He was arrested on November 15, 2019, and charged with the 1981 murder of Selena Keough, 20, in Montclair, California, and the 1986 murder of Mary Duggan, 22, in Burbank, California.[6][7][8] The cases had gone unsolved for decades until a DNA breakthrough exposed his involvement. The same DNA also proved Vaultz's responsibility in the 1986 murder of Janna Rowe, 25, in Ventura, California, a murder he was originally acquitted of in 1988.[9][10][11]
A search of Vaultz's house in Bakersfield revealed a collection of numerous photographs of young women and teenage girls, some of whom police suspect were murdered by Vaultz. Two of the women in the photographs have been identified and confirmed to be still alive.[12]
Vaultz was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder on August 18, 2022. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole on September 19, 2022.[1][13] Vaultz maintains that he is innocent.[14]