S01.E02: Reign of Terror

[formerlyfreedom]

Michelle McNamara reflects on the 1984 murder of her childhood neighbor Kathy Lombardo, which she credits with planting the seed for her lifelong fascination with unsolved crimes. Local detectives who worked the East Area Rapist (EAR) case in the '70s - and citizen detectives who picked up where they left off - discuss a proliferation of serial rape cases in Northern California at the time, discussing an era when victims were often too ashamed to speak out and sexual crime was minimized in the press and the courtroom. Today, several survivors describe these attacks and their aftermath in chilling detail.

Airing Sunday, July 5, 2020.

[formerlyfreedom]

Companion podcast for the series;

I'll Be Gone in the Dark Podcast: Episode 2 | Murder, She Blogged

 

[Annber03]

...all right, well, that was a truly disturbing, nightmarish episode. 

All those rapes, and he wasn't even the most active rapist out there! The mentions of all the other rapists who were running around then. The clips of a psychiatrist meeting with rapists to get a better understanding of what motivates them to commit these crimes. The sheer boldness, going into homes where children were. Just....AGH. I feel like I need to take a shower. And sadly, yeah, it's not surprising he graduated to murder. That kind of violence, it really was only a matter of time. The story about that couple is so heartbreaking. 

Thank goodness for the witness who happened to be a good artist, at least. His drawing was a step, which is something. 

And then having to hear about all the bullshit, backwards attitudes people had towards rape and women who were attacked. That dad actually scolding his daughter for simply talking about her attack with a friend. What. The. Hell? And then the whole thing of going for "the prettier sister". The prettier sister. Fuuuuuuuuck you, assholes. Good god. 

And then you think about the fact that there's still morons who have that kind of attitude even to this day and it's just freaking depressing. 

That video about all the things a woman "did wrong" was infuriating, too. And particularly ridiculous because these women weren't even out and about at night and doing all the things that people claimed "invited" this kind of behavior.. They were in their homes. Sound asleep. And this creep still found them. 

It's just so incredibly insane. I don't get how people can think that way. 

I appreciated the women discussing the trauma that follows in the aftermath of the attack as well, and the way everything seems so tainted, and the struggle to move on, and the issue of being surrounded by other men in your home, even though you know these men aren't going to hurt you. I'm glad these women are getting to share their stories, tough as they are to hear. I hope it does help to erase some of the ridiculous attitudes mentioned above, and make people more understanding. 

As for Michelle, yeah, I can only imagine the kinds of crazy dreams and nightmares she would've had the more she delved into and studied this case. That'd be tough to deal with, for sure. I'm glad Patton was so understanding about it all, at least. Though now we're starting to see the toll this case is taking on her, too, which is concerning. 

This series is both fascinating and horrifying in equal measure so far. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Annber03

[luna1122]

I tell myself not to watch this before it's time to go to bed, but then I do, and then I can't sleep. This episode may have been even more disturbing than the last one. The idea that he took the news story about the rapist not entering homes with a man or dog present as some kind of dare or something, and then immediately began doing so...terrifying. He simply seemed to have no fear of getting caught, and mostly he was right.

The attitudes toward women who are raped haven't improved much in all these years.

I also noticed that the women who were raped by this monster seemed STILL have to take on the role of caretaker/placater for the husbands. Yes, the men endured a trauma as well, and I can only imagine the complicated emotions that a man must have to know he's unable to help or protect his wife while she's being raped. But it was the wife, seated next to the husband who fidgeted and squirmed and said he'd blocked it all out, who reached out and took his hand, as if to comfort HIM, not the other way around. They're still together, so hopefully at least in private he's been a comfort for her. And the other woman, who had just been raped...her husband told her she had to go get help, cuz his bound hands were going numb. Meanwhile, she's also bound, half naked, and has been repeatedly raped. It was very telling.

I wonder how Michelle did manage to sleep at night, after spending hours and hours with this guy in her head. I guess, as Patton indicated, not very well.

