Althouse: "On Tuesday night, the comedian Patton Oswalt was in Chicago at an event to promote 'I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,' a chilling true crime book about the Golden State Killer..."

April 26, 2018

"On Tuesday night, the comedian Patton Oswalt was in Chicago at an event to promote 'I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,' a chilling true crime book about the Golden State Killer..."

"... who committed a string of unsolved rapes and murders in California in the 1970s and ’80s. Mr. Oswalt told the crowd that he believed the killer would be caught soon, that his time was running out. In fact, just hours before, Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, had been arrested in California on a warrant stemming from two of the murders. On Wednesday, the authorities identified him as the Golden State Killer, citing DNA evidence connecting him to the crimes. For Mr. Oswalt, the news of Mr. DeAngelo’s arrest feels deeply personal. His late wife, the writer Michelle McNamara, had spent the final years of her life chasing the Golden State Killer, hoping to identify him in her book, 'I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.' But Ms. McNamara died before she could see the killer brought to justice, or her book published. Exhausted and anxious after spending years immersing herself in details about the unsolved murders, she died in her sleep in April 2016, at 46. An autopsy found that she had an undiagnosed heart condition and had taken a mix of prescription drugs, including Adderall, the pain narcotic fentanyl and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax...."

From "Michelle McNamara Died Pursuing the Golden State Killer. Her Husband, Patton Oswalt, Has Questions for Him" (NYT).

52 comments:

richlb said...: Didn't he just recently remarry? I remember thinking when I heard about his new wife that it seemed like a short time of grieving before he moved on.; 4/26/18, 7:50 AM
MayBee said...: I need people to understand how dangerous both opioids and benzos are. People think popping a Xanax is harmless, and it isn't.; 4/26/18, 7:53 AM
Wince said...: Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who was taken into custody outside his home on Tuesday and charged with six counts of murder, had been living undisturbed a half-hour drive from where the 12-year rampage began. He was described as a former police officer, and his time in uniform partly overlapped with many of the crimes he is accused of committing.

Aren't cops routinely finger printed before they join the force? There's a photo at the another article linked by the first article with finger prints presumably lifted from one of the crime scenes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/us/golden-state-killer-serial.html

Mr. DeAngelo, who has adult children, was twice employed as a police officer in two small California cities: In Exeter, in the Central Valley, from 1973 to 1976, and in Auburn, north of Sacramento, from 1976 to 1979, according to Mr. Jones.

He was convicted in 1979 for shoplifting a can of dog repellent and a hammer from a store in Sacramento County. The incident led to his dismissal from the Auburn police force. The arrest came amid the rash of rapes in the area.

Something stinks here.; 4/26/18, 7:57 AM
Sydney said...: Taking uppers and downers is never a good thing. Just ask Judy Garland. Was it her work on the murder story that drove her to take the drugs? If not, you can't really blame her work for her death.; 4/26/18, 7:58 AM
Bill Peschel said...: Does it seem like most people think prescription drugs should be taken like this? Our bodies are used to working without drugs. But it seems like we're being prescribed more and more without due regard for the consequences.

Is the result of this what happened in Prince's case, who got counterfeit drugs from an unknown supplier and overdosed? Or Michael Jackson being put to sleep with propofol? How could any doctor think that was a good idea?; 4/26/18, 8:03 AM
MayBee said...: Sydney-
" Exhausted and anxious after spending years immersing herself in details about the unsolved murders, she died in her sleep in April 2016, at 46."

Yeah, you are right. Xanax is for anxiety, but taking benzos and opioids over time will make you anxious and exhausted, not alleviate those feelings. Her job didn't cause her death. I'm glad Patton has been open about her death, because it would be easy to gloss over the cause. But this reminds me of Heath Ledger, where for some reason people had to pretend he immersed himself in the role of the joker so much he couldn't sleep at night.
The average person doesn't get that gloss. The truth is, these drugs are addictive and dangerous AND they make you feel worse in the long-ish run.; 4/26/18, 8:06 AM
Michael K said...: I remember the murders in southern California well. One was an Orthopedic surgeon and his girlfriend. His ex-wife was a suspect for a while. Another was a UCI medical student and his wife, a nurse at UCI. They were living in his parents' second home at the beach in Orange County.

They finally connected all the murders and rapes by DNA.

As for fingerprints, there is discussion that his experience as a cop led him to be very careful about prints at the scene.

I've ordered her book. My sister in Chicago saw a program on the murders on the murder channel (Discovery ID).

