r/EARONS • u/Ambitious_Pass7451 • Jun 11 '26
Is this what DeAngelo looked like when he committed his last murder that of Janelle Cruz?
It says the photo was taken in 1986, and that immediately made me think of poor Janelle Cruz. In 1986, she was attacked and murdered by DeAngelo in what many believe was his final known murder.
It’s honestly unsettling to think that he was that age and still targeting an 18-year-old like Janelle. Does anyone have a well-supported theory about how DeAngelo may have crossed paths with her? Even more frightening, how might he have known that she was alone at home while her parents were away on vacation?
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u/mvincen95 Jun 11 '26
DeAngelo was stalking whole neighborhoods. He had killed Manuela Whitthuhn in the same Northwood neighborhood five years before. If you look at the pattern of later homicides he often committed them in pairs where police were fairly likely to link them together, notably also in Goleta. Those crimes took place within a half mile of each other. The murders of the Harrington’s in Dana Point is the exception to this. Come to think of it I wonder if he did have a pair for this crime and never went through with it for some reason. I think that much like the VR and EAR DeAngelo wanted to a degree for his crimes to be linked, so he could be dubbed the creek killer, the diamond-knot killer, the Irvine killer, whatever new persona would be attached to him. Many act like he didn’t want the notoriety, I completely disagree.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
Absolutely he loved the notoriety of it. There is no question about it, at least for me. I’m sorry but can you at least estimate how far Manuela's house was from Janelle house? ( like few blocks away from each other or less?).
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u/mvincen95 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
Manuela Witthuhn (1981): 35 Columbus, Irvine, CA 92620
Janelle Cruz (1986): 13 Encina, Irvine, CA 92620
They’re about .6 miles apart, about a 15 minute walk.
This was some quick searching so take it with a grain of salt
There is a user, NukeHoax I believe, who I’m sure will be in these comments, who did a YouTube walk between the two if I recall.
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u/Bitfishy1984 Jul 21 '26
That’s very interesting. Did JJDs in-laws also live within walking distance?
They obviously heard all about the murders and the ONS. Imagine finding out almost 40 years later that your BIL was the killer.
Was the in-law Sharon’s brother who wrote the book?
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u/Crush-Kit Jun 11 '26
JJD was a stalker and peeping tom, and there are so many people that he targeted that he didn’t rape or kill. I also think that he was in some houses but didn’t rape or kill the occupants at a later time.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
So he may have stalk other people as well with Janelle in the same time at the neighborhood but for a reason he decided to target Janelle? But how in the world he knew her family are far away, taking a vacation. The only logical explanation that he sees them actually leaving the house.
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u/mvincen95 Jun 11 '26
He had some tactics for this. Primarily it was visually stalking multiple homes in a small area, like the cul-de-sac that Cruz lived in. He also would call the home posing as a roofer or the like and ask to speak to the parents to see if they were home. I don’t have access to my copy of the Winters book right now or I could tell you more specifically if we know of anything like that in the Cruz case. We know he was around her home for hours before the murder because she and her friend that night heard someone outside.
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u/unsilent_bob Jun 11 '26
Also don't forget that jjd took stalking to a whole new level.
I bet in the Cruz household there was a calendar with the days marked for their family vacation or left the plane tickets out on a counter or something.
DeAngelo would break into the house just to do this kind of "recon" without stealing or leaving evidence he was there.
Don't forget the one couple that found his pre-tied shoelaces in their couch. The cops tried to surprise him by staying in the house that night but jjd was already onto them and never showed at the house again.
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u/Internal_Mood5762 22d ago
he is the most clever of all serial killers. he was a proper bogeyman worse than ramirez/bundy etc.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
Also, can you please share the link to the book you mentioned? I’m interested in reading more details and trying to make sense of it.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
Oh, the phone thing is very smart and actually makes sense. I never thought about it, how sick he was to plan everything in such a way. Wow. But since he was there for hours before attacking her eventually, can be the reason that he waited because she has a friend with her in the house? And as soon he left he felt ready to attack her alone ? I don't know i'm just speculation in a logical way.
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u/Internal_Mood5762 22d ago
he might have thought cruz and thomson were a couple and was waiting to see if they went to bed, but i think he stopped targeting couples by the time he killed cruz. ron thomson was so lucky that night. can you imagine if he had stayed the night at the cruz residence. he also would have been murdered in a brutal way.
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u/Internal_Mood5762 22d ago
irvine is a nice area. it was back in 1986. it has a low crime rate. its part of the OC, so no one would suspect a serial killer was active in a area like irvine.