Edited July 6, 2020 by luna1122

[scrb]

5 hours ago, luna1122 said:

 

The attitudes toward women who are raped haven't improved much in all these years.

Was shocked when they said a rape conviction may only carry a 30 or 90 day sentence back in the '70s.  Or maybe attempted rape carried a light sentence?

No wonder rapes were rampant.

They also showed the sequence of rape victims "asking for it" by dressing provocatively.  Of course a couple of decades ago, there was also the "she says no but she means yes" crap circulating in the popular culture.

Then the interviews with the rapists, with a couple of them proclaiming proudly that the last victim of theirs who fought back got beaten up.

I think what helped change the attitudes were a number of movies and shows about rapes, showing how the victims were often treated horribly by existing laws and the justice system at the time.  There were a variety of rapes, like date rapes and then the famous movie with Jodie Foster which was based on a true story.

I don't know if popular culture alone drove changes to rape laws but convicted rapists are beaten up or worse in prison now, kind of a crude version of justice by felons.  You certainly wouldn't have rapists willing to speak up and have their faces filmed talking about their rapes.

 

[Milburn Stone]

25 minutes ago, scrb said:

I don't know if popular culture alone drove changes to rape laws but convicted rapists are beaten up or worse in prison now, kind of a crude version of justice by felons.  You certainly wouldn't have rapists willing to speak up and have their faces filmed talking about their rapes.

Part of me hopes, now that the guy is going to spend the rest of his life in prison, that he can be induced for no money to talk about what went on in his head. And part of me doesn't hope that.

[bosawks]

This episode just made me numb.

Numb.

[bilgistic]

Absolutely nothing has changed in the last 40-odd years. Rape victims are still being made to take psychological exams and polygraph tests. Convicted rapists get light or suspended sentences, if any. There are known serial rapists in powerful political, religious, economic and social positions everywhere.

Remember the backlash to the #MeToo movement?

I really could've done without seeing a room full of rapists and hearing about their motivation or whatever. Castrate them all.

I don't know how healthy it is for me to watch this show. I'm an assault survivor and I'm so full of rage watching it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I wasn't sure if I should watch this series, but I saw the first episode and I was like okay, I can handle this. But this episode had the creepiness amped up to 11.

I really felt for the victims even more in this episode than I did in the previous one. I know we like to think that as time goes on, things get better but one thing that has definitely not improved is attitudes (particularly males attitudes) about rape. Somehow these WOMEN being raped becomes all about how it makes the MEN feel. The girl whose father yelled at her for having the sheer audacity to tell her friend what happened to her made me want to shake him. Heaven forbid that your daughter admit what happened to her so that she can begin to heal. But no, obviously it's more important that she keep a lid on it so as not to make YOU feel uncomfortable or besmirch your family.

I had similar issues with the husband who said he had blocked out all the details. Look, I get that he feels guilty because he was unable to stop this from happening to his wife. That's normal and I don't judge him for that. But the fact that this is obviously all about HIS feelings (as evidenced by her trying to comfort him by saying that there was nothing he could have done and holding his hand) made me so sad that this poor woman not only has her own trauma to deal with but his as well. Like it's not enough that she was raped in her own home but she has to keep making HIM feel better about it. FFS.

As for the ridiculous videos from the 70s, that kind of victim blaming STILL happens today. In fact, on another show I watch, an 18 year old girl disappeared from a bus stop. One of the comments was, "Well, what was she doing at a bus stop at night?" Apparently it's always a woman's fault when anything happens to her. She shouldn't have worn that. She shouldn't have been window shopping. She should have had her keys out before she got to her car. She shouldn't have been drinking. She shouldn't have been alone. The list goes on and on.

As for sentencing for rapists, that's a laugh. After putting the victim through a trial where her sexual history is judged, as well as her morality and judgment, IF the rapist is convicted then we get cases like Brock Turner where the judge feels sorry FOR THE RAPIST and gives him a slap on the wrist (six months in jail, despite the fact that two witnesses caught him raping his victim and chased him down when he fled the scene. Punishment still isn't much more of a deterrent now than it was in the 70s.

