For a woman in Danville, living in her community in the late 1970s was "terrifying" after news broke out that the Golden State Killer attacked someone there.
"Scared spitless," said Catherine Gibbs.
She says one of her daughters was so afraid of this man that she wouldn't even open her bedroom window at night to let in fresh air.
"I had young women, my daughters that were here. I was not afraid for myself but I was afraid for them," Gibbs said.
When news of the East Area Rapist, now known as the Golden State Killer and identified as Joseph James Deangelo, broke in Danville, she says the entire Danville community was warned to be alert.
"Don't take any chances, don't open the door, if they ring the doorbell, call first. Ask who is there," she recalls.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley was a volunteer at a rape crisis center in 1977 when Deangelo raped several women.
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"Over the course of the year in 1977 to 1978, the East Area Rapist struck 9 times in Contra Costa County and I was involved as a volunteer advocate supporting those survivors," O'Malley said.
At a press conference in Sacramento, she said Deangelo’s arrest doesn't bring her any comfort all these years later, she says she wishes he’s been caught earlier.
"Thank God he didn't hurt me or any of my family," Gibbs said.
