‘He shouldn’t be allowed to hide’: the Golden State Killer’s prosecutor on the relentless search for the mass murderer

Thien Ho considers his book The People vs the Golden State Killer part of a trilogy' after two books by different authors

Before Joseph DeAngelo, a 74-year-old navy veteran and former police officer, admitted responsibility for his brutal crimes in court, prosecutor Thien Ho had a request for the judge overseeing the proceedings. He wanted the world to see the killer's face.

It was 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and social distancing and masking requirements were in full swing. But Ho asked that DeAngelo - the man known as the Golden State Killer, who had covered his face during a more than 10-year reign of terror across California - be required to wear a clear face shield as he pleaded guilty.