The fact that some of the victims' friends blamed them was insane to me. What did a married woman who was asleep in her bed do to "deserve" this or "tempt" the rapist? That kind of mentality is infuriating and mind-boggling.

What one of the victims said about phase two after an attack just broke my heart. After already being violated and afraid she was going to be killed, she then had strangers trampling through her house, telling her not to go to the bathroom, questioning the fact that a half naked assault victim might want to cover up her bare skin, waiting to be taken to the hospital because there wasn't a single female police officer, and then coming home to a home that looked like a bomb had gone off. No wonder they sold that house and moved.

[marny]

This episode was such an indictment of the police as well. The fact that different departments didn’t work together because of ego (“no, this is our turf now so we’re gonna be the ones who solve this on our own”) outweighing the concern for women just led to more victims.  They treated it like a sporting event where all that mattered is who got the credit. While I’m sure there were some cops who cared, clearly there weren’t enough who cared that much. 

[chediavolo]

On 7/6/2020 at 7:38 AM, luna1122 said:

I tell myself not to watch this before it's time to go to bed, but then I do, and then I can't sleep. This episode may have been even more disturbing than the last one. The idea that he took the news story about the rapist not entering homes with a man or dog present as some kind of dare or something, and then immediately began doing so...terrifying. He simply seemed to have no fear of getting caught, and mostly he was right.

The attitudes toward women who are raped haven't improved much in all these years.

I also noticed that the women who were raped by this monster seemed STILL have to take on the role of caretaker/placater for the husbands. Yes, the men endured a trauma as well, and I can only imagine the complicated emotions that a man must have to know he's unable to help or protect his wife while she's being raped. But it was the wife, seated next to the husband who fidgeted and squirmed and said he'd blocked it all out, who reached out and took his hand, as if to comfort HIM, not the other way around. They're still together, so hopefully at least in private he's been a comfort for her. And the other woman, who had just been raped...her husband told her she had to go get help, cuz his bound hands were going numb. Meanwhile, she's also bound, half naked, and has been repeatedly raped. It was very telling.

I wonder how Michelle did manage to sleep at night, after spending hours and hours with this guy in her head. I guess, as Patton indicated, not very well.

Yep. Remember the phrase "big strong men". Not seeing any here. Go to a counselor and help your wife instead of just making like it never happened. These poor women are not even able to feel they can discuss this with their husbands. So sad.  Women are stronger, aren't we? I assumed, gave the benefit of the doubt, that the man with the bound hands was also bound to a chair or something and could not move around freely. If not, SHAME on him.  I really hope these people have gotten therapy.  I don't know how this ends yet, if this person was caught, etc. I'm hoping he is going to suffer.

On 7/7/2020 at 6:29 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I wasn't sure if I should watch this series, but I saw the first episode and I was like okay, I can handle this. But this episode had the creepiness amped up to 11.

I really felt for the victims even more in this episode than I did in the previous one. I know we like to think that as time goes on, things get better but one thing that has definitely not improved is attitudes (particularly males attitudes) about rape. Somehow these WOMEN being raped becomes all about how it makes the MEN feel. The girl whose father yelled at her for having the sheer audacity to tell her friend what happened to her made me want to shake him. Heaven forbid that your daughter admit what happened to her so that she can begin to heal. But no, obviously it's more important that she keep a lid on it so as not to make YOU feel uncomfortable or besmirch your family.

I had similar issues with the husband who said he had blocked out all the details. Look, I get that he feels guilty because he was unable to stop this from happening to his wife. That's normal and I don't judge him for that. But the fact that this is obviously all about HIS feelings (as evidenced by her trying to comfort him by saying that there was nothing he could have done and holding his hand) made me so sad that this poor woman not only has her own trauma to deal with but his as well. Like it's not enough that she was raped in her own home but she has to keep making HIM feel better about it. FFS.

