1 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:19,910 ♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 2 00:00:24,950 --> 00:00:26,910 (PHONE RINGING) 3 00:00:28,450 --> 00:00:30,410 (DOG BARKING) 4 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:36,610 (PHONE BEEPS) 5 00:00:36,700 --> 00:00:39,570 MICHELLE MCNAMARA: Hi, Cliff. My name is Michelle McNamara. 6 00:00:39,660 --> 00:00:41,530 I'm a crime writer in Los Angeles. 7 00:00:41,610 --> 00:00:43,990 I am doing a series on unsolved crimes. 8 00:00:44,070 --> 00:00:47,530 Hi, Kate. This is Michelle McNamara. 9 00:00:47,610 --> 00:00:50,200 -Hey, it's Michelle. -PETE KOTZ: Hi, Michelle. 10 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:51,820 MICHELLE: Hi. 11 00:00:51,910 --> 00:00:54,410 I-- I write a lot about unsolved cases. 12 00:00:54,490 --> 00:00:57,110 One that I, um, am very fascinated with is 13 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,200 the East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker case. 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:01,660 I think it's very solvable. 15 00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:03,820 There's a good likelihood that he is still alive 16 00:01:03,910 --> 00:01:05,070 and he's out there. 17 00:01:06,450 --> 00:01:08,360 I think the narcotic pull for me 18 00:01:08,450 --> 00:01:10,450 is what I think of as the powerful absence 19 00:01:10,530 --> 00:01:13,410 that haunts an unsolved crime. 20 00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:16,780 Murderers lose their power the moment we know them. 21 00:01:16,860 --> 00:01:19,110 We see their unkempt shirts, 22 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,160 the uncertain fear tightening their faces 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:22,990 as they're led into a courtroom. 24 00:01:23,990 --> 00:01:25,360 When I'm puzzling over the details 25 00:01:25,450 --> 00:01:26,490 of an unsolved crime, 26 00:01:26,570 --> 00:01:29,200 I'm like a rat in a maze given a task. 27 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,200 And I mean that in the best possible way. 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,740 The world narrows, the search propels. 29 00:01:35,820 --> 00:01:39,240 I felt, in the truest sense of the word, gripped. 30 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,200 I had a murder habit and it was bad. 31 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,990 I would feed it for the rest of my life. 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:56,490 ♪ ("AVALANCHE" BY AIMEE MANN PLAYING) ♪ 33 00:02:01,990 --> 00:02:05,820 ♪ Well, I stepped Into an avalanche ♪ 34 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,360 ♪ It covered up my soul ♪ 35 00:02:12,530 --> 00:02:17,780 ♪ When I am not this hunchback That you see ♪ 36 00:02:17,860 --> 00:02:21,070 ♪ I sleep beneath The golden hill ♪ 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,110 ♪ You who wish To conquer pain ♪ 38 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,860 ♪ You must learn ♪ 39 00:02:28,950 --> 00:02:33,030 ♪ Learn to serve me well ♪ 40 00:02:34,950 --> 00:02:37,240 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 41 00:02:56,700 --> 00:02:58,820 WOMAN: So, what's in Herndon, Virginia? 42 00:02:58,910 --> 00:03:01,820 PATTON OSWALT: Herndon, Virginia is where my parents live, 43 00:03:01,910 --> 00:03:04,200 so I was back there for a week, 44 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,110 and while my daughter was visiting her grandparents, 45 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:09,780 I was in the basement 46 00:03:09,860 --> 00:03:12,490 struggling to get this afterword done 47 00:03:12,570 --> 00:03:14,030 'cause it was hard going. 48 00:03:14,110 --> 00:03:17,570 Um... 'Cause I was also re-reading the book. 49 00:03:17,660 --> 00:03:19,450 And there were those moments when 50 00:03:19,530 --> 00:03:21,280 I would want to just... 51 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,200 like, run upstairs and go tell her something 52 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:24,950 because it felt like I was listening to her 53 00:03:25,030 --> 00:03:26,490 and then I'm like, "Oh no. She's not..." 54 00:03:26,570 --> 00:03:27,660 -You know. -Mm-hmm. 55 00:03:27,740 --> 00:03:29,240 So it was just-- it was a very-- 56 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,320 -Yeah. Well, I can only imagine. -PATTON: For me. 57 00:03:34,780 --> 00:03:38,320 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 58 00:03:49,070 --> 00:03:53,200 MICHELLE: That summer, I hunted the serial killer at night 59 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:55,110 from my daughter's playroom. 60 00:03:56,110 --> 00:03:58,660 I'd retreat to my makeshift workspace 61 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:03,070 and boot up my laptop in search of a man I'd never met 62 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,780 who raped and murdered people I didn't know. 63 00:04:07,910 --> 00:04:11,200 In 1977, the Golden State Killer, 64 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:15,910 as I'd come to call him, hadn't yet graduated to murder. 65 00:04:15,990 --> 00:04:19,450 Long before he was known by the acronym EAR/ONS 66 00:04:19,530 --> 00:04:23,240 and even before he was known as the Original Night Stalker, 67 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,740 they called him the East Area Rapist, 68 00:04:25,820 --> 00:04:28,570 who was attacking women and girls in their bedrooms 69 00:04:28,660 --> 00:04:31,070 throughout Northern California. 70 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,240 CAROL DALY: This man is considered 71 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,740 to have an extremely violent potential. 72 00:04:36,820 --> 00:04:38,740 There isn't much that you can do 73 00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:41,110 except comply with his demands. 74 00:04:42,700 --> 00:04:44,700 MICHELLE: He always wore a mask. 75 00:04:45,820 --> 00:04:47,910 The victims slept untroubled 76 00:04:47,990 --> 00:04:52,200 until the flashlight's blaze forced open their eyes. 77 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:55,030 Sleepy minds lumbered, then raced. 78 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,570 A figure they couldn't see wielded the light. 79 00:04:59,660 --> 00:05:02,410 But who? And why? 80 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,950 The other thing that's so interesting about this case 81 00:05:12,030 --> 00:05:13,950 that I think about a lot is, you know, 82 00:05:14,030 --> 00:05:16,910 serial killers are, um... Oh dear. 83 00:05:16,990 --> 00:05:18,660 -This is awkward. -(CAMERON CHUCKLES) 84 00:05:18,740 --> 00:05:21,110 Hi. (LAUGHS) 85 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,820 Why are you wearing a skirt as a dress? 86 00:05:23,910 --> 00:05:25,200 Oh, my God. 87 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:27,780 You are so funny. 88 00:05:27,860 --> 00:05:29,320 CAMERON CLOUTIER: So, how did you... 89 00:05:29,410 --> 00:05:30,780 Let's just start at the very beginning. 90 00:05:30,860 --> 00:05:33,910 How did you first become interested in this case? 91 00:05:33,990 --> 00:05:35,160 Like this particular case? 92 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,820 So, this particular one, you know, what's interesting 93 00:05:37,910 --> 00:05:41,070 is that I remember 94 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,160 the great tragedy of this case to me 95 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:44,660 is that it's not better known. 96 00:05:44,740 --> 00:05:46,780 I mean I can't, you know, like, you know, 97 00:05:46,860 --> 00:05:49,820 I wish Zodiac would get rid of his 15 minutes of fame 98 00:05:49,910 --> 00:05:51,780 so that EAR/ONS could get a little heat, 99 00:05:51,860 --> 00:05:53,110 -you know? Um... -CAMERON: Right. 100 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:54,990 And so I was very shocked. 101 00:05:55,070 --> 00:05:56,780 I think it was just four or five years ago 102 00:05:56,860 --> 00:05:58,320 that I happened to be home one night 103 00:05:58,410 --> 00:06:00,660 and one of the E! shows or something was on, 104 00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:03,320 and I thought, "You've gotta be kidding me. I've never-- what?" 105 00:06:03,410 --> 00:06:07,070 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 106 00:06:08,660 --> 00:06:09,780 MICHELLE: I looked it up. 107 00:06:15,860 --> 00:06:18,990 And Larry Crompton's book kind of got me. 108 00:06:20,860 --> 00:06:23,950 That's been the last, like, year kind of obsession. 109 00:06:24,030 --> 00:06:27,030 -CAMERON: Mm-hmm. Right. -Started with that book. 110 00:06:27,110 --> 00:06:29,660 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 111 00:06:46,780 --> 00:06:48,200 WOMAN #1: It was a Friday night. 112 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:52,320 It was probably after 1:00, closer to 2:00. 113 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,320 WOMAN #2: We were awakened by a voice 114 00:06:56,410 --> 00:06:58,660 and a bright light in our face. 115 00:06:58,740 --> 00:07:03,570 WOMAN #3: Then there he is... with his ski mask 116 00:07:03,660 --> 00:07:06,860 and the only thing you can see is his silhouette. 117 00:07:06,950 --> 00:07:08,490 WOMAN #4: Then he said, uh, 118 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,030 "Don't move or I'll kill you." 119 00:07:12,110 --> 00:07:15,320 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 120 00:07:23,490 --> 00:07:25,070 MICHELLE: Welcome to Crime Scene, 121 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,910 a podcast that examines real life crimes. 122 00:07:27,990 --> 00:07:31,700 I'm Michelle McNamara of truecrimediary dot com. 123 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,200 The terror began on June 18th, 1976, 124 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,450 when a masked man raped a young woman home alone 125 00:07:41,530 --> 00:07:43,950 in middle class Rancho Cordova. 126 00:07:44,030 --> 00:07:45,700 (DOOR OPENS) 127 00:07:50,740 --> 00:07:53,160 Larry Crompton is a retired lieutenant 128 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,280 from the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department. 129 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,490 He worked on the Rapist Task Force in the '70s. 130 00:07:59,570 --> 00:08:02,280 LARRY CROMPTON: Okay. All of these were suspects 131 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,910 that we-- we worked on and, uh, eliminated. 132 00:08:06,990 --> 00:08:08,160 And, uh... 133 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,740 and some of them really, really did look good. 134 00:08:11,820 --> 00:08:12,990 But, uh... 135 00:08:13,070 --> 00:08:15,700 MICHELLE: He recently published a book on the case. 136 00:08:16,660 --> 00:08:19,160 Sudden Terror draws on police reports, 137 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,820 victim interviews, Crompton's notes, 138 00:08:21,910 --> 00:08:23,740 newspaper clippings. 