1 00:00:01,070 --> 00:00:02,160 PAT: Hey, it's Pat. Just wanted to call 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:03,950 and congratulate you. That is such awesome news. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,280 WOMAN: In '77, the East Area Rapist began attacking couples. 4 00:00:08,530 --> 00:00:12,740 The sex was not his thing. The terror was the thing. 5 00:00:12,990 --> 00:00:15,490 I felt shamed. Did I wear something? 6 00:00:15,570 --> 00:00:18,780 It was a time where somehow it always came back to being 7 00:00:18,860 --> 00:00:19,780 the woman's fault. 8 00:00:19,990 --> 00:00:21,910 MAN: Michelle would have very vivid dreams. 9 00:00:21,990 --> 00:00:23,950 WOMAN: "There's a scream..." (READS PROMPT) 10 00:00:24,490 --> 00:00:26,820 MAN: When I would wake her up, she'd be still half in the dream. 11 00:00:27,530 --> 00:00:29,320 WOMAN: We don't know who may be, like, 12 00:00:29,410 --> 00:00:31,200 slinking by us covered in blood. 13 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,660 It was a hard pill to swallow that he got away 14 00:00:35,740 --> 00:00:36,740 with these things. 15 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:39,240 MAN 2: The guy's getting more and more brutal as he goes. 16 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,950 He wants to kill and he is going to kill. 17 00:00:56,660 --> 00:00:59,030 (RADIO STATIC) 18 00:00:59,110 --> 00:01:02,110 DETECTIVE: Test, test, test, test, test. 19 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,450 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 20 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:15,450 (TAPE CLICKS) 21 00:01:15,530 --> 00:01:16,660 WOMAN: Hello? 22 00:01:20,030 --> 00:01:21,030 Hello? 23 00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:24,990 Hello? 24 00:01:25,780 --> 00:01:31,110 (HEAVY BREATHING) 25 00:01:37,780 --> 00:01:39,990 EAST AREA RAPIST: 26 00:01:41,660 --> 00:01:43,860 Gonna kill you... 27 00:01:43,950 --> 00:01:45,910 (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) 28 00:01:45,990 --> 00:01:48,610 EAST AREA RAPIST: Gonna kill you... 29 00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:56,990 Bitch. 30 00:01:57,070 --> 00:01:58,570 (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) 31 00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:00,570 -EAST AREA RAPIST: Bitch-- -(TAPE REWINDS) 32 00:02:00,660 --> 00:02:02,610 -(WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) -EAST AREA RAPIST: Bitch-- 33 00:02:02,700 --> 00:02:05,030 -(TAPE REWINDS) -Bitch-- 34 00:02:05,950 --> 00:02:08,200 (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) 35 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,110 MICHELLE MCNAMARA: He was a lunatic. 36 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:11,610 EAST AREA RAPIST: Bitch. 37 00:02:11,700 --> 00:02:14,200 MICHELLE: Unseen. So doubly feared. 38 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:16,450 WOMAN: Hello? 39 00:02:16,530 --> 00:02:19,110 MICHELLE: The danger of taking a wrong turn in the catacombs 40 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,280 -always looms in this case. -(TAPE REWINDS) 41 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,410 EAST AREA RAPIST: Fucking whore. 42 00:02:25,990 --> 00:02:28,360 MICHELLE: I turned to the retired detectives. 43 00:02:29,530 --> 00:02:33,070 I lamented that I felt I was grasping at straws. 44 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,360 "My advice?" one said. 45 00:02:37,990 --> 00:02:39,450 "Grasp a straw, 46 00:02:39,530 --> 00:02:41,110 work it to dust." 47 00:02:43,660 --> 00:02:47,240 ♪ ("AVALANCHE" BY AIMEE MANN PLAYING) ♪ 48 00:02:55,700 --> 00:02:59,410 ♪ Well, I stepped Into an avalanche ♪ 49 00:03:00,990 --> 00:03:03,910 ♪ It covered up my soul ♪ 50 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,450 ♪ When I am not this hunchback That you see ♪ 51 00:03:11,570 --> 00:03:14,530 ♪ I sleep beneath The golden hill ♪ 52 00:03:16,910 --> 00:03:20,820 ♪ You who wish to conquer pain ♪ 53 00:03:20,910 --> 00:03:26,950 ♪ You must learn Learn to serve me well ♪ 54 00:03:31,610 --> 00:03:33,610 ♪ (MUSIC STOPS) ♪ 55 00:03:34,950 --> 00:03:37,700 It definitely goes down as one of the biggest mysteries. 56 00:03:37,780 --> 00:03:38,780 That's for sure. 57 00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:41,610 Just everything about it is a mystery. Um... 58 00:03:41,700 --> 00:03:45,160 And it has such a boogeyman aspect to it, you know. 59 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,410 He does feel like a ghost sometimes. 60 00:03:52,950 --> 00:03:55,070 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 61 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,450 MICHELLE: By 1979, the East Area Rapist 62 00:03:58,530 --> 00:03:59,860 appeared to have stopped. 63 00:03:59,950 --> 00:04:02,240 It's quite possible the East Area Rapist 64 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,490 takes a summer vacation just like you do. 65 00:04:05,570 --> 00:04:08,160 Let's hope he forgets to come home again. 66 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,990 Our task force was-- was shut down. 67 00:04:13,070 --> 00:04:16,700 And we were told that, uh, now he's gone. 68 00:04:16,780 --> 00:04:18,820 He's no longer our problem. 69 00:04:18,910 --> 00:04:22,360 MICHELLE: Crompton's bosses nearly danced with relief. 70 00:04:23,820 --> 00:04:27,700 But in reality, the East Area Rapist 71 00:04:27,780 --> 00:04:30,360 had only moved 400 miles south, 72 00:04:30,450 --> 00:04:35,200 where he would become known as the Original Night Stalker. 73 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:38,160 ♪ (OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 74 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,240 MICHELLE: Goleta is a bedroom community 75 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:49,860 outside of Santa Barbara. 76 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,570 Despite its safe reputation, 77 00:04:53,660 --> 00:04:56,860 few people would brave San Jose Creek 78 00:04:56,950 --> 00:04:58,660 alone at night. 79 00:05:02,450 --> 00:05:04,860 PAUL HAYNES: Uh, Michelle and I, it was in, uh, 2013. 80 00:05:04,950 --> 00:05:07,410 We drove out here to Santa Barbara. 81 00:05:07,490 --> 00:05:09,950 And, uh, we visited each of the scenes 82 00:05:10,030 --> 00:05:13,860 associated with the killer's, uh, activity in this area. 83 00:05:15,410 --> 00:05:17,860 (MICHELLE READS) 84 00:05:24,860 --> 00:05:26,450 We definitely spent time under this bridge 85 00:05:26,530 --> 00:05:32,280 and probably passed through this area multiple times. 86 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,110 His footprints were seen throughout this neighborhood. 87 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,110 He-- he had a unique pattern. 88 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,660 So, there was evidence of him roaming 89 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:44,160 in that whole vicinity. 90 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,030 (LEAVES RUSTLING) 91 00:05:48,910 --> 00:05:51,570 MICHELLE: Investigators felt like they knew the night 92 00:05:51,660 --> 00:05:52,780 that changed him. 93 00:05:53,410 --> 00:05:56,200 October 1st, 1979. 94 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:58,200 That was the night a Goleta couple 95 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,820 on Queen Ann Lane awakened to a blinding flashlight 96 00:06:01,910 --> 00:06:04,780 and a young man's clenched-teeth whisper. 97 00:06:05,950 --> 00:06:08,700 The woman was ordered to tie up her boyfriend. 98 00:06:09,530 --> 00:06:12,030 Then the intruder tied her. 99 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:14,200 He led the woman into the living room 100 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:17,030 and made her lie face-down on the floor, 101 00:06:17,110 --> 00:06:21,780 throwing a pair of tennis shorts over her head as a blindfold. 102 00:06:21,860 --> 00:06:23,360 They heard him enter their kitchen 103 00:06:23,450 --> 00:06:25,820 chanting to himself, (WHISPERING) "I'll kill you. 104 00:06:25,910 --> 00:06:28,530 I'll kill you. I'll kill you." 105 00:06:28,610 --> 00:06:29,950 A surge of adrenaline 106 00:06:30,030 --> 00:06:32,610 allowed the woman to escape her bindings 107 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:35,160 and flee out the front door screaming. 108 00:06:38,450 --> 00:06:40,450 MICHELLE: (CHUCKLES) Right. Yeah. 109 00:06:42,780 --> 00:06:46,160 The couple's next-door neighbor was an FBI agent. 110 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,200 Alerted by the woman's scream, he came outside just in time 111 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:53,070 to see a man furiously pedal past 112 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,860 on a stolen silver Nishiki 10-speed. 113 00:06:55,950 --> 00:06:57,700 STAN LOS: I saw him come out of the driveway, 114 00:06:57,780 --> 00:06:59,280 and he went this way. 115 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:01,070 MICHELLE: So you just said, what, "Stop," or something like that? 116 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:02,610 -STAN: I yelled at him, yeah. -MICHELLE: Yeah. 117 00:07:02,700 --> 00:07:05,030 STAN: I got in my car. He was in front of me. 118 00:07:05,110 --> 00:07:08,320 I could see the reflector on the bicycle. 119 00:07:08,410 --> 00:07:10,740 -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. -STAN: Just gaining on him real quick. 120 00:07:10,820 --> 00:07:11,820 MICHELLE: Yeah. 121 00:07:11,910 --> 00:07:14,280 STAN: And he came a couple hundred yards 122 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:16,410 and he dumped the bike on the sidewalk 123 00:07:16,490 --> 00:07:17,910 and he climbed over a fence. 124 00:07:17,990 --> 00:07:19,110 MICHELLE: Uh-huh. 125 00:07:20,660 --> 00:07:23,610 Stan Los would later catch shit from local cops 126 00:07:23,700 --> 00:07:25,360 about why he didn't shoot the guy. 127 00:07:25,450 --> 00:07:27,110 STAN: "Why didn't you shoot him?" 128 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:28,570 MICHELLE: Oh, well... 129 00:07:28,660 --> 00:07:30,910 STAN: See, but all I had at that point was a lone scream... 130 00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:32,660 MICHELLE: And a kid on a bike. 131 00:07:32,740 --> 00:07:34,780 -STAN: ...and a kid on a bike. Or a person on a bike. -MICHELLE: Yeah. Yeah. 132 00:07:34,860 --> 00:07:37,240 MICHELLE: He couldn't have predicted that the next time 133 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,360 he'd emerge a few blocks over... 134 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,860 he'd be a full-blown killer. 135 00:07:44,110 --> 00:07:45,530 MICHELLE: They're lucky. 