Though Netflix’s Mindhunter is yet to be officially renewed, the second season was unofficially a go long before the first ever came out—and it’s clearly a show designed to run for several seasons. Beginning as it does in the 1970s with FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) interviewing serial killers, effectively creating what we now know as criminal psychology, the first season is only the tip of the iceberg as far as potentially fascinating subjects go.

Oct 24, 2014. Persistent misinformation, stereotypes and hyperbole presented in the media have combined with the relative rarity of serial murder cases to foster a number of popular myths about serial murder. The most common myths about serial killers encompass such factors as their race, gender, intelligence, living. It's nice to think that serial killers are a thing of the past. It's easy to believe that since Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer are all dead, since Charles Manson is still behind bars and since the case of the Zodiac Killer has been solved (just kidding!), we live in a serial-killer-free millennium.

Think of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and that long-teased Charles Manson interview. Creator Joe Penhall and executive producer David Fincher reportedly have a five-season plan for the show, and there’s one element so far that has made the long game particularly clear. That’s the mysterious ADT employee in Kansas, who we glimpse in pre- and post-episode vignettes that have no connection to the show’s main storyline. Though the show is yet to reveal his identity, it took eagle-eyed viewers very little time to figure out that he is probably Dennis Rader, better known as “the BTK killer”—that is bind, torture, kill. The BTK killer worked as an ADT serviceman in Kansas, and was active for almost two decades (from 1975 through 1991) and went uncaptured until 2005. The fact that Mindhunter has introduced him already, in the 1977-set first season, suggests we’ll be following Ford and Tench into the 21st century.

Actor Sonny Valicenti is in an interesting spot when it comes to doing interviews because, officially, he is playing “ADT Serviceman” on Mindhunter. Still, he spoke to me about his approach to the role, what real serial killers he drew inspiration from, and why David Fincher's infamous multiple takes matter. Valicenti was told almost nothing about the role until he got to set. In the audition scene that I was sent, there was a bold line saying, 'This is not your character speaking, this is a stock script that we’re using for auditions.' Once I got to set, I had a slightly better sense of how I would fit into the story, but I wouldn't get pages sometimes until the night before [shooting].

I just knew that I was going to be a looming presence that transitioned from everyday activities to, perhaps, hinting at something darker. The character that I play, and the behavior that he exhibits, was kind of all that I was told. In terms of the really wonderful theories [online] about who this character is and the future of the show. I'm just as curious as you are to see how this pans out. Though he won't confirm or deny that he's playing Dennis Rader, Valicenti did draw inspiration from footage of Rader along with several other real-life killers. There are plenty of confession videos from serial killers on YouTube, and that was a big part of my process of preparing. Dennis Rader's an example, Ed Kemper's an example, Charles Manson in his own way—the way they speak about this behavior and how it affects their body, and how it sort of channels through them.

There are certain moments where the judge in the court will ask them to specify their intention, what drove them to do it, and they will have a very specific physical and vocal reaction. So studying confession tapes was a big wealth of information for me, in terms of how this character's gonna carry himself, and when that urge and desire takes over, and what the difference is between feeling like a normal human being and then having this. What some have called a demon inside of them, and what that looks like when it takes over.

Fincher directed Valicenti to keep his performance as simple as possible. In just about every scene I did, Mr Fincher would say 'No, you're not psycho killer, you're not playing psycho killer.' He just stressed the simplicity of it: There doesn't need to be any weird facial tics, or weird intonations that let everybody know this is a psycho killer. In fact, the most effective way to show the behavior of this character is to just allow it to be very human and very simple, which is kind of the thesis of the show—to get out of that black-and-white way of looking at this behavior and really try and understand it from a human point of view. Despite being entirely in his own story thread, Valicenti did interact with the rest of the cast. I would go to set on my days off, and I had a moment to sit down with Jonathan Groff—gosh, I actually don't think I can name a sweeter person!

He made me feel so welcome, and the same with Holt McCallany, who's just a real friend immediately. It was funny because they didn't really have any idea what was going on with my character either, so it was all just this wide-eyed mystery we were all wading through.

