Michelle McNamara and McNamara Coins "Golden State Killer" (2013)

Michelle McNamara

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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.

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McNamara Coins "Golden State Killer" (2013)

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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 geographic scope of the crimes (spanning from Sacramento to Southern California) and helped unify public understanding of the case. The article renewed media and public interest in the cold case and the name was subsequently adopted by law enforcement and media outlets.

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