Daughter of Toltec Way murders in 1981 releases a videotaped message

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said of the four murders and three crime scenes in the Goleta Valley area linked to the Golden State Killer, DNA from only one particular home confirmed the link to Joseph James DeAngelo.

That evidence was based on the murders of 35-year-old Cheri Domingo and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Gregory Sanchez, killed in the home her aunt owned on Toltec Way.

The couple’s murders came less than two years after the serial killer’s initial attack in the local area at a home on Queen Ann Lane in 1979, just over one mile away from Toltec Way. That couple survived.

Late Wednesday night, Cheri’s adult daughter Debbi, taped a video message following news of the alleged killer’s arrest.

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“I’m not going to speak his name because he’s insignificant,” Debbi Domingo said. “What is significant is that we are on the beginning steps of putting this to rest forever.”

Debbi Domingo can be seen holding a picture of her mother and her boyfriend, Gregory during the three-minute long videotape after hearing what she called “enormous news.” Debbi said she’d been inundated with “hundreds and hundreds” of calls, emails, and messages.

“It’s been never-ending,” Debbi said. “The demand from the media has been overwhelming, wonderful, grateful.”

Debbi talked to our media partner, Noozhawk back in 2016, when law enforcement agencies throughout California launched a renewed and intensive search for the Golden State Killer.

Debbi described herself as a 15-year-old “rebellious teen” at the time, living on Toltec Way with her mother, but often spent nights away with friends. That included the night of July 27, 1981.

A timeline of the alleged killer’s crimes shows he broke into the Goleta area home after 3:00 a.m., brutalized, then murdered Domingo and Sanchez.

“It’s been a really, really long journey,” Debbi said. “We’re in the home-stretch guys, this is it! He’s going away.”

Debbi apologizes on the tape for not having time to get back to everyone, sends a shout-out of love to her two daughters, and expresses relief and gratitude to anyone who paid even two seconds of attention to their case.

She looked down at the picture and spoke to the image of the couple.

“Mom and Gregory, we got him. We got him.”

Hoover said that three cold case detectives with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are in Sacramento, gleaning clues from each of the crime scenes in the Goleta Valley, linked to DeAngelo, to help build their case.

Hoover said Sheriff’s officials are “convinced” that DeAngelo is responsible for all four local homicides and the attempted murder of the couple in the initial attack in 1979.

Detectives are also looking to see if the accused serial killer is responsible for other crimes in our area as well.