139 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,660 What follows is my conversation with him. 140 00:08:27,740 --> 00:08:30,860 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 141 00:08:34,700 --> 00:08:36,570 -(LARRY MUMBLING) -MICHELLE: So, to put together your book, 142 00:08:36,660 --> 00:08:38,490 you mostly went through your files. Was that... 143 00:08:38,570 --> 00:08:40,660 -LARRY: Yeah, I had everything. -Wow. 144 00:08:40,740 --> 00:08:43,990 LARRY: And I was there. 145 00:08:44,070 --> 00:08:46,910 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 146 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,990 LARRY: Now present, Sergeant Larry Crompton, 147 00:08:52,070 --> 00:08:53,410 Sheriff's Office. 148 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,490 We're conducting an interview for... 149 00:09:01,610 --> 00:09:04,110 case file 7917426 150 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,360 that occurred on 6-11-79. 151 00:09:08,450 --> 00:09:10,110 MICHELLE: You talked about it in the book so well, 152 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,320 sort of coming in, and that you felt him 153 00:09:12,410 --> 00:09:14,950 and I just wondered, like, what that feeling was like. 154 00:09:15,030 --> 00:09:16,320 LARRY: It's just-- 155 00:09:16,410 --> 00:09:18,950 it's hard to believe this, 156 00:09:20,070 --> 00:09:22,450 but when I walked into the house 157 00:09:22,860 --> 00:09:23,950 I had a feeling. 158 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:28,780 The hair on the back of my neck 159 00:09:28,860 --> 00:09:31,450 would just feel like it was standing up. 160 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:37,780 It was just the... 161 00:09:38,740 --> 00:09:42,320 the fear that was in the victims 162 00:09:42,410 --> 00:09:44,950 and, uh, and listening to what they-- 163 00:09:45,030 --> 00:09:47,030 what they said. It... 164 00:09:47,110 --> 00:09:50,320 It just had a feeling that this is a madman. 165 00:09:53,030 --> 00:09:56,160 It wasn't anything that we had dealt with before. 166 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,070 He always wore a mask, 167 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,240 always wore gloves, 168 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,490 talked through clenched teeth, 169 00:10:16,660 --> 00:10:20,610 set the houses up prior to the victim's arriving, 170 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:22,950 unlocked doors and windows, 171 00:10:23,030 --> 00:10:24,530 opened gates. 172 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:26,740 Okay. 173 00:10:26,820 --> 00:10:29,030 This is our backyard. 174 00:10:29,110 --> 00:10:32,160 This was the window right here. 175 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,360 It's on the far side of the house. 176 00:10:35,910 --> 00:10:38,280 I came out here, I walked down here, 177 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,610 and went this way to the front of the street, 178 00:10:41,700 --> 00:10:44,490 and that's how I got out, right there. 179 00:10:45,740 --> 00:10:47,530 This is the back fence 180 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,160 to get over. 181 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,070 LARRY: If there was a man in the house, 182 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,740 he would throw shoelaces on the bed 183 00:10:54,820 --> 00:10:57,360 and tell the woman to tie him up. 184 00:10:57,450 --> 00:11:01,070 He would rummage and then he would come back with dishes. 185 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:02,820 He'd put dishes on the man's back 186 00:11:02,910 --> 00:11:05,240 and tell him, "If I hear these dishes rattle, 187 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:06,570 I'm gonna kill your wife." 188 00:11:06,660 --> 00:11:07,860 WOMAN: This is our family room... 189 00:11:07,950 --> 00:11:11,240 And that was what he was putting into their minds, 190 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,950 that they were going to die. 191 00:11:14,030 --> 00:11:17,410 And that's what he did over and over and over. 192 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,110 Two-two-seventy-eight. 193 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:24,570 Twenty-three. 194 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,200 The attack happened on May 14th, uh, 1977. 195 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:35,110 So this was my first birthday after the attack. 196 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,110 This is mine. That's the room it was in. 197 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,030 There's my kitchen. 198 00:11:44,110 --> 00:11:48,110 Boy, I have not looked at these pictures in a long time. 199 00:11:49,780 --> 00:11:52,410 My job is to catch him, and I didn't do that. 200 00:11:52,490 --> 00:11:55,910 And, uh, I can't let it go. 201 00:11:57,610 --> 00:12:00,360 MICHELLE: Were normally the victims so relieved that they were alive 202 00:12:00,450 --> 00:12:01,860 -that they-- -LARRY: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. 203 00:12:01,950 --> 00:12:03,160 -MICHELLE: Yeah. -LARRY: Definitely. 204 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:04,820 MICHELLE: Yeah. I wondered. I tried to put myself 205 00:12:04,910 --> 00:12:06,990 in that situation, you know, and, uh... 206 00:12:07,070 --> 00:12:08,610 to go into someone's home 207 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:09,990 is screwing with them mentally too. 208 00:12:10,070 --> 00:12:12,360 -LARRY: Yeah. -MICHELLE: Ugh, yeah. 209 00:12:12,450 --> 00:12:14,280 -That's scary. -LARRY: Yeah. 210 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,320 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 211 00:12:33,700 --> 00:12:38,110 You know, I think the story of the victim-- victims, 212 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:39,990 it has to be told. 213 00:12:42,610 --> 00:12:46,570 PATTON: I remember Michelle ultimately wanted to serve 214 00:12:46,660 --> 00:12:49,360 helping to get this guy caught. 215 00:12:49,450 --> 00:12:54,070 She looked at it from the hopeful, optimistic, 216 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:56,240 humans putting puzzles together, 217 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:57,910 trying to get closure, 218 00:12:57,990 --> 00:13:01,700 trying to make sense of violence and despair. 219 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:04,820 I mean, what drives me 220 00:13:04,910 --> 00:13:10,820 is the need to put a face on a unknown killer. 221 00:13:10,910 --> 00:13:13,780 And what-- what I love 222 00:13:13,860 --> 00:13:17,030 is this intersection of sort of technology and crime solving, 223 00:13:17,110 --> 00:13:20,070 in that people can get sort of wheeled out of their house 224 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,110 for something they did in 1957 because of the internet, 225 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,280 because of DNA. I really get off on that. 226 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,070 That is so amazing to me, and I wanna be a part of that. 227 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,530 Nothing-- it's, you know, everyone has their cause, 228 00:13:32,610 --> 00:13:35,450 and this just feels like what I was born to do. 229 00:13:35,530 --> 00:13:37,490 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 230 00:13:39,780 --> 00:13:43,030 I love digging for clues, I love putting things together. 231 00:13:43,110 --> 00:13:44,570 I love the puzzling part of it. 232 00:13:44,660 --> 00:13:47,410 I love being wrong because sometimes it proves 233 00:13:47,490 --> 00:13:49,860 that you didn't know enough, and you learn new techniques. 234 00:13:49,950 --> 00:13:52,530 I love every single aspect of it. 235 00:13:55,070 --> 00:13:58,200 MAN: What led you to starting this blog? 236 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,320 MICHELLE: Well, I always followed crime stories, 237 00:14:01,410 --> 00:14:02,700 and I was always a writer. 238 00:14:02,780 --> 00:14:07,280 So I really just-- I started it on a lark, really. 239 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,740 KAREN KILGARIFF: I started reading Michelle's blog, 240 00:14:09,820 --> 00:14:13,610 True Crime Diary, basically on a recommendation. 241 00:14:13,700 --> 00:14:16,950 And I was obsessed with it. Like, she couldn't post enough. 242 00:14:18,110 --> 00:14:21,160 Her stories and the way she told them, 243 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:22,660 made them so memorable. 244 00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:25,110 You know, they all stuck with you. 245 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,530 MICHELLE: Whatever light existed was blotted out. 246 00:14:28,610 --> 00:14:32,360 The sound of hurried footsteps faded away. 247 00:14:32,450 --> 00:14:34,110 It had that feeling of, like, 248 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,240 under the blanket with a flashlight at night. 249 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:41,030 I was kind of amazed at how quickly it caught on. 250 00:14:41,110 --> 00:14:44,360 KAREN: When people talk to me about finding that blog, 251 00:14:44,450 --> 00:14:46,490 there's a real excitement where people are like, 252 00:14:46,570 --> 00:14:48,530 "I've read every single post." 253 00:14:48,610 --> 00:14:50,820 It was like they were drug addicts or something. 254 00:14:50,910 --> 00:14:52,280 MICHELLE: I would say about a year in, 255 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,410 I started to realize I wasn't really in an echo chamber, 256 00:14:54,490 --> 00:14:57,910 that people were kind of starting to read it and respond to it. 257 00:14:57,990 --> 00:15:00,990 KAREN: Most of the TV shows that would cover these stories 258 00:15:01,070 --> 00:15:04,570 were very cold or really kind of exploitive. 259 00:15:04,660 --> 00:15:06,700 We spent a bunch of time 260 00:15:06,780 --> 00:15:10,110 watching a reenactment of a beautiful young actress 261 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,410 being attacked over and over while wearing lingerie. 262 00:15:13,490 --> 00:15:14,740 (WOMAN SCREAMING) 263 00:15:14,820 --> 00:15:18,910 KAREN: But Michelle's blog kind of changed, I think, the focus. 264 00:15:18,990 --> 00:15:20,610 She personalized those people. 265 00:15:20,700 --> 00:15:24,740 If you can remind people about the humanity 266 00:15:24,820 --> 00:15:26,410 at the other end of that gun. 267 00:15:26,490 --> 00:15:29,910 "This was a person with hopes and dreams, with family, 268 00:15:29,990 --> 00:15:31,820 that could've done this, this, or this." 269 00:15:31,910 --> 00:15:33,110 That's what Michelle did in her writing. 270 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:34,860 CHRISTINE BLACKBURN: All right. Here we go, folks. 271 00:15:34,950 --> 00:15:36,200 We've got Michelle McNamara. 272 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,200 She's a writer and a web sleuth. 273 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,950 She has taught college writing, uh, worked as an editor, 274 00:15:41,030 --> 00:15:44,070 sold TV pilots, and also consulted for Dateline. 