'Golden State Killer' suspect once planned to kill ex-police chief who fired him

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The former Northern California police chief who fired suspected "Golden State Killer" Joseph DeAngelo said investigators told him the accused serial killer had come to his home one night to kill him.

Nick Willick used to be the chief of the Auburn Police Department. He fired DeAngelo from the force in 1979 for stealing dog repellant and a hammer. Willick said DeAngelo later filed a lawsuit against the department.

"The investigator told me that Joseph had gone to my house one night to kill me, and said that he walked around the house looking in the windows but couldn't find my bedroom," Willick said. "I just never saw him as a person who could, you know, kill somebody."

VIDEO: Tracking Joseph James DeAngelo and the 'Golden State Killer'

Here's a look at the parallel life paths of suspect Joseph James DeAngelo and the man who was one of California's most feared serial killers and rapists.

Willick gave his account during an interview that aired on "Good Morning America" Thursday.

"A short time after he had been fired, I woke up one morning. My 4-year-old daughter was laying alongside the bed. She said, 'Dad, last night there was someone looking in my bedroom window with a flashlight,'" Willick said.

Willick said he feels guilt and embarrassment over the fact that a suspected serial killer was right under his nose, and he slipped away.

TIMELINE: A look back at the Golden State Killer's crime spree that lasted a decade

The first crime committed by the East Area Rapist occurred in mid-1976 in the Sacramento area. Over the next decade, more than 45 women were raped and 12 people were murdered by the man later called the Golden State Killer.

"I just wish we, it could have, you know, been stopped a long time ago," Willick said.

The former police chief also said years ago, DeAngelo once gave him a tour of his home, explaining that he and his wife slept in separate bedrooms. Willick said he wondered if that living arrangement may have enabled DeAngelo to sneak out of his house in the middle of the night.

VIDEO: Walnut Creek 'Golden State Killer' victim describes details of attack

In 1979, Mary Berwert turned 13 years old and got a coveted spot on a Walnut Creek cheerleading squad. Two months later she became one of the youngest victims of the Golden State Killer.

DeAngelo , 72, is expected to appear in a Sacramento courtroom Thursday to fight prosecutors' efforts to collect more of his DNA.

His public defender, Diane Howard, has filed a motion to block efforts by the district attorney to take DNA, fingerprints and photos of DeAngelo's body. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert got a warrant last week to gather the samples and photographs.

DeAngelo was arrested last week and identified as the suspect in at least a dozen murders and more than 50 rapes between 1976 and 1986.

VIDEO: 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark': Inside Michelle McNamara's quest to nab Golden State Killer

In "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," Michelle McNamara chronicled her "obsessive" search for the elusive criminal known as the Golden State Killer.

Prosecutors had planned to take more DNA and photographs on Wednesday, prompting Howard's motion to halt the action. In a brief court appearance, Superior Court Judge Michael Sweet delayed the hearing until Thursday.

Howard argued in a motion that the search warrant should be stopped because it was approved before DeAngelo was arrested and arraigned last week.

Prosecutors argued that the search warrant was still relevant and said collecting the evidence won't be "testimonial in nature."

DeAngelo has not yet entered a plea.

Click here for more stories and videos related to the Golden State Killer investigation.

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.