As for the ridiculous videos from the 70s, that kind of victim blaming STILL happens today. In fact, on another show I watch, an 18 year old girl disappeared from a bus stop. One of the comments was, "Well, what was she doing at a bus stop at night?" Apparently it's always a woman's fault when anything happens to her. She shouldn't have worn that. She shouldn't have been window shopping. She should have had her keys out before she got to her car. She shouldn't have been drinking. She shouldn't have been alone. The list goes on and on.

As for sentencing for rapists, that's a laugh. After putting the victim through a trial where her sexual history is judged, as well as her morality and judgment, IF the rapist is convicted then we get cases like Brock Turner where the judge feels sorry FOR THE RAPIST and gives him a slap on the wrist (six months in jail, despite the fact that two witnesses caught him raping his victim and chased him down when he fled the scene. Punishment still isn't much more of a deterrent now than it was in the 70s.

The fact that some of the victims' friends blamed them was insane to me. What did a married woman who was asleep in her bed do to "deserve" this or "tempt" the rapist? That kind of mentality is infuriating and mind-boggling.

What one of the victims said about phase two after an attack just broke my heart. After already being violated and afraid she was going to be killed, she then had strangers trampling through her house, telling her not to go to the bathroom, questioning the fact that a half naked assault victim might want to cover up her bare skin, waiting to be taken to the hospital because there wasn't a single female police officer, and then coming home to a home that looked like a bomb had gone off. No wonder they sold that house and moved.

That was horrifying that the police made her sit there half naked. No women officer on the scene. There is no way I would not have put my robe on. How disgusting of them. It made my stomach turn. And to leave her home a shambles. How did they not take her right to the hospital? I am sickened. So sad.

[Annber03]

10 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

As for the ridiculous videos from the 70s, that kind of victim blaming STILL happens today. In fact, on another show I watch, an 18 year old girl disappeared from a bus stop. One of the comments was, "Well, what was she doing at a bus stop at night?" Apparently it's always a woman's fault when anything happens to her. She shouldn't have worn that. She shouldn't have been window shopping. She should have had her keys out before she got to her car. She shouldn't have been drinking. She shouldn't have been alone. The list goes on and on.

That bit during that one video talking about a woman "walking the wrong way". What the hell kind of way is the "right way" for a woman to walk to be "less tempting"? Good lord, how do people not hear themselves when they say things like that?

As for the person who asked why that woman was at a bus stop late at night...did it not occur to them that many women work jobs that require them to either go there or leave as night falls, then, thus requiring them to have to take the bus at that time? Or do they not take into account women heading to or leaving gatherings with family/friends/a significant other? Or maybe the fact that the bus is their only source of transportation to get around town for any reason because they can't or don't know how to drive? .That person clearly needs to open their mind up a little more.

9 hours ago, marny said:

This episode was such an indictment of the police as well. The fact that different departments didn’t work together because of ego (“no, this is our turf now so we’re gonna be the ones who solve this on our own”) outweighing the concern for women just led to more victims.  They treated it like a sporting event where all that mattered is who got the credit. While I’m sure there were some cops who cared, clearly there weren’t enough who cared that much. 

Yes! It reminded me of the bit in the book The Cases that Haunt Us where the author talked about how those attitudes ran rampant during the JonBenet Ramsey case, too, with different groups of investigators refusing to work together and letting petty crap get between them. And I'm just like, "....you people get that a six year old girl is dead, right? She was brutally murdered. It's not about you, suck it up and do your damn jobs." Same thing applies here, too. 

[carrps]

18 hours ago, chediavolo said:

 I assumed, gave the benefit of the doubt, that the man with the bound hands was also bound to a chair or something and could not move around freely. If not, SHAME on him.

No. He was hog-tied, but he was not tethered to anything. He was on the bed in the bedroom.

[meira.hand]

This documentary has a surreal feel to it, like a strange time capsule. The story takes place over forty years ago and can almost feel like a long away history tale and yet his actual trial is occurring right now. Seeing him with the transparent Covid visor in the courtroom gave me such a jolt. Also its so sad that Michelle McNamara did not live to see his capture and trial.

