Patton Oswalt honored his late wife, Michelle McNamara, on Twitter on Wednesday suggesting that her book had helped police catch their first suspect ever in the case of the Golden State Killer.
McNamara was nearly finished with a book about the Golden State Killer when she passed away in 2016. As an investigative reporter, she had worked obsessively to uncover new evidence and connect it to the old her her book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.
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Unfortunately, McNamara didn’t get to see her book completed, much less see it help police with their investigation. She passed away in her sleep on April 21, 2016 after an undiagnosed heart condition reacted poorly with her prescription medication.
Oswalt and McNamara were married for eleven years, with a daughter born in 2009. To honor his late wife, the comedian finished her book after she passed with the help of other qualified contributors. It was released in February, skyrocketing to the New York Times Bestseller List.
On Wednesday, all of that effort and grief was vindicated when police arrested their first suspect ever in the 42-year-old case. Police arrested Joseph James, DeAngelo, a 72-year-old ex-cop, after DNA samples discarded from his house matched old evidence from the Golden State Killer’s crimes.
“If they’ve really caught the #GoldenStateKiller I hope I get to visit him,” Oswalt wrote on Twitter. “Not to gloat or gawk — to ask him the questions that @TrueCrimeDiary wanted answered in her “Letter To An Old Man” at the end of #IllBeGoneInTheDark.”
If they’ve really caught the #GoldenStateKiller I hope I get to visit him. Not to gloat or gawk — to ask him the questions that @TrueCrimeDiary wanted answered in her “Letter To An Old Man” at the end of #IllBeGoneInTheDark. pic.twitter.com/32EHSzBct5
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018
The acclaimed comedian spent much of Wednesday tweeting about his late wife’s legacy and retweeting praise for her book, as well as updates on the case. He discussed the book, his wife and his grief at length in his 2017 comedy special Annihilation, which is streaming on Netflix.
It did, but #MichelleMcNamaradidn’t care about getting any shine on herself. She cared about the #GoldenStateKiller being behind bars and the victims getting some relief. She was Marge Gunderson in FARGO, not Chilton in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. https://t.co/krMOWaWh9m
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018
Also, the cops will NEVER and HAVE NEVER credited a writer or journalist for helping them solve a case. But every time they said #GoldenStateKiller they credited the work of #MichelleMcNamara and #IllBeGoneInTheDark.
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 25, 2018
Sacaramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told reporters that DeAngelo seemed surprised when he was arrested this week without incident. His decade-long crime spree spanned ten counties in California, so tracking him down was a Herculean effort for detectives.
“We all knew that we were looking for a needle in a haystack but we all knew that the needle was there,” said Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. “It is fitting that today is National DNA Day. We found the needle in the haystack and it was right here in Sacramento.”
DeAngelo is being held without bail in Sacramento. He worked as a police officer in Auburn, California for some time, though he was fired in 1979 after he shoplifted from a drug store. He was trying to make off with a can of dog repellent and a hammer, Jones told reporters.