136 00:07:45,610 --> 00:07:47,110 -When you think about it, I mean, no one... -STAN: They are. 137 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,530 MICHELLE: After that, no one, uh, no one survived. 138 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,070 This is a classic East Area Rapist-style attack. 139 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,700 They don't recognize that it's the same guy 140 00:07:59,780 --> 00:08:02,200 that's been attacking up in-- up in Northern California, 141 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,530 you know, so they have this standalone case. 142 00:08:06,740 --> 00:08:09,530 MICHELLE: So much wasn't considered relevant then. 143 00:08:10,990 --> 00:08:13,070 But rewinding is important. 144 00:08:16,910 --> 00:08:19,280 HAYNES: Among the ways in which the East Area Rapist 145 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,660 victimized those whom he targeted was stealing items 146 00:08:22,740 --> 00:08:25,360 that were personal and irreplaceable, 147 00:08:25,450 --> 00:08:27,030 items like wedding rings, 148 00:08:27,110 --> 00:08:30,530 jewelry that appeared to be inherited. 149 00:08:30,610 --> 00:08:32,780 Michelle felt that if she could find, 150 00:08:32,860 --> 00:08:35,780 somewhere in the wild, one of those items, 151 00:08:35,860 --> 00:08:37,950 that could be the thread that leads her 152 00:08:38,030 --> 00:08:39,660 to the East Area Rapist. 153 00:08:39,740 --> 00:08:43,160 MICHELLE: I came across sort of very similar cufflinks 154 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,610 with the same initials that looked the same. 155 00:08:45,700 --> 00:08:48,160 And I bought them, and at that point, I knew 156 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,280 I needed to give it to an actual detective, 157 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,410 you know, to see if we could find out where these came from. 158 00:09:02,610 --> 00:09:04,030 LARRY POOL: Are you recording at this point? 159 00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:07,110 MICHELLE: Um, I just wanted to make sure I was. Yes. 160 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,360 POOL: Any ideas that you have, 161 00:09:09,450 --> 00:09:11,860 I'm completely open to them. 162 00:09:11,950 --> 00:09:13,200 -MICHELLE: Okay. -POOL: So... 163 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,660 MICHELLE: I had an interview set up with Larry Pool, 164 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:17,110 the Orange County investigator 165 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,110 who has led the cold case task force since the mid '90s. 166 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,530 Every investigator I know that's been given 167 00:09:24,610 --> 00:09:28,530 the opportunity to examine this case feels that 168 00:09:28,610 --> 00:09:32,700 it's the case that they want solved before they die. 169 00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:36,030 MICHELLE: I take a chance at the end of our conversation 170 00:09:36,110 --> 00:09:38,860 and reach into my bag for the cufflinks. 171 00:09:38,950 --> 00:09:41,200 Well, I have to tell you, I-- We're just-- 172 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:42,530 I have insomnia sometimes. 173 00:09:42,610 --> 00:09:43,780 Sometimes at 3:00 in the morning, 174 00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:45,240 I would just start googling and look for things. 175 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,160 -POOL: Me too. -MICHELLE: Um... (CHUCKLES) 176 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,110 So, you know, 50 times, nothing happened. 177 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,530 Then, lo and behold, I found some cufflinks. 178 00:09:51,610 --> 00:09:53,030 So, it's slightly unusual. 179 00:09:53,700 --> 00:09:55,490 'Cause you never know. 180 00:09:58,490 --> 00:09:59,950 POOL: I will, uh... 181 00:10:02,780 --> 00:10:03,820 MICHELLE: No, you can have them. 182 00:10:03,910 --> 00:10:05,780 -POOL: I can. -MICHELLE: Yeah, yeah. Yes. 183 00:10:05,860 --> 00:10:07,450 -POOL: -(MICHELLE LAUGHS) 184 00:10:07,530 --> 00:10:10,570 MICHELLE: I didn't know if I was gonna make you mad that I did that. 185 00:10:10,660 --> 00:10:12,910 POOL: Not at all. 186 00:10:12,990 --> 00:10:15,700 -(POOL LAUGHS) -MICHELLE: (LAUGHS) Oh, good. I'm glad. 187 00:10:16,910 --> 00:10:20,780 He was overjoyed because he's been s-- You know, 188 00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:23,240 searching for kind of out-of-the-box ways 189 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,450 to solve this case anyway, and hadn't thought to do this. 190 00:10:26,530 --> 00:10:30,280 He tracked down the victims for, on a weekend, 191 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,240 they thought they were the cufflinks. 192 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,030 And so, we were incredibly excited. 193 00:10:34,110 --> 00:10:37,110 Turned out that they're not the actual cufflinks. 194 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:40,280 Um, so-- so that kind of trail ended. 195 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,110 But it kind of opened up this-- it definitely opened up 196 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,110 a relationship with these detectives in which I would... 197 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,610 The first time I heard about this woman 198 00:10:49,700 --> 00:10:51,110 named Michelle McNamara. 199 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,110 Larry Pool brought her name up. 200 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:58,530 And, uh, he said there was this true-crime writer slash blogger 201 00:10:58,610 --> 00:11:00,780 who's interested in doing an article 202 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:04,410 for Los Angeles Magazine on this case. 203 00:11:04,490 --> 00:11:06,450 At this point in time, I'd been involved 204 00:11:06,530 --> 00:11:08,990 in the East Area Rapist case for two decades. 205 00:11:09,070 --> 00:11:11,280 But the public just was unaware of it. 206 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,280 The hope is-- is that maybe by having greater 207 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,240 public attention, the right person 208 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,030 will come forward and give the right tip. 209 00:11:20,110 --> 00:11:22,910 Michelle called me shortly after that. 210 00:11:22,990 --> 00:11:26,610 MICHELLE: Do you have any source material 211 00:11:26,700 --> 00:11:28,320 that you could give me? 212 00:11:28,410 --> 00:11:30,610 PAUL HOLES: And I'm being very standoffish. 213 00:11:30,700 --> 00:11:32,530 You know, I have had things that I've said 214 00:11:32,610 --> 00:11:34,660 taken out of context put in the press. 215 00:11:34,740 --> 00:11:36,780 So, I was giving very vague answers. 216 00:11:36,860 --> 00:11:39,490 And then she would follow up and say, "Oh, no, hold on. 217 00:11:39,570 --> 00:11:40,700 Isn't this true?" 218 00:11:40,780 --> 00:11:42,490 And she'd bring up a fact about the case. 219 00:11:42,570 --> 00:11:45,610 And I was going, "Hmm, she knows, she knows her stuff." 220 00:11:45,700 --> 00:11:49,860 I started telling her things about my investigation 221 00:11:49,950 --> 00:11:51,240 off the record. 222 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,780 Three months after the very first attack 223 00:11:53,860 --> 00:11:57,030 down in Goleta, Santa Barbara, there's a double homicide 224 00:11:57,110 --> 00:11:59,030 right next to the San Jose Creek. 225 00:11:59,110 --> 00:12:00,570 MICHELLE: Right. 226 00:12:00,660 --> 00:12:04,240 HOLES: The Horinek-Himmel attack is October of '79, 227 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,610 and then Offerman-Manning attack is at the end of December '79. 228 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:13,740 And they are within a few blocks of each other. 229 00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:16,780 MICHELLE: On the morning of December 30th, 1979, 230 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:19,030 Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies 231 00:12:19,110 --> 00:12:20,910 responded to a call at the condo 232 00:12:20,990 --> 00:12:24,530 of osteopathic surgeon Dr. Robert Offerman 233 00:12:24,610 --> 00:12:27,950 and his new girlfriend, psychologist Debra Manning. 234 00:12:28,030 --> 00:12:31,110 Their good friends had arrived for a tennis game 235 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,200 and found a sliding glass door open. 236 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:35,570 HOLES: Our offender goes in. 237 00:12:35,660 --> 00:12:38,820 He gets both Offerman and Manning bound face-down 238 00:12:38,910 --> 00:12:40,780 in the bed. And then he leaves, 239 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:42,910 like he typically would do, to get the dishes 240 00:12:42,990 --> 00:12:44,570 or whatever else. 241 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:46,570 MICHELLE: Something he did with the rapes was-- was like he tied you up, 242 00:12:46,660 --> 00:12:48,950 and then he would go and eat in your kitchen. 243 00:12:49,030 --> 00:12:52,240 At the Offerman condo, it was right near Christmas, 244 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,490 and he had taken out the turkey and eaten it. 245 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,860 HOLES: He goes back in to check on the victims, 246 00:13:00,950 --> 00:13:03,740 and Dr. Offerman has slipped his bindings 247 00:13:03,820 --> 00:13:05,490 and gets up and charges him. 248 00:13:05,570 --> 00:13:06,780 (GUNSHOTS) 249 00:13:06,860 --> 00:13:08,740 HOLES: The offender shoots Offerman, 250 00:13:08,820 --> 00:13:11,110 then goes and shoots Dr. Manning 251 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,410 in the back of her head, and then runs off. 252 00:13:14,490 --> 00:13:18,070 Because this case went sideways, he never got a chance 253 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:20,110 to sexually assault Debra Manning. 254 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,450 MICHELLE: Do you know what kind of haunts me is, 255 00:13:22,530 --> 00:13:25,660 do you know what book was on Offerman's night table? 256 00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:28,990 Offerman was reading something like, How to Be Assertive. 257 00:13:29,660 --> 00:13:30,700 HOLES: Oh, really? 258 00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:32,990 MICHELLE: Yeah. It was just kind of like, oy. 259 00:13:40,780 --> 00:13:44,110 LARRY CROMPTON: I had, uh, heard of the murders 260 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:45,700 in Southern California. 261 00:13:46,490 --> 00:13:47,660 So, I call Santa Barbara. 