In the 1970s, when the Golden State Killer claimed his first known victim, it was relatively easy for a serial murderer to escape undetected and strike again.
DNA analysis was the stuff of science fiction. Fingerprint and hair analysis were rudimentary. There were no national databases to plumb for matches. It was a grim heyday for serial killers, who terrorized Californians from South Los Angeles alleys to gilded Orange County suburbs.
Last week, the suspect in the Golden State Killer case joined the dark club of serial killers from that era who have been arrested with the help of sophisticated DNA technology.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., 72, was living quietly in a suburb of Sacramento when he was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with eight counts of murder. Authorities say he may be responsible for 12 killings and at least 46 rapes from 1976 to 1986 in Northern and Southern California.
In his mugshot, the one-time police officer has wispy white hair and skin mottled with age _ a far cry from the fair-haired young man in FBI sketches from decades ago.
Crime sprees on the scale of the Golden State Killer's are more difficult to pull off nowadays, some experts say: The same technology that helps solve such cold cases can thwart a modern-day criminal before he accumulates enough victims to earn a nickname. In recent years, serial killers who make headlines are more likely to be long retired than actively on the hunt.
"It's a lot harder to be a serial killer or rapist now than it used to be _ they get ID'd sooner," said former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.
The Zodiac Killer, who operated in Northern California, is perhaps the most famous serial killer who has not been caught. In Los Angeles, there are no big-name serial cases on investigators' radar.
"Depending upon what DNA or other forensics there are, we can link them together sooner than in the past because of the technology," said Capt. Billy Hayes of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division.
The past has caught up to retired killers as they engage in the most mundane activities. The Grim Sleeper was done in by a partially eaten slice of pizza with his DNA on it. Investigators were tailing DeAngelo and retrieved samples of his DNA, though they have not said where and how they found the genetic material.
Sometimes, cold case detectives already have a suspect in mind and use DNA to confirm their suspicions. Other times, they look for a match in national DNA databases, which include genetic material from criminal offenders. A partial DNA match can indicate that a relative committed the crime. This technique, known as "familial DNA," has been controversial because of privacy concerns but has been used to solve prominent cases such as the Grim Sleeper as well as cases that barely make the news.
The Golden State Killer investigators expanded their search in a novel way, incorporating DNA submitted to genealogical websites by people researching family histories _ a move that has raised further privacy concerns.
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