News

People who are mad about true crime podcasts love to pretend there is some moral imperative we are following. That they are educational. That we’re learning how to not get murdered, for example. But let’s be honest, we just enjoy a murder show, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But occasionally journalists and amateur detectives actually do affect positive change, if not directly, then shedding light on cold cases or mobilizing listeners to come forward.

Here are seven times when true crime podcasts had (sort of) happy endings.

The Teacher’s Pet

Hedley Thomas is a dog with a bone. In this 17-episode show (which is admittedly a bit on the long-side) Australian journalist Thomas gets his teeth into the case of the disappearance of Lynette Dawson, a nurse and mother who went missing in 1982. Though no body has ever been found, it grows increasingly likely that...

Magic: The Gathering is poised to experience a colossal 2023. The long-time tabletop juggernaut has continued to bolster its digital offerings with Mtg Arena support, while this year marks the long-awaited return of paper Pro Tours, with the first having just taken place in Philadelphia. There's a strong combination of interesting elements for both casual players and those who are much more invested.

At the center of this exciting year is Wizards of the Coast Senior Communications Manager Blake Rasmussen. Rasmussen is perhaps best known for his role in the recurring WeeklyMTG broadcast, where he's joined by guests to discuss information ranging from the next updates on pro play to a new Secret Lair release.

Rasmussen's role is significantly larger than that forward-facing delivery, however - he's a leader in the voice of Magic: The Gathering and how the brand communicates with its players. Screen Rant sat down with Rasmussen during...

“It’s the end of an era,” podcast network Exactly Right tweeted in May 2022. “Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad is going off the air.” The tweet set off dismayed speculation among the true crime community, and rightly so: The podcast, which launched in 2019, was a popular powerhouse of the genre, featuring Paul Holes, the now-retired detective who helped crack the Golden State Killer case, and Billy Jensen, who helped finish the 2018 bestseller, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, that detailed the hunt for the serial killer, after author Michelle McNamara...

HBO’s forthcoming “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” follow-up episode will dive into the case the late crime writer Michelle McNamara had been investigating since she was 14.

The standalone episode, which will serve as a follow-up to the 2020 docuseries exploring McNamara’s investigation into the Golden State Killer case, will cover both Joseph James DeAngelo’s recent conviction and the hometown murder that McNamara had been following since 1984. It is set to premiere on June 21.

Per HBO, “This powerful special closes one chapter in McNamara’s investigative work on cold cases, and brings to light another, highlighting the start of McNamara’s life-long fascination with unsolved murders.”

Using McNamara’s archival research, voice recordings and interviews with people connected to the case, the new episode will investigate the unsolved rape and murder of Kathy Lombardo in 1984 in McNamara’s hometown of Oak Park, Illinois. According to HBO, McNamara returned...

A special standalone episode of HBO’s “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” a 2020 docuseries exploring late writer Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the dark world of the violent predator she dubbed “The Golden State Killer,” will debut Monday, June 21 at 10/9c on HBO.

Here’s the installment’s lengthy description, courtesy of HBO:

“In the summer of 2020, former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, was sentenced to life in prison for the 50 home-invasion rapes and 13 murders he committed during his reign of terror in the 1970s and ‘80s in California. Many of the survivors and victim’s family members featured in the series reconvened for an emotional public sentencing hearing in August 2020, where they were given the opportunity to speak about their long-held pain and anger through victim impact statements, facing their attacker directly for the first time and bringing a sense of...

HBO announced that a special episode of “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” will premiere on June 21 at 10 p.m. and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

Based on the book of the same name that published in 2018, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” first launched as a docuseries in 2020 and explored writer Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the dark world of the violent predator she dubbed “The Golden State Killer.” Directed by Elizabeth Wolff, the new episode brings shocking new revelations about the 1984 assault and murder of Kathleen Lombardo, which took place in McNamara’s hometown of Oak Park, Ill. and sparked the author’s interest in true crime. It will feature McNamara’s own research into the cold case, which led to her return to the town in 2013 to investigate it on the ground, thereby highlighting the inconsistencies she found in the police’s work...

