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Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

The People vs. The Golden State Killer: How DA Thien Ho Finally Brought Joseph DeAngelo Down

Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

True Crime Today

True Crime, News Commentary, News

3.3912 Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2025

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For more than 40 years, the man now known as the Golden State Killer stalked California — breaking into homes, raping, murdering, and then vanishing into the night. He was a ghost who terrorized families from Sacramento to Santa Barbara — until one relentless prosecutor finally helped end his reign of fear.

In this episode, Tony Brueski sits down with Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, the man who personally led the prosecution that put Joseph James DeAngelo behind bars for life. Ho’s new book, The People vs. The Golden State Killer, pulls back the curtain on the real investigation — from the DNA breakthrough that cracked the case wide open to the survivors who refused to stay silent.

This isn’t a retelling of old headlines. It’s the first inside account of what really happened in the courtroom, the strategies behind the scenes, and the human cost of justice decades in the making. You’ll hear how DeAngelo faked insanity to manipulate investigators, the haunting promise Ho made to a survivor, and the moment victims stood up in court and told their attacker they weren’t afraid anymore.

This is the story of justice, perseverance, and the team that never stopped hunting a monster hiding in plain sight.

#HiddenKillers #GoldenStateKiller #JosephDeAngelo #ThienHo #TrueCrimeToday #ColdCase #DNAJustice #EastAreaRapist #OriginalNightstalker #JusticeServed


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is Hidden Killers Live with Tony Brewste, Stacey Cole, and Todd Michaels.

0:10.1

For decades, a Golden State killer was the faceless terror of California.

0:15.4

A ghost who broke into homes, stole innocence, and vanished.

0:20.9

When he was finally caught, the courtroom became the one place where the survivors,

0:25.9

after 40 years, could speak directly to the man who destroyed their lives.

0:31.1

My guest today isn't just telling that story.

0:33.4

He lived at Sacramento County District Attorney Tien Ho led the prosecution that finally ended the Golden State Killer's reign of silence.

0:41.5

And now in his new book, The People v. the Golden State Killer, he's taking us behind the scenes of the investigation, the trial, and the moral weight of justice.

0:51.7

And we're going to go into what went on behind those scenes behind that

0:57.6

curtain today with your questions our questions and really digging deep into the parts of the

1:05.7

story that you may have never heard before welcome to put your questions in the comment section there on YouTube

1:13.3

and we'll try to get to them throughout our conversation. Ten, welcome to the program and thanks for

1:17.9

taking the time today to join us. It's an honor for me to be on the show, so thank you so much.

1:23.2

Tim, there is, there's so much to go through and so many questions that I think a lot of us have

1:28.6

about this case, where it's at today, how it got here. But, I mean, take us back a little bit.

1:36.2

I mean, you have lived, you know, a very interesting story, the American immigrant story.

1:41.0

You fleeed Saigon, learned English from scratch. You became the DA. I mean,

1:45.8

how, I want to ask, from your perspective, from your prism of everything you've lived through in life

1:51.3

to coming into contact with this case, how did that experience and your experience

1:59.6

shape the way that you saw this case about the power, the fear and control that this man welded for so many years?

2:08.7

You know, we're all a creation of our own history, right?

2:13.2

Our personal history, our family's history.

...

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