HBO’s latest foray into true crime is its docuseries I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. Directed by Liz Garbus, Elizabeth Wolff, Myles Kane, and Josh Koury, the series departs from a straightforward narrative, instead exploring one writer’s attempt to publish a book about California’s infamous Golden State Killer.
The writer, Michelle McNamara, was running a true crime blog when she came across the unsolved cases that would haunt her for decades. During the ’70s and ’80s, towns across California were terrorized by a serial rapist and murderer. The crimes were never solved, and McNamara took it upon herself to try to bring the perpetrator to justice.
In The ’70s And ’80s, A White Male Assaulted Over 50 California Residents
Between 1973 and 1986, a series of crime sprees across California left residents throughout the state in fear. In Visalia, California, a prowler broke into over 100 homes in the mid-70s.
Soon later, dozens of sexual assaults against women around Sacramento, California, brought on a new wave of terror. At that point, police had no idea these crimes were connected.
The Man Eventually Escalated To Murder
By the end of the ’70s, the perpetrator moved on to murder. In southern California, at least 10 people were killed in their homes up and down the coast.
Some of the victims were married couples. Others were single women. Again, investigators in the cities where the crimes occurred did not believe their cases were related.
A Communication Breakdown Among Police Agencies Allowed Him To Evade Arrest
As the documentary proves, police departments in the ’70s and ’80s did not possess the communication tools they do in the present, leaving the three crime sprees unrelated for decades.
In fact, it wasn’t until 2001 investigators realized the man who committed the sexual assaults in Sacramento and the men who killed multiple people in southern California were likely the same person. This lack of communication allowed the killer to continue his reign of terror.
McNamara’s Husband Patton Oswalt Supported Her While She Investigated The Golden State Killer
This is the world Michelle McNamara dug into when she published an article in Los Angeles magazine in 2013 about the unsolved assaults and murders. The article landed her a book deal, and no one was more excited than her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt.
While McNamara worked on her manuscript for what would become the book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Oswalt did he all he could to support his wife. From encouraging texts to extended stays at hotels to taking over responsibilities for their daughter Alice, the documentary shows the lengths Oswalt went to in order to help his wife finish the book.
McNamara Is Responsible For The Moniker Golden State Killer
In the Los Angeles magazine piece, McNamara hoped to reduce the various nicknames for the assailant used across California to just one. In Visalia, he was known as the Visalia Ransanker, while in Sacramento he was known as the East Area Rapist.
For his crimes in southern California, the perpetrator earned the nicknamed The Original Night Stalker. McNamara proposed a new name for the serial killer, one that stuck: the Golden State Killer.
The Pressure To Do Right By The Victims Overwhelmed Her
One of the major themes in HBO’s series about McNamara and the Golden State Killer is overcoming trauma. The series includes interviews with multiple women who survived attacks from the perpetrator, women who struggled to maintain normal lives after their painful experiences.
McNamara bore the burden of the victims’ pain, believing it was her responsibility to bring the man responsible to light through her writing. The docuseries hints at the fact that McNamara was also a victim of sexual assault, which made the cases all the more personal for her.
McNamara Employed Creative Search Techniques to Gather Evidence
McNamara spent years researching the Golden State Killer, employing techniques unused by authorities in their decades-long investigation into the identity of the man responsible for so many crimes. McNamara spent hours reading through old police reports, desperate for any clues she could follow up on.
The Golden State Killer often stole personal items from his victims, and when McNamara stumbled upon a case where a pair of personalized, engraved cufflinks were stolen, she logged into eBay to see if she find them. It took some time, but she was able to retrieve them from a seller, which she turned over to police as evidence.
She Was Part Of A Much Larger Crime-Fighting Community
McNamara did not act alone in investigating the Golden State Killer. In fact, she was part of a large community that refers to themselves as citizen detectives.
Crime writer Paul Haynes and investigative journalist Billy Jensen worked closely with McNamara, as well as numerous retired and active police detectives. McNamara’s dedication to solving the case was infectious, and many people who had resigned themselves from finding the Golden State Killer were reinvigorated by her energy.
McNamara’s Obsession With The Golden State Killer Led To Her Death
Unfortunately, the work turned out to be too much for McNamara, who began relying on prescription drugs like fentanyl and Adderall to function. Immersing herself in so much death, loss, and police negligence caused McNamara to overdose in her sleep on April 21, 2016.
Fortunately, Oswalt worked with Haynes and Jensen to publish his wife’s book, which was two-thirds complete when she passed. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was published on February 27, 2018, heightening awareness for the case.
McNamara’s Research Helped Investigators Track Down The Golden State Killer In 2018
Not two months after the book was released, the FBI and local authorities in California announced they were officially charging 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo with the crimes. Thanks to genetic evidence gathered through a genealogical website, DeAngelo was tracked down in Citrus Heights, California – near Sacramento.
Cold case investigator Paul Holes, one of McNamara’s collaborators, spent years testing DNA from the Golden State Killer’s crimes in order to build a genetic profile. A former police officer, DeAngelo has since pled guilty to all charges.
