Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho says Joseph DeAngelo grew up abusing animals, “which isn’t surprising for a serial killer”
NEED TO KNOW
- As a teenager in the 1960s in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo often biked or drove his Chevy Bel-Air around the neighborhoods looking for easy targets to burglarize
- One day, he came face to face with a German Shepherd, according to Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho
- “[DeAngelo] backed up, scared of the dog, and he fell down and hurt his wrist,” Ho tells PEOPLE. “And he was so angry that he took out a Cherry Bomb M-80 firecracker, lit it up and threw it underneath the dog and the dog blew up and got caught on fire and died”
As a teenager in the 1960s in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Joseph James DeAngelo often biked or drove his Chevy Bel-Air around the neighborhoods looking for easy targets to burglarize.
One day, DeAngelo — who later became known as the Golden State Killer — and a friend spotted an open garage door. The two teens got off their bikes and walked to the home. As they made their way up the driveway, a large German Shepherd approached them barking.
“[DeAngelo] backed up, scared of the dog, and he fell down and hurt his wrist,” says Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, author of the newly released book, The People vs. the Golden State Killer. “And he was so angry that he took out a Cherry Bomb M-80 firecracker, lit it up and threw it underneath the dog and the dog blew up and got caught on fire and died.”
“He had a thing about German Shepherds,” Ho tells PEOPLE. “He abused German Shepherds in other situations. And so, the guy that he was with, the other teenager says, ‘Don’t hurt the dog. Don’t hurt the dog because it’s just doing its job. It’s protecting its home.’ But DeAngelo couldn’t help himself. He blew up the dog.”…