ON THE RUN The Golden State Killer’s telltale imprint: a size 9 tennis shoe [ 1 ] MISSING LINKS ON A SLEEPLESS NIGHT LAST JULY—one of dozens I’ve powered through during the months I’ve spent tracking him down—I Googled a description of a pair of cuff links he stole in the midst of a home invasion in Stockton in September 1977. At that time the Golden State Killer, as I’ve recently come to call him, hadn’t yet graduated to murder. He was a serial rapist who was attacking women in their bedrooms from Sacramento to San Ramon, targeting those who lived in quiet upper-middle-class suburban neighborhoods. He was young—anywhere from 18 to 30—Caucasian, and athletic, capable of eluding capture by jumping roofs and vaulting tall fences. He frequently wore a ski mask. He had either blue or hazel eyes and, some victims reported, a high-pitched voice. He would rant to his victims about needing money, but he frequently ignored cash, even when it was right in front of him.

But he didn’t leave empty-handed. He took items of personal value from those he had violated: engraved wedding bands, driver’s licenses, souvenir coins. The cuff links he stole in Stockton were a slightly unusual 1950s style and monogrammed with the first initial N. From my research I knew that boys’ names beginning with this letter were rare, appearing only once in the top 100 names of the 1930s and ’40s, when the original owner was likely born. The cuff links were a family heirloom belonging to the victim’s husband; they were distinct looking. • HELP CATCH THE KILLER • • • • • I hit the return key on my laptop, expecting nothing.

Then a jolt of recognition: There they were, a single image out of the hundreds loading on my laptop screen, the same style as sketched out in the police file I had acquired, with the same initial. They were going for $8 at a vintage store in a small town in Oregon. I bought them immediately, paying $40 for overnight delivery, and went to wake my husband. “I think I found him,” I said, a little punchy from lack of sleep. My husband, a professional comedian, didn’t have to ask who “him” was. While we live in Los Feliz with our young daughter, my online life has been taken over by unsolved murders—and with maybe someday solving one of them—on a Web site I launched in 2006 called True Crime Diary.

By day I’m a 42-year-old stay-at-home mom with a sensible haircut and Goldfish crackers lining my purse. In the evening, however, I’m something of a DIY detective. I delve into cold cases by scouring the Internet for any digital crumbs authorities may have overlooked, then share my theories with the 8,000 or so mystery buffs who visit my blog regularly. When my family goes to sleep, I start clicking, combing through digitized phone books, school yearbooks, and Google Earth views of crime scenes: a bottomless pit of potential leads for the laptop investigator who now exists in the virtual world. The Golden State Killer, though, has consumed me the most. In addition to 50 sexual assaults in Northern California, he was responsible for ten sadistic murders in Southern California. Here was a case that spanned a decade and ultimately changed DNA law in the state.

Neither the Zodiac Killer, who terrorized San Francisco in the late 1960s and early ’70s, nor the Night Stalker, who had Southern Californians locking their windows in the ’80s, was as active. Yet the Golden State Killer has little recognition; he didn’t even have a catchy name until I coined one.

His capture was too low to detect on any law enforcement agency’s list of priorities. If this coldest of cases is to be cracked, it may well be due to the work of citizen sleuths like me (and a handful of homicide detectives) who analyze and theorize, hoping to unearth that one clue that turns all the dead ends into a trail—the one detail that will bring us face-to-face with the psychopath who has occupied so many of our waking hours and our dreams. [ 2 ] THE M.O. On October 1, 1979, on Queen Ann Lane in Goleta, a town near Santa Barbara, a terrified woman lay facedown in her living room, her wrists tied behind her back, her feet bound at the ankles. Her tennis shorts had been thrown over her head as a blindfold. She could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen. It was 2:20 a.m.

“I’ll kill ’em, I’ll kill ’em, I’ll kill ’em,” he chanted to himself—like, as an investigator would later put it, “a guy pumping himself up for an athletic endeavor.” The woman managed to remove the bindings from her feet and escaped screaming out the front door; in the chaos her live-in boyfriend, bound in the bedroom, was able to hop into the backyard and roll behind an orange tree, just missing the frantic, searching beam of the intruder’s flashlight. A witness caught a glimpse of the suspect fleeing the scene: a lean man in a Pendleton shirt pedaling furiously away on a stolen silver Nishiki ten-speed. After that botched attack, none of his victims would survive to describe him. Almost three months later, on the morning of December 30, a half mile south of where the October attack took place, Santa Barbara sheriff’s detectives responded to a call at the condominium of Dr. Robert Offerman. A woman out front was crying.

