It has been 40 years since Brian and Katie Maggiore were murdered in Rancho Cordova.
The two were killed while walking their dog in a neighborhood near their LaVerta Court apartment on February 2, 1978.
While on the walk, the two encountered a suspect who would become known as the East Area Rapist.
The couple ran away after a violent encounter with the suspect, fleeing through a blown down fence into the backyard of a home in the 10100 block of La Alegria Drive.
Unfortunately, they couldn't lose the suspect and both were shot, dying from their injuries at a nearby hospital.
The East Area Rapist was active in Sacramento between 1976 and 1978. Afterwards, he continued to terrorize people in the east and south Bay Area before murdering several others in Southern California.
A hospital patient who was treated for a possible broken shoulder on May 30, 1977 is suspect of being the East Area Rapist. Hospital workers contacted police but the suspect ran away before the arrived. The patient had also used a stolen union identification card for admission forms to the hospital.
Police are now looking for any former employees of the now-closed Bay Area Union Professional Center. The optical center employees may have information that would be helpful to closing the 40-year-old case.
Anyone with any information is asked to the Sacramento Sheriff's Department.
