When Joseph DeAngelo was finally caught in 2018, it was the culmination of years of investigation that went back decades and traced a deadly path through numerous quiet, suburban communities across the state of California. Known at various times and by various law enforcement agencies as the Visalia Ransacker, East Area Rapist, and the Original Night Stalker, the man The New York Times says committed "13 known murders and nearly 50 rapes," was almost disappointingly ordinary — at least outwardly.
In a timeline ABC News constructed to pair events in DeAngelo's life against his known crimes, the first entry is dated as 1973. That was the year DeAngelo began a career in law enforcement with the police in Exeter, California. It was also the year he married Sharon Marie Huddle. The two had met when she was studying law at California State Sacramento, says All That's Interesting. Huddle did indeed eventually become an attorney and the two raised their daughters, appearing as normal as any other young family. But trouble was brewing.
Police believe the first crimes (known as the Visalia Ransackings, per All That's Interesting) occurred in 1974, just a year into their marriage. Within a few years, the two were reportedly not even sharing a bedroom. Still, the marriage, as well as the crimes, continued.
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