275 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:46,570 She is a truth seeker is what she is. 276 00:15:46,660 --> 00:15:48,070 -(MICHELLE LAUGHS) -Let's face it. 277 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:49,360 You have a career, you have a life 278 00:15:49,450 --> 00:15:51,030 because people are always gonna get murdered. 279 00:15:51,110 --> 00:15:54,660 -MICHELLE: Well. Yeah. The murder biz. -You deal with the devil. 280 00:15:54,740 --> 00:15:56,740 She was a pioneer, she was somebody 281 00:15:56,820 --> 00:15:59,110 who was creating, uh, you know, something new. 282 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,860 Yeah. Nothing was like that in 2007. 283 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,740 PATTON: Hi, Los Angeles. 284 00:16:04,820 --> 00:16:06,780 Patton Oswalt on Jonesy's Jukebox. 285 00:16:06,860 --> 00:16:09,160 That was "Ceremony" by New Order. 286 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,410 I am sitting here with the lovely and intelligent 287 00:16:11,490 --> 00:16:12,950 Michelle McNamara, my wife, 288 00:16:13,030 --> 00:16:17,110 who is the writer and creator of truecrimediary dot com. 289 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:18,990 I think this is one of the best written 290 00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:21,240 and creepiest crime blogs on the web. 291 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,160 MICHELLE: You're such a good husband. (LAUGHS) 292 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,320 PATTON: It is! No, it's a good-- I'm telling you, man. 293 00:16:25,410 --> 00:16:28,660 If this site was awful, I would have to be lying all the time. 294 00:16:28,740 --> 00:16:30,610 -(MICHELLE LAUGHS) -So, um, Michelle. 295 00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:32,110 -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm? -You were telling me about 296 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,570 something going on in the Northwest right now. 297 00:16:36,570 --> 00:16:38,530 MICHELLE: Yeah, I mean, I have a theory that there is 298 00:16:38,610 --> 00:16:41,570 a serial killer operating in the Northwest 299 00:16:41,660 --> 00:16:44,860 who is killing couples, like, out camping. 300 00:16:44,950 --> 00:16:47,660 There's been about four or five cases 301 00:16:47,740 --> 00:16:49,950 where there seems to be no motive 302 00:16:50,030 --> 00:16:52,070 and they are both shot in the head. 303 00:16:53,530 --> 00:16:55,740 PATTON: I remember the Jenner case so clearly. 304 00:16:55,820 --> 00:16:57,860 That was such a turning point for her 305 00:16:57,950 --> 00:17:00,320 because she became very fascinated 306 00:17:00,410 --> 00:17:02,530 with how crimes are investigated. 307 00:17:03,910 --> 00:17:06,320 MICHELLE: It's not easy to get to this beach. 308 00:17:06,410 --> 00:17:08,660 You have to negotiate a tricky path 309 00:17:08,740 --> 00:17:10,070 down a rocky cliff. 310 00:17:14,490 --> 00:17:16,360 On Wednesday, August 18th, 311 00:17:16,450 --> 00:17:19,820 a sheriff's helicopter noticed two sleeping bags 312 00:17:19,910 --> 00:17:21,570 on Fish Head Beach. 313 00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:24,700 Despite the noise and nearness of the helicopter, 314 00:17:24,780 --> 00:17:28,780 the figures in the sleeping bags didn't move. 315 00:17:28,860 --> 00:17:32,610 Lindsay and Jason had each been shot in the head at close range 316 00:17:32,700 --> 00:17:36,030 with a .45 caliber Marlin rifle. 317 00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:37,490 PATTON: That is a creepy beach. 318 00:17:37,570 --> 00:17:38,860 MICHELLE: I showed you all that evidence-- 319 00:17:38,950 --> 00:17:41,360 or all that footage, it's a very creepy beach. 320 00:17:41,450 --> 00:17:44,410 PATTON: The act of actually going to the crime scene 321 00:17:44,490 --> 00:17:46,990 and walking the case made her go, "Oh... 322 00:17:47,070 --> 00:17:48,700 Yeah, I can't just be clicking on the internet. 323 00:17:48,780 --> 00:17:52,570 I have to go visit places and look at places." 324 00:17:52,660 --> 00:17:55,570 It changed the way she wrote about it. 325 00:17:55,660 --> 00:17:58,070 DICK GORDON: When did you make the shift, Michelle, 326 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,740 from just reading stuff and absorbing it 327 00:18:01,820 --> 00:18:04,070 to thinking, "I can do something here. 328 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,320 I can start trying to connect dots that I might see 329 00:18:07,410 --> 00:18:08,820 that others have missed"? 330 00:18:08,910 --> 00:18:11,240 MICHELLE: There was this, um, kind of national news 331 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:13,360 about a kidnapping that took place in Missouri. 332 00:18:13,450 --> 00:18:16,320 This boy had been kidnapped from a bus stop. 333 00:18:16,410 --> 00:18:19,490 And it immediately reminded me of a lesser known case 334 00:18:19,570 --> 00:18:21,070 that had happened five years before 335 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:22,660 that no one else was talking about, 336 00:18:22,740 --> 00:18:24,860 but there were things that were interesting to me. 337 00:18:24,950 --> 00:18:26,070 So I posted, um, 338 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,160 that I think whoever took this boy, Ben Ownby, 339 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,660 probably also took this kid, Shawn Hornbeck. 340 00:18:30,740 --> 00:18:32,570 And I posted it on a Wednesday. 341 00:18:32,660 --> 00:18:34,660 That Friday, the police in St. Louis 342 00:18:34,740 --> 00:18:38,030 went to investigate a tip about where Ben Ownby might be, 343 00:18:38,110 --> 00:18:39,410 and they knocked on the door, 344 00:18:39,490 --> 00:18:41,610 and Shawn Hornbeck opened the door. 345 00:18:41,700 --> 00:18:44,110 DICK: You mean, a kid who'd been kidnapped years earlier 346 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,070 -answered the door? -MICHELLE: Right. Right. 347 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,110 And again, this was three days after I had posted, 348 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,740 "I think they're probably taken by the same person." 349 00:18:51,700 --> 00:18:53,280 That was a big moment for me. 350 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:56,740 I could start to see where my head full of facts and details 351 00:18:56,820 --> 00:18:59,280 could intersect with technology. 352 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:03,070 You know, I had started to kind of use internet tools 353 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,360 to figure out that they seemed similar 354 00:19:05,450 --> 00:19:07,030 and that they might be connected. 355 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:08,610 JACKIE KASHIAN: It's got to be amazing 356 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:10,450 when you find a new sort of clue. 357 00:19:10,530 --> 00:19:12,320 MICHELLE: When people describe, like, 358 00:19:12,410 --> 00:19:13,820 porn addiction or something. And... 359 00:19:13,910 --> 00:19:15,950 -No, this is really weird. -JACKIE: (CHUCKLES) Right. 360 00:19:16,030 --> 00:19:18,860 MICHELLE: I can't stop myself, time disappears. 361 00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:19,990 JACKIE: Oh, right. 362 00:19:20,070 --> 00:19:21,820 MICHELLE: You know, all those things happen. 363 00:19:21,950 --> 00:19:23,160 JACKIE: So it's a genuine addiction? 364 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:24,660 -MICHELLE: Yeah. Yeah. -JACKIE: You are onboard. 365 00:19:24,740 --> 00:19:26,110 Are you doing this now, currently? 366 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:27,990 MICHELLE: Oh, every night, until like 2:00 in the morning. 367 00:19:28,070 --> 00:19:29,070 (JACKIE LAUGHS) 368 00:19:30,410 --> 00:19:32,700 I cannot remember 369 00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:34,820 the specific time we started talking about EAR/ONS 370 00:19:34,910 --> 00:19:37,320 because every day, there was so many cases 371 00:19:37,410 --> 00:19:38,450 she was following up. 372 00:19:38,530 --> 00:19:41,610 And then... just organically, 373 00:19:41,700 --> 00:19:43,950 that became the thing that got narrowed down. 374 00:19:47,030 --> 00:19:48,740 NANCY MILLER: I looked at Michelle's blog, 375 00:19:48,820 --> 00:19:52,320 truecrimediary dot com, and I was really intrigued. 376 00:19:52,410 --> 00:19:54,530 So she and I first met in 2011 377 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:56,660 to talk about some story ideas. 378 00:19:56,740 --> 00:19:59,360 And she was so smart 379 00:19:59,450 --> 00:20:04,030 and so... (SIGHS) cool and down to earth. 380 00:20:04,110 --> 00:20:05,860 And her shit was together. 381 00:20:05,950 --> 00:20:08,820 Not only that, I really liked how she was unpretentious 382 00:20:08,910 --> 00:20:12,700 in a, obviously, pretty pretentious city and business. 383 00:20:12,780 --> 00:20:14,860 I remember she wore these, like, clogs. 384 00:20:14,950 --> 00:20:16,860 She had a backpack like a-- like a-- 385 00:20:16,950 --> 00:20:18,240 that she bought at Target. 386 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,030 And she just showed up totally like in a-- in a flannel shirt 387 00:20:21,110 --> 00:20:24,110 and just as like low-key as possible. 388 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,530 So we meet up, we go to this cafe. 389 00:20:26,610 --> 00:20:28,570 I think we met there like at 11:00 390 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:30,110 and probably didn't leave 391 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,860 until about 3:00 in the afternoon. 392 00:20:32,950 --> 00:20:37,780 Because she started telling me this story about this guy. 393 00:20:39,780 --> 00:20:41,360 MICHELLE: The case that is sort of my-- 394 00:20:41,450 --> 00:20:43,740 the biggest case that I'm most obsessed with is... 395 00:20:43,820 --> 00:20:47,280 The short version is, basically, he's the worst serial offender 396 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,240 in modern history that no one really knows about. 397 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,070 He raped over 50 women in California 398 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,030 and killed 10 people. 399 00:20:55,110 --> 00:20:58,030 Um, and he's never been caught. 400 00:20:58,990 --> 00:21:00,660 There's no one like him out there. 401 00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:02,200 There hasn't been before. 402 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:06,240 He is a such a unique offender. 403 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,490 This guy was one of the most prolific, 404 00:21:09,570 --> 00:21:12,450 violent, brutal, serial rapists, 405 00:21:12,530 --> 00:21:14,410 and eventually a murderer. 406 00:21:14,490 --> 00:21:16,200 And I had never heard of him. 407 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:17,660 Like you'd heard of Zodiac Killer, 408 00:21:17,740 --> 00:21:19,780 you heard Son of Sam, like you hear all of these big-- 409 00:21:19,860 --> 00:21:22,200 especially in the '70s and '80s, which seemed to be 410 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,160 the most fertile period for these serial killer stories. 