Joseph James DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer, has been sentenced to multiple life terms in prison for the series of murders he committed over a 13-year period between 1973 and 1986.
The sentencing on Friday was delivered by Honorary Judge Michael Bowman in the Sacramento Superior Court in California, where victims' families had gathered to hear the sentence.
In delivering his the maximum possible sentence in his power, Mr Bowman said that the "victims must be assured that Mr DeAngelo will never, ever walk this earth again".
"The defendant deserves no mercy," Mr Bowman said.
Mr DeAngelo's crimes were the subject of a book called 'I'll Be Gone In The Dark' by Michelle McNamara, which was itself adapted into a recent six-part HBO docu-series.
Joseph James DeAngelo is arraigned in a Sacramento court 27 April 2018. Source: AAP
Ms McNamara had spent years tracking down the Golden State Killer (a nickname she coined), but died in 2016, before Mr DeAngelo was identified as the culprit.
Mr DeAngelo, a former police officer, was identified via investigative genetic genealogy and arrested in 2018, more than three decades after he raped and murdered his last victim in 1986.
During the trial, he admitted committing crimes against 87 individual victims during attacks he perpetrated at 53 separate crime scenes.
"This cold case never went cold for the victims and survivors - it burned them to their very soul. I respectfully hope today resulted in a step forward in their healing process," said Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley.
After he was sentenced, Mr DeAngelo made the following brief statement.
"I've listened to all of your statements, each one of them, and I am really sorry to everyone I've hurt. Thank you, your honour," he said.
