Actor and cabaret artist Patton Oswalt stood by his late wife Michelle McNamara as they put together the Golden State Killer puzzle, as seen in HBO’s true crime series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. And in light of condemning the serial killer and rapists, Oswalt pays homage to his wife and the victims they fought for.
Patton Oswalt helped complete Michelle McNamara’s book after her tragic death
Before her tragic death in 2016, McNamara was in the middle of writing her book, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: Obsessive Search of One Woman for the Golden State Killer. The author had spent years investigating the cases of East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker, and she chronicles all the evidence and testimony she found.
But the darkness around these cases consumed McNamara, resulting in episodes of anxiety and insomnia. In an interview with The New York Times, Oswalt – who has been married to McNamara for more than 10 years – revealed that his wife began taking a number of different medications to treat the anxiety.
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“It’s so clear that the stress led them to make some wrong choices in terms of the pharmaceuticals they used,” Oswalt said. “She just tackled this thing, and she didn’t have the years to be a hardened detective to share it.”
In April 2016, McNamara died of an accidental overdose at the age of 46. But Oswalt made sure her book was looked through. “This book had to be ready,” he said. “Michelle died, but her testimony will come out.”
Michelle McNamara never saw the Golden State Killer right in front of face
About two years after McNamara’s death, Joseph James DeAngelo was identified as the Golden State Killer and was arrested and charged with eight counts of first-degree murder.
As revealed by DNA results, the serious rapist and murderer from 1974 to 1986 committed dozens of crimes in the state of California.
The identity of DeAngelo was unknown for decades. But when McNamara brought the decades-old case back to light, she helped discover new evidence that eventually led to his arrest.
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Patton Oswalt calls the Golden State Killer an ‘insect’ after his conviction
Following his arrest in April 2018, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to multiple crimes as part of a deal to prevent the death penalty. He was charged with 13 counts of kidnapping and 13 counts of murder. The convicted murderer and rapist was sentenced on August 21, 2020 to life in prison.
Shortly after his conviction, Oswalt took to social media to honor his late wife and the victims of DeAngelo’s crimes. But in paying homage, he also showed contempt for the man McNamara fought so hard to bring down.
“The insect gets none of my head space today,” Oswalt wrote in a tweet. ‘I remember the victims, and the survivors, and the witnesses and crusaders and investigators. And of course Michelle. Go in peace, all of you. ”
Oswalt and McNamara can be seen in I Be Gone in the Dark, which is currently streaming on HBO Max.
