An elderly ex-policeman confessed on Monday to being the violent serial prowler known as the "Golden State Killer," pleading guilty to 13 murders and admitting to dozens of rapes and break-ins that terrorized California during the 1970s and '80s.

Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, entered the pleas as part of a broader deal with prosecutors sparing him from a potential death sentence in return for his admission to all of the offenses he stood accused of - charged and uncharged - in 11 California counties.

Under terms of the unusual plea agreement, approved by Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman at Monday's hearing, DeAngelo faces life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than a potential death sentence.