A former police officer accused of being one of California's most feared serial killers and rapists in the 1970s and 80s has been charged with eight counts of murder.

A former US police officer suspected of being a serial killer tied to dozens of killings and sexual assaults in the 1970s and 1980s has been charged with murder, California authorities said.

Forty years ago, children rode their bikes unsupervised through suburban bedroom communities bracketed by Air Force bases east of Sacramento, California. Families rarely locked their doors at night.