Too bad about the author but fentanyl is NEVER prescribed except for inpatients or as skin patches for severe, usually terminal, pain.; 4/26/18, 8:10 AM
MayBee said...: Bill Peschel- yeah, I think it's similar to what happened to Prince. People get the drugs prescribed (or handed to them) and get hooked, and then have to look for sources other than a doctor when the prescription is gone.; 4/26/18, 8:10 AM
Michael K said...: Xanax is extremely addicting. I knew a friend's wife who had to sign herself into a locked rehab unit to get off it.; 4/26/18, 8:11 AM
MayBee said...: Michael K- truth about Xanax. The benzos are extremely addicting AND the detox is really hard on your body. More dangerous than opiod withdraws, it can lead to seizures.; 4/26/18, 8:17 AM
Curious George said...: "Michelle McNamara Died Pursuing the Golden State Killer. Her Husband, Patton Oswalt, Has Questions for Him" (NYT)."

No, she died of a drug overdose. Sheesh.; 4/26/18, 8:24 AM
rhhardin said...: Chilling new crime book means the usual silver lining.

People love it.; 4/26/18, 8:26 AM
rhhardin said...: Was this killer an avoid detection guy, old school, or a noteriety guy, new school.; 4/26/18, 8:27 AM
stevew said...: Sad story but she didn't die from an undiagnosed heart condition or from exhaustion.

-sw; 4/26/18, 8:27 AM
Robert Cook said...: "Does it seem like most people think prescription drugs should be taken like this? Our bodies are used to working without drugs. But it seems like we're being prescribed more and more without due regard for the consequences."

Capitalism at work!

The pharmaceuticals companies make fortunes on pushing prescription drugs, and they spend much money and effort via salepersons who routinely visit doctor's offices with food, snacks, promotional giveaway items, as well as samples of their new products for the doctors to "try out" on their patients.

Advertising directly to consumers via television influences patients to "ask their doctor" (as the ads always suggest) about the newest drugs to treat what's ailing them.; 4/26/18, 8:31 AM
Michael K said...: Cookie, in his Marxist fashion, is on to something.

There is a very good book by David Healy, a psychiatrist who has written a lot about psychiatric drugs.

It's called "The Antidepressant Era" and has a lot about how antidepressants were originally marketed to women as a treatment for bad things. The advertising eventually shifted from medical journals to women's magazines and the faces of the models went from looking sad to looking happy as the whole concept changed.

He was asked to leave Canada where he was working because he was writing about the bad effects of the antidepressant culture.

I've met him and attended a couple of his lectures.; 4/26/18, 8:39 AM
mockturtle said...: Having recently watched a two-hour documentary about this killer, I was under the impression that no relevant fingerprints were found.; 4/26/18, 8:40 AM
mockturtle said...: Cookie, I totally agree. The 'ask your doctor' ads are the worst.; 4/26/18, 8:43 AM
rhhardin said...: Being a guy, doctors are avoided. There's no prescription drug temptation, if it even were tempting.

It's probably a woman thing. They're so encouraged to show up once a year for a checkup.; 4/26/18, 8:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Xanax, antidepressants, Big Pharma,...yada yada yada. She took fentanyl!!
Anybody with an IQ above room temperature knows that's like playing Russian Roulette.; 4/26/18, 8:56 AM
sinz52 said...: For once, I agree with Mr. Cook.

The US is one of only four countries that currently permits prescription pharmas to be advertised directly to consumers. Even such capitalist countries as Singapore and Japan don't allow it.

Studies have actually shown that the prices of drugs that were directly advertised to consumers have risen at a higher rate than prices of other drugs that weren't so advertised.; 4/26/18, 9:01 AM
sinz52 said...: "Having recently watched a two-hour documentary about this killer, I was under the impression that no relevant fingerprints were found. "

Given that he was an ex-cop, I would have been very surprised if he had left any fingerprints. Looking for fingerprints is basic forensics since Sherlock Holmes; anyone trained in law enforcement would know how to prevent leaving fingerprints.; 4/26/18, 9:03 AM
CJ said...: Fent and Xanax.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that the heart condition and Adderall had absolutely nothing to do with her death.

I wonder if she bought pressed pills with fent in them or if Xanax itself was pressed with a few flecks of fent (seems to be happening these days as people like the high).; 4/26/18, 9:04 AM
CJ said...: Capitalism at work!

The pharmaceuticals companies make fortunes on pushing prescription drugs, and they spend much money and effort via salepersons who routinely visit doctor's offices with food, snacks, promotional giveaway items, as well as samples of their new products for the doctors to "try out" on their patients.

Advertising directly to consumers via television influences patients to "ask their doctor" (as the ads always suggest) about the newest drugs to treat what's ailing them.

Better living through chemistry.