In December 2010, law enforcement found four bodies along a scrub-covered stretch of highway on the south coast of Long Island. The following spring, six more sets of human remains were found in the same area. Six of the victims have been identified as young women who were sex workers. Four, including a toddler and a person with male anatomy remain unidentified. In late 2011, authorities announced they were looking for one murderer responsible for all of the deaths. A decade later, the mystery, which became known as the Long Island serial killer case,...

America’s busiest retired detective, Paul Holes, is joining the reboot of America’s Most Wanted, a new season of which is premiering on Fox on March 15th. Holes will be joining host, journalist Elizabeth Vargas, as an official expert.

“I’m excited to be part of the iconic America’s Most Wanted family and to continue to contribute in any way, utilizing my own experience and expertise to help the Amw team catch criminals who are evading justice,” Holes tells Rolling Stone.

Holes made his name hunting the infamous Golden...

Exclusive: Investigation Discovery (ID) and Acast are fueling the country’s thirst for true crime to your ears. The network is teaming up with the podcast platform to release a slate of original the weekly true crime talk show Red Flags, the television companion podcast The Clown and the Candyman as well as the anthology series Unraveled.

Through this partnership with Acast, Investigation Discovery offers all-new explorations into famous mysteries and unknown murders, showcasing ID’s industry-leading investigation teams, skillful reporting, and expert storytelling.

The weekly talk show Red Flags will launch next month and is designed to be a one-stop-shop for all the latest buzz in the true crime world. Crime writer Tori Telfer and armchair detective-turned-Tik Toker Karina Michelle share their unique perspectives, passion for investigation, and insightful analysis as they lead listeners through the latest crime headlines and shocking stories. Red flags warn us of danger but...

This article avoids spoilers for everything but episode one of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.

It’s clear from the very first episode of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark that this isn’t going to be like other true crime documentaries. Described as based on the book of the same name by Michelle McNamara, it’s more like a ‘making-of’ the book, a behind the scenes look at how the book got written with a strong focus on its author, the cops that wouldn’t let the case go, the amateur sleuths who helped, as well as the survivors of the East Area Rapist.

McNamara is a crime writer you might not necessarily be familiar with already if you’re not a true crime nut or indeed a ‘Murderino’. Directed by Liz Garbus who also made Netflix movie Lost Girls about The Long Island Serial Killer, episode one...

For decades, the identity of a rapist and murderer who terrorized California communities was an unsolved mystery. Now, the story of a woman who doggedly tracked him but didn’t live to see his capture is a tragedy. HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which premieres Sunday (10/9c), blends both of those tales in a gripping new docuseries.

The project is part true-crime thriller about the hunt for the Golden State Killer and part captivating memoir of Michelle McNamara, the writer who coined the murderer’s nickname but died before completing the book on which the series is based.

“I had a murder habit, and it was bad,” Michelle McNamara says early in the new HBO documentary series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. “I would feed it for the rest of my life.”

Like many things McNamara said or wrote, these words prove sadly prophetic. An acclaimed true crime writer, McNamara unexpectedly died in 2016 at the age of 46 while trying to complete the book on which the HBO show is based, an epic account of the crimes of the man she dubbed the Golden State Killer. He had...

Retired detective Paul Holes has never read his friend Michelle McNamara’s New York Times-bestselling book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, about the hunt for the Golden State Killer — despite factoring heavily into its contents. First, he was too busy tracking down the man he and McNamara had teamed up to find. Then it was just too hard — she died before the book could be finished, before the killer could be found.

“I’m looking at the book right now sitting on my bookshelf, and I just can’t...

In today’s TV News roundup, HBO released a trailer for its upcoming docuseries “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and SeriesFest revealed its line-up for its virtual festival, featuring panel discussions, workshops and screenings.

Renewals

TLC has ordered additional episodes of “Find Love Live!” which will begin airing on June 22 at 11 p.m. New episodes will continue to premiere on Mondays each week. The unscripted dating series comes from Discovery Studios and is hosted by Sukanya Krishnan.