262 00:13:47,740 --> 00:13:49,990 I said, "I think the Original Night Stalker 263 00:13:50,070 --> 00:13:51,660 is the East Area Rapist." 264 00:13:51,740 --> 00:13:53,660 And they said, "Don't know what you're talking about. 265 00:13:53,740 --> 00:13:56,450 We don't have anything like that down here." 266 00:13:56,530 --> 00:13:59,990 And then, uh, in February, I was sent down to San Diego 267 00:14:00,070 --> 00:14:01,320 to take a class. 268 00:14:01,410 --> 00:14:03,360 And there happened to be a Santa Barbara deputy 269 00:14:03,450 --> 00:14:05,320 in the class. And I got talking to him. 270 00:14:05,410 --> 00:14:07,860 And he said, "Yeah, yeah, we had the, uh, 271 00:14:07,950 --> 00:14:09,280 the double homicide." 272 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:10,610 "A matter of fact," he said, 273 00:14:10,700 --> 00:14:13,780 "they had an attempted rape before that." 274 00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:15,110 And I said, "What?" 275 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:20,410 So, I got those reports, and the tie-ups. 276 00:14:21,410 --> 00:14:23,570 And, uh, the ski mask. 277 00:14:24,410 --> 00:14:27,410 It all was there. 278 00:14:27,490 --> 00:14:30,490 I know that it's the same person. 279 00:14:30,570 --> 00:14:32,610 MALE REPORTER: According to sheriff spokesman Bill Miller, 280 00:14:32,700 --> 00:14:33,950 the department sent an investigator 281 00:14:34,030 --> 00:14:35,610 to Santa Barbara last week 282 00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:37,530 to look into the December shootings 283 00:14:37,610 --> 00:14:40,200 of a physician and his psychologist girlfriend. 284 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:41,660 MALE INTERVIEWEE: Two people were murdered. 285 00:14:41,740 --> 00:14:43,990 Uh, but what they have there is just the evidence 286 00:14:44,070 --> 00:14:46,410 at the scene which, uh, is a strong indication 287 00:14:46,490 --> 00:14:47,860 it could be the same man. 288 00:14:47,950 --> 00:14:49,820 MALE REPORTER: However, when I talked to Sergeant William Baker 289 00:14:49,910 --> 00:14:51,740 of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's department, 290 00:14:51,820 --> 00:14:53,200 I got a very different view. 291 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,450 SERGEANT WILLIAM BAKER: 292 00:15:06,780 --> 00:15:09,530 MICHELLE: Until we put a face on a killer who remains 293 00:15:09,610 --> 00:15:10,570 a question mark, 294 00:15:10,660 --> 00:15:13,610 he will continue to hold sway over us. 295 00:15:14,660 --> 00:15:17,660 I wonder at times if I need to step back. 296 00:15:20,030 --> 00:15:23,160 "He can't hurt me," I say, 297 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,030 not realizing that in every minute spent hunting him 298 00:15:26,110 --> 00:15:30,530 and not cuddling my daughter, he already has. 299 00:15:32,990 --> 00:15:36,160 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 300 00:15:37,030 --> 00:15:38,490 Hey, I'm Nancy. 301 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,660 NANCY MILLER: Michelle ultimately came up with 302 00:15:47,740 --> 00:15:50,410 the name "Golden State Killer" 'cause it makes sense. 303 00:15:50,490 --> 00:15:52,660 He terrorized up and down the state. 304 00:15:54,360 --> 00:16:00,570 It was an effort to recognize that he was a predator of... 305 00:16:00,660 --> 00:16:04,410 people's vision of California, of their dreams. 306 00:16:04,490 --> 00:16:06,910 MICHELLE: He had kind of, like, floated under the radar. 307 00:16:06,990 --> 00:16:08,570 Whereas the Zodiac or 308 00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:10,320 you know, Son of Sam got all this attention. 309 00:16:10,410 --> 00:16:12,910 And I thought, this guy had ten times more victims 310 00:16:12,990 --> 00:16:15,110 than those people. And he was ten times worse. 311 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,410 And we should know about him and we should all care, 312 00:16:17,490 --> 00:16:20,740 and we should get justice for these people. 313 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:24,320 NANCY: The night that we put that story up, 314 00:16:24,410 --> 00:16:26,160 it exploded. 315 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,610 In the sharing of it, it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. 316 00:16:29,700 --> 00:16:31,200 Roger Ebert tweeted about it. 317 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,780 It was her first major piece of writing. 318 00:16:33,860 --> 00:16:37,490 NANCY: What Michelle did was introduce herself 319 00:16:37,570 --> 00:16:41,360 as a really important figure, a sympathetic figure, 320 00:16:41,450 --> 00:16:43,860 and the person that we needed to get to know, 321 00:16:43,950 --> 00:16:47,360 almost in a memoir way that would help bring 322 00:16:47,450 --> 00:16:49,780 these sort of disparate collection 323 00:16:49,860 --> 00:16:51,570 of tragedies together. 324 00:16:55,110 --> 00:16:57,990 It was so beautifully, and, like, personally written. 325 00:16:58,070 --> 00:17:00,660 It was like every case was-- Happened to someone 326 00:17:00,740 --> 00:17:02,160 that was a friend of hers. 327 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,160 It wasn't just the usual reporting. 328 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,990 It was also like a very subtle call to action. 329 00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:14,820 I hadn't read anything that well-written in this field 330 00:17:14,910 --> 00:17:17,070 since probably Truman Capote. 331 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:19,200 It was just, you know, one of those things 332 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,410 where the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. 333 00:17:21,990 --> 00:17:23,490 THOMAS MCNAMARA: 334 00:17:31,950 --> 00:17:33,450 You know, that's when... 335 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,700 things really started for her. 336 00:17:36,780 --> 00:17:41,610 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 337 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,360 I called Michelle, and I said that I would be 338 00:17:46,450 --> 00:17:48,910 the right person to represent that book 339 00:17:48,990 --> 00:17:50,950 if she wanted to turn it into one. 340 00:17:51,030 --> 00:17:54,530 I think the best way to sell this is for you to come 341 00:17:54,610 --> 00:17:57,740 to New York and meet with the publishers. 342 00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:00,240 JENNIFER BARTH: Daniel Greenberg said 343 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,820 he was gonna send the proposal for a true crime book 344 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:06,240 that would transcend the genre. 345 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,160 The thing that drew me to it the most was the way Michelle 346 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,160 humanized all of the victims. 347 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,070 And the fact that Michelle herself is one part of the story 348 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:16,240 was so interesting. 349 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,820 And that was what I thought truly set it apart. 350 00:18:19,910 --> 00:18:23,200 I remember being at Shutters at the Beach. 351 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:24,570 Me and Michelle and Alice. 352 00:18:24,660 --> 00:18:29,570 And then, Michelle got the call that she had sold the book. 353 00:18:29,660 --> 00:18:31,570 And we were very, very excited. 354 00:18:31,660 --> 00:18:32,860 I ordered up champagne. 355 00:18:32,950 --> 00:18:34,320 And Alice was jumping up and down the bed 356 00:18:34,410 --> 00:18:36,820 because Mommy was so excited about something. 357 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,030 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 358 00:18:53,990 --> 00:18:55,280 MICHELLE: Alice, can you come down 359 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,610 and sit on the couch for a second? 360 00:18:56,700 --> 00:18:57,990 CAMERON CLOUTIER: Sorry. (LAUGHS) 361 00:18:58,070 --> 00:19:00,990 MICHELLE: Um, Alice, come down, okay? 362 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:03,950 You want to go see Mercedes and-- 363 00:19:04,030 --> 00:19:05,450 ALICE MCNAMARA: We go watch-- 364 00:19:05,530 --> 00:19:09,030 -(COUGHS) -(CHUCKLES) 365 00:19:09,110 --> 00:19:11,610 -What? -Let's go Peppa Pig. 366 00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:14,450 You are watching Peppa Pig. But Mommy's talking. 367 00:19:14,530 --> 00:19:17,030 I go watch Peppa Pig. 368 00:19:17,110 --> 00:19:20,200 Okay. Can you, um... 369 00:19:21,610 --> 00:19:22,700 (COUGHS) 370 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:24,240 ...but... 371 00:19:26,070 --> 00:19:28,490 -yeah. I don't know. Um... -(ALICE COUGHS) 372 00:19:28,570 --> 00:19:30,740 CAMERON: So, where would you start with this, then? 373 00:19:31,990 --> 00:19:34,610 (SIGHS) Gosh. 374 00:19:35,570 --> 00:19:37,030 Op. Gosh. 375 00:19:37,110 --> 00:19:39,160 -(BABBLING) -I-- hey. 376 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,320 You go watch Peppa Pig, and then I'll put your clothes on, 377 00:19:41,410 --> 00:19:42,660 and we'll go. 378 00:19:42,740 --> 00:19:44,860 You go. Go put on your clothes, thank you. 379 00:19:44,950 --> 00:19:46,200 Go put on your clothes. 380 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:47,820 (ALICE BABBLING) 381 00:19:47,910 --> 00:19:49,200 Um... 382 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,610 I mean, I would just recanvass those neighborhoods. 383 00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:56,030 I would look through every police record 384 00:19:56,110 --> 00:19:58,240 from year before and a year after. 385 00:19:58,320 --> 00:19:59,990 I mean, I think there's things you can do. 386 00:20:00,070 --> 00:20:01,610 Again, it's just time, energy... 387 00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:03,950 NANCY: After we finished that piece, it was like, "Whew, 388 00:20:04,030 --> 00:20:05,030 we're done." 389 00:20:05,110 --> 00:20:06,530 I was, like, kind of traumatized. 390 00:20:06,610 --> 00:20:07,990 I had weird dreams. 391 00:20:08,070 --> 00:20:13,450 I don't think I realized how toxic and scary it would be. 392 00:20:13,530 --> 00:20:15,360 But I was done. 393 00:20:15,450 --> 00:20:17,660 Like, I'm gonna go now work on a piece 394 00:20:17,740 --> 00:20:22,280 about tacos for the next issue of Los Angeles Magazine. 395 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:23,660 Michelle had to continue. 396 00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:25,240 She was like, "I got to keep going. 