Sometimes, the road to justice takes a long, long time. Such was the case with the so-called “Golden State Killer,” who was finally arrested this week after four decades. Unlike famous serial killers like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, most people had never heard of the Golden State Killer, a criminal suspected of 12 murders, over 50 rapes, and more than 120 burglaries since the ’70s. And that’s because he eluded the authorities for decades.
But writer Michelle McNamara spent years trying to discover the identity of the killer; she was working on a book about the case when she passed away suddenly in 2016. Her book, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, was finished posthumously and published earlier this year with the help of true crime writer Paul Haynes and McNamara’s widower Patton OswaltOpens in a new tab and became a bestseller. Oswalt believes the light she shone on the case ultimately helped steer modern investigators to the door of 72-year-old former police officer, Joseph James DeAngelo as the prime suspect, on Tuesday.
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones stated during a news conference on WednesdayOpens in a new tab that the book didn’t lead to the arrest “other than the fact that it, like the media, kept this in the public eye, kept public interest. It kept interest and tips coming in.” A breakthrough with DNA testing helped the authorities find DeAngelo.
But Oswalt thinks the book helped. In an appearance on Late Night with Seth MyersOpens in a new tab, he talked about his late wife’s dream of finally seeing the Golden State Killer being placed behind bars come true. You can see Patton Oswalt talk about how his wife only wanted to see justice finally done, and how her words to the killer that she wrote in the book ended up prophetically coming true, words that were tweeted out by many as news of the killer’s arrest became known.
#MichelleMcNamaraOpens in a new tab’s haunting words for the #GoldenStateKillerOpens in a new tab my God she’s amazing #IllBeGoneInTheDarkOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/KQ7G1Rk3UFOpens in a new tab
— Vlad (@VladVinci) April 25, 2018Opens in a new tab
Pretty much exactly as #MichelleMcNamaraOpens in a new tab described it in her “Letter To An Old Man” at the end of #IllBeGoneInTheDarkOpens in a new tab. Footsteps, door knock. #GoldenStateKillerOpens in a new tab https://t.co/S1TlTpBEbHOpens in a new tab
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018Opens in a new tab
Also, the cops will NEVER and HAVE NEVER credited a writer or journalist for helping them solve a case. But every time they said #GoldenStateKillerOpens in a new tab they credited the work of #MichelleMcNamaraOpens in a new tab and #IllBeGoneInTheDarkOpens in a new tab.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018Opens in a new tab
What do you think of this amazing story? And do you agree with me that McNamara should get a posthumous Pulitzer for her work on this book, which led to the killer’s arrest? Let us know down below in the comments.
Images: NBC
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