Dates

Hulu has shifted premiere dates for two of its upcoming programs: “Love, Victor” will now premiere on June 17 and “Taste the Nation” will premiere on June 18. The moves have been made to provide room for discussion around Juneteenth on June 19, which will mark 155 years since slavery was abolished in the United States.

First Looks

HBO has released a trailer for its upcoming documentary series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.” The...

Michelle McNamara’s definitive book about the Golden State Killer case, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” is getting the docuseries treatment on HBO later this month, giving the late author and crime reporter the chance to explain her obsession with the case in her own words.

McNamara spent 10 years following the case — which included 50 home-invasion rapes and 12 murders throughout California — before she died in 2016, two years before a suspect was identified and arrested based on DNA evidence. She is credited with bringing the case to wider attention with her blog, True Crime Diary, and a lengthy article in Los Angeles Magazine which served as the basis for “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.”

HBO’s adaptation is described as “a detective story told in McNamara’s own words, through exclusive original recordings and excerpts from her book read by actor Amy Ryan.” The series draws from extensive archival footage...

Michelle McNamara’s years-long hunt for the Golden State killer is almost ready for the small screen: HBO has dropped the trailer to “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” a true-crime documentary series which will premiere June 28.

The upcoming six-part docuseries is based on the late author’s book, titled “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.” The docuseries will explore the serial rapist and killer’s — a suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo, was arrested in 2018 — crimes.

Per HBO, the series will also give a voice “to the survivors and their families, documenting an era when sex crimes were often dismissed or hidden in shame. A timely inquiry into our macabre preoccupation with true crime and a cautionary tale of the dangerous lure of addiction, the series is a riveting meditation on obsession and loss, chronicling the unrelenting path of a...

In today’s TV news roundup, HBO announced the premiere date for new docuseries “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and Showtime released a first look at “Outcry,” premiering on July 5.

Dates

HBO has announced “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” will debut on June 28 at 10 p.m. The six-part docuseries, based on Michelle McNamara’s best-selling book of the same name, explores McNamara’s investigation into the world of the Golden State Killer. The series gives a voice to the survivors and their families, documenting an era when sex crimes were often dismissed or hidden. A Story Syndicate Production, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is directed by Liz Garbus, Elizabeth Wolff, Myles Kane and Josh Koury. Wolff and Kate Barry serve as producers while Kane and Koury also serve as co-producers. Executive producers for HBO are Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller; Garbus, Dan Gogan, McNamara, Patton Oswalt and...

True-crime writer Michelle McNamara died of an accidental overdose on April 21st, 2016 — two years before the source of her obsession, the Golden State Killer, was arrested. Her drive to discover the identity of the prolific serial killer/rapist is captured in the upcoming six-part HBO documentary, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, out June 28th. The doc shares a name with McNamara’s book, published posthumously in February 2018.

“I just obsessed over it,” McNamara says in a new teaser. “What drives me is the need to put a face on an unknown killer.

The Murder Squad, a collaboration between retired detective Paul Holes and investigative journalist Billy Jensen, launched in spring of 2019 with the aim of helping to solve cold cases by asking listeners to pitch in on investigation. On Monday, they announced that their podcast may have scored its first cold-case breakthrough.

Thanks to a listener, the podcast helped lead to the arrest of James Curtis Clanton, a former Colorado resident who is now a suspect in the 1980 killing of 21-year-old Helene Pruszynski.

In the newest episode of the podcast, Holes and Jensen interview “Jessi,...

Billy Jensen doesn’t have the kind of insomnia that gives him trouble falling asleep. His is the kind that wakes him up a few hours later, in the dead of night, with questions. Questions about an unidentified woman and three girls found dead in barrels in the New Hampshire woods; about a man caught on security footage entering a Brooklyn park with a woman who would later be found murdered, nonchalantly ashing his cigarette on the sidewalk as he leaves, alone; about a mother in Maine whose daughter moved to California and then disappeared.

Rebecca Zahau's death, just two days after a fatal accident involving her boyfriend's son, was officially ruled a suicide, but some investigators are not so sure. Oxygen's new limited series Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau takes a closer look at the 32 year-old woman's death in 2011, and in the exclusive sneak peek below, some strange evidence is found that brings up some new questions about how she actually died.  The clip shows what investigator Billy Jensen describes as "weird stuff" inside the mansion where Zahau died, including a towel, blood stains, a message reading "She saved him; can you save her," and a knife covered in blood all the way around its...

