When Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. he was arrested in April of 2018, was accused of raping and killing dozens of women in the 1970’s and 1980’s around California. Before he was identified, the person that the authorities sought by these atrocious crimes is known as the Golden State Killer, and the subject of the HBO documentary I’m going to Be Gone in the Dark. Author Michelle McNamara led the charge for years trying to help solve the Golden State Killer mystery, but he ultimately died before getting to the answer. But his work on the demand for answers in the case of which, in combination with the advanced technology of DNA, ultimately led to DeAngelo capture.
How Michelle McNamara Helped to Catch the Golden State Killer
McNamara, who is married to comedian Patton Oswalt until she died, I was obsessed with figuring out the identity of the Golden State Killer. As to crimes that were happening in the 1970s and 1980s, the authorities were having problems to connect them together. Because the crimes were happening in various parts of California, there was a new name for each suspectincluding the Visalia Ransacker, East Area Rapist and the Original night Stalker,” according to NPR. It was not until McNamara excavated in the cases, while the research for a book about the real crime that was linked and the Golden State Killer nickname was born.
McNamara died in his sleep in 2016, two years before his book was published, but his colleagues helped him to finish it. Her husband, Oswalt, insists that his work on the case, although only in the research and writing — helped to find DeAngelo. According to Newsweek, Oswalt responded to someone on Twitter that asked if he create McNamara really help the case. And although Oswalt acknowledged that the authorities do not want to admit that it helped, he really believes that she did. He also wrote on twitter, “Also, the cops NEVER and HAVE NEVER accredited a writer or journalist to help solve a case. But every time they said #GoldenStateKiller they credited the work of #MichelleMcNamara and #IllBeGoneInTheDark.” Oswalt believes that McNamara from the writing of a renewed interest in the case long after it had gone cold, which fueled the authorities to look into it more.
How DNA Helped Catch the Golden State Killer
What really helped the police capture DeAngelo, however, was a DNA match that was made possible thanks to the advanced technology that it had in the ’80s. The police had DNA from the crime scene in the years ’70 and ’80 but could not get anything from them at the time. The decade of 2000 brought the genealogy of the trend, that is exactly what the police need, for this case, according to The Sacramento Bee. A researcher uses the crime scene DNA and uploaded to a genealogy site and was able to connect to one of DeAngelo of the members of the family.
Once a DNA match was found on the site, the authorities were able to hone in on your search, which ultimately led them to DeAngelo. After tracing the family trees, the police identified DeAngelo as their main suspect, so we visited their house until they were able to collect a DNA sample. From there, it matched the old crime scenes, and he was arrested and accused of dozens of rapes and murders.
On The 29th Of June DeAngelo pleading guilty in a Sacramento court all viable charges. In return for escaping the death penalty, he entered into a plea agreement that sentenced him to 11 life sentences without the possibility of parole.
