Golden State Killer · Collection

Golden State Killer & McNamara's Legacy

Michelle McNamara's obsessive investigation, the name she coined, and the book that renewed public pressure.

4 entities · 4 connections

Who is in this collection

  • Michelle McNamara · True crime writer, coined "Golden State Killer" name

    True-crime writer who named the "Golden State Killer" and wrote "I'll Be Gone in the Dark." She died in 2016, two years before investigators used genetic genealogy to identify Joseph DeAngelo.

  • "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" Published (2018) · McNamara's posthumous book becomes bestseller

    Michelle McNamara's book "I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer" was published on February 27, 2018 — just two months before DeAngelo's arrest. Completed posthumously by Paul Haynes and Billy…

  • McNamara Coins "Golden State Killer" (2013) · Los Angeles Magazine article names the unknown offender

    In February 2013, Michelle McNamara published "In the Footsteps of a Killer" in Los Angeles Magazine, coining the name "Golden State Killer" for the still-unidentified East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker. The name captured the…

  • Patton Oswalt · Comedian, Michelle McNamara's husband, book champion

    Patton Oswalt is a comedian and actor who was married to Michelle McNamara. After her unexpected death in 2016, Oswalt worked to ensure her book "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" was completed and published, collaborating with researcher Paul…

Explore the full Golden State Killer map →