The death of Rebecca Zahau is returning to the spotlight thanks to Oxygen. The network is launching Death at the Mansion: Rebecca Zahau, a new limited series, dedicated to her mysterious death just days after that of her boyfriend's son. One mansion, two deaths, all the questions. Rebecca, at 32 years old, was found dead, hanging naked, bound and gagged in the courtyard of her billionaire boyfriend's mansion in July 2011 just two days after his 6-year-old son suffered a fatal accident while Rebecca watched him. Rebecca's cause of death? It was ruled a suicide. The new series follows a team of investigators including former prosecutor Loni Coombs, crime journalist Billy Jensen, and forensic criminologist Paul Holes...

Podcast industry leader Stitcher today unveiled its expanding roster of new shows, original content and advertising partnerships at the Winter Podcast Upfront in Los Angeles.

Hosted by Stitcher and six other top podcast networks, the Winter Podcast Upfront gave advertisers, agencies and media a first look at the newest partnerships, talent and shows slated for 2019, with presentations featuring stars, producers and leading industry executives.

Actor and comedian Paul Scheer joined Stitcher Chief Revenue Officer Korri Kolesa to unveil Stitcher’s slate of new programming. Scheer launched his movie critique podcast “Unspooled” on Stitcher’s Earwolf comedy podcast network last year and is the host of Earwolf’s long-running hit show “How Did This Get Made?”

Also joining Stitcher onstage were writers, actors and New York Times best-selling authors Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn. On March 13, the pair will debut “Just Between Us,” based on their hit odd-couple comedy YouTube series of the same name,...

Oxygen Media has inked an overall development deal with Paul Holes, the hero detective who helped bring the Golden State Killer to justice. Rod Aissa, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Development at Oxygen made the announcement today, which marks the one-year anniversary of Oxygen’s rebrand as a destination for high-quality crime programming.

“In speaking with Rod and his team, I felt the passion Oxygen has for storytelling and showcasing the very best in true crime content,” said Holes. “I’m retired now, and am looking forward to this next chapter of my career where I can help shine a light on cases that deserve national exposure.”

Investigator Holes spent two and a half decades looking for one of the most elusive serial killers in Us history, the Golden State Killer. After retiring from his position as Cold Case Investigator/Chief of Forensics for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office in California,...

Ladies, Gents, Murderinos everywhere, have I got news for you. This past February, the book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer was released, chronicling the murders and rapes of the Golden State Killer, as he was coined by the late writer of the book, Michelle McNamara.

McNamara had spent years of her life researching and pouring over the killings and crimes of the Gsk, hoping to find him and see him arrested in her lifetime. Although she passed away suddenly in 2016, halfway through writing her book, her research partners and friends Paul Haynes and Billy Jensen, along with her widower Patton Oswalt finished her book by the guidance of her research. Then just two months after the release of the book, the Golden State Killer was found by DNA evidence and was arrested.

As soon as the book was released, HBO...

Oxygen Media will air a two-hour special titled “Golden State Killer: Main Suspect” on Aug. 4 that will examine one of the most infamous killing sprees in U.S. history.

NBC News investigative journalist Stephanie Gosk will host the special that will look into the life of Joseph James DeAngelo, who is the suspect in custody for several murders and rapes that took place between 1976 and 1986 from Sacramento to Orange County.

Bay Area detective Paul Holes, who helped search for the Golden State Killer for nearly 25 years and who played a big part in his arrest, will join Gosk on the special.

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrested in Cold Case Patton Oswalt's Late Wife Michelle McNamara Investigated

In “Golden State Killer: Main Suspect,” Gosk will travel through California to meet with the people DeAngelo knew best, and will attempt to unravel his life.

The special is produced by...

After finishing the true-crime book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” following the death of Michelle McNamara, Billy Jensen has his next venture lined up: “Chase Darkness With Me,” which will be released as an Audible Original. McNamara’s untimely death made headlines not only due to her professional accomplishments but because of her marriage to Patton Oswalt; Jensen has described his working relationship with her as akin to being “partners in crime.”

