Thien Ho, the current district attorney of Sacramento County, delivers the first official account of the investigation, capture and prosecution of Joseph DeAngelo, one of America’s most notorious serial predators. Known by many chilling names over the years, including the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Original Nightstalker, and finally the Golden State Killer, DeAngelo terrorized California communities for more than a decade—and then disappeared without a trace for more than 30 years.

It's a tale Ho recounts in his new book The People vs. the Golden State Killer, from Third State Books. As the lead prosecutor on the case, Ho recounts the exhilarating and harrowing experience of bringing a cold-case killer to justice and putting him behind bars for life. Rather than focusing solely on the criminal and the crimes, Ho’s narrative centers the dedicated law-enforcement teams who never gave up their pursuit, and the courageous survivors of the GSK's crimes who fought to heal and regain control of their lives. Ho has hundreds of never-before-revealed details and firsthand insights, and this is the first time the public hears directly from the lead prosecutor who helped close the case.

A portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit Phyllis’s Garden, a nonprofit that honors a GSK survivor and champions victims’ rights.

Ho, who comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs for a discussion with award-winning journalist Dion Lim, will also share his compelling personal story: a Vietnamese refugee whose family fled Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War; he arrived in the United States knowing no English. He rose from being an intern to being elected Sacramento County district attorney in 2022, becoming one of only 10 Asian American district attorneys out of 2,400 nationwide.

About the Speakers

Thien Ho was elected district attorney of Sacramento County in 2022, and officially took office in January 2023. Over Thien’s 25-year career as an attorney, he successfully prosecuted sexual assault, gang and homicide cases. He was the supervisor of the Gang and Hate Crime Unit and has personally charged and prosecuted hate crimes. Most notably, he successfully prosecuted Joseph DeAngelo, who committed 13 murders and more than 50 sexual assaults in 11 different jurisdictions throughout California. In 2017, Thien was presented with both the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association and Sacramento District Attorney’s Office Prosecutor of the Year Award.

Emmy Award–winning journalist Dion Lim is known for nearly two decades as a TV news anchor and reporter, most recently in San Francsico and the Bay Area. She is also a sought after keynote speaker and as the author of the forthcoming book AMPLIFY! My Fight for Asian America. Lim made history as the first Asian American woman to anchor weekday evening newscasts at television stations in multiple major markets, including Kansas City, Charlotte, and Tampa Bay. Her reporting on racism and violence targeting Asian Americans has been featured on "Good Morning America," "20/20," "Nightline," and "ABC News Live." She was named to the Gold House A100 alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and, in 2022, was invited by the Biden administration to the first AAPI Heritage Month celebration at the White House. She is the recipient of the Champion of Truth Award from SF Cause, Dress for Success San Francisco’s 2022 Honoree, and has received multiple commendations from the California State Assembly and the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office for AAPI and LGBTQ+ advocacy.