'I just can't believe it.' Sister says East Area Rapist suspect never displayed 'madness'

The sister of accused East Area Rapist Joseph DeAngelo told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday that her brother never displayed "any kind of madness" as a young man or adult and that her family is haunted by the thoughts of her brother's alleged victims.

Rebecca Thompson, DeAngelo's older sister, said in a phone interview that she was "pretty much in shock."

"As stunned as I am - because I've never seen him display any kind of madness or anything like that - I just can't believe it," Thompson said. "I've never seen anything to allow myself to think he could do such things."

Thompson lives in Exeter, a small town in Tulare County where DeAngelo, 72, was a police officer from 1973 to 1976.

"It's hard to believe," she said. "We're saddened and all kinds of things. We're sorry for the victims without any doubt. It's really hard to think about all the victims. The victims come to mind every time I think about it, of course."

DeAngelo has been charged with multiple counts of murder in Sacramento, Orange and Ventura counties. He is also suspected in a series of rapes in several other California counties between 1976 and 1986.

Authorities in Santa Barbara have linked the East Area Rapist to four murders in that county, but have not yet filed charges against DeAngelo.

This story was originally published April 26, 2018 at 1:44 PM with the headline "'I just can't believe it.' Sister says East Area Rapist suspect never displayed 'madness'."