SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Jane Carson-Sandler stood outside the Sacramento County Superior courthouse on Thursday afternoon before a throng of television cameras and unfurled a handmade, black-and-white banner she made.
"Now we... Have the Power and Control."
Carson-Sandler, the Golden State Killer's fifth rape victim, attended her first court hearing for Joseph DeAngelo on Thursday, along with a number of other "survivor sisters" _ and despite his lightning quick appearance, she gained some closure.
"I was blocked partially but I saw his presence, and I'm so happy I was there because there is closure now," said Carson-Sandler, who wore a red T-shirt with "Victim Survivor Thriver" written on the back.
DeAngelo, charged with eight murders in counties around California, appeared very briefly Thursday in court in his standard orange prison jumpsuit. The 72-year-old Citrus Heights grandfather spoke briefly to his attorney before the judge postponed the hearing until Sept. 5 so the defense could review additional discovery handed over from prosecutors. Authorities believe DeAngelo was responsible for murdering up to 13 people and raping more than 50 women over two decades, according to recently unsealed court records.
The Golden State Killer is linked to a dozen sexual assaults in Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties when he was known as the East Area Rapist.
DeAngelo had not been in court since June 1 when a judge released almost 200 pages of heavily redacted search warrant records that linked DeAngelo to the murder and rape rampages from the 1970s and '80s that crisscrossed California. He was finally captured by comparing the DNA profile of the Golden State Killer gathered from crime scenes to a genetic website database.
Carson-Sandler was a 30-year-old wife and mother studying to get her nursing degree on Oct. 5, 1976, when at 6:30 a.m. she was cuddling with her 3-year-old son in their Citrus Heights home. Her husband had left for work and the next thing she knew a man wearing a ski mask and holding a butcher knife shined a flashlight in her eyes.
He bound her and her son, before raping her. She has since written a book on her experience, "Frozen in Fear: A True Story of Surviving the Shadows of Death."
"I had been carrying a backpack of hate and resentment and I was able to take that off through prayer and God's strength," she said, adding that she forgave her attacker long ago. "Now that I'm here, I'm getting those feelings of anger back again and I don't like that."
Carson-Sandler wore a purse over her shoulder as she spoke to media that said "East Area Rapist, Golden State Killer, See You In Court" with an arrow pointing to a photo of herself.
"I want all of the women to know that they can be victim survivors too," she said. "It's a process."