I know your body's a temple and all that, but they've invented bio-hacks ie pharmaceuticals that make work easier. Amphetamine salts and its derivatives being one of them. Easy to abuse and get addicted to, but if you can handle it, it is a great helper. No different than adding a washing machine and a dishwasher to your home to make drudgey work easier.

Is your brain enhanced by forcing yourself to complete drudge work unaided? I don't know. There's some value to it, I suppose, but I personally would rather focus my brain energy on something new. Is your life enhanced by doing laundry and dishes by hand? I don't know. There's some value to it, I suppose, but I personally would rather focus my time on doing something new.

Pressed pills are bad news though. Especially out in Cali. All the fent comes from China and the first stop is Cali.; 4/26/18, 9:10 AM
abby said...: She didn't die from overwork or exhaustion, she died of an overdose and that should be told to everyone reading the story. The serial killer didn't kill her, why does her husband want to talk to him? She took Xanax and Fentanyl. He should be asking the doctor who prescribed the Xanax to her. And he should be asking himself why he allowed her to get Fentanyl, why he let her kill herself. I know she was an adult. but she was also a mother to his children and he could see what was happening. I hope he has done some soul searching since her death.; 4/26/18, 9:12 AM
glenn said...: What caught the killer was DNA and what may turn out to be really creative use of same. What allowed him to survive unidentified all these years was knowing the rules of evidence. He learned those as a cop. The EAR story is a long one, he destroyed relationships, and pretty much singlehandedly ruined the Andy Hardyville atmosphere of the California Central Valley.; 4/26/18, 9:40 AM
Christy said...: Funny, but looking at him, I'd suspect Patton of being an INCEL. (I thought he was wonderful in Justified.); 4/26/18, 9:45 AM
langford peel said...: Patton Oswald killed his wife.

I would not be surprised if he is the real Golden State Killer.; 4/26/18, 9:49 AM
langford peel said...: He gave his wife that fatal mix because she was getting close identifying him.

This other guy is just a patsy like Albert De Salvo in the Boston Strangler case.; 4/26/18, 9:52 AM
reader said...: When I saw this story yesterday it brought back my teenage years. The Hillside Strangler, the Night Stalker, and the Pillowcase Rapist. That's when my friends and I were taught to stay in groups of people we knew, don't walk past vans (really we were supposed to go around), lock the door as soon as you enter the house (I've locked my husband in the back yard), don't sleep with the windows open.

Geez the I5 Killer and the Freeway Killer (he attacked boys but my mom was still freaked out about us going out).

Our poor moms were tense. There was a period of time during the Hillside Strangler that we weren't allowed to go to the mall.

I can't believe it took so long to catch him.; 4/26/18, 10:14 AM
Michael K said...: The Freeway Killer was caught by a CHP officer who saw him slowing and speeding up along the I 5 in Mission Viejo. I got called to see the passenger from the car. It was a dead Marine with KY jelly around his anus.

The Night Stalker's last attack was in Mission Viejo and the victim came into our trauma center with a gun shot wound of his head. He survived with some neurological damage. The Stalker was caught by citizens a few days later in East LA when his picture was in the paper.; 4/26/18, 10:48 AM
truth speaker said...: Yeah...
1) For the writer to be Patton’s ‘Love Of his life’ he sure did get remarried in a hurry.

2) Again, she did not die from exhaustion but from an overdose and was dependent on the drugs if not an out-right addict.

3) She did NOT solve the crime regardless of what many people have posted on other sites.

4) The emotional shallowness of people posting that they ‘cried for Paula and Patton’ after learning of the capture is stunning.; 4/26/18, 10:51 AM
maskirovka77 said...: It's a fascinating case and I hope the police have got their man. I purchased the book "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" after hearing professional reviewers praising it. But the book was a disappointment to put it mildly. The timeline rambled and there was too much detail about the author's personal life that had little to do with the case.; 4/26/18, 10:55 AM
CJ said...: "The timeline rambled and there was too much detail about the author's personal life that had little to do with the case."

Have you ever read "In Cold Blood"?

Rambling timeline that's incredibly interesting. I assume every serial killer novel after it tries to imitate it.; 4/26/18, 11:07 AM
Michael K said...: "The timeline rambled and there was too much detail about the author's personal life that had little to do with the case."

Oops. I bought it and haven't started.

Maybe I was spoiled by "The Stranger Beside Me", which was excellent.; 4/26/18, 11:24 AM
mccullough said...: None of the serial killers I’ve read about are interesting. They aren’t stupid like most criminals but they aren’t intriguing like Hannibal Lecter or even Buffalo Bill. I’m glad for the victims families that this guy was caught and hope they have the right guy. But the “hunt” for serial killers is news trying to masquerade as entertainment. These guys are just nobodies with fucked uo brsins.

