Documents: DNA from tissue in trash led to arrest of Golden State Killer suspect

SACRAMENTO -- (KRON) -- The judge presiding over the Golden State Killer case in Sacramento decided Friday to unseal redacted search warrants related to the alleged crimes.

Authorities arrested Joseph DeAngelo, 72, in April. He is believed to be responsible for at least a dozen killings and roughly 50 rapes in the 1970s and '80s.

Court records show DNA from a tissue left in a trash can led authorities to arrest a former California police officer suspected of being the Golden State Killer.

The documents released detail the case that Sacramento County sheriff's investigators pieced together to obtain an arrest warrant in April.

Investigators linked DeAngelo to the killings by plugging DNA collected from a semen sample at one of the crime scenes into a genealogical website.

Authorities say they then collected trash from a can left outside DeAngelo's house to make the final DNA match.