397 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,240 I've got to keep-- I've got to keep go-- 398 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,360 I've got to keep working on this." 399 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:32,030 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 400 00:20:32,110 --> 00:20:36,910 (MESSAGES PING) 401 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:52,860 (COFFEE BEANS CLANG) 402 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,990 (PHONE BUZZING) 403 00:20:58,070 --> 00:21:00,450 HOLES: Michelle and I, we were developing this-- 404 00:21:00,530 --> 00:21:03,160 this friendly relationship. 405 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,450 So, when her article was released, 406 00:21:05,530 --> 00:21:06,950 I was holding my breath. 407 00:21:07,030 --> 00:21:09,490 And I get to the end of the article, 408 00:21:09,570 --> 00:21:11,360 I was like, "Oh, thank God." 409 00:21:11,450 --> 00:21:12,990 She kept her word. 410 00:21:13,860 --> 00:21:14,950 I could trust her. 411 00:21:16,070 --> 00:21:18,070 We had more phone calls... 412 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,280 and agreed to establish some-- some email communications. 413 00:21:22,070 --> 00:21:23,910 And it was really at that moment 414 00:21:23,990 --> 00:21:26,700 in which it clicked between Michelle and I. 415 00:21:27,820 --> 00:21:29,360 She proved herself to me. 416 00:21:29,450 --> 00:21:31,240 And I basically opened wide open, 417 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,950 in terms of this is where I'm going with my investigation. 418 00:21:35,030 --> 00:21:36,320 (HOLES SIGHS) 419 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,490 what I've got is I've got just your general list of the cases 420 00:21:41,570 --> 00:21:43,200 and the attack times. 421 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:45,610 When you take a look at the homicides down south... 422 00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:46,990 MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 423 00:21:47,070 --> 00:21:48,780 HOLES: ...um, all the victims appear to have been bound, 424 00:21:48,860 --> 00:21:50,780 though he sometimes left the bindings 425 00:21:50,860 --> 00:21:52,030 and later on, he took all the bindings. 426 00:21:52,110 --> 00:21:53,610 MICHELLE: And do you think he took the bindings 427 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:55,410 because he was evolving and kind of learning 428 00:21:55,490 --> 00:21:57,530 and didn't want to leave evidence? 429 00:21:57,610 --> 00:21:59,490 HOLES: Well, that-- that's a possibility. 430 00:21:59,570 --> 00:22:00,660 MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 431 00:22:00,740 --> 00:22:02,410 Well, and also you said, interestingly, I mean, 432 00:22:02,490 --> 00:22:04,950 before you were talking about how he killed defensively. 433 00:22:05,030 --> 00:22:07,860 It seems by the time the Smith case in Ventura 434 00:22:07,950 --> 00:22:09,820 came around, he wasn't doing that anymore. 435 00:22:09,910 --> 00:22:13,360 It was more pure rage, "I wanna murder these people." 436 00:22:13,450 --> 00:22:14,570 HOLES: Yeah. 437 00:22:16,910 --> 00:22:19,860 MICHELLE: 438 00:22:19,950 --> 00:22:21,860 HOLES: You can kind of see the comings and goings 439 00:22:21,950 --> 00:22:23,660 of the people... 440 00:22:23,740 --> 00:22:25,990 without anybody really being suspicious 441 00:22:26,070 --> 00:22:28,320 about what you're up to. 442 00:22:28,410 --> 00:22:31,610 MICHELLE: So do we know where the back of the house is? 443 00:22:36,070 --> 00:22:37,360 HOLES: Yeah, that's it. 444 00:22:38,740 --> 00:22:40,740 MAN: This is the victim's backyard. 445 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,570 MICHELLE: Lyman Smith was a well-known attorney 446 00:22:46,660 --> 00:22:49,990 on the verge of a superior court judgeship. 447 00:22:50,070 --> 00:22:52,950 His wife Charlene was an interior designer 448 00:22:53,030 --> 00:22:54,780 with a jewelry business. 449 00:23:03,780 --> 00:23:05,570 JENNIFER CAROLE: It was a regular Sunday, 450 00:23:05,660 --> 00:23:07,530 and my younger brother Gary 451 00:23:07,610 --> 00:23:10,160 had gone up to mow the lawn at my dad's house. 452 00:23:13,610 --> 00:23:15,200 But then he went into the house, 453 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,200 and he could hear the alarm going off. 454 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,610 (ALARM BEEPING) 455 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:21,200 And Gary thought, "Oh, crap. 456 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:22,530 They're just getting up right now," 457 00:23:22,610 --> 00:23:24,860 which is weird 'cause it was noon or one. 458 00:23:24,950 --> 00:23:26,450 It just kept buzzing. 459 00:23:28,110 --> 00:23:30,360 So, he walked back to the bedroom. 460 00:23:30,450 --> 00:23:33,200 He saw they were still in bed, and he still did the, like, 461 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:34,860 "Ooh, I need to give them privacy." 462 00:23:34,950 --> 00:23:36,200 But at the same time thought, 463 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:37,410 "This is weird. They're not moving, 464 00:23:37,490 --> 00:23:38,780 and the alarm's still going off." 465 00:23:38,860 --> 00:23:41,740 So, he walked around to my dad's side of the bed. 466 00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:45,070 (ALARM BEEPING) 467 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,360 He turned off the alarm and lifted back the cover 468 00:23:47,450 --> 00:23:51,910 and saw that color of what I imagine was dried blood. 469 00:23:51,990 --> 00:23:55,200 He also knew they weren't moving and there was big trouble. 470 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:58,660 He put the cover back and picked up the phone 471 00:23:58,740 --> 00:24:01,990 that was there by the bed and called 911. 472 00:24:03,410 --> 00:24:06,240 We started to learn a lot more about what had happened 473 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,700 in the house and how they died, how they'd been murdered. 474 00:24:09,780 --> 00:24:12,950 And it was a lot worse than anybody thought. 475 00:24:14,860 --> 00:24:18,910 HOLES: The offender is able to get Lyman face down and bound. 476 00:24:18,990 --> 00:24:21,610 Probably had Charlene bind Lyman. 477 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:24,610 He's even using the-- the blanket 478 00:24:24,700 --> 00:24:26,700 tucked up underneath his arms 479 00:24:26,780 --> 00:24:28,610 to make it even that much more difficult 480 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:32,570 for Lyman to be able to escape out of the bed. 481 00:24:34,110 --> 00:24:36,740 Instead of leaving the room and moving 482 00:24:36,820 --> 00:24:38,700 the woman out to the family room, 483 00:24:38,780 --> 00:24:40,240 like he typically would do, 484 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,360 I think he is sexually assaulting Charlene 485 00:24:42,450 --> 00:24:44,360 with Lyman still in that bed. 486 00:24:45,450 --> 00:24:50,320 At some point, he goes and retrieves a log 487 00:24:50,410 --> 00:24:51,820 and bludgeons them to death. 488 00:24:53,820 --> 00:24:57,070 The homicides up to this point in time were shooting deaths 489 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,990 because he was reacting defensively. 490 00:25:01,070 --> 00:25:05,320 This is the first time that it goes the way he wants, 491 00:25:05,410 --> 00:25:09,320 and he probably realized a huge psychological release 492 00:25:09,410 --> 00:25:12,240 from accomplishing this task. 493 00:25:16,780 --> 00:25:19,410 Five months after the Smith homicides, 494 00:25:19,490 --> 00:25:22,450 we see the next attack in August of 1980 495 00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:23,990 down in Laguna Niguel 496 00:25:24,070 --> 00:25:27,320 with Keith and Patrice Harrington. 497 00:25:27,410 --> 00:25:31,530 This case identically mirrors the Smith case in Ventura. 498 00:25:31,610 --> 00:25:34,530 MICHELLE: Going into a gated community to pick that... 499 00:25:34,610 --> 00:25:35,740 HOLES: Yes. 500 00:25:43,950 --> 00:25:46,660 MICHELLE: Keith was a fourth-year medical student. 501 00:25:46,740 --> 00:25:50,450 His wife of four months, Patty, was a registered nurse. 502 00:25:51,780 --> 00:25:53,860 HOLES: Keith and Patrice Harrington. 503 00:25:53,950 --> 00:25:56,570 They're found face-down in their bed. 504 00:25:56,660 --> 00:25:59,860 They'd been bludgeoned to death with an unknown type weapon. 505 00:25:59,950 --> 00:26:01,860 MICHELLE: A metal fragment consistent with brass 506 00:26:01,950 --> 00:26:04,450 was found in Patty's head wound. 507 00:26:04,530 --> 00:26:06,240 That suggested that someone picked up 508 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:08,740 one of the newly installed brass sprinkler heads 509 00:26:08,820 --> 00:26:11,450 from the yard and slipped inside the house. 510 00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:13,990 In a subdivision with a manned gate, 511 00:26:14,070 --> 00:26:15,660 it was high-risk. 512 00:26:15,740 --> 00:26:17,530 It suggested the killer's pleasure 513 00:26:17,610 --> 00:26:20,660 was in part derived from raising the stakes. 514 00:26:20,740 --> 00:26:22,910 HOLES: And then six months later, 515 00:26:22,990 --> 00:26:24,990 in February of 1981, 516 00:26:25,070 --> 00:26:28,030 the Original Night Stalker shows up in Irvine 517 00:26:28,110 --> 00:26:29,910 and attacks Manuela Witthuhn. 518 00:26:29,990 --> 00:26:31,450 RON VEACH: Investigator Veach 519 00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:33,240 with the Irvine Police Department. 520 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,240 The time is approximately 14:05. 521 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,030 Investigating an apparent homicide, 522 00:26:39,110 --> 00:26:44,570 which occurred sometime, uh, during the last evening hours. 523 00:26:44,660 --> 00:26:47,240 MICHELLE: Manuela was wearing a brown velour robe 524 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,530 and was partially wrapped in a sleeping bag 525 00:26:49,610 --> 00:26:52,240 which she sometimes slept in when she was cold. 526 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,160 RON: Uh, the sleeping bag was placed 527 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,030 over the top of her head. 528 00:26:56,110 --> 00:26:58,200 And, uh, she was struck over the head, uh, 529 00:26:58,280 --> 00:26:59,570 with an object, 530 00:26:59,660 --> 00:27:03,070 causing a hole in the, uh, bag itself. 531 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:05,450 MICHELLE: The lamp's absence gave police a good idea 532 00:27:05,530 --> 00:27:07,780 of the heavy object that was used 533 00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:09,740 to bludgeon Manuela to death. 