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Joseph DeAngelo, the man known as the Golden State Killer, has been sentenced to life in prison.
His sentencing is the culmination of a crime investigation that began in the 1970s and attracted worldwide attention.
DeAngelo, 74, was arrested in 2018 after his DNA was found via a genealogy website.
In June he admitted to 13 murders in a deal with US prosecutors meant to spare him the death penalty.
He also admitted to numerous rapes, burglaries and other crimes at the time.
"I've listened to all of your statements. Each one of them. And I'm truly sorry to everyone I've hurt," DeAngelo said on Friday, shortly before Judge Michael Bowman began the sentencing.
The infamous killer will not have the possibility for parole.
DeAngelo was a Californian police officer during his crimes in the 1970s and 80s and his crimes stretched across the state of California.
The former police officer, Vietnam War veteran and auto mechanic was arrested in April 2018 after police tracked him down by matching his DNA with a genealogy website.
Investigators created a family tree dating back to the 1800s in order to identify him as a suspect. Detectives followed him and collected a piece of rubbish he had thrown away, finding the same DNA recovered from several crime scenes.
DeAngelo's murderous reign began in 1975, while he was working as a police officer in Exeter, in northern California.
Starting with lurking, stalking and theft, his crimes quickly escalated to a 12-year spree of brutal violence, rape and murder.