[Jadzia]

I was not at all familiar with McNamara or her writing and I really only knew about this case due to the ties to genetic genealogy, which is a hobby of mine. That said, I find myself kind of confused about the tone and intent of this show. Is it a documentary about the crimes or is it about the crime writer who was obsessed with solving them? I guess you can’t tell the second story without telling the first, but I think I might enjoy it more if it was mainly about the things she learned About the perpetrator rather than making her life so much part of the story itself. 
 

Also, while I appreciate that her work probably shed a lot of attention on this case, how it was eventually solved (using genetic genealogy) doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with the writer or her work. It seems like it would have made. more sense to focus on her personally if she had actually led to his arrest. 

[scrb]

I think the filmmaker used whatever footage she could get her hands on and integrate it into this doc series.

To be able to produce enough content for six 1-hour episodes or however many they're going to end up having, seems like she's using any and every footage she can get.

Especially when it turns out that McNamara wasn't filming herself all the time.  In fact some of the footage they gave is kind of surprising.

A lot of it is from a time well before cell phone videos were commonly recorded.

There are videos of her and that other enthusiast driving her around to places where the rapes occurred.  Not sure they were planning on a documentary or mini series back then so the footage they got doesn't seem comprehensive.

In fact in one sequence, they're driving around in the car and it's completely out of focus for like 5-10 seconds and it's in the show, just because there's a dialog going on that maybe the filmmaker wanted to get in.

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

I am equal parts fascinated and horrified by this show. I feel like the world's worst type of voyeur listening to these women recount the trauma that they endured but at the same time, am so impressed by their strength and stamina. 

Echoing what others have said about the "pissing contests" between law enforcement agencies, I was absolutely flabbergasted that they would not allow that woman to even put on a robe. I don't know if sexual assault kits were not processed this way in the 70s, but from what I know of sexual assault testing today, any articles of clothing are removed while the victim stands on a sterile floor covering to preserve any evidence that may fall from or be present on the clothing itself. So you'd rather have a rape victim stand around naked in front of a bunch of male police officers in order to wait for her to be more "comfortable" with a female police officer. Gosh, the idiocy is just astonishing. 

The conversations with rapists literally nauseated me. I have a lot of opinions about America's criminal justice system and what is deemed cruel and unusual punishment and sentencing decisions but I would have no problem with each and every one of them being locked up for the rest of their disgusting lives. In gen pop. *insert angry face/cursing/steam blowing out of ears emojis*

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by MicheleinPhilly

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

I am equal parts fascinated and horrified by this show. I feel like the world's worst type of voyeur listening to these women recount the trauma that they endured but at the same time, am so impressed by their strength and stamina. 

I feel like that's part of the reason why women are so drawn to these kinds of documentaries and stories. Either it's happened to us or someone we know, so hearing these women's stories can be cathartic and relatable in that way, or if it hasn't, it's educational and informative for us in a lot of ways. 

Quote

So you'd rather have a rape victim stand around naked in front of a bunch of male police officers in order to wait for her to be more "comfortable" with a female police officer. Gosh, the idiocy is just astonishing. 

Right? 

[spaceghostess]

On 7/7/2020 at 7:29 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I wasn't sure if I should watch this series, but I saw the first episode and I was like okay, I can handle this. But this episode had the creepiness amped up to 11.

I really felt for the victims even more in this episode than I did in the previous one. I know we like to think that as time goes on, things get better but one thing that has definitely not improved is attitudes (particularly males attitudes) about rape. Somehow these WOMEN being raped becomes all about how it makes the MEN feel. The girl whose father yelled at her for having the sheer audacity to tell her friend what happened to her made me want to shake him. Heaven forbid that your daughter admit what happened to her so that she can begin to heal. But no, obviously it's more important that she keep a lid on it so as not to make YOU feel uncomfortable or besmirch your family.

