Golden State Killer Possibly Motivated by a Love Lost

Golden State Killer Possibly Motivated by a Love Lost

One of the Golden State Killer’s victims told investigators after her attack in the late 1970s, the perpetrator had repeatedly muttered, “I hate you, Bonnie,” while raping her.  At the time, Paul Holes, a now-retired investigator with the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office, asked her whether she had mistaken “Mommy” for “Bonnie.”  Yet, the victim was adamant she remembered exactly what was said.  Official now believe that the man recently taken into custody who they believe to be the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, might have been motivated to commit his crimes due in part to a love lost.

“We always thought that our offender had a Bonnie that was significant in his life, either a mother, a wife, an ex-wife, a girlfriend,” Holes said. “We don’t know, but that was something that we would look for when we were evaluating potential suspects.”

DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer who had been employed at two different departments during his crime spree, was arrested last week in Sacramento after DNA evidence connected him to the crimes committed in the 1970s and ‘80s.  When investigators delved deeper into DeAngleo’s background, they found a newspaper clipping from the 1960s detailing his engagement to a woman named Bonnie Colwell.  The couple never married.

“So, we assumed that there had been some breakup in their relationship and that possibly caused him some angst,” Holes said.  Colwell’s daughter indicated her mother has plans to speak with the Sacramento County district attorney.

DeAngelo eventually married another woman, Sharon Huddle, in 1973.  Yet, the couple has been estranged since the mid-1990s.  Details surrounding the reason for their separation and why DeAngelo also lost this relationship have not been released.

Holes said he doesn’t believe DeAngelo is mentally ill but instead classifies him as “an anger-retaliatory offender”.  He said, “Most certainly if he’s making the statement, ‘I hate you, Bonnie,’ while he’s attacking another female, he is what we call an anger-retaliatory rapist.   Instead of directing his anger at what’s making him angry, he’s directing it sideways onto someone else to be able to satisfy that anger.  I do believe that’s what happened here.  I don’t know what made him that way, but you’ve got to think Bonnie dumped him, he’s not happy about that, he still had feelings for her, who knows?  But something along those lines must have happened.”

The man described as a “quiet” gentleman from Citrus Heights, California, was actually known for tying up his male victims and piling dishes on their backs while he raped their partners.  He told them if the plates tumbled to the ground, both of their lives would be lost.  Otherwise, they’d go free.  He would break into this victims’ homes wearing ski masks and always armed with a gun and a knife.  He woke his victims by shining a flashlight in their eyes and spoke through gritted teeth in order to disguise his voice.

Authorities admitted after DeAngelo’s capture that his name had not been on their radar prior to this most recent revelation in the case and his arrest.

Sources:

Golden State Killer possibly motivated by breakup with fiancee, investigator says

Investigators have revealed a possible motivation for Golden State Killer rape and murder spree