“Audio is the oldest and most intimate form of storytelling,” he said in a statement. “Whenever I write a crime story, I try to tell it as if I’m sitting right next to a good friend in a dark bar, weaving a tale one on one. At that moment, nothing else matters in the world. Listening on headphones, in the car, on a speaker — that’s the experience I strive to deliver.”

“I’ll Be...

In 1976, Molly Ringwald was living with her family in Citrus Heights, Calif. — the same area the Golden State Killer committed some of his crimes.

In an article titled “The Golden State Killer in My Backyard” in Dame Magazine, Ringwald recalled living in terror during her childhood while the Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist, was committing crimes in the surrounding areas of Sacramento, Calif.

“I lived and went to school in the east area of Sacramento, where the violent serial predator was breaking into people’s suburban homes and raping women, regardless whether children were present,” Ringwald wrote. “In 1976, when he committed his first known crime, I was living with my family at 7554 Garden Gate Drive in Citrus Heights just a few miles away. My grandparents lived in Auburn at the same time the suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo, lived and served on the police force there. Sometimes, when I visited them, they would take me for pancakes at the Denny’s where DeAngelo’s mother supposedly worked.”

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrested in Cold Case Patton Oswalt's Late Wife Michelle McNamara Investigated

Last month, 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. He has since been charged with more crimes. The Golden State Killer was linked by DNA and method to 12 murders, 45 sexual assaults and more than 120 burglaries from Sacramento to Orange County between 1976 and 1986.

The Golden State Killer case was also the subject of a true-crime book titled “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” by Michelle McNamara, comedian Patton Oswalt’s late wife. McNamara worked with investigators on the case but died before the book was published. It was finished by co-writer Billy Jensen, researcher Paul Haynes and Oswalt.

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrest: 'We Found the Needle in the Haystack,' Da Says

“Not long after I found out about the arrest, my sister Beth texted me to ask if our mother had seen the news,” Ringwald wrote. “I was having dinner with our mom at the time and texted back that I had been talking to her about it all day and that at first my mother wasn’t even sure she remembered him. My sister had been following the case for awhile, knew when Michelle McNamara–the late author of ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’ who’d spent years investigating the rapes and murders–renamed him ‘The Golden State Killer’ and was shocked that the details weren’t as fresh in our mother’s mind as they were in ours.

‘Everybody around Sacramento including me was terrified of him in the ’70s!’ she texted.”

Read Ringwald’s full account here.

Read original story Molly Ringwald Describes Childhood Terror of ‘The Golden State Killer in My Backyard’ At TheWrap...

HBO has ordered a docuseries based on the late Michelle McNamara’s best-selling book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer,” the network announced Tuesday.

The series order comes a week after police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo. A former police officer, DeAngelo was identified through DNA evidence as the notorious serial killer and was charged with a number of the crimes.

The series will be directed by Liz Garbus.

Also Read: Patton Oswalt Reads From Michelle McNamara's Golden State Killer Book on 'Late Night' (Video)

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is a comprehensive exploration of the case of an elusive, violent predator by McNamara, the late wife of comedian Patton Oswalt. McNamara worked with investigators on the case, but died before the book was published. It was finished by co-writer Billy Jensen, researcher Paul Haynes and Oswalt.

The book was also a haunting personal memoir and self-examination of McNamara’s obsessive quest for justice on behalf of the victims and survivors of the crimes.

It was McNamara who dubbed DeAngelo “The Golden State Killer,” who terrorized California in the late ’70s and early ’80s, committing 50 home-invasion sexual assaults and ten murders.

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrested in Cold Case Patton Oswalt's Late Wife Michelle McNamara Investigated

He then disappeared for more than three decades, eluding multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” was published earlier this year, and debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times combined print and e-book bestseller list.

Read original story Michelle McNamara’s Golden State Killer Book to Become HBO Docuseries At TheWrap...

Exclusive: HBO Documentary Films has given the green light to a docuseries based on Michelle McNamara’s bestselling true-crime book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, and production is underway. Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Liz Garbus is directing.

