Golden State Killer: Former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo arrested in connection with mystery 1980s murders and sex crimes

Newly unearthed DNA evidence tied a former police officer to a series of crimes committed by a California serial killer in the 1980s.

The "Golden State Killer" is believed to be behind 12 murders and 45 rapes throughout the states between 1979 and 1986.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who was fired from the Auburn Police Department, was arrested after a DNA sample came back as a match to the Killer.

DeAngelo was arrested on suspicion of committing four killings in Sacramento and Ventura counties and charged with two counts of murder in the Ventura case.

Anne Marie Schubert, Sacramento county district attorney, said: "We knew we were looking for a needle in a haystack, but we also knew that needle was there...The answer was always going to be in the DNA."

Armed with a gun, the masked attacker terrorised communities by breaking into homes while single women or couples were sleeping.

He sometimes tied up the man and piled dishes on his back, then raped the woman while threatening to kill them both if the dishes tumbled.

He often took souvenirs, such as coins and jewellery, from his victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 41.

DeAngelo was fired from the Auburn Police Department in 1979 after he was arrested for stealing a can of dog repellant and a hammer from a drug store, according to Auburn Journal articles from the time.

The FBI says it had a team gathering evidence at a Sacramento-area home linked to DeAngelo.

He was dubbed the East Area Rapist after his start in Northern California, the Original Night Stalker after a series of Southern California slayings, and the Diamond Knot Killer for using an elaborate binding method on two of his victims.

Authorities decided to publicize the case again in 2016 in advance of the 40th anniversary of his first known assault in Sacramento County.

Additional reporting by the Press Association