I had similar issues with the husband who said he had blocked out all the details. Look, I get that he feels guilty because he was unable to stop this from happening to his wife. That's normal and I don't judge him for that. But the fact that this is obviously all about HIS feelings (as evidenced by her trying to comfort him by saying that there was nothing he could have done and holding his hand) made me so sad that this poor woman not only has her own trauma to deal with but his as well. Like it's not enough that she was raped in her own home but she has to keep making HIM feel better about it. FFS.

As for the ridiculous videos from the 70s, that kind of victim blaming STILL happens today. In fact, on another show I watch, an 18 year old girl disappeared from a bus stop. One of the comments was, "Well, what was she doing at a bus stop at night?" Apparently it's always a woman's fault when anything happens to her. She shouldn't have worn that. She shouldn't have been window shopping. She should have had her keys out before she got to her car. She shouldn't have been drinking. She shouldn't have been alone. The list goes on and on.

As for sentencing for rapists, that's a laugh. After putting the victim through a trial where her sexual history is judged, as well as her morality and judgment, IF the rapist is convicted then we get cases like Brock Turner where the judge feels sorry FOR THE RAPIST and gives him a slap on the wrist (six months in jail, despite the fact that two witnesses caught him raping his victim and chased him down when he fled the scene. Punishment still isn't much more of a deterrent now than it was in the 70s.

The fact that some of the victims' friends blamed them was insane to me. What did a married woman who was asleep in her bed do to "deserve" this or "tempt" the rapist? That kind of mentality is infuriating and mind-boggling.

What one of the victims said about phase two after an attack just broke my heart. After already being violated and afraid she was going to be killed, she then had strangers trampling through her house, telling her not to go to the bathroom, questioning the fact that a half naked assault victim might want to cover up her bare skin, waiting to be taken to the hospital because there wasn't a single female police officer, and then coming home to a home that looked like a bomb had gone off. No wonder they sold that house and moved.

I couldn’t agree more with your observations. I experienced much the same thought/feeling process while watching this episode. It so happens I’d just watched ROLL RED ROLL a day or so before. It’s very good—and a wrenching reminder of how little progress (since pretty much the dawn of human beings) has been made in how rape victims are treated.

[Thomas Crown]

I just want to echo what others have said about the show doing a great job in portraying the sense of fear and paranoia that existed in the late 70s.  I know that we sometimes look back with fondness at the 70s and the early 80s, but despite the nostalgia the 70s was a dangerous time in some places in America based on all the violent crime.

Just speculating here, but in the episode it was mentioned that due to the public fear of the rapist and the mounting pressure to catch him, there was plenty of cops who on their days off would help patrol the neighborhoods looking for the GSK.   I'm wondering if the GSK took advantage of this opportunity to scope potential victims homes as he could easily explain his presence in people's yards with his badge and identifying himself as a police officer looking for the GSK.   

[Annber03]

13 minutes ago, Thomas Crown said:

Just speculating here, but in the episode it was mentioned that due to the public fear of the rapist and the mounting pressure to catch him, there was plenty of cops who on their days off would help patrol the neighborhoods looking for the GSK.   I'm wondering if the GSK took advantage of this opportunity to scope potential victims homes as he could easily explain his presence in people's yards with his badge and identifying himself as a police officer looking for the GSK.   

I could definitely see that, yeah. Lord knows lots of other serial killers have pulled stunts like that*, so it wouldn't surprise me if he used similar tactics, too. 

*I believe Bundy did similar things. I seem to remember reading something about how he would work with local officers passing out information to young women about how to stay safe when out and about at night. Yeeeeah....

[EdnasEdibles]

This is going to sound terrible because the show is riveting and horrifying but . . . I really can’t stand Michelle’s overly dramatic writing/narration. I know it’s not her narrating it. But “I hunted a killer with a laptop!” Makes me 🙄 a little. I feel that with so much of the narration and then I feel bad. 

[scrb]

22 minutes ago, EdnasEdibles said:

This is going to sound terrible because the show is riveting and horrifying but . . . I really can’t stand Michelle’s overly dramatic writing/narration. I know it’s not her narrating it. But “I hunted a killer with a laptop!” Makes me 🙄 a little. I feel that with so much of the narration and then I feel bad. 