It has been a pretty quick turnaround for the project, with production starting less than a month after HBO Documentary Films announced the acquisition of rights to the tome. McNamara’s book was thrust into the spotlight by the April 24 arrest of former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, who was identified through DNA evidence as the notorious serial killer and charged with a number of the crimes. The big breakthrough in the cold case, subject of McNamara’s book, made the documentary very timely.

McNamara was determined...

The Golden State Killer is going global after Sky picked up a five-part series looking at the notorious serial killer who committed at least 12 murders, 45 rapes and hundreds of break-ins. The UK pay-tv broadcaster has acquired Unmasking A Killer, which originally aired on CNN spin-off channel Hln, from distributor Kew Media Group. It will air the series as Golden State Killer: Unmasked on its female-skewing channel Sky Living next weekend.

This comes days after police arrested and charged 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo for a number of the murders. Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced the news last week, coming after Paul Holes, a retired investigator with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and long time investigator on the case, is thought to have made a break on the case by searching a free genealogy website.

The Hln series, which is produced by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina of Joke Productions,...

Jane Carson-Sandler, who says she was raped by the Golden State Killer in 1976, appeared on “Megyn Kelly Today” to discuss the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo in what was a decades-long cold case.

“I’d like to punch him in the face,” Carson-Sandler told Kelly.

On Wednesday, 72-year-old DeAngelo was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. He has since been charged with two more counts. The Golden State Killer was linked by DNA and method to 12 murders, 45 sexual assaults and more than 120 burglaries from Sacramento to Orange County between 1976 and 1986.

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrest: 'We Found the Needle in the Haystack,' Da Says

Carson-Sandler, who appeared on the show just a month ago to talk about the case, says she was bound and raped by the Golden State Killer in 1976, with her three-year-old son sitting just feet away.

When she found out about the arrest, she said she “called Carol Daly, the detective that had taken me to the emergency room years ago. My husband and I were sobbing, sobbing and laughing and crying. We woke up the whole hotel, I mean seriously, it was so amazing.”

Carson-Sandler says the arrest means “closure — no more looking over our shoulders. How many families did this man destroy?”

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrested in Cold Case Patton Oswalt's Late Wife Michelle McNamara Investigated

Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert also told Kelly: “[There is] no doubt in my mind we have the right guy.”

The Golden State Killer case was also the subject of a true-crime book titled “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” by Michelle McNamara, Patton Oswalt’s late wife. McNamara worked with investigators on the case but died before the book was published. It was finished by co-writer Billy Jensen, researcher Paul Haynes and Oswalt.

Watch the full interview here.

Read original story Woman Who Says She Was Raped by Golden State Killer in 1976: ‘I’d Like to Punch Him in the Face’ At TheWrap...

Patton Oswalt is having something of a victory tour after the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department announced April 25 it had apprehended 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo in connection to the Golden State Killer murders. Michelle McNamara, Patton’s late wife, was working on a book about the cold case murders before her death in April 2016. The Golden State Killer claimed 12 lives in California from the mid-1970s to 1986.

The actor and comedian happened to be a guest on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” on April 25, and the conversation between Oswalt and Meyers pivoted from the former’s NBC series “A.P. Bio” to the Golden State Killer. Oswalt shared with Seth that McNamara’s wish was to see the killer behind bars, so he made it his mission to complete her novel after she died. Although Oswalt did not participate in writing the book, he said he did beg McNamara’s collaborates Billy Jensen...

Patton Oswalt was supposed to talk about his role on NBC’s “A.P. Bio” on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” Wednesday, but given the news that earlier in the day police had arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspect in the Golden State Killer case, much of the discussion focused on his late wife Michelle McNamara’s book about the case.

“The bracelets are on. It feels like this thing that she wanted so badly is now done,” said Oswalt.

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is a true-crime book written by McNamara, but she died before the book was published. It was finished by co-writer Billy Jensen, researcher Paul Haynes and Oswalt.

