At a press conference today, Santa Barbara District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced that she’s charging Joseph DeAngelo with first-degree murder counts in the deaths of Robert Offerman, Debra Manning, Cheri Domingo, and Gregory Sanchez. Special circumstances are also included (intent or commission of rape, burglary, and use of a firearm). The full complaint against DeAngelo can be read here.
Offerman and Manning were killed on during in the early morning hours of December 30th, 1979 by a home-invader who wielded a firearm (more information here: http://coldcase-earons.com/ons2.php). Identical shoe prints and ligatures found at the scene tied this crime to an attempted home-invasion rape that had taken place nearby on October 1st, 1979 (more info: http://coldcase-earons.com/ons1.php). That particular crime had several M.O. characteristics in common with the East Area Rapist crimes that occurred in Northern California. Three of the EAR crimes were connected by DNA to murders that occurred in Southern California, but the Offerman/Manning murder was not one of them — no DNA was found at the scene and investigators do not believe that Manning was raped. The charges still carry a special circumstance because based on the killer’s behavior at other scenes, it’s proposed that he intended to rape Manning. Both victims were shot to death.
Greg Sanchez and Cheri Domingo were killed on July 27th, 1981 during a home invasion (more info: http://www.coldcase-earons.com/ons6.php). Sanchez was shot and suffered a non-fatal wound, apparently while attempting to confront the intruder. Domingo was then bound, and both victims were bludgeoned to death. At some point the offender ejaculated at the crime scene, though it’s not believed that Domingo was raped. This physical evidence left behind on the bedspread wasn’t discovered until 2011, when advanced DNA technology determined that it was a match for other Golden State Killer murders that had occurred elsewhere in Southern California.
Due to the lack of DNA in the Offerman/Manning case, that one may be quite a bit more difficult to secure a conviction on than the Domingo/Sanchez case, which does have that DNA link.
The rumors that evidence in the Offerman/Manning case was tossed are incorrect. The evidence from that case still exists.