Daughter of alleged 'Golden State Killer' victim sees suspect for 1st time: 'He didn't look our way once'
The suspected serial killer was arrested last month decades after the crimes.
ByJenna Harrison and Emily Shapiro
Joseph James Deangelo, known as "The Golden State Killer," is seen in this police booking photo, April 25, 2018, after being apprehended.
Sacramento Police Department
The daughter of a man who was allegedly murdered by the "Golden State Killer" came face-to-face with the suspected serial rapist and killer for the first time in court today.
Jennifer Carole, whose father and stepmother Lyman and Charlene Smith were bludgeoned to death in 1980 in Ventura County, noted that the suspected killer "looked just like an old man."
"From his orange Crocs to his orange outfit, his shoulders are sagging, he had whiskers on his face," Carole told ABC News after court.
A sketch of Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who is suspected to be the Golden State Killer, appeared in court on May 14, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif.
Vicki Behringer
"He looked incredibly ordinary, which I think is the part that all of us are struggling with," she said. "From the outside he looks particularly ordinary and yet we know on the inside there's a monster there."
Joseph DeAngelo, 72, was arrested in the cold case killings last month and has since been charged with 12 counts of murder: two in Sacramento County, two in Ventura County, four in Orange County and four in Santa Barbara County.
DeAngelo, who showed no expression at today's brief hearing, only spoke to his public defender.
Carole said DeAngelo "didn't have the courage to face his accusers -- he didn't look our way once."
"I wouldn't expect him to," she added.
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DeAngelo was unshackled in court today and appeared to be standing. At his first hearing he was in a wheelchair.
Joseph DeAngelo, accused of being the Golden State Killer in the 1970s and 1980s and the East Area Rapist, appears in a Sacramento, Calif. courtroom, April 27, 2018.
"I was happy that he was standing up, because he should be standing up for this," Carole said.
Carole said she came to court today not only to see DeAngelo, but also to show support for the other family members and survivors.
Jennifer Carole, whose father and stepmother Lyman and Charlene Smith were killed in 1980 allegedly by the "Golden State Killer," speaks to ABC News after Joseph DeAngelo's court appearance, May 14, 2018.
"I was glad to be holding the hand of one of the rape survivors," she said. "It felt good to be together and ready to fight this guy."
The identity of the suspected "Golden State Killer" was a mystery for decades. Twelve people were murdered and 50 raped throughout California from 1976 to 1986.
It was DNA from Charlene Smith's rape kit that investigators plugged into a genealogy database that led authorities to identify DeAngelo as a suspect.
An evidence room from the "Golden State Killer" investigation.
Courtesy FBI
Suspected "Golden State Killer," Joseph James DeAngelo, is seen second from the left while he was a police officer in 1979.
DeAngelo returns to court on May 29.
A view of the home of accused rapist and killer Joseph James DeAngelo is pictured on April 24, 2018 in Citrus Heights, Calif.
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