HBO has released the trailer for the explosive new six-part docuseries I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which follows late author Michelle McNamara’s investigation into an infamous murderer, whom she dubbed the Golden State Killer.
The series is based on McNamara’s true crime book of the same name, which was posthumously released in 2018 — just two years after her death.
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The docuseries, directed by Oscar nominee Liz Garbus, features original recordings that McNamara filmed before her death and excerpts of her book read by Amy Ryan. The project also includes interviews with detectives, members of McNamara’s family and survivors of the Golden State Killer.
“The tragedy of this case is that it’s not better known,” McNamara says in one of her recordings.
The clip then transitions to explore McNamara’s infatuation with the case as she explains, “I just obsessed over it.”
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Before the release of her book, McNamara, who maintained a relatively private life while married to comedian Patton Oswalt, ran a blog where she would report on her findings. McNamara worked to be a voice for the victims.
“What drives me is a need to put a face on an unknown killer,” McNamara says in a different scene.
“After my husband and daughter fell asleep. I hunted the killer with my laptop,” McNamara wrote in her book, as narrated by Ryan.
Eventually, the quest to discover the Golden State Killer took over McNamara’s entire life as she was not only trying to complete a book, but she was also trying to crack the case at the same time.
“She had material that other investigators had never seen,” a man says in one interview in the clip.
The police force even considered McNamara one of their own, although “she never had a badge or a gun.”
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McNamara died on April 21, 2016 of an accidental overdose in her sleep at the age of 46. On April 24, 2018, Joseph James DeAngelo — the man accused of being the Golden State Killer — was arrested.
In March of this year, court documents filed in California indicate DeAngelo seems open to a plea deal — as long as the death penalty’s off the table.
A year after his arrest, prosecutors declared they would seek the death penalty against the former policeman and retired mechanic — who was taken down thanks, in part, to genetic genealogy.
The Golden State Killer, who has also been known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker, was responsible for 13 murders, 45 sexual assaults and more than 120 burglaries across California — one of the longest and most vicious crime sprees in U.S. history.
DeAngelo has also been charged with kidnapping and weapons offenses.
“Mr. DeAngelo is 74 years old,” reads part of a motion filed by the accused serial killer’s public defenders. “He has offered to plead to the charges with a lifetime sentence.”
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Joseph James DeAngelo
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
The Los Angeles Times reported DeAngelo’s lawyers also sent a letter to the victim’s families, detailing their client’s willingness to take a plea, therefore avoiding a costly, painful trial.
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“This particular case is exceedingly complex due to the number of charged crimes and the diverse locations of the charged crimes,” reads the motion obtained by PEOPLE. “We would like to reach a resolution of the case that avoids a trial, satisfies all parties and provides a more immediate resolution of the case.”
The decades-long investigation into the crimes DeAngelo’s accused of came to an end in 2019, after law enforcement compared the Golden State Killer’s DNA — found at one of the crime scenes — to the genetic profiles publicly available via a genealogical website.
The crime scene DNA sample matched that of one of DeAngelo’s relatives.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark will premiere June 28 on HBO.