A new documentary series examines the case of a California rapist and murderer — and the true crime author who relentlessly tried to track him down.
On Monday, HBO dropped a trailer for their six-part documentary series I’ll Be Gone In the Dark, which will air on Sky Atlantic in the UK. Directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus, the series is based on Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the Golden State Killer, and McNamara’s book of the same name.
McNamara, who died in 2016, ran a true crime blog called True Crime Diary, and spent hours investigating crimes committed by what police at the time believed to be two separate people: the East Area Rapist and “the Original Night Stalker,” a reference to Richard Ramirez, a rapist and murderer who operated around Los Angeles and San Francisco. The crimes began in 1976, and continued for a decade. In 2001, DNA confirmed these two people were the same person. It was McNamara who coined the term the Golden State Killer, and through her website and subsequent book, brought attention to the case.
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“What drives me is the need to put a face on an unknown killer,” McNamara says in the trailer for I’ll Be Gone In the Dark.
Through her work, McNamara was able to access “material that other investigators had never seen.” Unlike many in the true crime world, she also made sure to pay special attention to the victims of the Golden State Killer, who was linked to over 13 murders.
In 2018, police arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, a 73-year-old former police officer, under suspicion that he was the Golden State Killer. In convicted, DeAngelo faces the death penalty. He is currently awaiting trial.
The new series should provide not only an eye-opening view of a case that McNamara vowed to bring into the public consciousness, but also of McNamara herself, who fought for justice for the Golden State Killer’s victims and survivors.
Check out the trailer below:
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark premieres in June on Sky Atlantic.