Los Angeles Times and other outlets sue for records in Golden State Killer case

Attorneys for the Los Angeles Times and several other news outlets are suing for court records related to the arrest of the man suspected of being the Golden State Killer and the search of his Citrus Heights home.

The news outlets have requested that a judge unseal any executed warrants and supporting affidavits, along with lists of property seized during the investigation. The motion was filed in Sacramento County Superior Court.

Many questions remain about how investigators tracked down Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. and linked him to 12 killings between 1978 and 1986. Authorities have said they tapped into a database of DNA profiles on a genealogy website to solve the case, which could have significant implications for how other cold cases are handled.

Attorneys argued that the unique investigative approach has privacy implications for people who submit their DNA to commercial genealogical websites to trace their family history.

“The importance of public access to the warrant information sought here cannot be overstated,” attorneys said in the filing. “The public will benefit from a full understanding of this unique investigatory technique and how police were able to reliably and credibly link DeAngelo to the crimes using open source DNA.”

According to the filing, a court spokesperson told a reporter with the Associated Press that he would need to file a motion to unseal the records to access them.

A local and federal task force arrested DeAngelo, 72, last week after linking him to 12 slayings, 45 rapes and more than 120 residential burglaries in a trail that stretched south from Sacramento to Orange County.

In Ventura, he allegedly tied up a couple with a drapery cord and raped the wife before fatally bludgeoning them with a fireplace log. In Goleta, he bound a doctor and his wife, a clinical psychologist, and shot them both, authorities say.

The Golden State Killer would sometimes place cups or plates on his bound victims’ backs so he could hear if they broke free when he was in another room, authorities say. At the time of the crimes, the killer was described as about 5-foot-9 with blond or auburn hair. Investigators suspected that the killer had military or law enforcement training.

DeAngelo is a Navy veteran and former police officer.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek