Category Archives: NorCal Rapist

Benicia man, Roy Charles Waller, sentenced to 897 years

NorCal Rapist sentenced to 897 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting women

San Francisco Chronicle, by Dustin Gardiner, Dec. 18, 2020
Roy Charles Waller appears in Sacramento County Superior Court last month, when he was found guilty of being the NorCal Rapist, who attacked nine women in their homes between 1991 and 2006. Photo: Paul Kitagaki Jr. / Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO — Roy Charles Waller, the notorious NorCal Rapist, was sentenced to 897 years in state prison Friday for attacking, kidnapping and sexually assaulting nine women in Northern California over a 15-year period.

Waller, 60, sat motionless, staring at the table in front of him, for more than an hour as several victims described in court how he had tortured and raped them in their homes.

Nicole Earnest-Payte was raped in her Rohnert Park townhouse one night in the summer of 1991 after Waller came in through through an unlocked door. She said he threatened to kill her as he committed “sadistic and fiendish acts.”

“I thought about how many flies would be on my body, and in what condition it would be found, and how my parents would experience the worst torture any parent can,” Earnest-Payte said. “He is a monster by all modern definitions of the word.”

Chronicle policy is to not identify sexual assault victims, but Earnest-Payte said she wanted her name used to show other survivors that they should not be ashamed.

Waller, a Benicia resident, was arrested in 2018 in Berkeley, where he worked at UC Berkeley’s Environmental, Health and Safety office. He started there in 1992, the year after he began his string of assaults across six counties.

A jury convicted Waller of 46 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping in November, after less than a day of deliberation. The trial was held in Sacramento County because his last two rapes took place there.

Judge James Arguelles of Sacramento County Superior Court handed down the maximum sentence, noting the heinous nature of Waller’s attacks and the fact that he planned them in detail.

Waller could eventually be eligible for elder parole around age 85 under California law, but prosecutors said it is unlikely that he would ever be released because of the brutality of his attacks.

Victims who spoke in court described how Waller tied and blindfolded them and brandished a gun. In one attack on Halloween 1996, he wore a skeleton mask while he raped a woman in Martinez. Weeks later, he called the victim at work to apologize.

Victims said he repeatedly assaulted them while they were tied up for hours. They said he seemed to have methodically planned the attacks.

One victim, identified in court as Jane Doe K of Sacramento, said she was so afraid Waller would return to attack her again that she was unable to shower for 12 years unless her husband or a friend was on speaker phone or inside the house. She said her fear ended the day Waller was arrested.

“He has no remorse, even to this date,” she said. “Only a monster is capable of committing such heinous crimes over and over again.”

Waller attacked Jane Doe T of Vallejo on Feb. 13, 1992. She said she lost the will to live, spent weeks in a mental hospital and has been plagued by anxiety ever since. She yells at her children if they leave doors or windows unlocked.

“I had a lot of anxiety wondering who he was, and if he could be right in front of my eyes,” she said. “I wondered if he ever wondered how much pain and suffering he’s caused.”

Victims said Waller seemed to find many of his victims through classified advertisements seeking a roommate. He committed attacks in Sacramento, Yolo, Butte, Contra Costa, Solano and Sonoma counties.

Prosecutors said they were able to link the assaults using DNA evidence and digital genealogy records that indicated the rapist was a member of Waller’s family.

Waller, who testified that he was innocent, did not speak in court Friday. His attorney, Joseph Farina, said he would appeal.

“Unfortunately, the DNA was just too much and we couldn’t overcome that,” Farina said outside court. “He had his day in court — that’s what he’s constitutionally entitled to.”

Moments later, a group of Waller’s victims walked out of the courthouse together. Earnest-Payte said she felt an overwhelming sense of freedom knowing Waller would die in prison.

“I never have to think about him for one more second of my life, and that is the greatest relief I could ever, ever feel,” Earnest-Payte said. “I feel released.”

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.  Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Benicia man convicted on all counts as NorCal Rapist

Associated Press, November 18, 2020

Man convicted of 9 ‘NorCal Rapist’ attacks from 1991 to 2006

Roy Charles Waller stands in Sacramento Superior Court in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Waller, accused of being the so-called NorCal Rapist, was found guilty, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, of raping nine women in their homes between 1991 and 2006. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP, Pool)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A man nicknamed the NorCal Rapist was convicted Wednesday of raping nine women in their homes between 1991 and 2006 after investigators used DNA technology to identify him.

A jury in Sacramento found Roy Charles Waller, 60, guilty on all 46 counts after 2 1/2 hours of deliberations a day earlier.

Waller showed no emotion and looked down at the defendant’s table when the jury’s decision was read, the Sacramento Bee reported. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 18.

Waller raped women in six Northern California counties, from Sacramento to Chico. Sometimes he would kidnap the women and force them to withdraw money from ATMs and steal their personal items.

Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn called the crimes “horrific,” saying the victims were terrorized for hours at a time.

Prosecutors said they used the same DNA and genealogy websites to zero in on Waller that they used to arrest former police officer Joseph DeAngelo in the Golden State Killer case. DeAngelo pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and 13 rape-related charges stemming from crimes spanning the 1970s and 1980s. He was sentenced in August to multiple life terms.

Prosecutors credited the DNA evidence with ensuring Waller’s conviction.

“DNA technology is the greatest tool given to the justice system to exonerate the innocent and convict the guilty,” Sacramento County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Grippi said in a statement. “Law enforcement officers and detectives involved in the investigation never stopped searching for the truth.”

Waller was arrested in September 2018 at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked for 25 years as a safety specialist in the office of environment, health and safety.

During the trial, defense attorney Joseph Farina accused authorities of overreach by taking a straw and half-eaten pear from garbage outside Waller’s home to get his DNA, and he questioned whether DNA found at the crime scenes had been preserved properly over the years.

Farina declined to comment as he left the courthouse Wednesday.

Prosecutors portrayed Waller as an organized and cunning criminal who stalked potential victims and collected information about their appearance, movements and vehicles and kept it in computer databases that he still had when he was arrested. Investigators also found zippered bags filled with duct tape, zip ties, handcuffs and other items used in the attacks in Waller’s two storage lockers.

Prosecutors said he sought out women of Asian descent, grading them on their appearance and build and studying their daily routines until he could slip into their homes and attack them.

 

Latest on Sacramento trial of Benicia man accused of being NorCal Rapist

‘NorCal Rapist’ Roy Charles Waller – trial continues with Sacramento victims testifying

KCRA3 Sacramento, By Vicki Gonzalez, November 2, 2020

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —The third week of the “NorCal Rapist” trial began with Sacramento victims testifying on Monday.

Roy Charles Waller, 60, faces 46 counts — including rape and kidnapping — for crimes committed between 1991 and 2006.

The charges involve nine women across six counties — Sonoma, Contra Costa, Solano, Butte, Yolo and Sacramento.

[Warning: The testimony may be too graphic for some.]

Monday included testimony from a former UC Davis Medical Center nurse practitioner who conducted a sexual assault exam on the Davis survivor in 2000. The then 21-year-old referred to as “C. Doe” was admitted to the emergency room with pieces of duct tape on her ankles and duct tape residue on her mouth.

However, the majority of trial Monday focused on two roommates raped in Natomas in 2006 — referred to as “Y. Doe” and “K. Doe.”

“Y. Doe” began her testimony by recalling that she came home late at night and saw an unknown SUV parked in the garage next her roommate’s vehicle. When she entered the home, the suspect jumped at her and pushed her to the bedroom at gunpoint.

“’Don’t do anything stupid. I just want some money,’” Y. Doe testified. “I was really, really scared for my life.”

When she entered the bedroom, K. Doe was lying face down on the bed covered with a towel. She was duct-tapped on her eyes, mouth, wrist and ankles.