534 00:27:09,820 --> 00:27:11,110 HOLES: In Manuela's case, 535 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:12,360 she had been sexually assaulted, 536 00:27:12,450 --> 00:27:14,410 bound, and then bludgeoned to death 537 00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:16,240 just like the previous victims. 538 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,490 It's just now we don't have a male present. 539 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,910 -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. -POOL: In that offense. 540 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:28,660 MICHELLE: Right, right. 541 00:27:28,740 --> 00:27:30,490 DREW WITTHUHN: My brother Dave, he had a respiratory infection. 542 00:27:30,570 --> 00:27:32,820 So, the recommendation was that he get checked in 543 00:27:32,910 --> 00:27:34,950 the hospital for a couple days. 544 00:27:35,030 --> 00:27:39,740 He had an incredible dose of survivor's remorse. 545 00:27:39,820 --> 00:27:42,450 He said over and over, "If I would've been home, 546 00:27:42,530 --> 00:27:44,240 this never would've happened." 547 00:27:49,110 --> 00:27:50,990 Couple days after the funeral, I went over 548 00:27:51,070 --> 00:27:52,410 and stayed with my brother. 549 00:27:52,490 --> 00:27:53,910 He, you know, was having a few beers, 550 00:27:53,990 --> 00:27:56,240 and I noticed he was getting a little, uh, you know, 551 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:58,660 he was, uh, drinking a little bit. 552 00:27:58,740 --> 00:28:02,410 And he just all of a sudden, He just said, you know, 553 00:28:02,490 --> 00:28:04,280 "Drew, they think I killed her." 554 00:28:05,660 --> 00:28:07,070 DREW: He said-- Well... 555 00:28:11,110 --> 00:28:12,530 And I didn't know what to say to that. 556 00:28:12,610 --> 00:28:14,450 So, I just said, "Did you?" (LAUGHS) 557 00:28:14,530 --> 00:28:15,860 I mean, it just kinda came out. 558 00:28:15,950 --> 00:28:17,070 MICHELLE: Right. 559 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:18,860 DREW: 560 00:28:18,950 --> 00:28:20,450 MICHELLE: Right. 561 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:22,490 "I would never hurt my wife. 562 00:28:22,570 --> 00:28:24,200 I would never have anything done to her. 563 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,610 No, not in a million years. I loved her very much." 564 00:28:29,820 --> 00:28:31,160 And I believed him. 565 00:28:34,660 --> 00:28:36,820 (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) 566 00:28:36,910 --> 00:28:38,570 MICHELLE: The murders of Manuela Witthuhn 567 00:28:38,660 --> 00:28:42,200 and Patty and Keith Harington shared similarities, 568 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,450 -both big and small. -(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) 569 00:28:46,990 --> 00:28:50,200 A forensic match between the cases didn't exist, 570 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,110 but a feeling did. 571 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,110 A sense that a single mind was at work. 572 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,320 (READS) 573 00:29:10,780 --> 00:29:12,530 BARTH: It was a dark place, 574 00:29:12,610 --> 00:29:14,240 you know, that she was taking you. 575 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,740 And I remember one time she sent me some pages, 576 00:29:17,820 --> 00:29:19,110 and in the header, she wrote, 577 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:20,820 "Don't read this alone at night." 578 00:29:20,910 --> 00:29:23,070 She just kept finding more and more sources 579 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,410 who wanted to speak to her and more avenues 580 00:29:25,490 --> 00:29:29,740 to sort of chase down, and I could see how beguiling 581 00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:34,030 and, um, seductive it was, and how, um... 582 00:29:34,110 --> 00:29:35,990 (CLICKS TONGUE) ...addictive. 583 00:29:36,070 --> 00:29:38,240 -VICTIM'S FRIEND: You're a good interviewer. -MICHELLE: Oh, I am? 584 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:39,910 -VICTIM'S FRIEND: You are. -MICHELLE: Oh, good. 585 00:29:39,990 --> 00:29:43,910 VICTIM'S FRIEND: 586 00:29:43,990 --> 00:29:46,820 MICHELLE: Um... No, I mean... 587 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:51,530 And, um... 588 00:30:01,820 --> 00:30:04,030 In some ways, I'm, you know, 589 00:30:08,610 --> 00:30:11,030 Michelle's voice was a part of the proposal 590 00:30:11,110 --> 00:30:16,110 and was a really strong part all along, and so, you know, 591 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,700 that way was a given that that would be in the book 592 00:30:18,780 --> 00:30:19,910 in some form. 593 00:30:19,990 --> 00:30:21,490 But I know there was part of her 594 00:30:21,570 --> 00:30:23,570 that that-- that was something she was navigating. 595 00:30:23,660 --> 00:30:26,570 She wasn't a big "me, me, me" person. 596 00:30:26,660 --> 00:30:28,950 She was much more interested in other people 597 00:30:29,030 --> 00:30:30,570 than in talking about herself. 598 00:30:38,530 --> 00:30:41,030 MICHELLE: Oak Park. (SIGHS). 599 00:30:43,030 --> 00:30:45,910 Oak Park. Shit. 600 00:30:47,070 --> 00:30:50,320 Oak Park borders the west side of Chicago. 601 00:30:50,410 --> 00:30:52,360 Ernest Hemmingway, who grew up there, 602 00:30:52,450 --> 00:30:55,820 famously referred to it as a town of wide lawns 603 00:30:55,910 --> 00:30:57,660 and narrow minds. 604 00:30:57,740 --> 00:31:00,780 But that wasn't my experience with the place. 605 00:31:01,860 --> 00:31:04,700 We lived in a drafty three-story Victorian 606 00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:06,570 on a cul-de-sac in the center of town. 607 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,030 MAUREEN STRATTON: Michelle was our baby sister 608 00:31:11,110 --> 00:31:15,610 and she was born when I was 12 years old. 609 00:31:15,700 --> 00:31:18,320 So, there was a big gap between Michelle 610 00:31:18,410 --> 00:31:19,660 and the rest of us. 611 00:31:20,660 --> 00:31:22,860 I just moved from playing with dolls 612 00:31:22,950 --> 00:31:25,530 to having a real... (LAUGHS) ...doll myself." 613 00:31:25,610 --> 00:31:30,030 And my mom was more than willing to pass her off. 614 00:31:30,110 --> 00:31:33,820 MAUREEN: In some ways, Michelle was an only child 615 00:31:33,910 --> 00:31:35,860 because we were just up and out. 616 00:31:35,950 --> 00:31:38,450 (MICHELLE READS) 617 00:31:41,860 --> 00:31:44,200 MARY RITA SKRINE: Because she was so much younger than everyone else, 618 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,160 I really think she found her voice early. 619 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:47,660 And I think she just became 620 00:31:47,740 --> 00:31:49,660 an independent thinker and spirit. 621 00:31:49,740 --> 00:31:51,490 I mean, she came out strong. 622 00:31:53,030 --> 00:31:54,240 She came out strong-willed. 623 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,320 (GIRLS CHATTER) 624 00:31:57,820 --> 00:32:00,240 BOB MCNAMARA: Once Michelle got to high school, 625 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,110 which is kind of a typical time to get rebellious, 626 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:04,410 Michelle and my mother 627 00:32:04,490 --> 00:32:07,280 had developed into a very complicated relationship. 628 00:32:08,410 --> 00:32:12,030 Michelle, I think, viewed our mother 629 00:32:12,110 --> 00:32:15,240 as more an enemy than, you know, 630 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:17,910 someone who was supporting her. 631 00:32:17,990 --> 00:32:20,910 MARY RITA: Well, I think Michelle, being the youngest, 632 00:32:20,990 --> 00:32:25,570 wanted more physical affection and more attention 633 00:32:25,660 --> 00:32:28,780 where my mom was pretty-- pretty reserved. 634 00:32:29,860 --> 00:32:31,450 MAUREEN: I mean, there was never any question 635 00:32:31,530 --> 00:32:34,950 that she loved all of us deeply and was, uh, 636 00:32:35,030 --> 00:32:38,200 really did anything she could to support us. 637 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,740 But, you know, she did have, I think, sometimes a-- 638 00:32:41,820 --> 00:32:44,110 a difficult time giving a direct compliment. 639 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,570 Their communication was just very different, 640 00:32:47,660 --> 00:32:48,910 and they would not back down. 641 00:32:48,990 --> 00:32:52,360 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 642 00:32:53,950 --> 00:32:57,030 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 643 00:32:58,860 --> 00:33:01,860 MICHELLE: We button-pushed our whole lives. 644 00:33:03,450 --> 00:33:05,990 We had a summer cabin on Lake Michigan, 645 00:33:06,070 --> 00:33:09,570 and I remember one afternoon as a kid playing in the waves 646 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:11,990 as she read a book in a chair on the beach. 647 00:33:13,990 --> 00:33:16,780 I realized the waves were just high enough 648 00:33:16,860 --> 00:33:19,280 so that I could remain underwater 649 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:21,410 and then rise for a quick breath 650 00:33:21,490 --> 00:33:23,410 when the wave was at its highest, 651 00:33:23,490 --> 00:33:25,200 shielding me from view. 652 00:33:27,950 --> 00:33:31,610 I let my mother straighten up and scan the water. 653 00:33:32,530 --> 00:33:34,740 I let her put down her book. 654 00:33:35,450 --> 00:33:37,700 I let her stand. 655 00:33:37,780 --> 00:33:41,450 I let her run toward the water preparing to scream. 656 00:33:42,570 --> 00:33:46,070 Only then did I pop up nonchalantly. 657 00:33:47,700 --> 00:33:51,570 Her lifelong nickname for me, only half-jokingly, 658 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:53,740 was "the little witch." 659 00:33:56,530 --> 00:33:59,950 (READS) 660 00:34:06,070 --> 00:34:10,240 But I felt her expectations, the transference of hope, 661 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:11,950 and I bristled. 662 00:34:14,070 --> 00:34:17,160 I both yearned for her approval... 663 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:20,360 and found her investment in me suffocating. 664 00:34:20,450 --> 00:34:23,660 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 665 00:34:31,570 --> 00:34:33,530 HOLES: I believe that Golden State Killer 666 00:34:33,610 --> 00:34:36,570 has a comfort using these waterways. 667 00:34:38,950 --> 00:34:40,860 We saw that up in the Sacramento area, 668 00:34:40,950 --> 00:34:43,280 and when he gets to Santa Barbara, 669 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:45,240 he's going back to a region 670 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,570 in which he's previously attacked twice 671 00:34:47,660 --> 00:34:51,160 along this geographic feature, this creek. 