With less lead paint, and unleaded gasoline, the number of serial killers is dwindling.; 4/26/18, 12:25 PM
Ken B said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/26/18, 12:33 PM
rehajm said...: Oswalt will always be Remy to me. Well, a more unstable Remy...; 4/26/18, 12:48 PM
rehajm said...: Remy is a rat, btw...; 4/26/18, 12:48 PM
Rabel said...: Serial killer cops - whatever. The threat to the nation of gif avatars must be ended.; 4/26/18, 1:06 PM
Michael K said...: The Ted Bundy story is pretty interesting. That is "The Stranger Beside Me."

It was written by a woman who knew him pretty well and they worked at a suicide hotline together.; 4/26/18, 1:14 PM
langford peel said...: There is little doubt that this guy is a patsy that they decided to hang this on to clear the cases.

How many times have convictions had to be reversed because the FBI lab or some other bullshit crime lab doctored the evidence?

People are morons. They are seduced by the CSI bullshit TV shows with all of these amazing tests that prove this guy or that guy guilty because a single hair fiber or some other bullshit. Look they don't do those expensive tests. The cops put their thumb on the scale. The evidence collection and chain of evidence is as shoddy as shoddy can be. They don't put enough money on it. Law enforcement just dosen't have the resources to make it like it is on TV.

Patton Oswalt killed his wife and he will get away with it. Hollywood celebrities routinely kill their wives and walk. Robert Blake didn't do a day after shooting his wife in the head. William Shatner is still an icon after drowning his wife. OJ cut off his wife and they couldn't convict him with all of the bullshit CSI in the world.

It's all a scam. That commie fuck Oswalt is laughing his ass off with his new wife.

Same as it ever was.; 4/26/18, 1:14 PM
langford peel said...: That is "OJ cut off his wife's head" and he didn't do a day in jail because of it.

The cops played catch up and jugged him on something else.

That's what they do.; 4/26/18, 1:17 PM
FullMoon said...: Michael K said...

The Ted Bundy story is pretty interesting. That is "The Stranger Beside Me."

It was written by a woman who knew him pretty well and they worked at a suicide hotline together.

Ann Rule. Famous true crime novelist. Not too bad. Generally portays the cop as looking like famous handsome actor.
Uses the "as if" a lot. "He was walking down the street, looking neither left nor right, as if planning next weeks murder."; 4/26/18, 2:29 PM
Michael K said...: "Famous true crime novelist. Not too bad. "

It's been years since I read it. Was she the one who knew him or was it as "told to?"

"Helter Skelter" was also good. I told my kids they could not read it and hid it. Recently, my son, who is now 53 told me they all read it.

I actually liked Bugliosi's "And the Sea Will Tell" better but maybe just because it was about sailing.; 4/26/18, 3:03 PM
FullMoon said...: It's been years since I read it. Was she the one who knew him or was it as "told to?"

"Helter Skelter" was also good. I told my kids they could not read it and hid it. Recently, my son, who is now 53 told me they all read it.

She worked with him.

Helter Skelter make the young ones sleep with light on.; 4/26/18, 3:13 PM
The Godfather said...: According to current news reports, the Golden States Killer's crimes mostly occurred between 1976 and 1981, and then 5 years later in 1986. For 32 years, he committed no serious crimes. And then all of a sudden the authorities grab some of his DNA and identify him as the killer. There's something missing here. I assume we'll eventually be told more, but right now this is a weird story.; 4/26/18, 4:54 PM
Michael K said...: The delay might simply be the DNA technology. At least they preserved the DNA sample.; 4/26/18, 6:45 PM
James K said...: I thought the interesting part of this was that they apparently got the DNA match from on of those online ancestry DNA services. And it wasn't his, it was a relative's. Interesting privacy issues for anyone using 23andMe and the other services.; 4/26/18, 9:10 PM
Michael K said...: they apparently got the DNA match from on of those online ancestry DNA services.
]Interesting,. I sent in a sample and have found a number of cousins.

No murderers, though.; 4/26/18, 9:49 PM
langford peel said...: It is taking so long because they have to manufacture the evidence.; 4/26/18, 11:48 PM
glenn said...: Here’s a helpful hint, the only DNA profile anybody in law enforcement saw was that of the unknown suspect known as EAR or GSK or ONS. All the got from whichever open source website they actually used was a list of names. Then old fashioned sort the names police work pared the list down until Mr DeAngelo surfaced. Then the cops followed him around until he threw something away, retrieved it and the rest is a brief history.; 4/27/18, 10:56 AM