411 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:28,610 And I had never heard of him. 412 00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:30,780 MICHELLE: He would eat in the people's kitchens, 413 00:21:30,860 --> 00:21:32,950 he would hide ligatures under cushions 414 00:21:33,030 --> 00:21:34,530 so that when he was attacking, 415 00:21:34,610 --> 00:21:35,780 you suddenly would watch this man 416 00:21:35,860 --> 00:21:37,240 take a ligature under your cushion, 417 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,280 you didn't even know he had been in your house. 418 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:41,160 NANCY: I'm drinking this, like, Arnold Palmer 419 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,280 that's like 36,000 ounces, 420 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:45,780 and I'm like sipping on it and drinking it and drinking it 421 00:21:45,860 --> 00:21:47,450 as she's telling me this story. 422 00:21:47,530 --> 00:21:49,780 I needed to go to the bathroom really badly 423 00:21:49,860 --> 00:21:52,780 because my bladder was like about to burst. 424 00:21:52,860 --> 00:21:54,700 But I couldn't. I couldn't. 425 00:21:54,780 --> 00:21:57,160 And I just kept listening, and listening and listening. 426 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,110 And that's how I knew it was a great story. 427 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,700 You know, the challenge for any magazine editor, 428 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:03,490 any reporter and writer, is... 429 00:22:03,570 --> 00:22:06,410 sure, you have, like, a person or you have a topic, 430 00:22:06,490 --> 00:22:09,450 really interesting guy from a long time ago, 431 00:22:09,530 --> 00:22:11,450 but there was nothing new to say yet. 432 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,410 MICHELLE: What's fascinating to me about this case, 433 00:22:17,490 --> 00:22:20,360 is that it's rich with so many clues 434 00:22:20,450 --> 00:22:22,990 and it really seems to me that it's just 435 00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:25,030 time, energy, and curiosity. 436 00:22:25,110 --> 00:22:28,780 And that, um-- and frankly it should be solved. 437 00:22:28,860 --> 00:22:30,700 I mean, it just should be. 438 00:22:33,740 --> 00:22:37,410 When I was so, um, gripped by Crompton's book, 439 00:22:37,490 --> 00:22:41,360 I googled "East Area Rapist Original Night Stalker." 440 00:22:41,450 --> 00:22:43,860 And this came up, this link, 441 00:22:43,950 --> 00:22:46,280 to the Cold Case Files message board. 442 00:22:47,820 --> 00:22:49,240 And I was just... 443 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,160 You know, for someone like me, again, 444 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,070 it's like, "Oh, wow, look at all these-- 445 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,280 Oh, wow." 446 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:56,530 -(WOMAN LAUGHING) -Like, "Wait! 447 00:22:56,610 --> 00:22:59,700 Who would spend, you know, all this time..." 448 00:22:59,780 --> 00:23:00,950 Well, me, I guess, 449 00:23:01,030 --> 00:23:03,610 because it's a week later and I've read 20,000 posts. 450 00:23:06,910 --> 00:23:08,360 You know, certainly in this case, 451 00:23:08,450 --> 00:23:10,530 there was this community of people. 452 00:23:10,610 --> 00:23:12,860 They all had different reasons for being involved in it. 453 00:23:12,950 --> 00:23:14,950 Some of them, you know, were from Sacramento 454 00:23:15,030 --> 00:23:17,280 and remembered and were still fearful 455 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:18,950 and wanted to see it closed. 456 00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:24,990 Others were more kind of just, um, 457 00:23:25,070 --> 00:23:27,320 data mining, sleuth kind of people. 458 00:23:31,450 --> 00:23:32,820 You know, this was unique to me 459 00:23:32,910 --> 00:23:34,320 because I've never actually been part of 460 00:23:34,410 --> 00:23:36,860 this sort of message board community before. 461 00:23:36,950 --> 00:23:40,070 They throw around clues, you know, you just-- 462 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,530 you go down the rabbit hole kind of gleefully, 463 00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:45,910 like, "Oh, there's just this unending thread of information 464 00:23:45,990 --> 00:23:47,360 that I can find." 465 00:23:48,490 --> 00:23:50,070 EAR/ONS is an acronym 466 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,740 for the East Area Rapist slash Original Night Stalker. 467 00:23:53,820 --> 00:23:57,280 It's an awkward name befitting a man who crossed jurisdictions 468 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,490 and flummoxed law enforcement for decades. 469 00:24:00,570 --> 00:24:02,990 What kind of man was he? 470 00:24:03,070 --> 00:24:06,780 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 471 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,450 PAUL HAYNES: I'd been aware of Michelle for, um, 472 00:24:15,530 --> 00:24:17,200 probably a few years. 473 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,740 I was a fan of her True Crime Diary. 474 00:24:20,910 --> 00:24:23,780 I'd read True Crime Diary in its entirety. 475 00:24:23,860 --> 00:24:26,700 So when she finally wrote about the East Area Rapist, 476 00:24:26,780 --> 00:24:29,110 it was, you know, it was exciting. 477 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,820 MICHELLE: I'm obsessed. It's not healthy. 478 00:24:31,910 --> 00:24:34,610 I know the strangest details about him. 479 00:24:34,700 --> 00:24:36,280 I know his blood type. 480 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:38,030 I know his penis size. 481 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,280 He vaulted fences, he escaped foot chases. 482 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:46,200 But I believe it's the rare moments when he was human 483 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,950 that will be his downfall in the end. 484 00:24:49,030 --> 00:24:52,950 Her writing evoked the central, um, hook for me, 485 00:24:53,030 --> 00:24:53,990 which was the mystery, 486 00:24:54,070 --> 00:24:57,200 the question of who is behind this crime? 487 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,660 She wasn't a ghoulish gore-hound. 488 00:24:59,740 --> 00:25:01,410 There was nothing tasteless about her writing. 489 00:25:01,490 --> 00:25:03,320 It struck just the right tone. 490 00:25:03,410 --> 00:25:05,110 MICHELLE: An impressive community of people 491 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,410 has come together at an A&E sponsored website. 492 00:25:08,490 --> 00:25:10,820 Unlike other unsolved mystery communities, 493 00:25:10,910 --> 00:25:13,610 the EAR/ONS community's desire for justice 494 00:25:13,700 --> 00:25:15,990 feels strong and sincere. 495 00:25:16,070 --> 00:25:19,070 She reached out to me privately, and we started corresponding, 496 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,320 and, um, it was evident she was, like, 497 00:25:21,410 --> 00:25:23,740 entrenched in this case. As was I. 498 00:25:23,820 --> 00:25:26,200 MICHELLE: I just kind of... I saw who seemed to be 499 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,360 some of the, like, kind of leaders on the board, 500 00:25:28,450 --> 00:25:30,360 and I just began kind of personal messaging. 501 00:25:30,450 --> 00:25:32,280 PAUL: You know, we started exchanging notes 502 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,780 and, um, developed a rapport pretty quickly. 503 00:25:36,860 --> 00:25:38,610 You know, we just built mutual trust 504 00:25:38,700 --> 00:25:39,910 until we were just, you know, 505 00:25:39,990 --> 00:25:42,660 openly sharing our work with each other. 506 00:25:42,740 --> 00:25:44,410 And that's when we discovered that a lot of it 507 00:25:44,490 --> 00:25:46,320 had intersected. 508 00:25:47,530 --> 00:25:49,780 MICHELLE: We kind of started just exchanging ideas 509 00:25:49,860 --> 00:25:51,200 and theories and things like that. 510 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,320 And we just kind of forged a friendship, 511 00:25:53,410 --> 00:25:55,200 you know, a strange friendship 512 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,950 over this strange 30-year-old case. 513 00:26:00,910 --> 00:26:02,820 -(KEYBOARD CLACKING) -Hi. 514 00:26:02,910 --> 00:26:04,280 My name is Michelle. 515 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,030 I'm a longtime lurker on the EAR/ONS board. 516 00:26:07,110 --> 00:26:09,360 The case is of interest to me, and you seem 517 00:26:09,450 --> 00:26:12,570 really measured and thoughtful in your responses. 518 00:26:12,660 --> 00:26:15,700 I wanted to know if you have any thoughts on something. 519 00:26:15,780 --> 00:26:17,700 I spent an afternoon doing some research, 520 00:26:17,780 --> 00:26:21,910 and I feel like I've stumbled upon a compelling suspect. 521 00:26:21,990 --> 00:26:24,110 MELANIE BARBEAU: Hi, Michelle. Thanks for trusting me 522 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:25,570 with this information. 523 00:26:25,660 --> 00:26:26,910 I'm a Sacramento native 524 00:26:26,990 --> 00:26:29,660 and have been investigating this case for years. 525 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:30,860 Let's talk. 526 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:33,860 MICHELLE: I traveled to Sacramento 527 00:26:33,950 --> 00:26:36,860 to meet a woman about whom I know very little, 528 00:26:36,950 --> 00:26:39,990 including the spelling of her last name. 529 00:26:43,660 --> 00:26:46,700 The Social Worker operates as a kind of gatekeeper 530 00:26:46,780 --> 00:26:49,530 between investigators and the board community. 531 00:26:49,610 --> 00:26:51,490 This irks some posters 532 00:26:51,570 --> 00:26:54,660 who accuse her of hinting at confidential information 533 00:26:54,740 --> 00:26:57,780 but then shutting down when asked to share. 534 00:26:57,860 --> 00:27:00,240 She greeted me in the parking lot 535 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,860 by waving her arms wildly overhead. 536 00:27:03,950 --> 00:27:05,700 I liked her right away. 537 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:08,280 Well, we had been in communication. 538 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:10,450 I knew she was flying into Sacramento, 539 00:27:10,530 --> 00:27:13,030 and she was another civilian that was interested 540 00:27:13,110 --> 00:27:14,780 in the movement. 541 00:27:14,860 --> 00:27:17,410 And we would drive around to the crime scenes. 542 00:27:17,490 --> 00:27:19,570 I would take her to the areas. 543 00:27:19,660 --> 00:27:22,160 And so we drove around for hours. 544 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,320 We're gonna go about five miles from here. 545 00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:25,660 MICHELLE: Okay. 546 00:27:25,740 --> 00:27:27,990 MELANIE: And I'm gonna take you to the first crime scenes first. 