Also Read: Patton Oswalt Fires Back at Police Who Said Late Wife Didn't Help Catch Golden State Killer

Oswalt read the chilling final lines from the epilogue of the book, titled “Letter to an Old Man,” which McNamara had addressed to the Golden State Killer himself:

“One day soon you’ll hear a car pull up to your curb, an engine cut out. You’ll hear footsteps coming up your front walk like they did for Edward Wayne Edwards, 29 years after he killed Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew in Sullivan, Wisconsin. Like they did for Kenneth Hicks 30 years after he killed Lori Billingsley in Aloha, Oregon. Doorbell rings, no side gates are left open, you’re long past leaping over a fence. Take one of your hyper-gulping breaths, clench your teeth, inch timidly towards the insistent bell. This is how it ends for you. You’ll be silent forever and I’ll be gone in the dark, you threatened a victim once. Open the door, show us your face and walk into the light.”

Oswalt then added, “And that’s what he did today.”

Also Read: Golden State Killer Suspect Arrested in Cold Case Patton Oswalt's Late Wife Michelle McNamara Investigated

Police arrested DeAngelo, 72, early Wednesday morning on two counts of murder, according to the Sacramento Bee and Fox40 Sacramento. The Golden State Killer was linked by DNA and method to 12 murders, 45 sexual assaults and more than 120 burglaries from Sacramento to Orange County between 1976 and 1986.

“Because he’s been caught, now they can start linking him to all these other cases. There’s all this new evidence,” added Oswalt.

Watch the video above for more.

Read original story Patton Oswalt Reads From Michelle McNamara’s Golden State Killer Book on ‘Late Night’ (Video) At TheWrap...

Less than 24 hours after the Golden State Killer's arrest, Patton Oswalt appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers to discuss how his late wife's book contributed to the arrest and what it would have meant to her. Michelle McNamara, the deceased spouse of the comedian, was a crime writer who had penned an entire novel about the serial killer, whose real name is Joseph James DeAngelo. The book, titled I'll Be Gone in the Dark, was about three-fourths finished when McNamara unexpectedly died in her sleep in April 2016. Oswalt asked investigative journalist Billy Jensen and lead researcher Paul Haynes to finish the book based on her notes and research. "I was still neck-deep in grief and suddenly a...

Comedian and AP Bio star Patton Oswalt took to social media today in response to the arrest in the Golden State Killer case, a case made famous by his late wife Michelle McNamara in her book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.

McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, chronicles a serial rapist and murderer who was believed to have killed at least 12 people and raped at least 45 people throughout California during the ’70s and ’80s. In April 2016, she died unexpectedly in her sleep. After her death, Oswalt worked with journalist Billy Jensen and researcher Paul Haynes to finish the book which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

When he first heard of the news, he posted a video on Instagram saying, “One of the more surreal days of my life.” He added, “Looks like they got him.”

The celebration of the news...

Patton Oswalt was in “full tilt freakout” about the arrest of the alleged Golden State Killer, the serial murderer and subject of the bestseller by Michelle McNamara, a true crime writer and the comedian’s late wife. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday that a suspect, Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, had been apprehended in connection with the decades-old cold case that claimed 12 lives in California from the mid-1970s to 1986.

“This is insane,” Oswalt said in a video posted to Instagram Wednesday. “Looks like they’ve caught the East Area Rapist, and if that’s true they’ve caught the Golden State Killer. So, I think you’ve got him Michelle… Full tilt freak out in effect.”

McNamara was the author of New York Times Bestseller “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer,” a chilling investigation of the notorious serial killer.

Exclusive: HBO Documentary Films has acquired the rights to journalist Michelle McNamara’s bestselling true-crime book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, to develop as a docuseries.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is a meticulous exploration of the case of an elusive, violent predator who terrorized California in the late 1970s and early ’80s. McNamara, the late wife of Patton Oswalt, was in the midst of writing the book when she unexpectedly died in her sleep in 2016. The book was completed by McNamara’s lead researcher Paul Haynes and a close colleague, Billy Jensen, and framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and afterword by Oswalt, who also executive produces the docuseries.

McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is described as a chilling investigation of the mysterious serial killer and the wreckage he left behind,...