That wasn't one of her better lines.  But she said something about the 15-inch screen being like a hatch or portal to all the evidence out there.

Some of the narration had some wonderful sequences of sentences, like the GSK wielding light into the faces of his victims, causing them disorientation -- when they were woken in the middle of the night.

[chediavolo]

On 7/11/2020 at 5:02 PM, EdnasEdibles said:

This is going to sound terrible because the show is riveting and horrifying but . . . I really can’t stand Michelle’s overly dramatic writing/narration. I know it’s not her narrating it. But “I hunted a killer with a laptop!” Makes me 🙄 a little. I feel that with so much of the narration and then I feel bad. 

There is something about her...well, besides that we see she was obsessed. Remember how she said at one point something like "at least I have drugs". Just little things I hear her say, ...I understand what you are saying. 

[paramitch]

On 7/7/2020 at 4:29 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

What one of the victims said about phase two after an attack just broke my heart. After already being violated and afraid she was going to be killed, she then had strangers trampling through her house, telling her not to go to the bathroom, questioning the fact that a half naked assault victim might want to cover up her bare skin, waiting to be taken to the hospital because there wasn't a single female police officer, and then coming home to a home that looked like a bomb had gone off. No wonder they sold that house and moved.

That got to me so much. While watching this, I thought repeatedly of the Netflix drama (based in fact) "Unbelievable," in which a young rape victim is treated with incredible thoughtlessness and cruelty by the police and her family (directly impacting her life and the case), while the case is far more adeptly (and compassionately) pursued when two female cops take over.

On 7/8/2020 at 8:52 AM, meira.hand said:

This documentary has a surreal feel to it, like a strange time capsule. The story takes place over forty years ago and can almost feel like a long away history tale and yet his actual trial is occurring right now. Seeing him with the transparent Covid visor in the courtroom gave me such a jolt. Also its so sad that Michelle McNamara did not live to see his capture and trial.

I'd heard about her death and this book but hadn't experienced any of it before this miniseries. I've ordered the book so will be reading it next, but it's so sad that McNamara didn't live to see him caught, due in direct part to her passion and effort.

On 7/9/2020 at 9:59 AM, Annber03 said:

I feel like that's part of the reason why women are so drawn to these kinds of documentaries and stories. Either it's happened to us or someone we know, so hearing these women's stories can be cathartic and relatable in that way, or if it hasn't, it's educational and informative for us in a lot of ways. 

Right? 

This breaks my heart because it's so true. There is certainly a cathartic aspect to sharing and experiencing their trauma as a trauma victim myself. It also unsurprisingly brought up a lot of stuff for me, as I'm sure it did for many others. 

On 7/11/2020 at 2:02 PM, EdnasEdibles said:

This is going to sound terrible because the show is riveting and horrifying but . . . I really can’t stand Michelle’s overly dramatic writing/narration. I know it’s not her narrating it. But “I hunted a killer with a laptop!” Makes me 🙄 a little. I feel that with so much of the narration and then I feel bad. 

I would substitute "beautiful and literary" for "overly dramatic."

Based on the excerpts from the show (and I have just bought the book), Michele's writing is -- I would argue -- really beautiful.

I'm a professional editor and copy editor, and believe me, I've seen some bad writing.

Due to its subject matter and those attracted to it, true crime writing, in fact, tends to be very workmanlike, analytical in its approach. Which is why Capote made such a stir with In Cold Blood. He brought emotion and connection to the crime he wrote about.

Michele brings a similar aspect -- she has a novelist's eye and gorgeously captures what is so disturbing about this horrible person and his effect on so many, many people.

Which is what writers are supposed to do. Michele's unique POV and insight and literary ability are what brought the additional attention to this case -- made it high profile.

And as her epitaph, I love her use of language, and it's so gorgeous, especially as she is brave enough to include her own reactions, her personal involvement in the revelations as a woman. I don't think describing the emotions around dozens of rapes and 13 murders is "overdramatic."

But YMMV.