“Really afraid of him, yes,” Y. Doe testified. “I don’t want to piss him off. I just want him to take the money and go.”

Y. Doe was bound as well and carried to the closet in the bathroom, where she testified the suspect began sexually assaulting her.

“He told me he had a gun and his car was stolen. He had nothing to lose,” she testified. “I feel so violated and so scared for my life.”

Y. Doe said both she and her roommate eventually laid side-by-side on the bed and the suspect raped both of them repeatedly, going back and forth between them and the living room where he looked for items to potentially steal.

“I didn’t even want to cry because I didn’t want him to know I was suffering and get him excited,” Y. Doe testified. “At one point, he kissed my mouth over the duct tape.”

He washed both women off in separate bathtubs before putting them back on the bed and leaving.

“At one point, he mentioned, ‘Don’t call the police,’” Y. Doe testified. “He said he has been watching me for a while.”

When she broke free, she found $200, her driver’s license and ATM card stolen, as well as a picture of herself in her wallet missing. Y. Doe also believes the suspect stole her camera and took photos of her naked before leaving.

Waller, a former UC Berkeley employee living in Benicia, was arrested in September 2018. Investigators credit advancements in DNA genealogy that also led to the arrest and conviction of Joseph DeAngelo, known as the “Golden State Killer.”

Prosecutors said DNA from a drinking straw connected Waller to eight of the women. The ninth came from a surveillance photo allegedly showing Waller using the woman’s ATM card.

Prosecutors argue the assaults had a similar modus operandi. The women were tied to the bed with their eyes taped shut. The assaults would take place over the course of hours, and the suspect would caress, kiss and cuddle the bound women. He would also steal valuables, like jewelry or an ATM card, before leaving.

Waller pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces life in prison. The trial began Oct. 19 and is scheduled to last through December.

*** If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the national sexual assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or you can chat online here. ***

Sacramento judge: Benicia Suspect in NorCal Rapist case to go to trial

By Vicki Gonzalez, KCRA TV3, 6:30 PM PST Jan 29, 2020
Former Benicia resident Roy Charles Waller, suspected NorCal Rapist

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —A man accused of being the so-called NorCal Rapist was ordered Wednesday to face trial on charges that he assaulted at least nine women in their homes, sometimes for hours.

Roy Charles Waller is facing dozens of felony charges — including rape and kidnapping — over a 15-year period between 1991 and 2006.

The judge ruled there was enough evidence presented during the preliminary hearings to try Waller. If convicted, Waller faces up to life in prison.

The 60-year-old, a former UC Berkeley employee living in Benicia, is facing 46 charges. The charges involve at least nine women across six counties — Sonoma, Contra Costa, Solano, Butte, Yolo and Sacramento.

Waller was arrested in September 2018, more than a decade after the NorCal Rapist’s most recent crime because of advancements in DNA technology. Those advancements also led to the arrest of Joseph DeAngelo in the East Area Rapist case.

Prosecutors said DNA from a drinking straw connected Waller to eight of the women — and a connection to the ninth came from a surveillance photo allegedly showing Waller using the woman’s ATM card.

Prosecutors argue the assaults had a similar M.O. The women were mostly of Asian descent, tied to the bed with their eyes taped shut. The assaults would take place over the course of hours, and the rapist often would caress, kiss and cuddle the bound women.

He would also steal valuables, like jewelry or an ATM card, before leaving, prosecutors said.

The focus in court Wednesday was granular. The defense and prosecutors argued over nuances of lesser charges or special circumstances, such as kidnapping and extortion, because laws surrounding the charges were amended over the time period of these crimes.

“He is innocent unless the DA can prove to 12 citizens of our community that in fact he committed his crimes,” Waller’s attorney Joseph Farina said. “There’s still lots to do in this case. We’re really at the beginning. There is so much discovery, so many police reports, so much evidence.”

“There is still a lot of work to do,” Farina added. “We’re not prepared to go to trial at this point.”

Waller pleaded not guilty and is being held on no bail.