Did the Golden State Killer actually start his killing spree in the 1960s? And did someone else serve time for his crimes?
To say that the capture of the Golden State opened up a can of worms is an understatement. It's more like an entire worm farm. In addition to the canonical 50 rapes and 12 murders attributed to GSK, police departments across the state of California are looking at other unsolved cold cases to see if they are connected to the infamous killer. Some of these crimes go far beyond the GSK's operating years of 1976 to 1986.
In 1964, Johnny Ray and Joyce Swindle were murdered by a sniper on the Ocean Beach Boardwalk. While it's been confirmed that Joseph James DeAngelo was in the area, many experts say the case fits more with the Zodiac Killer's MO than GSK's. And speaking of the Zodiac, there's been a lot of speculation about whether the same DNA techniques used to capture DeAngelo could also capture that other infamous California killer.
It isn't just unsolved murders that detectives are hoping to clear now that DeAngelo has been arrested. Unfortunately, some wrongly convicted men may have done time for the GSK's crimes. Craig Coley sat in prison for 38 years for the double murder of Rhonda Wicht and her 4-year-old son Donald. Coley was cleared in November of last year after DNA testing showed that he was not a match to the DNA left at the scene. Now Simi Valley detectives plan to see if that DNA is a match to Joseph James DeAngelo's. It really makes one wonder how many other people have been wrongly convicted of the crimes that were actually committed by prolific serial killers.
In 1964, Johnny Ray and Joyce Swindle were murdered by a sniper on the Ocean Beach Boardwalk. While it's been confirmed that Joseph James DeAngelo was in the area, many experts say the case fits more with the Zodiac Killer's MO than GSK's. And speaking of the Zodiac, there's been a lot of speculation about whether the same DNA techniques used to capture DeAngelo could also capture that other infamous California killer.
It isn't just unsolved murders that detectives are hoping to clear now that DeAngelo has been arrested. Unfortunately, some wrongly convicted men may have done time for the GSK's crimes. Craig Coley sat in prison for 38 years for the double murder of Rhonda Wicht and her 4-year-old son Donald. Coley was cleared in November of last year after DNA testing showed that he was not a match to the DNA left at the scene. Now Simi Valley detectives plan to see if that DNA is a match to Joseph James DeAngelo's. It really makes one wonder how many other people have been wrongly convicted of the crimes that were actually committed by prolific serial killers.
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