672 00:34:58,740 --> 00:35:02,820 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 673 00:35:10,410 --> 00:35:13,910 MICHELLE: On the morning of July 27, 1981, 674 00:35:13,990 --> 00:35:16,450 a realtor found their bodies. 675 00:35:16,530 --> 00:35:20,320 Cheri Domingo, a Natalie Wood lookalike, 676 00:35:20,410 --> 00:35:24,410 was an old fashioned romantic who loved to dance. 677 00:35:24,490 --> 00:35:28,280 Her boyfriend Gregory Sanchez was a computer programmer 678 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,490 who coached little league and rode a motorcycle. 679 00:35:33,570 --> 00:35:35,450 KIM STEWART: Uh, Domingo-Sanchez, 680 00:35:35,530 --> 00:35:36,860 again, they're in bed. 681 00:35:36,950 --> 00:35:39,030 It's in the middle of the night. 682 00:35:39,110 --> 00:35:42,530 That is a horrific fight. Very violent. 683 00:35:42,610 --> 00:35:44,700 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 684 00:35:44,780 --> 00:35:47,780 HOLES: The offender enters the backyard 685 00:35:47,860 --> 00:35:49,700 through a side gate. 686 00:35:49,780 --> 00:35:52,740 And it appears Gregory has got a sense 687 00:35:52,820 --> 00:35:55,280 that there's a prowler outside. 688 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:59,200 Because when he enters the master bedroom, 689 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,410 Gregory Sanchez is already up facing him. 690 00:36:03,450 --> 00:36:05,530 Offender pulls a gun and shoots Gregory. 691 00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:08,450 However, Greg gets up. 692 00:36:08,530 --> 00:36:12,160 Now the offender gets into hand-to-hand combat 693 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,450 with six-foot-three Greg Sanchez. 694 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,070 KIM: It's a terrible fight. 695 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,530 The suspect ended up bludgeoning Greg, 696 00:36:20,610 --> 00:36:22,950 and he ends up in the closet 697 00:36:23,030 --> 00:36:25,490 where he's later found deceased. 698 00:36:25,570 --> 00:36:28,450 And Domingo is severely bludgeoned. 699 00:36:29,610 --> 00:36:32,110 When I, years later, spoke to the criminalist, 700 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,280 she was just still greatly disturbed 701 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:39,570 by the amount of, uh, damage done to her. 702 00:36:39,660 --> 00:36:41,570 HOLES: The offender's semen was found, 703 00:36:41,660 --> 00:36:43,160 but a very small amount, 704 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:45,490 and it was found on the comforter. 705 00:36:45,570 --> 00:36:50,110 So it's unknown what type of sexual interaction he had, 706 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:51,990 but he definitely got to the point 707 00:36:52,070 --> 00:36:53,610 where he left some semen behind. 708 00:36:55,990 --> 00:36:58,360 (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) 709 00:36:58,450 --> 00:37:01,410 MICHELLE: Five years later, he murdered 18-year-old 710 00:37:01,490 --> 00:37:02,610 Janelle Cruz. 711 00:37:02,700 --> 00:37:05,700 Manuela and Janelle lived in the same subdivision, 712 00:37:05,780 --> 00:37:07,570 just two miles apart. 713 00:37:08,570 --> 00:37:10,660 His female victims was just the latest 714 00:37:10,740 --> 00:37:14,530 unlucky stand-in for the lustful sneering women. 715 00:37:14,610 --> 00:37:16,200 Mother, wife, 716 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,320 who formed a disapproving circle around the killer 717 00:37:19,410 --> 00:37:20,820 in his daydreams. 718 00:37:22,110 --> 00:37:25,410 The act of bludgeoning was arousal. 719 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:27,990 Alchemized to hate. 720 00:37:28,070 --> 00:37:30,410 ♪ (MUSIC STOPS) ♪ 721 00:37:30,490 --> 00:37:31,910 DEBBI DOMINGO: (ON PHONE) My mom and I, 722 00:37:31,990 --> 00:37:34,030 people all the time referred to us as sisters. 723 00:37:34,110 --> 00:37:36,320 -MICHELLE: Oh! -DEBBI: And she loved the beach, she loved-- 724 00:37:36,410 --> 00:37:38,610 she loved the outdoors. She was a California girl. 725 00:37:38,700 --> 00:37:39,740 MICHELLE: Yeah, yeah. 726 00:37:39,820 --> 00:37:41,820 DEBBI: She was-- she was amazing. 727 00:37:42,820 --> 00:37:45,610 When my mom was killed, I was a kid. 728 00:37:45,700 --> 00:37:47,910 -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. -DEBBI: I'm thinking right close 729 00:37:47,990 --> 00:37:49,450 to the end of my 10th grade year. 730 00:37:49,530 --> 00:37:51,200 You know, she-- she would set a curfew, 731 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:52,780 and I would break it. 732 00:37:52,860 --> 00:37:54,910 And she would set a rule, and I would just throw it out the window. 733 00:37:54,990 --> 00:37:56,700 Bless her heart, I don't know how 734 00:37:56,780 --> 00:37:58,030 she kept from wringing my neck. 735 00:37:58,110 --> 00:38:01,740 -(MICHELLE CHUCKLES) -DEBBI: Um, and, um, so about, 736 00:38:01,820 --> 00:38:05,160 I want to say right about two weeks before she was killed, 737 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:06,740 we got in a humungous fight. 738 00:38:06,820 --> 00:38:10,200 And we ended up having this crazy screaming match. 739 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,280 And the last thing I said to her was, 740 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,070 "Why don't you just get the hell out of my life?" 741 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:17,450 And I slammed down that receiver. 742 00:38:17,530 --> 00:38:19,950 And those are the last words I spoke to her. 743 00:38:20,030 --> 00:38:21,860 -MICHELLE: Hmm. Yeah. -DEBBI: She didn't know, you know? 744 00:38:21,950 --> 00:38:23,820 -MICHELLE: Yeah. -DEBBI: She didn't know how to handle me 745 00:38:23,910 --> 00:38:26,360 -and, bless her heart... -MICHELLE: My-- my-- Your-- It's-- it's interesting 746 00:38:26,450 --> 00:38:27,700 'cause my-- my mom and I 747 00:38:27,780 --> 00:38:29,610 had a very complicated relationship, 748 00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:32,160 and-- but we could never yell at each other. 749 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:33,740 She would always slip envelopes, 750 00:38:33,820 --> 00:38:36,490 um, under my bedroom door... (LAUGHS) 751 00:38:36,570 --> 00:38:39,280 ...that had, you know, I just remember so clearly, 752 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:41,280 "You're vain, thoughtless, rude." 753 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,990 Like, all these terrible things, but she could only write it out. 754 00:38:44,070 --> 00:38:45,780 She wouldn't be able to say it to me. 755 00:38:45,860 --> 00:38:49,110 DEBBI: Well, yeah. Yeah, 'cause we were totally different... 756 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:53,240 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 757 00:38:53,910 --> 00:38:55,030 MICHELLE: At my wedding, 758 00:38:55,110 --> 00:38:58,410 my mother and I had our biggest blowout. 759 00:39:00,070 --> 00:39:02,990 I put a lot of time, too much probably, 760 00:39:03,070 --> 00:39:04,610 into the planning. 761 00:39:05,910 --> 00:39:08,950 At the dinner, I seated small groups of people 762 00:39:09,030 --> 00:39:10,660 who didn't know each other together. 763 00:39:10,740 --> 00:39:11,910 The only thing I told them 764 00:39:11,990 --> 00:39:13,950 was that they had one thing in common 765 00:39:14,030 --> 00:39:15,700 and had to figure it out. 766 00:39:16,660 --> 00:39:17,820 My mother came up to me 767 00:39:17,910 --> 00:39:20,240 as I was making my way to the bathroom. 768 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,360 She gestured at the tables. 769 00:39:22,450 --> 00:39:25,740 "You have too much time on your hands," she said. 770 00:39:26,780 --> 00:39:28,990 I'd been avoiding her because a friend of mine 771 00:39:29,070 --> 00:39:32,320 made the mistake of telling me that earlier in the evening, 772 00:39:32,410 --> 00:39:34,280 she'd remarked to my mother that she thought 773 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,530 I was the best writer she knew. 774 00:39:36,610 --> 00:39:40,030 "Oh, I know. I think so too," my mother said. 775 00:39:40,110 --> 00:39:43,110 "But don't you think it's too late for her?" 776 00:39:47,410 --> 00:39:50,240 I went to the ladies' room, locked myself in a stall 777 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,610 and allowed myself to cry for five minutes... 778 00:39:55,950 --> 00:39:57,280 then went back out... 779 00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:01,660 (READS) 780 00:40:01,740 --> 00:40:05,200 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 781 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,030 PATTON OSWALT: Hey, sweetie. It's Patton. 782 00:40:07,110 --> 00:40:10,240 The new pages you sent me are amazing. 783 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,700 I just have a couple little tweaks, but, man, 784 00:40:12,780 --> 00:40:16,280 that was a really cool read, especially that last paragraph. 785 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:17,240 Oh my god. 786 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:19,530 Hey. It's Patton. I'm in Miami. 787 00:40:19,610 --> 00:40:23,360 I'm in Toronto. I'm on my way to Iceland. 788 00:40:23,450 --> 00:40:25,570 My wife is ten times smarter than me. 789 00:40:25,660 --> 00:40:29,660 She is thinking and operating on this way elevated level. 790 00:40:29,740 --> 00:40:31,660 And I'm just noticing when things fart 791 00:40:31,740 --> 00:40:33,070 and pointing at it 792 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:35,410 until she tells me, "Don't-- don't point at that, 793 00:40:35,490 --> 00:40:37,360 all right?" "Okay." 794 00:40:37,450 --> 00:40:38,950 MICHELLE: Who's that, Alice? 795 00:40:39,820 --> 00:40:41,360 Who is that on the TV? 796 00:40:43,950 --> 00:40:44,950 Daddy. 797 00:40:45,030 --> 00:40:46,410 MICHELLE: Is that Daddy? 798 00:40:46,490 --> 00:40:50,030 Daddy. (BABBLING) 799 00:40:53,610 --> 00:40:56,910 -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -(PHONE PINGS) 800 00:40:58,530 --> 00:41:00,410 MICHELLE: Reading galley of Patton's book... 801 00:41:00,490 --> 00:41:02,490 (READS) 802 00:41:11,530 --> 00:41:13,320 SARAH STANARD: Michelle was, um... 803 00:41:13,410 --> 00:41:14,860 she was so hard on herself. 804 00:41:14,950 --> 00:41:18,200 Her writing and, "Am I doing a good job as a mom?" 805 00:41:18,280 --> 00:41:20,530 And Patton was working a lot. 806 00:41:20,610 --> 00:41:22,030 PATTON: So, yeah. I-- I'm gonna-- 807 00:41:22,110 --> 00:41:24,360 I'll just meet you at Barnes. Uh, I-- I got to do a signing. 808 00:41:24,450 --> 00:41:26,950 About to do a video shoot here for Spin Magazine. 809 00:41:27,030 --> 00:41:29,860 I'm so close to finishing this goddamn movie. 810 00:41:30,860 --> 00:41:33,410 (COOING) 811 00:41:33,490 --> 00:41:36,990 PATTON: Got your email. I am doing the errands now. 812 00:41:37,070 --> 00:41:38,990 You want her to go to a two o'clock class? 813 00:41:39,070 --> 00:41:41,160 I'm gonna do these as quickly as I can. 814 00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:43,490 Call me if you-- if you think of anything else 815 00:41:43,570 --> 00:41:44,950 for me to get, goodbye. 816 00:41:45,030 --> 00:41:46,030 Hey, it's Patton. 817 00:41:46,110 --> 00:41:47,360 -MICHELLE: Hi! -PATTON: Driving home 818 00:41:47,450 --> 00:41:49,320 -as fast as I can. -MICHELLE: You're on a horsey. 819 00:41:49,410 --> 00:41:51,450 PATTON: Hey, it's Patton. Just got a call 820 00:41:51,530 --> 00:41:53,160 from my guys at CAA. 821 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:55,820 -They can get me-- Get us... -MICHELLE: You're on a horsey. 822 00:41:55,910 --> 00:41:57,700 PATTON: ...uh, this-- for this Thursday, uh, 823 00:41:57,780 --> 00:42:00,280 two tickets to go see Prince at the Forum. 824 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,280 PRINCE: ♪ ...Had to end Purple rain ♪ 825 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:04,860 CROWD: ♪ Purple rain... ♪ 826 00:42:04,950 --> 00:42:06,320 MICHELLE'S FRIEND: Happy birthday, Michelle. 827 00:42:06,410 --> 00:42:08,610 AUTOMATED VOICE: Hello. This is a refill reminder 828 00:42:08,700 --> 00:42:12,320 from CVS Pharmacy for Michelle McNamara. 829 00:42:12,410 --> 00:42:14,280 We show that the following prescription numbers 830 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:15,410 are due for refill. 831 00:42:15,490 --> 00:42:16,910 THOMAS: Hi, Michelle. This is your father 832 00:42:16,990 --> 00:42:18,860 calling to wish you happy birthday. 833 00:42:18,950 --> 00:42:20,410 Ah, to be 41 again. 834 00:42:20,490 --> 00:42:22,610 How sweet it is. Talk to you soon. 835 00:42:22,700 --> 00:42:25,160 ALL: (SINGING) ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 836 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:29,030 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 837 00:42:29,110 --> 00:42:30,200 BOY: It's two plates. 838 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:35,610 ALL: ♪ Happy birthday, dear Alice ♪ 839 00:42:35,700 --> 00:42:40,610 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 840 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:45,410 (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 841 00:42:48,860 --> 00:42:50,450 KIM: You know, Michelle... 842 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,700 Michelle was a brilliant investigator. 843 00:42:54,780 --> 00:42:57,160 Aside from being a good writer, 844 00:42:57,240 --> 00:42:59,610 she had a real investigative mind. 845 00:42:59,700 --> 00:43:01,910 She didn't just tick the boxes. 846 00:43:01,990 --> 00:43:06,660 She was a creative thinker about crime. 847 00:43:06,740 --> 00:43:08,360 MICHELLE: I mean, I was shocked, frankly, 848 00:43:08,450 --> 00:43:10,530 when Larry Crompton told me that he called Santa Barbara 849 00:43:10,610 --> 00:43:14,200 and he was told over the phone the murders never happened. 850 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:15,910 -I-- I was shocked. -KIM: Yeah. 851 00:43:15,990 --> 00:43:18,740 MICHELLE: He said, "Listen, it was a different time." 852 00:43:18,820 --> 00:43:20,660 A lot of things went wrong because people-- 853 00:43:20,740 --> 00:43:22,070 You didn't even share information 854 00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:24,910 among your coworkers, which is crazy. 855 00:43:24,990 --> 00:43:27,110 KIM: They could've solved these cases. 856 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,410 There is no question. 857 00:43:29,490 --> 00:43:32,410 And I think people would be very surprised 858 00:43:32,490 --> 00:43:35,450 how these investigations can simply go off the rail 859 00:43:35,530 --> 00:43:36,780 and never go anywhere. 860 00:43:38,030 --> 00:43:41,490 MICHELLE: So everyone that I talk to seemed to grumble 861 00:43:41,570 --> 00:43:43,740 a bit about Santa Barbara. (LAUGHS) 862 00:43:43,820 --> 00:43:45,860 Do you feel like that's kind of a past thing? 863 00:43:55,530 --> 00:43:57,990 KIM: When I was working in Santa Barbara, 864 00:43:58,070 --> 00:44:02,240 there were a tremendous amount of burglary, 865 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:04,410 prowling, and rapes. 866 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,240 To me, the numbers of rapes we had was just astonishing. 867 00:44:10,320 --> 00:44:12,610 And a lot of it was written off as, 868 00:44:12,700 --> 00:44:15,200 "Well, it's a university town. What do you expect? 869 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:16,700 What do you expect?" Well. 870 00:44:17,740 --> 00:44:19,110 MICHELLE: But I never understood 871 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:21,200 Santa Barbara as-- Was different 872 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:22,530 than other jurisdictions. 873 00:44:22,610 --> 00:44:24,530 Did it have to do with, "We don't want bad publicity?" 874 00:44:24,610 --> 00:44:26,160 What do you think it was? 875 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:30,360 Well, Reagan's ranch was about 15 miles up the coast. 876 00:44:30,450 --> 00:44:32,490 HOLES: At that time, Ronald Reagan 877 00:44:32,570 --> 00:44:35,860 was in the process of declaring his candidacy 878 00:44:35,950 --> 00:44:37,320 -for president... -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 879 00:44:37,410 --> 00:44:40,070 HOLES: ...and they did not want any of this negative stigma. 880 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:41,490 MICHELLE: They didn't want the publicity. 881 00:44:41,570 --> 00:44:43,570 HOLES: They didn't want the publicity. 882 00:44:43,660 --> 00:44:45,820 And then we had Montecito, where, you know, 883 00:44:45,910 --> 00:44:49,700 every famous person on earth has at least one house. 884 00:44:51,950 --> 00:44:55,610 So, it shows you the money 885 00:44:55,700 --> 00:44:58,360 and political influences there. 886 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:02,200 I remembered asking the sergeant, 887 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:05,700 "Why-- why do you not publicize these, uh, 888 00:45:05,780 --> 00:45:07,200 sexual assaults that we have?" 889 00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:10,320 "Oh, well, the sheriff, uh, made an agreement 890 00:45:10,410 --> 00:45:13,860 with the board of realtors that we would not publicize 891 00:45:13,950 --> 00:45:15,200 certain crimes." 892 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:16,360 MICHELLE: Oh, God. 893 00:45:16,450 --> 00:45:18,490 KIM: "Because property values will go down..." 894 00:45:18,570 --> 00:45:19,610 MICHELLE: Wow. 895 00:45:19,700 --> 00:45:21,530 KIM: "...and they don't want people afraid 896 00:45:21,610 --> 00:45:23,030 to come here and buy." 897 00:45:23,110 --> 00:45:24,700 'Cause Goleta was growing. 898 00:45:24,780 --> 00:45:28,570 So, when we get into the period of the homicides, 899 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:31,320 we were, psst, quiet. 900 00:45:32,610 --> 00:45:34,030 (PHONE BUZZING) 901 00:45:34,110 --> 00:45:35,910 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 902 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:38,990 MARY RITA: Hey, Mich. It's Mary Rita. 903 00:45:39,070 --> 00:45:40,490 We just went to see dad. 904 00:45:40,570 --> 00:45:42,410 Yeah, he was totally sedated and out of it. 905 00:45:42,490 --> 00:45:45,740 But, um, obviously the next 48 hours are critical. 906 00:45:45,820 --> 00:45:47,240 We will keep you posted. 907 00:45:47,320 --> 00:45:48,570 All right, thanks. Bye. 908 00:45:48,660 --> 00:45:50,070 (PHONE CLACKING) 909 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:51,360 (PHONE PINGS) 910 00:45:52,860 --> 00:45:54,160 (PHONE PINGS) 911 00:45:55,740 --> 00:45:56,820 (PHONE PINGS) 912 00:46:02,780 --> 00:46:06,160 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 913 00:46:07,490 --> 00:46:10,160 SECURITY EMPLOYEE: 914 00:46:13,990 --> 00:46:18,990 -This is North Star Security at 323-730-4935. -(PHONE CLACKING) 915 00:46:19,070 --> 00:46:22,280 -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -(MESSAGE PINGS) 916 00:46:30,610 --> 00:46:32,280 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 917 00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:34,610 MICHELLE: We've just installed a massive security system 918 00:46:34,700 --> 00:46:37,360 (OVERLAPPING) in our house to keep us sane... This is probably little paranoid 919 00:46:37,450 --> 00:46:38,740 but better safe than sorry. 920 00:46:38,820 --> 00:46:40,990 I noticed the screen on one of the front windows was off. 921 00:46:41,070 --> 00:46:43,450 (OVERLAPPING) My assumption is that... I meant to mention this earlier, 922 00:46:43,530 --> 00:46:45,160 but I'd prefer if none of us... 923 00:46:45,240 --> 00:46:47,450 I wanted to be sure, in case some crazy man 924 00:46:47,530 --> 00:46:49,450 out of a horror movie is trying to get in. 925 00:46:49,530 --> 00:46:51,410 Something I think about surprisingly often. 926 00:46:51,490 --> 00:46:53,110 I know I'm being paranoid, but it... 927 00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:56,200 (READS) 928 00:46:57,950 --> 00:46:59,280 DRIVER: You guys own a gun? 929 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:01,110 -MICHELLE: No. -DRIVER: You should get one. 930 00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:03,950 MICHELLE: I know-- Well, no. Patton's, like, blind as a bat. 931 00:47:04,030 --> 00:47:05,200 I'm jittery. 932 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,530 We're the worst people in the world to have a gun. 933 00:47:07,610 --> 00:47:08,780 He likes to shoot guns. 934 00:47:08,860 --> 00:47:10,740 I just-- We can't have one in the house. 935 00:47:10,820 --> 00:47:13,910 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 936 00:47:17,030 --> 00:47:18,910 (KEYBOARD CLACKING) 937 00:47:21,410 --> 00:47:24,070 (GUNSHOTS ECHOING) 938 00:47:28,070 --> 00:47:29,360 (PHONE PINGS) 939 00:47:31,570 --> 00:47:32,570 (PHONE PINGS) 940 00:47:35,490 --> 00:47:36,570 (PHONE PINGS) 941 00:47:41,990 --> 00:47:44,070 THOMAS: 942 00:48:03,490 --> 00:48:05,240 KATHLEEN CONROY: At the time that he died, 943 00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:07,950 she literally got in 944 00:48:08,780 --> 00:48:10,740 just after he had kind of... 945 00:48:11,110 --> 00:48:12,030 lost, 946 00:48:12,110 --> 00:48:13,610 you know, consciousness or whatever. 947 00:48:13,700 --> 00:48:18,490 And so she didn't really get that-- that last moment 948 00:48:18,570 --> 00:48:20,240 with him. 949 00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:23,950 So, there was a lot of shock for her. 950 00:48:25,450 --> 00:48:27,780 BOB: Michelle and my dad had a very special relationship. 