Report: Suspected 'Golden State Killer' may have had an accomplice

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A detective who spent a decade trying to crack the "Golden State Killer" case now says it is possible suspect Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. had an accomplice, according to a report.

According to the Sacramento Bee, retired Contra Costa County Detective Paul Holes believes a second person may have helped DeAngelo with a few of his early crimes.

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

The former California police chief who fired suspected 'Golden State Killer' Joseph DeAngelo said investigators told him DeAngelo had once planned to kill him.

Holes believes if DeAngelo did have an accomplice, it was only in the incidents involving assault, not homicide. But the Sacramento County Sheriff disagrees saying, DeAngelo is the sole suspect.

Holes said there are four cases attributed to the East Area Rapist in which victims heard him speaking to someone else. In at least one case, a victim thought she heard a second voice.

Three of those cases were in Sacramento and one in Concord, Holes said. He declined to give the names of the victims because they haven't spoken out publicly, according to the report.

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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.