547 00:27:28,070 --> 00:27:29,200 MICHELLE: Okay. 548 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,240 Our language just immediately became, uh, you know, 549 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:34,700 about the case facts and about what we knew 550 00:27:34,780 --> 00:27:36,570 and what this, and what do you think of that? 551 00:27:36,660 --> 00:27:38,740 It was a language that nobody else probably 552 00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:40,910 could've understood what we were talking about 553 00:27:40,990 --> 00:27:42,570 unless you have that experience 554 00:27:42,660 --> 00:27:44,410 or you were aware of the case. 555 00:27:44,490 --> 00:27:47,530 I just don't think it's gonna be somebody that everybody thought, 556 00:27:47,610 --> 00:27:49,280 "Oh, that's the East Area Rapist." 557 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,570 -MICHELLE: Well, I mean, I think you're right because... -I think it's gonna be-- 558 00:27:51,660 --> 00:27:52,780 MICHELLE: ...he wasn't caught. 559 00:27:52,860 --> 00:27:54,280 -I mean, obviously-- -Yeah, I think it's gonna be 560 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:56,160 somebody that they go, "Really?" 561 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:57,240 MICHELLE: Right, right. 562 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,700 Obviously, he didn't stand out at the time. 563 00:27:59,780 --> 00:28:01,990 There's something about two women getting together 564 00:28:02,070 --> 00:28:04,320 that have a common cause and a common goal 565 00:28:04,410 --> 00:28:06,030 and, you know, we're crusaders, 566 00:28:06,110 --> 00:28:08,160 we're warriors, we're on the path. 567 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,160 You know, that was the beginning of a relationship. 568 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:15,990 We'll remain lifelong friends forever. 569 00:28:16,070 --> 00:28:20,200 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 570 00:28:22,660 --> 00:28:25,490 MELANIE: First, we're gonna head into Rancho Cordova 571 00:28:25,570 --> 00:28:29,530 to, um, his very early attacks, 572 00:28:29,610 --> 00:28:32,700 number one and number three. 573 00:28:32,780 --> 00:28:36,700 MICHELLE: Sacramento. I mean, when you were growing up, 574 00:28:36,780 --> 00:28:38,740 did it seem to be, like, a lot of people who worked for-- 575 00:28:38,820 --> 00:28:41,410 -MELANIE: It was a cow town, it was... -Okay. But there's a-- 576 00:28:41,490 --> 00:28:43,200 when you say "cow town," you mean that there was 577 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,910 -the outlying farms and stuff? -MELANIE: Yeah, it's kind of outlying farms. 578 00:28:45,990 --> 00:28:48,280 -MICHELLE: There's still a lot of, like-- -It's still outlying. Yeah. 579 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:49,610 MICHELLE: Well, you see, it's interesting 580 00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:51,530 'cause coming from LA, you almost never see sort of 581 00:28:51,610 --> 00:28:53,490 -big, open, empty spaces. -Mm-hmm. 582 00:28:53,570 --> 00:28:55,530 MICHELLE: And driving around, it was like, "Wow." 583 00:28:55,610 --> 00:28:57,530 MELANIE: We're entering the Rancho Cordova realm. 584 00:28:57,610 --> 00:28:58,860 MICHELLE: Okay. Yeah. 585 00:28:58,950 --> 00:29:02,030 MELANIE: And I'm gonna take you right into the heart of it all. 586 00:29:02,110 --> 00:29:03,450 MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 587 00:29:03,530 --> 00:29:05,820 MELANIE: This is where the first crime occurs. 588 00:29:08,030 --> 00:29:13,660 When you first are, like, learning about the case, 589 00:29:13,740 --> 00:29:17,160 you just wanna get a feel for, like, 590 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,910 where did these things happen? 591 00:29:19,990 --> 00:29:23,410 Who were the players in this, and, you know, 592 00:29:23,490 --> 00:29:26,200 can you tell anything more about this offender 593 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,860 by going into the places he was in? 594 00:29:28,950 --> 00:29:31,360 A few houses down on the right is number three. 595 00:29:31,450 --> 00:29:33,740 MICHELLE: Yeah, so these houses are close together, yeah. 596 00:29:33,820 --> 00:29:37,240 MELANIE: Yeah. And I'll actually show you number one's house. 597 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:41,700 For Michelle, it's like, "I wanna get in this guy's mind. 598 00:29:41,780 --> 00:29:43,490 I wanna go to these places. 599 00:29:43,570 --> 00:29:45,700 I wanna try to understand... 600 00:29:46,860 --> 00:29:50,360 Why this area, and why so close together? 601 00:29:50,450 --> 00:29:52,200 You know, was he from here?" 602 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,240 -This is his hotspot. -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 603 00:29:56,490 --> 00:29:58,570 MELANIE: This is the house right here. 604 00:29:58,660 --> 00:30:01,280 He cut the phone lines 605 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:05,610 and, uh... raped her 606 00:30:05,700 --> 00:30:07,990 and left the scene. 607 00:30:08,070 --> 00:30:13,160 This was in June. June 18, 1976, was this attack. 608 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,990 And the attack we're going to was in August, 609 00:30:16,070 --> 00:30:18,860 August 29, '76. 610 00:30:18,950 --> 00:30:22,280 We're pulling up to attack number three right now. 611 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,860 -That's how close he was. -MICHELLE: Wow. 612 00:30:24,950 --> 00:30:26,610 He had to be from around here. 613 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:30,570 MELANIE: "A 12-year-old saw a masked man outside the window, 614 00:30:30,660 --> 00:30:32,320 ran and woke her mother up. 615 00:30:32,410 --> 00:30:36,160 The mother ran to the kitchen and dialed the operator. 616 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,990 Moments later, EAR was standing in the doorway 617 00:30:39,070 --> 00:30:42,240 with a club and a gun, naked from the waist down. 618 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,030 He told the mother, 'Freeze or I'll kill you.' 619 00:30:45,110 --> 00:30:48,860 The mother grabbed the gun band as he approached her. 620 00:30:48,950 --> 00:30:51,570 He clubbed her until she lay on the floor. 621 00:30:51,660 --> 00:30:55,070 A neighbor had seen EAR walking away with no pants on, 622 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,360 but could not describe his face." 623 00:30:57,450 --> 00:30:59,360 This is the second house in, 624 00:30:59,450 --> 00:31:01,320 and if we drive to the corner house, 625 00:31:01,410 --> 00:31:03,950 and if you kind of just look on the fence line 626 00:31:04,030 --> 00:31:05,490 right here through, 627 00:31:05,570 --> 00:31:08,530 this goes straight to the attack, 628 00:31:08,610 --> 00:31:10,280 uh, number one attack, 629 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,530 in June of '76. 630 00:31:12,610 --> 00:31:15,700 The neighbor also said that he was hearing, 631 00:31:15,780 --> 00:31:20,360 for a couple months prior, people jumping over his fence. 632 00:31:20,450 --> 00:31:25,320 It's my guess that he was actually, uh, 633 00:31:25,410 --> 00:31:28,740 looking at these houses long before he attacked. 634 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:32,820 It's amazing to me that any one person 635 00:31:32,910 --> 00:31:36,110 could get away with this many crimes. 636 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,110 And you can just see how they're just stones-- 637 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,820 a stone's throw away from each other. 638 00:31:41,910 --> 00:31:43,820 And right down the fence line. 639 00:31:43,910 --> 00:31:46,320 MICHELLE: But he wasn't walking on those kind of fences, was he? 640 00:31:46,410 --> 00:31:47,740 -MELANIE: Yeah. -MICHELLE: I mean, that's-- 641 00:31:47,820 --> 00:31:49,360 MELANIE: He's said to have been walking them. 642 00:31:49,450 --> 00:31:50,740 MICHELLE: Oh, wow. 643 00:31:52,700 --> 00:31:56,320 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 644 00:31:57,740 --> 00:31:59,360 PATTON: As Michelle was going up 645 00:31:59,450 --> 00:32:02,490 doing drive-arounds of Sacramento, 646 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:05,410 I saw her confidence growing. 647 00:32:05,490 --> 00:32:08,570 It was really exciting to have someone who was-- 648 00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:11,280 you're in love with someone, and they're doing something, 649 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,660 and you can see how excited and energized they are about it. 650 00:32:14,740 --> 00:32:16,820 And that makes you excited and energized. 651 00:32:17,820 --> 00:32:18,950 (LAUGHTER) 652 00:32:19,030 --> 00:32:22,570 I'm amazed I'm still funny. I'm amazed I'm still funny 653 00:32:22,660 --> 00:32:24,780 because I'm in love. 654 00:32:24,860 --> 00:32:27,860 -I'm in love. I'm in love. -(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 655 00:32:27,950 --> 00:32:29,030 Yes, I am. 656 00:32:29,700 --> 00:32:31,320 And there is nothing-- 657 00:32:31,410 --> 00:32:33,410 nothing ends a comedian's career 658 00:32:33,490 --> 00:32:35,780 quicker than regular sex and being in love. 659 00:32:35,860 --> 00:32:38,280 It's the worst thing on the planet. 660 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,320 My girlfriend is obsessed with, like, true crime 661 00:32:40,410 --> 00:32:42,610 and serial killers too. All she does all day. 662 00:32:42,700 --> 00:32:45,410 Watches FBI Files, Forensic Files on TV, 663 00:32:45,490 --> 00:32:48,740 the most graphic, disturbing, depressing shows. 664 00:32:48,820 --> 00:32:50,360 I walk in the house every single day, 665 00:32:50,450 --> 00:32:53,450 "The amount of semen found in the chest cavity lead investigators..." 666 00:32:53,530 --> 00:32:55,030 Oh, my God! 667 00:32:56,530 --> 00:32:58,860 She's like, "Shh! It's the Semen Cavity Killer, 668 00:32:58,950 --> 00:33:00,450 I wanna see what the..." (MUTTERS) 669 00:33:00,530 --> 00:33:02,490 -(SIGHS) -(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) 670 00:33:04,530 --> 00:33:07,530 When I met Michelle, it was on, um, 671 00:33:09,070 --> 00:33:10,950 it was a show at the Largo. 672 00:33:11,030 --> 00:33:13,240 I think it was May 20th. 673 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,070 I had been doing The King of Queens 674 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:17,410 for five years, 675 00:33:17,490 --> 00:33:19,990 and I'd had a couple specials at that point. 676 00:33:20,070 --> 00:33:22,910 But she wasn't that steeped in the comedy scene, 677 00:33:22,990 --> 00:33:25,160 so she didn't know who I was. 678 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,860 MICHELLE: This guy was funny. More than funny. 679 00:33:28,950 --> 00:33:32,990 He was moody and startling but hilarious. 680 00:33:33,070 --> 00:33:36,530 He could move the crowd with the tiniest of expressions. 681 00:33:36,610 --> 00:33:38,320 "Irish girls," he said. 682 00:33:38,410 --> 00:33:40,990 He knocked the microphone against his forehead. 683 00:33:41,070 --> 00:33:43,320 "Irish girls are my kryptonite." 