In the Case of Joseph DeAngelo, Justice Has Not Been Served

My victim impact statement in the Golden State Killer case: he is a hallmark of white privilege.

I have been graced with amazing support from so many. I could not have done this without you. TV image.

This is a copy of my written statement. You can watch the whole thing here via the local news’ Facebook page. My part begins at roughly 21 minutes. Inside scoop, I did two things at the beginning, spoke to the judge about lawyers to help me relax and transition. And then, what you may not know, is we caught DeAngelo bitching to his lawyers as court ended on Weds. Apparently he was tired of looking at the “same six spots” to avoid eye contact with us. He was pissed because his peripheral vision kept spotting us! So I had to play with that. I mean…I couldn’t resist. I wanted him to know, we knew. We heard. We laughed.

Good afternoon Your Honor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to address the court.

My name is Jennifer Carole. I am here on behalf of Lyman and Charlene Smith. Lyman was my father and Charlene was my stepmother.

I am also here on behalf of my brothers, Jay and Gary Smith, my father’s brother, Donald Smith, my mother, Marjorie Smith, my grandparents Lyman, Wilma and Lila, my daughter, and my nephews. They have trusted me with representing them throughout this process.

It’s a responsibility I take extremely seriously.

Let’s start at the beginning.

It was a gorgeous spring day in March of 1980, when my younger brother, Gary, arrived at my dad and Charlene’s house to mow the lawn. At just 12 years old, he already demonstrated tremendous self-discipline. He took pride in earning his own spending money. It was around noon when he entered the house. He immediately knew something wasn’t right. He made his way to the back bedroom, my parents’ room, and the digital alarm clock was going off.

It had been buzzing for at least 72 hours. Three days.

The comforter, pulled-up over the two bodies that lay in the bed, hid most of the horror. I suppose I could thank Joe for that courtesy, but then that would be perverse, wouldn’t it? Because there was nothing courteous about what had happened in their home. The walls splattered with blood and grey matter. The bed…