In this undated combo photos released by the FBI shows murder victims, Katie Maggiore and her husband Brian Maggiore. On Feb. 2, 1978, Brian Maggiore and his wife, Katie, were on an evening walk with their dog in their Rancho Cordova neighborhood when they were chased down and murdered by the East Area Rapist in Rancho Cordova, Calif. (FBI via AP)
The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Jane Carson-Sandler's morning in 1976 turned from innocence to terror when a masked man broke into her home and entered the bedroom where she lay snuggled with her 3-year-old son.
He confronted them with a butcher knife and shone a flashlight in her eyes before tying them up.
She said she was paralyzed by fear, afraid the man would kill them. When he untied her ankles, she knew he would rape her.
Before assaulting her, he moved her son from her side, but she doesn't know where. After it was over, he put her son back in bed next to her.
Carson-Sandler voiced relief after police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo and identified him on Wednesday as the serial killer who committed a string of killings and rapes in the 1970s and '80s in California.
Carson-Sandler, now 72, wants to face her attacker in person and ask how long he had been watching her and what he did with her son during the attack.
"I just wonder when he first saw me, how long he had been stalking me," said Carson-Sandler, who was in the Air Force reserves and studying to be a nurse at the time of the attack.
Carson-Sandler was one of dozens of women raped by a man dubbed the East Area Rapist and the Golden State Killer, who police say killed at least 12 people and raped at least 45 in the 1970s and 1980s.
She was attacked in her home in the Sacramento suburb of Citrus Heights.
She and Bruce Harrington, whose brother and sister-in-law were killed in 1980 in Orange County, said DeAngelo's arrest will launch a healing process for victims that has been delayed for decades.
"It is time for the victims to begin to heal," Harrington said at a news conference in Sacramento.
A DNA match led authorities to arrest DeAngelo in connection with four killings in Sacramento and Ventura counties, officials said.
"I feel like I'm in the middle of a dream and I'm going to wake up and it's not going to be true," Carson-Sandler said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's just so nice to have closure and to know he's in jail."
Carson-Sandler, now living near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, said she didn't know DeAngelo or recognize his name.
She wrote a book about her experience called "Frozen in Fear." She has spoken with rapists in prison about how the attack affected her. She tells them to close their eyes and imagine she is their mother or sister or lover while she tells her story.
She says she hopes to make them understand the trauma they have caused so they won't hurt more people.
Harrington's brother, 24-year-old Keith Harrington and his wife, 27-year-old Patrice Harrington, were beaten to death in their home, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said.
Bruce Harrington applauded law enforcement's pursuit of justice for them. DeAngelo's arrest, he said, will "bring closure to the anguish that we all suffered for the last 40-odd years."
Bruce Harrington discusses the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo on suspicion for a string of violent crimes in the 1970's and 1980's, including the murder of Harrington's brother and sister in law, at a news conference. Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, is believed to be responsible for the murder of Keith Harrington and his wife, Patrice in their Orange County home in 1980. DeAngelo, is believed to have committed at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The Associated Press
Bruce Harrington pauses as he discusses the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo for a string of violent crimes in the 1970's and 1980's, including the murder of Harrington's brother and sister-in-law, at a news conference. Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif. DeAngelo, 72, is believed to be responsible for the murder of Keith Harrington and his wife, Patrice in their Orange County home in 1980. DeAngelo, is believed to have committed at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The Associated Press
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, left, talks to reporters about the arrest Joesph James DeAngelo, seen in photo, on suspicion of committing a string of violent crimes in the 1970's and 1980's after a news conference. Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Sacramento, Calif. A DNA match led to the arrest of DeAngelo, 72, Tuesday. DeAngelo is believed to have committed at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes in California.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this June 15, 2016, file photo, law enforcement drawings of a suspected serial killer believed to have committed at least 12 murders across California in the 1970's and 1980's are displayed at a news conference about the investigation, in Sacramento, Calif. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office plans to make a 'major announcement" Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in the case of the elusive serial killer. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
The Associated Press
A car is backed out of the garage of a home searched in connection with the arrest of a man on suspicion of murder, Wednesday, April 25, 2018, in Citrus Heights, Calif. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office plans to make a major announcement in the case of a serial killer they say committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California in the 1970's and 1980s.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The Associated Press
This undated photo released by the FBI shows a sketch and details of a stolen ring the attacker who became known as the East Area Rapist took from one of his victims. Authorities said the attacker ransacked homes and took coins, jewelry and identification. Joseph James DeAngelo, once sworn to protect the public from crime, was accused Wednesday, April 25, 2018, of living a double life terrorizing suburban neighborhoods at night, becoming one of California's most feared serial killers and rapists in the 1970s and '80s before leaving a cold trail that baffled investigators for more than three decades. (FBI via AP)
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