684 00:33:43,410 --> 00:33:45,700 And then I was just sitting at the bar afterwards 685 00:33:45,780 --> 00:33:47,530 and she was leaving, and she literally tapped me 686 00:33:47,610 --> 00:33:49,530 and just went, "Irish women, nice." And I was-- 687 00:33:49,610 --> 00:33:53,110 and she was so fucking, like, steamroller gorgeous 688 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,660 that I was just stunned. And I ran-- I literally 689 00:33:55,740 --> 00:33:58,030 -ran around the street. -(LAUGHTER) 690 00:33:58,110 --> 00:33:59,360 And I went, "Hey!" 691 00:33:59,450 --> 00:34:01,950 And then that was the first word I ever said to her was, "Hey!" 692 00:34:02,030 --> 00:34:03,490 -Screaming. -(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) 693 00:34:03,570 --> 00:34:05,030 And then she turned around, and I'm like, 694 00:34:05,110 --> 00:34:06,450 "I'm not gonna play any fucking games. 695 00:34:06,530 --> 00:34:08,320 I want your name and number so I can take you on a date 696 00:34:08,410 --> 00:34:09,780 -this weekend, are you free?" -WOMAN: Yeah! 697 00:34:09,860 --> 00:34:11,280 And she went, "Yeah." I went, "Good! 698 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,820 -Give me your number." -(AUDIENCE LAUGHS) 699 00:34:13,910 --> 00:34:19,610 It was just the most awkward, non-James Bond moment 700 00:34:19,700 --> 00:34:21,490 I could've had. 701 00:34:21,570 --> 00:34:25,780 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 702 00:34:27,860 --> 00:34:29,360 CAROLINE MEREDITH: Take off my mask. 703 00:34:29,450 --> 00:34:32,030 PATTON: Our first date in LA, they show movies 704 00:34:32,110 --> 00:34:34,110 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. 705 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,570 So we went and watched an Italian film 706 00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:37,950 called The 10th Victim. 707 00:34:38,740 --> 00:34:39,780 (GUNSHOT) 708 00:34:40,570 --> 00:34:41,950 -(GUNSHOT) -(MAN GRUNTS) 709 00:34:42,030 --> 00:34:45,280 Really goofy Italian science fiction film. 710 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,950 I was too nervous to really do a lot of talking that night. 711 00:34:48,030 --> 00:34:50,490 She did way more of the talking because she just was-- 712 00:34:50,570 --> 00:34:52,160 and the more we talk, I'm like, "Oh, my God, 713 00:34:52,240 --> 00:34:55,160 she's so smart and so cool, I'm gonna screw this up." 714 00:34:59,410 --> 00:35:01,360 I remember I called her late at night 'cause I was up, 715 00:35:01,450 --> 00:35:03,280 and I'm like, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon is on," 716 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,740 and she goes, "I'm watching it! It's one of my favorite movies." 717 00:35:05,820 --> 00:35:08,410 And that was one of the things we bonded over really early. 718 00:35:08,490 --> 00:35:09,740 We loved that. 719 00:35:09,820 --> 00:35:12,160 MICHELLE: We loved many of the same things, 720 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:14,950 like Creature from the Black Lagoon, 721 00:35:15,030 --> 00:35:18,320 tales of the grim and offbeat, and good food. 722 00:35:19,570 --> 00:35:21,780 I didn't like the way his comedian friends, 723 00:35:21,860 --> 00:35:25,030 including him, seemed to tell jokes but never listen. 724 00:35:26,490 --> 00:35:29,070 He thought I was thin-skinned. 725 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,530 For a while, it seemed it might not work. 726 00:35:33,570 --> 00:35:35,860 But one night, he was saying goodbye to me, 727 00:35:35,950 --> 00:35:36,990 and he won me over 728 00:35:37,070 --> 00:35:41,200 with an adorable Edward G. Robinson impression. 729 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:43,610 And I was doing that "Yeah, see. 730 00:35:43,700 --> 00:35:45,610 Look at the getaway sticks on that tomato." 731 00:35:45,700 --> 00:35:47,950 Like, you-- like, chatting her up, 732 00:35:48,030 --> 00:35:50,110 but in that old kinda slang, 733 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:51,990 and she thought that was so hilarious. 734 00:35:52,070 --> 00:35:54,410 MICHELLE: I laughed and grabbed him. 735 00:35:54,990 --> 00:35:56,740 "More," I said. 736 00:35:56,820 --> 00:35:59,860 PATTON: "Ooh, look at the keister on that hot number." 737 00:35:59,950 --> 00:36:02,030 You know, couples have in-jokes with each other, 738 00:36:02,110 --> 00:36:04,410 and that became one of my, you know... 739 00:36:04,490 --> 00:36:06,860 It was just all that '30s gangster slang. 740 00:36:06,950 --> 00:36:09,450 I'd, you know, however you wanna say it. 741 00:36:09,530 --> 00:36:10,950 I can't-- Oh, God. 742 00:36:12,780 --> 00:36:15,030 MICHELLE: I wouldn't let him go. 743 00:36:15,110 --> 00:36:19,280 After a while, we gave up and moved in together. 744 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:21,780 PATTON: I made this custom desk for her 745 00:36:21,860 --> 00:36:24,410 that was in this kind of half-moon shape. 746 00:36:24,490 --> 00:36:28,110 Like, I wanted her to have, like, this command center. 747 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,950 MICHELLE: I've never tired of the Robinson impression. 748 00:36:32,450 --> 00:36:34,570 I've never tired of Patton. 749 00:36:36,740 --> 00:36:39,070 ADAM DRUCKER: Michelle knew that she was a marrying 750 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,820 a famous person, and as much as she lived a life 751 00:36:41,910 --> 00:36:45,450 that, you know, a lot of people might fantasize about, 752 00:36:45,530 --> 00:36:47,360 none of that mattered to her. 753 00:36:47,450 --> 00:36:48,780 And I mean really. 754 00:36:50,450 --> 00:36:53,410 She was a regular salt-of-the-earth 755 00:36:53,490 --> 00:36:55,860 Midwestern gal. 756 00:36:55,950 --> 00:36:58,490 And she didn't wanna be anything else. 757 00:36:58,570 --> 00:37:00,490 PATTON: The whole being photographed 758 00:37:00,570 --> 00:37:02,410 and going to premieres and stuff, 759 00:37:02,490 --> 00:37:04,030 that meant nothing to her. 760 00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:05,740 MAN: Patton, can we get a quick single? 761 00:37:05,820 --> 00:37:07,360 Especially if you're someone who's thinking, 762 00:37:07,450 --> 00:37:08,780 "I wanna go home and write later, 763 00:37:08,860 --> 00:37:10,280 I wanna get up tomorrow and write." 764 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,410 ADAM: One of her favorite things in the world 765 00:37:12,490 --> 00:37:15,200 was to be in her room under the covers, 766 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:16,820 like, with a fan, reading. 767 00:37:16,910 --> 00:37:18,740 -(PAPARAZZI CLAMORING) -You want Patton alone? 768 00:37:18,820 --> 00:37:20,320 MAN: Do you want to leave? 769 00:37:20,410 --> 00:37:21,860 (LAUGHS) Yes, I do. 770 00:37:21,950 --> 00:37:23,660 SARAH STANARD: She went to the Oscars, she went to the Grammys. 771 00:37:23,740 --> 00:37:26,030 We just always giggled about it. I mean, it was just, like, 772 00:37:26,110 --> 00:37:28,410 so different from how we grew up. 773 00:37:28,490 --> 00:37:30,410 She usually would wear black, and she would joke 774 00:37:30,490 --> 00:37:33,110 that they would think she was like a PR person. 775 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,610 She was just an introvert. That's all. 776 00:37:35,700 --> 00:37:38,320 ADAM: She was really good at making herself 777 00:37:38,410 --> 00:37:40,700 sort of a fly on the wall and inconspicuous. 778 00:37:40,780 --> 00:37:41,820 I think it's one of the reasons 779 00:37:41,910 --> 00:37:43,530 she had an incredible insight into people, 780 00:37:43,610 --> 00:37:44,740 she listened, she watched, 781 00:37:44,820 --> 00:37:47,070 she didn't need to be the center of attention. 782 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:48,700 She didn't want to be. 783 00:37:48,780 --> 00:37:50,570 I think she'd always been sort of 784 00:37:50,660 --> 00:37:53,610 singled out as, "You're a terrific writer." 785 00:37:53,700 --> 00:37:56,160 And then she got to LA where, you know, 786 00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:58,660 there's a gazillion people trying to do the same thing, 787 00:37:58,740 --> 00:38:00,200 and that was hard for her. 788 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:02,320 She hadn't experienced, you know, 789 00:38:02,410 --> 00:38:04,320 that degree of consistent rejection 790 00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:06,530 and failure and disappointment. 791 00:38:06,610 --> 00:38:09,360 Her ultimate dream was always to write books 792 00:38:09,450 --> 00:38:11,280 or for The New Yorker. 793 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:15,570 She also really, really wanted a child. 794 00:38:18,490 --> 00:38:21,700 Four years after we got married, our daughter was born. 795 00:38:21,780 --> 00:38:25,030 -MICHELLE: Alice, hi. -(ALICE COOS) 796 00:38:25,570 --> 00:38:26,570 MICHELLE: Hi. 797 00:38:26,660 --> 00:38:28,110 It was so amazing. 798 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:32,530 -MICHELLE: Look at... (LAUGHS) -(PATTON HUMMING) 799 00:38:34,030 --> 00:38:37,610 MICHELLE: Oh, Alice. (LAUGHS) 800 00:38:37,700 --> 00:38:41,030 PATTON: And I think Alice was about two or three 801 00:38:41,110 --> 00:38:44,660 when Michelle was meticulously due diligence researching 802 00:38:44,740 --> 00:38:47,110 about, you know, EAR/ONS. 803 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:51,910 MICHELLE: In Sacramento, the air is immediately better. 804 00:38:51,990 --> 00:38:55,490 Struck by the big, open spaces. 805 00:38:55,570 --> 00:38:58,700 A little over half a million, or about half a million people, 806 00:38:58,780 --> 00:38:59,820 but feels-- 807 00:38:59,910 --> 00:39:02,110 coming from Los Angeles, feels so much smaller. 808 00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:10,240 WAITRESS: How are you doing in here? 809 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:13,450 MICHELLE: I'm good. Um, I might have-- 810 00:39:13,530 --> 00:39:15,530 Okay, this is crazy. Can I have one more latte? 811 00:39:15,610 --> 00:39:17,410 -WAITRESS: Of course. -(MICHELLE LAUGHS) 812 00:39:17,490 --> 00:39:18,990 -WAITRESS: Got it. -MICHELLE: All right. 813 00:39:19,070 --> 00:39:22,240 -But this was really yummy. -WAITRESS: Good. 814 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:27,990 When Michelle interviewed me, we met for breakfast 815 00:39:28,070 --> 00:39:34,070 down at the Citizen Hotel in Downtown Sacramento. 816 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:38,410 Talking about the attack is difficult, but Michelle, 817 00:39:38,490 --> 00:39:42,240 she was so serious about the case. 818 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,530 She was just the easiest person to talk to. 819 00:39:45,610 --> 00:39:48,200 MICHELLE: So, I'm from suburban Chicago. 820 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,570 So all of this is so foreign to me. 821 00:39:50,660 --> 00:39:51,740 But what I wanted-- 822 00:39:51,820 --> 00:39:54,570 I'm trying to get back into sort of the mindset. 823 00:39:54,660 --> 00:39:56,950 A lot of people will say 824 00:39:57,950 --> 00:40:03,240 that the EAR crimes-- 825 00:40:03,950 --> 00:40:04,990 crime period-- 826 00:40:05,070 --> 00:40:09,070 was kind of the end of innocence for Sacramento. 827 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,320 ♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 828 00:40:16,990 --> 00:40:18,570 FIONA WILLIAMS: We have the confluence 829 00:40:18,660 --> 00:40:21,450 of the American and Sacramento Rivers. 