(RNN) - After decades of mystery, a suspect in a serial killing case has been found, with authorities announcing his arrest in a press conference on Wednesday.
The suspect has been identified as 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo, who was arrested at his Citrus Heights, CA, home and booked into jail.
Law enforcement said the suspect was once a police officer in Auburn, a Sacramento suburb. Authorities said DNA evidence led to his arrest.
"In the last days as information started to point to this individual, we started some surveillance and we were able to get some discarded DNA and we were able to confirm what we thought we already knew: that we had our man," said Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. "It is fitting that today is National DNA Day. We found the needled in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento."
Prosecutors from other parts of California also announced new charges against DeAngelo in cases linked to the serial killings and rapes.
The suspect in the "Golden State Killer" case is believed to have killed at least 12 people, raped at least 45 women and committed hundreds of burglaries in the 1970s and 1980s, terrorizing the area, the Sacramento Bee reported.
The serial killer was also known as the "Original Night Stalker" and the "Diamond Knot Killer."
"It is the most prolific unsolved serial killing case probably in modern history," Schubert said.
DeAngelo was described by neighbors as a "nice guy" occasionally prone to profane outbursts. He has been living in the Sacramento area for decades.
True crime writer Michelle McNamara's book, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," which reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, has drawn new attention to the case.
McNamara, who died in April 2016 before the book was completed, was also the wife of comedian Patton Oswalt, who helped finish the book.
Authorities annnounced a $50,000 reward for information in the case in June 2016.
The FBI said in 2016 that the suspect would be between 60 and 75 years old if still alive. The suspect was described as close to 6-feet tall, light brown hair, athletic build, with training or interest in the military or law enforcement, the New York Times reported.
If they’ve really caught the #GoldenStateKiller I hope I get to visit him. Not to gloat or gawk — to ask him the questions that @TrueCrimeDiary wanted answered in her “Letter To An Old Man” at the end of #IllBeGoneInTheDark. pic.twitter.com/32EHSzBct5
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018
Authorities announced a $50,000 reward for information in the case in June 2016.
NEW INFO: @FOX40 is being told Deanglo, 72, is on suicide watch and still being booked into Sacramento County Jail. This is the scene of his house right now. Law Enforcement have been here since yesterday @JoeKhalilTV #EastAreaRapist pic.twitter.com/40yDEehoFe
— Pedro Rivera (@PedroRiveraTV) April 25, 2018
RIGHT NOW: neighbors tell me Joseph James Deangelo, 72, has lived in this neighborhood for more than 30 years. Most describe him as active, relatively nice guy, would occasionally have cursing outbursts you can hear down the street. #EastAreaRapist #BREAKING @FOX40 pic.twitter.com/XFbSHVN787
— Pedro Rivera (@PedroRiveraTV) April 25, 2018
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