyer. He showed proficiency in tying diamond knots, and likely engaged in bondage-oriented fantasies with female sexual partners as well as collected pornographic material involving bondage. Somehow, he had access to a large collection of handguns and knives, as well as flashlights.

He likely became a voyeur in his late teens or early twenties. He lived and/or worked near Ventura, California in 1980 and had some means of income, but did not work in the early morning hours. He drives a well-maintained car (possibly an older Volkswagen Beetle as of 1977), dressed well and wouldn't stand out in upscale neighborhoods, appears harmless, is intelligent and articulate, and neat and well-organized in his personal life. Due to the constant rapes and murders, he was possibly unmarried and did not enter into long-term relationships; and would have been described by those who knew him as arrogant, domineering, manipulative, and a chronic liar. According to the crime scenes, he had some knowledge of police investigative methods and evidence gathering techniques, possibly acquired from law enforcement or military police training. He was an experienced cat burglar and might've begun that way; this would also make the possible conclusion that he had a criminal record as a teenager that was expunged, engaged in sex with prostitutes, peeped into the windows of many potential victims who were not attacked, engaged in deviant paraphilic behavior and brutal sex in his personal life, and was sexually functional and capable of ejaculation with consenting and non-consenting partners. The profile has also stated that the criminal would be self-assured and confident in his abilities; hated women for real or perceived wrongs; and would continue committing violent crimes until incapacitated by prison, death, or some other intervention. If married, he probably has a submissive spouse who tolerated his sexually deviant behavior.

Known Victims
{{scroll box| All of the following were attacked in California

Rapes/Non-Fatal Attacks

 * 1976:
 * June 18, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed woman
 * July 17, Carmichael: Unnamed teenage girl
 * August 29, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed teenage girl
 * September 4, Citrus Heights: Unnamed woman
 * October 5, Citrus Heights: Unnamed woman
 * October 9, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed woman
 * October 18:
 * Carmichael: Unnamed woman
 * Rancho Cordova: Unnamed woman
 * November 10, Citrus Heights: Unnamed woman
 * December 18, Carmichael: Unnamed woman
 * 1977:
 * January 19, in Glenbrook and College Greens: Unnamed woman
 * January 24, Citrus Heights: Unnamed woman
 * February 7, Citrus Heights: Unnamed woman
 * March 8, Sacramento: Unnamed woman
 * March 18, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed teenage girl
 * April 2, on Madison Ave. and Main Ave.: Unnamed couple
 * April 15, Sacramento: Unnamed couple
 * May 3, in Glenbrook and College Greens: Unnamed couple
 * May 5, Orangevale: Unnamed couple
 * May 14, Citrus Heights: Unnamed couple
 * May 17, Carmichael: Unnamed couple
 * May 28, Sacramento: Unnamed couple
 * September 6, Stockton: Unnamed couple
 * October 1, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed couple
 * October 21, Antelope: Unnamed couple
 * October 29, Sacramento: Unnamed couple
 * November 10, in La Riviera Drive: Unnamed teenage girl
 * December 2, Foothill Farms: Unnamed woman
 * 1978:
 * January 28, Foothill Farms: Two unnamed teenage sisters
 * March 18, Stockton: Unnamed couple
 * April 6, Rancho Cordova: Unnamed woman
 * April 14, Sacramento: Unnamed teenage girl
 * June 5, Modesto: Unnamed couple
 * June 7, Davis: Unnamed woman
 * June 23, Modesto: Unnamed couple
 * June 24, Davis: Unnamed couple
 * July 6, Davis: Unnamed woman
 * October 7, Concord: Unnamed couple
 * October 13, Concord: Unnamed couple
 * October 28, San Ramon: Unnamed couple
 * November 4, San Jose: Unnamed woman
 * December 2, San Jose: Unnamed couple
 * December 9, Danville: Unnamed woman
 * 1979:
 * April 5, Fremont: Unnamed couple
 * June 2, Walnut Creek: Unnamed teenage girl
 * June 11, Danville: Unnamed couple
 * June 25, Walnut Creek: Unnamed teenage girl
 * July 5, Danville: Unnamed couple
 * October 1, Goleta: "Mary Brown" and "John Davis"

Murders
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 * September 11, 1975, Visalia: Claude Snelling
 * February 2, 1978, Sacramento: Brian and Katie Maggiore :
 * Sergeant Brian Keith Maggiore, 21
 * Katie Lee Smith Maggiore, 20
 * December 30, 1979, Goleta: Robert Offerman and Debra Manning :
 * Dr. Robert Offerman, 44
 * Debra Alexandria Manning, 35
 * 1980:
 * March 13, Ventura: Charlene and Lyman Smith :
 * Charlene Smith, 33
 * Lyman Smith, 43
 * August 19, Dana Point: Keith and Patrice Harrington :
 * Keith Harrington, 24
 * Patrice Harrington, 27
 * 1981:
 * February 6, Irvine: Manuela Eleanore Rohrbeck Witthuhn, 28
 * July 26-27, Goleta: Cheri Domingo and Gregory Sanchez
 * Cheri Domingo, 35
 * Gregory Sanchez, 27
 * May 4, 1986, Irvine: Janelle Lisa Cruz, 18

The Visalia Ransacker
The Visalia Ransacker is a still-unidentified serial burglar active in the city of Visalia in the mid-1970s before disappearing, just before the East Area Rapist started committing a rape/assault spree. Responsible for more than eighty burglaries, the criminal was also attributed to the fatal shooting of journalism professor Claude Snelling. Authorities have attempted to trace a connection to the crimes committed by the Original Night Stalker and the East Area Rapist, as the Original Night Stalker is confirmed to also be the East Area Rapist, who, in turn, had an M.O.-link to the Visalia Ransacker. Currently, no connection has been made and the assumption that the three criminals are all one perpetrator continues to remain as such.

On Criminal Minds
While The Original Night Stalker has yet to be directly mentioned or referenced on the show, he appears to have been an inspiration for the following unsubs:
 * Armando Salinasv ("Catching Out") - Both killed California couples in their homes by bludgeoning them with an object from the house. Quite coincidentally, several locations where Armando's murders occurred (Sacramento, Modesto, and Stockton), were also the locations of The Original Night Stalker's attacks as The East Area Rapist.
 * Floyd Hansen ("Paradise") - Both targeted lone women before moving on to middle-class couples, who he tied up, forcing the man to watch while he raped the woman, and then bludgeoned to death. Unlike Floyd, however, the Original Night Stalker always attacked his victims in their own homes and did not need to stage accidents to hide his identity.
 * Robert Johnson ("The Internet Is Forever") - Both targeted lone women in middle- to upper-middle-class neighborhoods, previously stalked their victims for a prolonged amount of time, and broke stealthily into their homes, during the night, while wearing similar dark clothes and a ski mask (not always in the case of the Original Night Stalker). The instance of Robert becoming familiar with the German shepherd owned by one of his victims and releasing it the night of the murder is likely inspired by reports of East Area Rapist victims claiming that guard dogs were unusually not aggressive to the attacker, as if they had become accustomed to him previously.