The case also does not establish the method as a substitute for the broader work of criminal investigation. The genealogical lead required corroboration before the arrest. The corroboration required surveillance, patience, the opportunity to collect discarded biological material, and laboratory comparison. An investigative genetic genealogy result that could not be corroborated would not be sufficient, in any responsible investigative framework, to support an arrest or a charge.
The distinction between an investigative lead and proof is fundamental. The genealogical work produced a lead. The lead required follow-up. The follow-up produced the direct DNA match. The direct DNA match supported the arrest. The arrest preceded the legal proceedings that produced the plea and the sentence. Each step was distinct, and each was necessary.
The Sentence and What It Means
The sentence imposed on Joseph James DeAngelo on August 21, 2020 — thirteen consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus eight years — means that he will die in prison. He was seventy-four at sentencing. Under California law and the terms of his sentence, there is no mechanism by which he could be released.
This is, from the legal system’s perspective, a complete resolution. The crimes were charged. A plea was entered. A sentence was imposed. The person responsible for thirteen murders and dozens of additional crimes has been removed from any possibility of causing further harm.
From the perspective of the survivors and families of victims, the resolution is more complex. The legal conclusion of the case does not undo what was done. It does not restore the years that people spent living with the uncertainty of the case. It does not reverse the specific effects that Kris Pedretti described — the lost friendships, the failed marriages, the decades without adequate therapeutic support. It does not give Jennifer Carole her father and stepmother back. It does not give Elizabeth Hupp the forty-six years with her father that ended when she was sixteen.