A couple charged with kidnapping an 11-year-old girl and holding her captive for 18 years have made full confessions, a defence lawyer said.

A school caretaker was in custody today, accused of shooting dead the highly-regarded head of a Northern California primary school.

THE rape of Jaycee Dugard by convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido began within a month of her abduction at age 11, extended through her childhood and involved not only Phillip Garrido, but also his wife, Nancy, according to charges filed by El Dorado County prosecutors.