830 00:40:21,530 --> 00:40:24,450 It was built up being a commerce center, 831 00:40:24,530 --> 00:40:26,990 and it became the state capital. 832 00:40:27,070 --> 00:40:31,610 We have both Mather Field and McClellan Air Base. 833 00:40:31,700 --> 00:40:35,490 So military was a big aspect of the economy 834 00:40:35,570 --> 00:40:37,570 and the people who lived here. 835 00:40:37,660 --> 00:40:40,860 Back in those days, you did know more of your neighbors, 836 00:40:40,950 --> 00:40:43,740 people didn't lock all their doors 837 00:40:43,820 --> 00:40:46,700 or their cars, necessarily, all the time. 838 00:40:46,780 --> 00:40:49,410 And terrible crime 839 00:40:49,490 --> 00:40:53,610 was just not that common. 840 00:40:56,700 --> 00:40:58,320 RICHARD SHELBY: Seventies Sacramento, 841 00:40:58,410 --> 00:41:02,110 being a cop was like a cop anywhere else. 842 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,070 It was pretty slow. 843 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:06,950 And then June comes along, and you got this pervert 844 00:41:07,030 --> 00:41:08,860 later known as the East Area Rapist. 845 00:41:10,700 --> 00:41:15,950 I responded to a home invasion, a rape, 1976, October 5th. 846 00:41:16,030 --> 00:41:18,780 Jane Carson over at Wood Parkway. 847 00:41:18,860 --> 00:41:21,780 At the time the East Area rape cases started, 848 00:41:21,860 --> 00:41:23,410 I was working homicide. 849 00:41:23,490 --> 00:41:24,860 And I think it was the fifth case 850 00:41:24,950 --> 00:41:28,860 I was called to the scene on, which was Jane Carson. 851 00:41:28,950 --> 00:41:31,110 What's the feelings that you're going through, 852 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:33,660 and wondering whether you did the right thing 853 00:41:33,740 --> 00:41:35,740 or whether you did the wrong thing 854 00:41:35,820 --> 00:41:38,450 and could you have done anything any differently. 855 00:41:38,530 --> 00:41:42,110 And I think you handled the situation very well. 856 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,450 JANE CARSON: Well, I had thought of kicking him, 857 00:41:44,530 --> 00:41:46,110 but it would've been useless, 858 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,070 as my hands were tied and I was blindfolded 859 00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,240 -and my child was with me. -CAROL: Okay. 860 00:41:51,740 --> 00:41:54,160 RICHARD: When the husband left for work, 861 00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:56,740 the rapist was in their house and on her. 862 00:41:56,820 --> 00:41:59,660 He knew down to the minute what was going on 863 00:41:59,740 --> 00:42:02,910 in Jane's house and the neighborhood. 864 00:42:02,990 --> 00:42:04,740 When I left there that day, I was convinced 865 00:42:04,820 --> 00:42:06,910 that this probably wasn't just a routine rape. 866 00:42:06,990 --> 00:42:08,490 In fact, I know it wasn't. 867 00:42:08,570 --> 00:42:10,990 And then I started digging in deeper. 868 00:42:11,070 --> 00:42:13,070 In the meantime, we have a couple more rapes. 869 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:14,450 At that point, there's no question 870 00:42:14,530 --> 00:42:18,360 we had a serial rapist. He had a definite pattern. 871 00:42:18,450 --> 00:42:21,570 CAROL: When we realized that we first had a series going, 872 00:42:21,660 --> 00:42:24,700 the sheriff did not want the media to be aware of it. 873 00:42:24,780 --> 00:42:26,700 Because we didn't have anything. 874 00:42:26,780 --> 00:42:29,700 Because of what was happening within the rapes, 875 00:42:29,780 --> 00:42:31,660 he didn't want the word to get out 876 00:42:31,740 --> 00:42:33,280 to make fear in the community. 877 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,110 We just-- we just weren't ready to handle anything coming in. 878 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,450 You know, we didn't have that many people working it. 879 00:42:40,110 --> 00:42:41,910 MELANIE: "This is attack number eight. 880 00:42:41,990 --> 00:42:45,200 And this victim was accosted outside of her house 881 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:48,160 as she drove her car into the driveway. 882 00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:52,360 She was taken into the backyard of her neighbor's house, 883 00:42:52,450 --> 00:42:57,490 and there were strips of cloth already laid out for ligatures. 884 00:42:57,570 --> 00:42:59,530 Her ankles were tied with cord. 885 00:42:59,610 --> 00:43:01,450 She was blindfolded, gagged. 886 00:43:01,530 --> 00:43:03,110 Jingling her car keys, 887 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:05,910 the EAR said he'd be back in five minutes. 888 00:43:05,990 --> 00:43:08,660 Car was reportedly found in the area 889 00:43:08,740 --> 00:43:11,070 with the dog locked in the trunk." 890 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:12,740 CAROL: The media became aware of it. 891 00:43:12,820 --> 00:43:15,110 The sheriff said, "Please don't print anything, 892 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:16,780 we're gonna catch this guy." 893 00:43:16,860 --> 00:43:19,910 And then as time went on and we didn't catch the guy, 894 00:43:19,990 --> 00:43:23,410 the media, uh, said, "Okay, we're gonna start printing." 895 00:43:23,490 --> 00:43:27,320 That was when the whole community was brought in. 896 00:43:27,410 --> 00:43:29,570 MELANIE: What happened right after number eight 897 00:43:29,660 --> 00:43:31,700 on 11-3-76, 898 00:43:31,780 --> 00:43:33,740 the rape series came to light 899 00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:36,240 during this meeting on crime prevention. 900 00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:38,780 There were 500 people in attendance. 901 00:43:38,860 --> 00:43:40,530 You can use a simple alarm system. 902 00:43:40,610 --> 00:43:43,740 Mount a bell device on the outside of your home. 903 00:43:43,820 --> 00:43:46,570 String some wires to a power source 904 00:43:46,660 --> 00:43:49,240 and then string the other set of wires 905 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,530 right to a nightstand and have a toggle switch there. 906 00:43:52,610 --> 00:43:54,610 If you ever hear the glass breaking, 907 00:43:54,700 --> 00:43:57,410 reach over on your nightstand and flip the switch, 908 00:43:57,490 --> 00:44:00,110 the bell goes off on the outside. 909 00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:01,860 MELANIE: Other than by word of mouth, 910 00:44:01,950 --> 00:44:03,280 where people might be talking 911 00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:05,160 about a neighbor that had been raped, 912 00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:08,950 there wasn't a lot of information until this time. 913 00:44:09,030 --> 00:44:13,660 On 11-4-76, the first newspaper article on the EAR 914 00:44:13,740 --> 00:44:16,530 appears in the Sacramento Bee. 915 00:44:16,610 --> 00:44:18,280 RICHARD: Warren Holloway was a reporter. 916 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:21,240 And I'd put a little one-paragraph note out to the detectives. 917 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:23,860 "Got a rape series going in the East Area." 918 00:44:23,990 --> 00:44:25,160 And he walked out, he saw that. 919 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:27,660 The next day on the newspaper, "East Area Rapist." 920 00:44:27,740 --> 00:44:29,820 It just got picked up and there it was, 921 00:44:29,910 --> 00:44:30,990 "East Area Rapist." 922 00:44:31,070 --> 00:44:33,320 MELANIE: Three weeks after attack number eight, 923 00:44:33,410 --> 00:44:34,530 where it was announced, 924 00:44:34,610 --> 00:44:37,110 there was a town hall meeting in Rancho Cordova. 925 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:41,610 Of the 35 that attended, only one of those was a male. 926 00:44:43,070 --> 00:44:44,570 Following two weeks later, 927 00:44:44,660 --> 00:44:46,820 "Publicity May Have Curtailed Rapist" 928 00:44:46,910 --> 00:44:49,660 is written in the Sacramento Bee. 929 00:44:49,740 --> 00:44:52,240 Then he has his tenth attack. 930 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,110 LARRY: A lot of people don't realize this, 931 00:44:56,200 --> 00:44:59,860 but six rapes in Sacramento, 932 00:44:59,950 --> 00:45:01,360 out of the first ten, 933 00:45:02,780 --> 00:45:04,780 six of them were teenagers. 934 00:45:04,860 --> 00:45:07,610 And two of them were 15 years old. 935 00:45:08,910 --> 00:45:10,780 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PAYING) ♪ 936 00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:12,660 (CAR DOOR OPENING) 937 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:26,530 KRIS PEDRETTI: This one here is probably, um, Christmas Day, 938 00:45:26,610 --> 00:45:29,110 which, so it'd be a week after it happened. 939 00:45:37,110 --> 00:45:39,030 It was December 18th. 940 00:45:39,110 --> 00:45:42,740 There was a high school dance, and I had a cold. 941 00:45:42,820 --> 00:45:46,700 So at the last minute, I decided to stay at home. 942 00:45:46,780 --> 00:45:49,660 Uh, my parents were going to a Christmas party 943 00:45:49,740 --> 00:45:51,530 and my sister was at work. 944 00:45:52,700 --> 00:45:55,570 My parents left probably around 6:30-ish. 945 00:45:55,660 --> 00:45:58,360 And I think I put a pizza in the oven, 946 00:45:58,450 --> 00:46:00,530 I remember having my slippers on, 947 00:46:00,610 --> 00:46:02,820 and I decided to go play the piano. 948 00:46:10,110 --> 00:46:15,160 I heard a noise, but at 15 years old, 949 00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:16,660 you always hear noises in your house 950 00:46:16,740 --> 00:46:17,990 when your parents aren't home. 951 00:46:18,070 --> 00:46:20,200 So I didn't think much of it. 952 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:21,700 I stopped. 953 00:46:21,780 --> 00:46:24,820 I do remember stopping and listening and... 954 00:46:27,820 --> 00:46:30,910 uh, didn't hear anything else, so I continued to play. 955 00:46:34,820 --> 00:46:37,530 It wasn't very much longer, maybe a couple minutes, 956 00:46:37,610 --> 00:46:39,360 that I felt... 957 00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:45,110 um, a presence next to me. 958 00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,910 And I looked up and, um, 959 00:46:48,860 --> 00:46:50,860 then I felt a knife at my throat. 960 00:46:58,030 --> 00:47:00,610 And then he told me in my ear, you know, 961 00:47:00,700 --> 00:47:02,950 "If you scream or move, 962 00:47:03,030 --> 00:47:05,450 I will put this knife through your throat 963 00:47:05,530 --> 00:47:07,240 and I'll be gone in the dark." 964 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:15,700 He moved me down the hallway, through the garage, 965 00:47:15,780 --> 00:47:18,360 and into the backyard, um... 966 00:47:21,700 --> 00:47:24,860 where I was left out in the, uh... 967 00:47:25,740 --> 00:47:27,070 on a picnic bench 968 00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:29,200 while he went back into the house. 969 00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:32,410 And he told me he'd be watching me every 10 seconds. 