Patton Oswalt Focuses On Late Wife Michelle McNamara After Golden State Killer's Sentencing

Patton Oswalt took time on Friday to remember his late wife, Michelle McNamara.

As you may be aware, the true crime author did significant research into the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker — who were initially believed by authorities to be two different attackers — later coining the nickname “Golden State Killer” in 2013.

Shortly after her death in 2016, efforts were renewed nationwide by the FBI and police, eventually leading to the arrest and conviction of Joseph James DeAngelo. And on Friday the 74-year-old was sentenced to 12 life sentences plus 8 years.

In light of the news, Oswalt tweeted out a message (below) along with two photos of McNamara:

“The insect gets none of my headspace today. I’m thinking of the victims, and the survivors, and the witnesses and crusaders and investigators. And of course Michelle. Go forward in peace, all of you.”

The insect gets none of my headspace today. I’m thinking of the victims, and the survivors, and the witnesses and crusaders and investigators. And of course Michelle. Go forward in peace, all of you. pic.twitter.com/XoYqV2X3ut

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) August 21, 2020

Michelle passed away of an accidental prescription drug overdose on April 21, 2016, leaving behind her husband and their daughter Alice, who was 7 at the time.

She signed a deal with HarperCollins and began work on a book about the case, but passed before it was finished. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer was posthumously finalized by fellow true crime writers Billy Jensen and Paul Haynes, along with her widower. It was released two years after her death, and topped The New York Times Best Seller list for 15 weeks. In 2018, HBO purchased the rights to the book to develop it into a docuseries, which premiered in June 2020.

After DeAngelo’s arrest in 2018, the Ratatouille actor told Seth Meyers during an appearance on Late Night that he was running “on adrenaline and sleeplessness” following the major development:

“Her book and the article that lead to the book really amped up all the interest in the case, and really put a lot of focus on it. It was her dream. She always said, ‘I don’t care about credit. I want to know that he’s in jail and now he’s caught.’ The bracelets are on and it feels like this thing that she wanted so badly is now done. Just feels amazing.”

DeAngelo issued a brief statement in court on Friday, standing from his wheelchair to say: