The
Original Night Stalker is the name given to an unidentified
serial killer and
rapist who murdered at least ten people in
Southern California from 1979 through 1986. The crimes initially centered on
East Sacramento where at least fifty women were
sexually assaulted between June 18, 1976, and July 5, 1979. The perpetrator was dubbed
The East Area Rapist. In 2001, the Northern California rapes were linked by DNA to murders in Southern California.