Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State killer, has admitted all 13 murders he was accused of and has also pleaded guilty to several more cases of burglary and rape committed in the 1970s and 80s.

According to a settlement with the court, he will be sentenced to life imprisonment without the right to release. He thus avoids the risk of being sentenced to death while the victims at the same time avoid going through a potentially difficult legal process.

First statement

In connection with the verdict being formalized on Friday, DeAngelo's ex-wife Sharon Huddle has sent an opinion to the court. This is the first time she has spoken out about her ex-husband's crime.

She writes, among other things, that they had a "devastating effect" on her life.

"I live every day with the knowledge that he attacked and seriously injured hundreds of people and murdered 13 innocent people who were loved and have been missing for 40 years or more," writes Huddle, reports CNN.

"Trusted him"

She never mentions her ex-husband by name but consistently refers to him as "the accused". Huddle, who married DeAngelo in 1973, also describes how she has lost the ability to trust people.

"I trusted the accused when he said he had to work, when he said he went on a pheasant hunt, or when he said he would visit his parents. When I was not around, I trusted that he did what he said he did ", she writes, among other things.

DeAngelo's crime lasted for several years in several different locations in the state of California. Over the years, he has gone by a number of different nicknames, such as "Visalia Ransacker", "East Area Rapist", "Diamond Knot Killer" and "Original Night Stalker".