Joseph James DeAngelo is due to appear in Sacramento Superior Court today, Wednesday, April 10th, 2019, at 1:35 PM PST. Judge Michael G. Bowman is now presiding over the case, as Judge Sweet has rotated to the appellate court.
It should be noted that this hearing takes place nearly one year after DeAngelo’s arrest on April 24th, 2018.
All of the district attorneys with murder charges against DeAngelo were represented in court.
The defense again noted their objection to the use of electronic media to televise and cover the courtroom proceedings, claiming that it could affect DeAngelo’s right to a fair trial. Judge Turner noted the objection but kept his ruling in like with Judge Sweet’s and allowed the cameras to stay.
A protective order was mentioned in passing, but details weren’t discussed.
In a move that’s already causing quite a bit of controversy, four of the five district attorney offices informed DeAngelo that should he be convicted of the homicide charges and their special circumstances, they would be seeking the death penalty against him. Tulare County is the only capital case that is not as of yet seeking the death penalty.
Insiders have been discussing the political climate in California and how that could affect a death penalty case like DeAngelo’s. California recently issued a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty. In the years leading up to the moratorium, they’d already ceased executions (for all intents and purposes). In the current political climate, some insiders are worried about the jury pool ramifications that death penalty cases can face. Some cases, due to a juror’s evolving stance on the death penalty as trials commence, have resulted in a hung jury. In that event, parts of the lengthy process could start over. Despite the controversy, most insiders seem confident that the death penalty is the right move, as it leaves all of the prosecutor’s bargaining chips on the table at this early stage and ups the ante toward a possible plea bargain offer or entering of a plea.
The hearing lasted about five minutes. The next one is set for August 22nd, 2019, at 1:35 PM in Sacramento.
Thanks
Thank you for the coverage.
Trying all the cases together is foolish Imho. At least try one of the slam dunks alone. Too many variables, too much stupid out there. Hate to see another OJ farce. Sorry the survivors have to go through this.
Hello Friends, Thanks for managing and making available this website.
My primary question is when is this case expect to go to trial? I am amazed that since it has been over a year from arrest, no trial date appears on the horizon. I wonder about all of those victims and their families who still suffer.
Thank you,
Kevin Wheeler
Davis, CA
Why hasn’t he pled guilty yet doesn’t he know how much evidence is against them he must have realized how much time in money this trial will waste.
Why hasn’t this entered a guilty plea? There’s more them enough of evidence to convict him. These court hearings are waste of time and money.
I don’t think that at his age, he can suffer much more than just being caged as the animal he is.
All the legal mumbo jumbo is a show. We all know that in California. He would NEVER be executed in CA. We ALL know how the California “Justice System” works with liberals controlling all of state government and the courts, too. Even the appeals process through the San Francisco based Federal 9th Circuit is a show… the liberals control that court as well and rarely take any steps to hold monsters accountable.
The up side to all that is that he’ll never get out. NEVER. He will be in jail until his last breath… caged like the animal he is. I hope he lives long, too. I’m sure he knows that, too. So I’m not clear on why he looks so concerned in his court hearings. He isn’t going anywhere. He is IN JAIL until he dies. Not even prison because that takes a conviction and he won’t be convicted for YEARS.
Please-please-please place this animal, where he will be forced to look at his victims, during their impact statements!
Also, somebody needs to question the former wife as to why she didn’t wonder about where her husband was at, on the very nights these rapes, and murders happened?
Wouldn’t you ask your husband his whereabouts, on those particular nights?
I wish I didn’t live so far away, because I’d love to be in that court room, on his day of reckoning!