Suspected 'Golden State Killer' had major SoCal ties

(FOX 11) - Bruce Harrington lost his brother and sister-in-law in Dana Point 28 years ago.

Today, he finally knows the man responsible for taking their lives:

He says thanks to law enforcement's relentless work, 72 year old Joseph James DeAngelo is behind bars.

"For law enforcement...bravo ...bravo...for their tenacity their patience and unrelenting focus," says Harrington.

The lead Orange County homicide detective is now retired.

But he says when he left, he had a data bank of 8,000 suspects he looked over.

He says learning the decades old case is now closed ...was emotional.

"I've been waiting 20 years to call them to give them that news," said Larry Pool.

Pool played a big role linking the Harrington case with others.

"I looked at high risk sex offenders. I studied people who were deceased. We knew he was white male based on his behavior. We started with people who killed himself and people who died of natural causes."

He says through the tragedy, law enforcement worked with Bruce Harrington to make the public safer.

And now....the man who sparked that legislation...is off the street for good

"For the 51 ladies who were brutally raped, sleep better tonight...he isn't coming through the window," said Harrington.

Detective Larry Pool says he's become very close to some of these victims, and looks forward to reuniting with them in person.