Helen LaRoe - Cabbagehead: How Could I Have Married a Serial Rapist?

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2020 Helen LaRoe All Rights Reserved

2021 Emma LaRoe Original Cover Art All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 979-8-9858785-4-7

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Dear Reader,

This is my story. A slice of my life. Its not meant to bring anyone any more pain. Im not an expert on the East Area Rapist or Joseph DeAngelos crimes. I am not an armchair sleuth and following true crimes is not a hobby of mine. In fact, Ive never written a book until now. All I know is what happened to me, and I want to share my story with you.

This book is a memoir. It reflects the authors present recollections of experiences over time. Some names, characteristics, and places have been changed. Some events have been compressed, and some dialogue has been recreated. Opinions and views in this book solely belong to this author and not to anyone who has endorsed it or worked in the production of this book.

CONTENTS

PART 1
GROWING UP

PART 2
MIRYOKUTEKI DA (THE CHARMER)

PART 3
A BLIND EYE

PART 4
PIECES TO THE PUZZLE

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the survivors of the world. Those who have survived mental or physical abuse, rape, narcissists, and bad choices. You are brave and courageous and not alone. Once you genuinely believe this, you will realize that you dont have to survive it anymore. You can walk away from the pain and embrace inner peace. Its right there waiting for you

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The experience of writing a book is both internally challenging and rewarding. I couldnt have completed it without the following people:

A huge thank you to Annie Preston who edited the final draft of Cabbagehead. She was a delight to work with, professional, meticulous, highly skilled, friendly, and honest. Annies amiable personality made it easy to work with her. I feel I have gained a new friend.

I cannot begin to express my deepest thanks to Shannon Morrison for her editing, encouragement, humor, and moral support while I was writing Cabbagehead. Shannon helped to pull out so many hidden feelings with absolutely no judgment. I will always treasure the time we shared together. It has strengthened our friendship and brought us closer than imaginable.

I would like to thank my niece, Emma LaRoe, cover artist extraordinaire. Emmas talent has always impressed me, and I am so proud and honored she chose to be a part of the production of this book. She is an amazing artist and even more of an amazing person.

A very special thanks to Doug Turner and his late wife, Vicki Marsh Turner. I am grateful for Dougs insight, encouragement, and editing the first draft of Cabbagehead. Vickis encouragement, enthusiasm, and friendship will remain with me forever.

My deepest gratitude is to my best friend and husband of thirty years, Rob. His love, encouragement, and empathy brought me to the finish line of writing this book. His endless support never wavered, even after dragging him through every chapter a hundred times and wading through a hundred tears.

PREFACE

What the hell did I do?

I married a rapist. He didnt look like one, but then, what does one look like? The one I met had big blue eyes and soft full lips. His entire face smiled, and his eyes sparkled when I laughed at his hilarious stories. I was dangerously attracted to him, like a moth to a candle.

No, the fact he was a rapist wasnt detectable at all. He wasnt a shifty- eyed creep. He lived right under my roof. He slept in my bed. With me. He was my first husband and he lived in plain sight.

He had once shared with me what I believed was his darkest secret about his time in Japan. He seemed remorseful and I trusted him when he said he would never do it again. I was young and he had rescued me from the clutches of another evil. So, I kept his ugly secret buried deep in my head and heart for forty-two years. But it reared its ugly head again to open my eyes to an even bigger secret.

In 2016, the FBI launched a national campaign to identify the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer. The East Area Rapist wandered the streets of Sacramento, California between 1976 and 1979 stalking, then raping over fifty women. And he got away with it for over 40 years. The FBI wanted the public to consider the following: He would be between 60 to 75 years old, stand about 5 ft. 10 in. tall, have an athletic build, be experienced with military or law enforcement, and proficient in firearms. The FBI wrote, People who know the subject may not believe him capable of such crimes. He may not have exhibited violent tendencies or have a criminal history.

The FBI chose three composite images to use in their campaign to catch the guy. I looked at the composites and in one I saw a familiar face staring back at me. I thought to myself, Oh no, Yogi. What have you done?

When you know something is true, but you dont want to believe it, you try to ignore it. You try to forget. You pretend it couldnt be true and even try to prove yourself wrong. But it creeps back into your mind. It haunts you until you do something about it. I dove in. The more details I read about each one of the cases, the more I realized I held many of the missing puzzle pieces. Pieces that belonged to horrific crimes. The crimes and their details shocked me. Learning of each attack for the first time felt like a new stab wound and I grieved for each survivor.

I contacted the FBI and local law enforcement several times. No one was interested enough to listen to the story I needed to tell. I felt silenced and the strong need to speak the truth to help find closure for the women who looked into the eyes of a bright blue-eyed attacker. All of this led me to write Cabbagehead.

On June 29, 2020, Joseph DeAngelo, a former police officer, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of kidnapping. In exchange for 11 consecutive life sentences, instead of the death penalty, he agreed to admit to committing all the other crimes. They couldnt charge him for the crimes of rape and burglary because the statute of limitations had passed. It was part of the deal for him to admit to all the rapes. The District Attorney bundled the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, and the Golden State Killer crimes and closed them all in one fell swoop. Their goal was to bring closure for the victims and get the files closed. This is understandable, as the cases sat undisturbed for decades, except for a single cold case unit that kept digging for answers and finally got one.

There is glaring evidence supporting the fact two rapists committed the East Area Rapist (EAR) crimes. Physical descriptions dont lie. Witnesses and victims described differences in the build, height, weight, eye color, color of arm and leg hair, and even penis sizes.

The evidence is clear that the EAR was not one, but two monsters who roamed free for over forty years until law enforcement linked Joseph DeAngelos DNA to some crime scenes committed outside of the Sacramento area. He is the attacker who was captured.

But they were only half right. There was another blue-eyed monster who was horrific in his own right. He was the man I married, the father of my son. He is the man I believe bears responsibility, along with Joseph DeAngelo, for the rapes committed by the East Area Rapist.

Journey with me into my past as I share with you a bit of my younger years growing up and later how I became entangled with a serial rapist.