970 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:40,030 He, uh, came back outside 971 00:47:40,110 --> 00:47:42,740 and that is where he cut my clothes off. 972 00:47:48,070 --> 00:47:51,610 He would bring me inside and he would rape me, 973 00:47:51,700 --> 00:47:53,780 take me back outside, 974 00:47:53,860 --> 00:47:57,410 inside, rape me again, back outside. 975 00:47:57,490 --> 00:47:58,910 And then another time. 976 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:02,320 Yeah. (CHUCKLES) 977 00:48:02,410 --> 00:48:07,660 So that was my first, um, memory of that. 978 00:48:07,740 --> 00:48:08,820 Um... 979 00:48:08,910 --> 00:48:12,780 (KETTLE WHISTLING) 980 00:48:18,110 --> 00:48:20,950 I think during that time though, I was-- 981 00:48:21,030 --> 00:48:23,700 there wasn't a lot of feeling going on. 982 00:48:23,780 --> 00:48:25,700 I was pretty numb. 983 00:48:25,780 --> 00:48:28,910 And, uh-- but what I do remember 984 00:48:28,990 --> 00:48:34,530 is he had moved the couch very close to our fireplace. 985 00:48:34,610 --> 00:48:38,780 But because I was blindfolded and couldn't see, 986 00:48:38,860 --> 00:48:43,200 I thought he had caught our couch on fire. 987 00:48:44,410 --> 00:48:47,320 And I think that was probably, uh... 988 00:48:48,450 --> 00:48:50,410 that was-- that was really scary. 989 00:48:50,490 --> 00:48:53,740 Because I thought I was gonna die. 990 00:48:53,820 --> 00:48:56,990 Um... and then he was gone. 991 00:48:57,910 --> 00:49:00,490 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 992 00:49:03,740 --> 00:49:05,570 KRIS: I stopped playing the piano 993 00:49:05,660 --> 00:49:07,820 shortly after the attack. 994 00:49:09,490 --> 00:49:12,570 It was difficult for me to play 995 00:49:12,660 --> 00:49:16,530 because I always felt like there was... 996 00:49:17,110 --> 00:49:18,530 somebody behind me. 997 00:49:21,740 --> 00:49:26,530 It was just a few hours, but it changed everything. 998 00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:30,280 REPORTER: It had been a month since he last struck, 999 00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:31,910 but he has struck again. 1000 00:49:31,990 --> 00:49:34,320 This time, it was a 15-year-old girl. 1001 00:49:34,410 --> 00:49:37,280 Again, it was in a northeast Sacramento neighborhood. 1002 00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:39,280 Again, he knew she was alone, 1003 00:49:39,360 --> 00:49:41,990 forced his way in using a knife to threaten her, 1004 00:49:42,070 --> 00:49:44,280 and raped her repeatedly for several hours, 1005 00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:47,030 and forced her to perform perverted sex acts. 1006 00:49:47,110 --> 00:49:49,450 The latest victim was younger than the others 1007 00:49:49,530 --> 00:49:51,450 and the attack took place early in the evening, 1008 00:49:51,530 --> 00:49:54,740 where the others took place between 11:00 at night and dawn. 1009 00:49:54,820 --> 00:49:57,070 But it definitely was the same rapist 1010 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,740 who has eluded authorities for over a year. 1011 00:50:04,660 --> 00:50:06,860 NANCY: When Michelle and I talked about this story, 1012 00:50:06,950 --> 00:50:08,990 it was one of those things that you just kind of 1013 00:50:09,070 --> 00:50:10,950 keep thinking about and keep thinking about. 1014 00:50:11,030 --> 00:50:14,110 Michelle had already done an incredible amount of research. 1015 00:50:14,200 --> 00:50:17,320 And I remember thinking, "Okay. We've got a few hurdles. 1016 00:50:17,410 --> 00:50:20,700 Um, I have to pitch this to my editor-in-chief." 1017 00:50:20,780 --> 00:50:23,160 Everyone loves a story about a killer. (CHUCKLES) 1018 00:50:23,240 --> 00:50:24,610 But in order to get her interested, 1019 00:50:24,700 --> 00:50:28,320 I had to convince her that this story was relevant now 1020 00:50:28,410 --> 00:50:29,320 and that it was, like, 1021 00:50:29,410 --> 00:50:32,160 a Los Angeles and a California story. 1022 00:50:32,240 --> 00:50:34,700 Michelle was an incredible intrepid reporter. 1023 00:50:34,780 --> 00:50:37,160 As we were sort of trying to put the pitch together, 1024 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:39,910 she would go on her own and just research things. 1025 00:50:39,990 --> 00:50:41,360 You could be completely confident 1026 00:50:41,450 --> 00:50:43,410 that she was going to come back with something, 1027 00:50:43,490 --> 00:50:44,410 something good. 1028 00:50:44,490 --> 00:50:45,740 And not just get the facts right, 1029 00:50:45,820 --> 00:50:48,280 but also be able to have that relationship 1030 00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:50,360 with that person that she would need. 1031 00:50:50,450 --> 00:50:52,280 That no one else could get to. 1032 00:50:56,700 --> 00:50:59,950 MICHELLE: I pitched LA Magazine the EAR story. 1033 00:51:00,030 --> 00:51:02,200 And they're interested in doing it, possibly, 1034 00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:04,030 which would be amazing. I mean, that would be like 1035 00:51:04,110 --> 00:51:06,570 the kind of publicity that just-- you can't buy. 1036 00:51:06,660 --> 00:51:08,780 You know? I mean, I just think this story 1037 00:51:08,860 --> 00:51:10,570 -is so important to be told. -MELANIE: It is. 1038 00:51:10,660 --> 00:51:12,450 MICHELLE: I mean, it's-- it gets me that this person-- 1039 00:51:12,530 --> 00:51:15,030 -I just feel like he's smirking somewhere, going like... -MELANIE: Yeah. 1040 00:51:15,110 --> 00:51:17,490 -MICHELLE: ..."I don't have to pay for this ever." -Fuck him. 1041 00:51:17,570 --> 00:51:22,450 If there's any way I could look at whatever you have, 1042 00:51:22,530 --> 00:51:25,570 and I won't copy anything, I just look at it and take notes 1043 00:51:25,660 --> 00:51:27,240 and then give it back to you tomorrow? 1044 00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:30,450 At least then I can say I saw case files. 1045 00:51:30,530 --> 00:51:32,240 MELANIE: Can I... 1046 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:35,110 let you, while you're here, look at some stuff? 1047 00:51:36,490 --> 00:51:37,740 MICHELLE: Um... 1048 00:51:37,820 --> 00:51:40,700 MELANIE: Because I've sworn confidentiality, 1049 00:51:40,780 --> 00:51:42,660 that I would never, uh, 1050 00:51:43,660 --> 00:51:45,070 release it out of my possession. 1051 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:46,700 MICHELLE: Right. Yeah. I mean, 1052 00:51:46,780 --> 00:51:48,490 so what you're thinking is that I could sit there... 1053 00:51:48,570 --> 00:51:50,410 -MELANIE: You could sit there and go through them. -Okay. 1054 00:51:50,490 --> 00:51:52,360 -MELANIE: I just can't let them leave my home. 1055 00:51:52,450 --> 00:51:55,740 MICHELLE: Right. How many pages are there all together, like? 1056 00:51:55,820 --> 00:51:57,490 MELANIE: Probably four or five thousand. 1057 00:51:57,570 --> 00:51:59,070 -MICHELLE: Oh, my God. -MELANIE: Yeah, it's big. 1058 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:00,990 -MICHELLE: Yeah. -MELANIE: It's all the rapes. 1059 00:52:01,070 --> 00:52:03,360 -MICHELLE: Right. -It's every-- all 50 rapes. 1060 00:52:03,450 --> 00:52:04,530 MICHELLE: Wow. 1061 00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:12,530 MICHELLE: Wow. 1062 00:52:16,570 --> 00:52:18,700 MELANIE: 1063 00:52:18,780 --> 00:52:20,360 MICHELLE: These underground trades, 1064 00:52:20,450 --> 00:52:21,860 the result of furtive alliances 1065 00:52:21,950 --> 00:52:25,450 forged from a shared obsession with a faceless serial killer, 1066 00:52:25,530 --> 00:52:26,990 were common. 1067 00:52:27,070 --> 00:52:29,610 Online sleuths, retired detectives, 1068 00:52:29,700 --> 00:52:32,950 and active detectives, everyone participated. 1069 00:52:33,030 --> 00:52:34,240 (CAR BEEPS) 1070 00:52:36,910 --> 00:52:39,160 (CELL PHONE PINGS) 1071 00:52:45,570 --> 00:52:50,240 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PAYING) ♪ 1072 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:52,160 MICHELLE: The grandiose seeker in me 1073 00:52:52,240 --> 00:52:55,160 couldn't wait to insert the flash drive into my laptop 1074 00:52:55,240 --> 00:52:56,410 back at my hotel. 1075 00:52:58,200 --> 00:52:59,320 At every stoplight, 1076 00:52:59,410 --> 00:53:01,860 I touched the top pocket in my backpack 1077 00:53:01,950 --> 00:53:05,070 to make sure the tiny rectangle was still there. 1078 00:53:09,490 --> 00:53:12,280 Once in my room, I immediately changed 1079 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:14,860 into the crisp white hotel bathrobe. 1080 00:53:14,950 --> 00:53:17,780 I lowered the shades and turned off my phone. 1081 00:53:19,410 --> 00:53:22,360 I dumped a bag of minibar gummy bears into a glass 1082 00:53:22,450 --> 00:53:23,950 and set it next to me on the bed, 1083 00:53:24,030 --> 00:53:27,320 where I sat cross-legged in front of my laptop. 1084 00:53:29,820 --> 00:53:32,950 Ahead of me was a rare 24-hour stretch 1085 00:53:33,030 --> 00:53:36,410 without interference or distraction. 1086 00:53:36,490 --> 00:53:40,660 No tiny hands slicked with paint asking to be washed. 1087 00:53:40,740 --> 00:53:44,950 No preoccupied hungry husband to inquire about dinner. 1088 00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:51,200 I inserted the flash drive, my mind in mail sorter mode, 1089 00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:54,530 my index finger on the down arrow key. 1090 00:53:54,610 --> 00:53:58,240 I began to not so much read as devour. 1091 00:54:02,530 --> 00:54:05,280 Drainage ditches and cement-lined canals 1092 00:54:05,360 --> 00:54:07,990 come up frequently in the police reports. 1093 00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:11,860 It's clear from the start, 1094 00:54:11,950 --> 00:54:15,200 from footprints, evidence, suspicious sightings, 1095 00:54:15,280 --> 00:54:18,240 and even bringing one victim down there, 1096 00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:21,360 that the East Area Rapist traveled this way, 1097 00:54:21,450 --> 00:54:24,610 like a subterranean creature. 1098 00:54:24,700 --> 00:54:29,200 He was doing reconnaissance. He was studying people. 1099 00:54:29,990 --> 00:54:31,950 Learning when they were home. 1100 00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:35,030 That means that women exist 1101 00:54:35,110 --> 00:54:38,240 who, because of change of schedule or luck, 1102 00:54:38,320 --> 00:54:40,490 were never victims. 1103 00:54:40,570 --> 00:54:43,410 But they felt something terrifying 1104 00:54:43,490 --> 00:54:44,860 brush against them. 1105 00:54:49,990 --> 00:54:53,700 Hours vanished. The gummy bears were gone. 1106 00:54:55,200 --> 00:54:58,030 I was jittery from sugar, hunger, 1107 00:54:58,110 --> 00:55:00,450 and spending too much time alone in the dark 1108 00:55:00,530 --> 00:55:03,530 absorbing a 50-chapter horror story. 1109 00:55:09,360 --> 00:55:12,110 Part of the thrill of the game for him, I believe, 1110 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,110 was a kind of connect-the-dots puzzle 1111 00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:16,570 he played with people. 1112 00:55:16,660 --> 00:55:19,240 You may not think you have something in common 1113 00:55:19,320 --> 00:55:20,860 with your neighbor, 1114 00:55:21,530 --> 00:55:22,700 but you do. 1115 00:55:24,030 --> 00:55:25,030 Me. 1116 00:55:28,030 --> 00:55:30,740 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