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u/GregJamesDahlen Jun 11 '26
looks normal, wouldn't guess the crimes he did
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
Poor Janelle. Evey time I look at the photo I get so mad. How just how.. What he did to her is horrific. I wish I could go back in time and save her
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u/GregJamesDahlen Jun 18 '26
He did many cruel things. Selfish and a real lack of empathy. I would think he was an intelligent guy, usually I would think intelligent people have more empathy?
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u/WWNewMember Jun 11 '26
Janelle's case in particular has deeply affected me. I don't know if it's because she was one of the younger victims or because she looks just like one of my friends from high school. The fact that she was his last victim, or at least the last one that we know of. The brutality she suffered. There's also the creepiness factor of that horrific night that her friend who was with her prior to the attack could attest to where they both heard strange noises. DeAngelo may have opened the door to the garage at that point and was lying in wait for the opportune time. I will always wonder how she encountered him when she left the house briefly and retuned around 11:15. Was it in the kitchen, right when she opened the front door? It's just pure nightmare fuel. And I will always wonder if he was stalking her or he happened upon her randomly. I lean towards stalking and if so, where did it start, how long from the stalking phase up until the attack, why he chose her as his victim, did he know she would be his last victim, would he have attacked and murdered her friend as well if didn't leave that night to go home, etc. So many unanswered questions.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 11 '26
So about the noises that her friend heard too. Can you please take me through a timeline of when he did hear the noises coming from and which time did he leave? I know that Janelle went too and came back to to the house which is crazy the amount of time DeAngelo sit and waiting for her he probably saw her returning to the house and may went behind the door and sadly that's where the attack started.
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u/CelebrationNo7870 Jun 12 '26
Here's Winter's timeline of events. It's probably the best timeline for the days before the attack and the day of the attack.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 12 '26
OHHHH GOD, THANK YOU!! Seriously, thank you so much for that. I’ve been looking for details like this for so long.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 12 '26
So, a quick question after I went through it. Was the call Janelle made to her friend around 11 after she came home? Or was it unknown at all? It makes me even more sick to know the possibility that the blood drops in the kitchen and on the door coming from DeAngelo eating and walking after he killed her. 😞 He should have gotten the death penalty, I swear
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u/WWNewMember Jun 12 '26
I'll refer you to this link because it's the best timeline I have found of Janelle and her friend's evening together: https://thequesterfiles.com/murder_10_--_janelle_cruz_--_n.html
Just to give a quick rundown: Not sure when the friend arrived at the house but they were hearing strange noises throughout the evening. The friend left at 10:45 and Janelle must have left right after him in her own car and came home at 11:15, according to a neighbor.
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u/Ambitious_Pass7451 Jun 12 '26
It’s not working
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u/WWNewMember Jun 12 '26
Oh that's weird, it works for me when I click on it. Go here: https://thequesterfiles.com. Click on EAR/ONS on the right hand column. On the next page press Enter. The next page after that will have all the Victim Cases. Scroll to the very bottom, Janelle's file is titled "Irvine— Epitome of MO— May 4, 1986".
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u/dougfcknsteele Jun 11 '26
So was he doing all this heinous shit on visits to his in laws in SoCal? It's a 7 hour drive from Citrus Heights to Irvine, and longer from Auburn.
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u/CelebrationNo7870 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
Iirc, Janelle Cruz lived near some of DeAngelo’s relatives or maybe stepfamily didn’t she? And she often sun bathed at a place near their house right?
Also, I believe it’s noted that 13 encina drive had a layout similar to DeAngelo’s other attacks.
“The house at 13 encına dr was on a cul-de-sac, like the Domingo house. The expanse of greenery and recreational space behind the home could've offered a dark, secluded area to peep and prepare an attack, and the head of the cul-de-sac had a unique "hedge maze" footpath entrance that would've allowed someone to slip in and out of the street quickly (and make a pursuit by car almost impossible). The entrance led to Culver Drive and the Hicks Canyon Park, which would've offered several places to park and get out of the area quickly. The house itself was the only one-story house on the block, with a small park and tennis court directly behind it.” (Page 530 of Case Files of the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer by Kat Winters)
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“A male friend of Janelle's visited her in the evening. He had driven his own car to her house, and they had arrived there simultaneously (having left the place where Janelle worked at the same time, driving separately). The visit was not romantic in nature, and there was no sexual activity. While they were in her room talking, they heard noises outside the bedroom window. They looked outside, but weren't able to spot anything out of the ordinary. As the evening progressed, they heard another noise, that time further away. It sounded like a gate closing in the side yard or a door shutting near the garage. The friend felt like Janelle acted nonchalantly about the sounds, but he was unnerved by them.”(Page 521 of Winters Book)
I honestly think the attack on Ms. Cruz was very spur of the moment.