951 00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:31,280 They were just, you know, simpatico, I would say. 952 00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:34,780 After he had passed, she had told us 953 00:48:34,860 --> 00:48:37,740 the inscription on the book she planned to use was 954 00:48:37,820 --> 00:48:39,490 "To my father who believed." 955 00:48:44,910 --> 00:48:47,610 But, uh, you know, she just kind of kept-- 956 00:48:47,700 --> 00:48:48,950 kept at it and kept working. 957 00:48:49,030 --> 00:48:53,030 And, um, in hindsight, she probably should have, um, 958 00:48:53,110 --> 00:48:55,160 slowed down a little bit and taken a little-- 959 00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:56,860 taken a little more time. 960 00:49:00,990 --> 00:49:04,490 NANCY: You've been now studying this for so long 961 00:49:04,570 --> 00:49:06,280 and looking at it as a puzzle 962 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:09,740 that horror doesn't really affect you anymore. 963 00:49:09,820 --> 00:49:11,280 MICHELLE: Well, I'm not sure. (CHUCKLES) 964 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:13,450 -NANCY: Really? -MICHELLE: I-- yeah. I mean, I'm, 965 00:49:13,530 --> 00:49:15,990 yeah. I mean, I-- I still don't probably have 966 00:49:16,070 --> 00:49:18,280 a good night's sleep, you know, every night. 967 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:20,070 And, um, thank God for Ambien. 968 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:23,280 But it doesn't make for, like, a peaceful existence. 969 00:49:23,360 --> 00:49:24,860 That doesn't mean I'm stopping it, 970 00:49:24,950 --> 00:49:28,280 but I certainly think it's kind of wormed its way 971 00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:29,990 in-- into my brain a bit. 972 00:49:35,740 --> 00:49:37,530 DREW: Well, and you could tell. 973 00:49:39,030 --> 00:49:40,740 -MICHELLE: Yeah. -DREW: 974 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:44,360 MICHELLE: Yeah. 975 00:49:46,530 --> 00:49:48,530 For my brother, this cloud of suspicion 976 00:49:48,610 --> 00:49:50,530 just seemed to never go away. 977 00:49:50,610 --> 00:49:53,740 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 978 00:49:56,490 --> 00:49:59,570 Some very professional, well-meaning people 979 00:49:59,660 --> 00:50:01,740 were investigating this crime. 980 00:50:01,820 --> 00:50:03,990 But they had no suspect. 981 00:50:04,070 --> 00:50:07,450 So, he always had to remain a person of interest. 982 00:50:08,950 --> 00:50:12,860 I don't know how he emotionally dealt with that day after day, 983 00:50:12,950 --> 00:50:14,030 year after year. 984 00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:19,030 Manuela was killed in 1981, and it wasn't until 2000 985 00:50:19,110 --> 00:50:21,910 that my brother no longer was a person of interest. 986 00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:28,160 I just picked up the paper on a Sunday morning. 987 00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,450 Opened it up, and there's my brother's picture. 988 00:50:31,530 --> 00:50:33,660 They made a-- a DNA connection 989 00:50:33,740 --> 00:50:36,320 between Manuela's killing and others. 990 00:50:36,410 --> 00:50:39,990 -DREW: -MICHELLE: Mm-hmm. 991 00:50:40,070 --> 00:50:42,200 DREW: But to have that cloud of suspicion... 992 00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:45,070 -MICHELLE: Right. -DREW: ...over you for so long. 993 00:50:49,610 --> 00:50:51,860 MICHELLE: 994 00:50:51,950 --> 00:50:53,030 DREW: Oh, yeah, absolutely. 995 00:50:53,110 --> 00:50:55,070 -MICHELLE: -DREW: Yeah. 996 00:50:56,160 --> 00:50:57,450 DREW: 997 00:51:02,740 --> 00:51:05,950 MICHELLE: When the crime labs began incorporating DNA testing 998 00:51:06,030 --> 00:51:08,860 in the early '90s, Orange County decided 999 00:51:08,950 --> 00:51:12,990 to prioritize homicides involving sexual assaults. 1000 00:51:13,070 --> 00:51:17,200 Every inch of fabric and millimeter of cotton tip, 1001 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:18,780 held promise. 1002 00:51:19,950 --> 00:51:23,990 In 1996, Mary Hong was one of the criminalists 1003 00:51:24,070 --> 00:51:27,450 tasked with concentrating on cold cases. 1004 00:51:27,530 --> 00:51:30,160 An older criminalist took her aside. 1005 00:51:30,660 --> 00:51:32,240 Fifteen years on, 1006 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:34,990 he still hadn't forgotten his old suspicion. 1007 00:51:35,530 --> 00:51:37,160 (READS) 1008 00:51:41,990 --> 00:51:44,700 This case was the very first cold case 1009 00:51:44,780 --> 00:51:46,030 that I started to work, 1010 00:51:46,110 --> 00:51:48,240 and that was in 1997. 1011 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:50,240 I was working for Contra Costa County 1012 00:51:50,320 --> 00:51:52,410 as a young criminalist. 1013 00:51:52,490 --> 00:51:54,910 I had just started DNA training. 1014 00:51:54,990 --> 00:51:57,200 One day, I found this file cabinet 1015 00:51:57,280 --> 00:51:59,240 that I never saw anybody go to. 1016 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:03,110 What really stood out was this red E-A-R 1017 00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:04,610 written on each tab. 1018 00:52:04,700 --> 00:52:07,990 That's when I learned about the East Area Rapist. 1019 00:52:08,610 --> 00:52:10,450 I was fascinated. 1020 00:52:10,530 --> 00:52:11,990 We won't be able to do anything 1021 00:52:12,070 --> 00:52:14,860 because it's long past statute of limitations. 1022 00:52:14,950 --> 00:52:16,780 But I just want to kind of figure out, 1023 00:52:16,860 --> 00:52:19,450 you know, maybe I can identify the guy 1024 00:52:19,530 --> 00:52:21,160 and solve this series. 1025 00:52:23,200 --> 00:52:25,030 I end up calling Larry Crompton. 1026 00:52:26,860 --> 00:52:28,740 CROMPTON: I got a phone call. 1027 00:52:28,820 --> 00:52:32,860 And, uh, fella said, "Uh, I'm Paul Holes. 1028 00:52:32,950 --> 00:52:36,030 I'm with the crime lab in Contra Costa." 1029 00:52:36,110 --> 00:52:41,280 And I said, "Paul, I know of five homicides 1030 00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:42,820 in Southern California. 1031 00:52:42,910 --> 00:52:45,320 I know it's our rapist that did it, 1032 00:52:45,410 --> 00:52:50,490 but nobody will talk to me, and nobody will help me." 1033 00:52:50,570 --> 00:52:53,360 HOLES: I was told that the Orange County Sheriff's office 1034 00:52:53,450 --> 00:52:54,990 has been doing some DNA work. 1035 00:52:55,070 --> 00:52:56,820 So I did call up, uh, Mary Hong, 1036 00:52:56,910 --> 00:53:00,110 but our DNA profiles were different technologies. 1037 00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:02,320 We couldn't compare 'em. 1038 00:53:02,410 --> 00:53:06,410 It took four years before we got that technology online 1039 00:53:06,490 --> 00:53:09,200 and could revisit the East Area Rapist case. 1040 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,160 MICHELLE: The tubes that advanced the mystery 1041 00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:14,570 closer to an answer were opened and tested. 1042 00:53:14,660 --> 00:53:19,070 When the results came in, Paul Holes called Mary Hong. 1043 00:53:20,070 --> 00:53:22,530 "Same guy," Mary said. 1044 00:53:23,990 --> 00:53:25,660 HOLES: With the Ventura case, 1045 00:53:25,740 --> 00:53:27,320 Lyman, Charlene Smith, 1046 00:53:27,410 --> 00:53:28,950 we have semen evidence. 1047 00:53:29,030 --> 00:53:32,410 In Patrice and Keith Harrington, we have semen evidence. 1048 00:53:32,490 --> 00:53:35,240 With Manuela Witthuhn, we have semen evidence. 1049 00:53:35,320 --> 00:53:39,530 Domingo-Sanchez, Janelle Cruz, 1050 00:53:39,610 --> 00:53:42,660 five of cases all have semen evidence 1051 00:53:42,740 --> 00:53:46,860 in which DNA testing showed it was the same offender, 1052 00:53:46,950 --> 00:53:48,280 the same DNA profile. 1053 00:53:48,360 --> 00:53:50,530 And of course, in my jurisdiction 1054 00:53:50,610 --> 00:53:52,530 in Contra Costa County, I had three cases 1055 00:53:52,610 --> 00:53:55,030 in which I still had evidence from the sexual assaults 1056 00:53:55,110 --> 00:53:58,530 that matched the five DNA-related cases 1057 00:53:58,610 --> 00:54:00,280 to the Original Night Stalker series. 1058 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:03,860 And that connection was made back in March of 2001. 1059 00:54:03,950 --> 00:54:07,320 We believe he is responsible for no fewer than 12 murders, 1060 00:54:07,410 --> 00:54:11,240 50 rapes, um, between 1976 and 1986. 1061 00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:14,030 We don't have a name, and-- and that's the goal. 1062 00:54:14,110 --> 00:54:16,660 We need to match name to the DNA profile. 1063 00:54:17,660 --> 00:54:19,990 ♪ (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 1064 00:54:26,490 --> 00:54:28,110 DANIEL GREENBERG: Uh, hey Michelle. 1065 00:54:46,990 --> 00:54:49,700 ♪ (CHIMES RING DISTANTLY) ♪ 1066 00:54:58,240 --> 00:54:59,320 (PHONE PINGS) 1067 00:55:01,780 --> 00:55:02,860 (PHONE PINGS) 1068 00:55:06,860 --> 00:55:08,070 (PHONE PINGS) 1069 00:55:13,530 --> 00:55:16,860 -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -(WATER BUBBLES) 1070 00:55:35,110 --> 00:55:38,820 RADIO HOST 1: 7:07 on an early Thanksgiving morning, 1071 00:55:38,910 --> 00:55:40,240 the 26th day of November. 1072 00:55:40,320 --> 00:55:41,990 -Happy Thanksgiving. -RADIO HOST 2: Happy Thanksgiving. 1073 00:55:42,070 --> 00:55:43,660 RADIO HOST 1: Yes, Happy Thanksgiving everybody. 1074 00:55:43,740 --> 00:55:44,950 Real nice to have you with us... 1075 00:55:45,910 --> 00:55:50,030 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 1076 00:56:13,950 --> 00:56:15,570 (ELEVATOR DINGS) 1077 00:56:19,320 --> 00:56:20,700 WOMAN: Hello? 1078 00:56:20,780 --> 00:56:22,280 (RADIO STATIC) 1079 00:56:23,570 --> 00:56:24,610 Hello? 1080 00:56:24,700 --> 00:56:25,780 (DOOR CREAKS OPEN) 1081 00:56:25,860 --> 00:56:27,990 -(RADIO STATIC) -WOMAN: Hello? 1082 00:56:31,030 --> 00:56:33,320 (RADIO STATIC) 1083 00:56:33,410 --> 00:56:36,570 (HEAVY BREATHING) 1084 00:56:45,240 --> 00:56:47,910 EAST AREA RAPIST: Gonna kill you. 1085 00:56:49,450 --> 00:56:52,110 Gonna kill you. 1086 00:56:52,200 --> 00:56:53,660 (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) 1087 00:56:53,740 --> 00:56:56,660 EAST AREA RAPIST: Gonna kill you. 1088 00:56:57,660 --> 00:56:59,280 (RECORDING DISCONNECTS) 1089 00:57:03,860 --> 00:57:06,950 (PHONE CLACKING) 1090 00:57:10,490 --> 00:57:13,610 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 1091 00:57:59,360 --> 00:58:02,490 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ 1092 00:59:49,860 --> 00:59:52,530 ♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪ 1093 01:00:00,860 --> 01:00:01,740 ♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