“There are two people dead inside,” she said. The bodies were in the bedroom. Offerman’s girlfriend, psychologist Debra Alexandria Manning, 35, lay on the right side of the waterbed, nude and bound. Offerman, a 44-year-old osteopath, was on his knees on the floor; in his left hand he clutched a length of white three-strand nylon cord. The killer’s plan seemed to have gone awry.

Offerman had been able to break free from his bindings, raising the possibility that the killer might have ordered Manning to tie him up and that she had bound him loosely on purpose. As detectives processed the crime scene, they stepped around a turkey carcass wrapped in cellophane that had been discarded on the patio.

At some point, probably before he shot his victims through the heart and the back of the head, the killer had opened the refrigerator and helped himself to Offerman’s leftover Christmas dinner. The forensics team noted what appeared to be the intruder’s signatures: the nylon twine, the pry marks on the doors and windows, the tennis shoe impressions. Everything matched the pattern of a man who had become known as the East Area Rapist, or EAR, a cat burglar whose middle-of-the-night assaults paralyzed Sacramento and Contra Costa counties starting in 1976 and ending after a thwarted attack on July 6, 1979. To zero in on a victim he often entered the home beforehand when no one was there, learning the layout, studying family pictures, and memorizing names.

Victims received hang-up or disturbing phone calls before and after they were attacked. He disabled porch lights and unlocked windows. He emptied bullets from guns. He hid shoelaces or rope under cushions to use as ligatures.

These maneuvers gave him a crucial advantage because when you woke from a deep sleep to the blinding flashlight and ski-masked presence, he was always a stranger to you, but you were not to him. This feature was originally published in the issue of Los Angeles magazine. Hi Jake, The October date was a failed attempt.

The murder happens Dec. 30, which is noted in the fourth paragraph: **After that botched attack, none of his victims would survive to describe him. Almost three months later, on the morning of December 30, a half mile south of where the October attack took place, Santa Barbara sheriff’s detectives responded to a call at the condominium of Dr. Robert Offerman. A woman out front was crying. “There are two people dead inside,” she said.** Hope that helps clear things up for you.

Wow, what a great article. Really compelling and beautifully written. Got to stop using “psychopath” like it’s a synonym for “crazy,” though. Psychopaths are sane. They know right from wrong, they just don’t care. Crying, jittery, nervous, seeming afraid of confrontation and the weird, “Mummy, mummy, mummy”? Sadist, for sure.

Schizophrenic and super manic, maybe? Not psychopath — they’re incapable of regret, don’t feel nervousness and sure as hell don’t cry about it. And Anonymous Person? Spoken like a total sociopath.

Yep, I like what you wrote here FH. It is absolutely true that a psychopath is sane. Not all of them are murderers, or even criminals. In fact they can even act in caring ways if it suits a personal agenda. I know such a person. It is creepy. Her deceased son had suffered decades with dire medical complications and pain.

She wasn’t sure if a show of empathy along with the obligatory care would have been beneficial to him when he was alive. She was very matter of fact about it. It was a passing thought. This killer was not capable of such detachment. His emotions controlled him. I did read one time that most serial killers have at least two factors.

Being badly abused by a father or other male authority figure. And some sort of brain injury from a blow or from medical problems. That will practically guarantees some kind of deep emotional distress. So the police held a community meeting in the Sacramento area and about 600 people came. It’s reported that a guy stood up and asked how could this be happening if the husbands are home – how could someone do that? About a month later that same man was tied up while his wife was sexually assaulted.

They say the rapist was probably at the meeting. So why did the police not get everyone’s info at the meeting? Go through all the pictures I who was there and check off the list? Is there any video of the meeting?

As a child of one of the victims, I grow weary of people like you Ms. McNamara, taking a whack at being a junior detective and exploiting all the victims one-more-time while giving the monster another shot at infamy. Many outstanding professionals have spent a lot of time putting this case together and they did it with tremendous regard for the victims and their families. And we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Having lived with this for more than 30 years now, may I offer one piece of advice: If you are truly a parent who wants to be a good parent, I suggest you spend your time on something more positive and that could create change for good in our community. This stuff is poison, not worthy of anyone’s time and the perp deserves to remain a void.

The damage is done. Please leave it alone. Far be it from me to question the honesty of an anonymous internet poster. Drivers Epson Dfx 8500 Drivers. I’m sure you are who you say you are.

However, are you saying you don’t want him caught? The possibility still exists that he is alive and free. If he’s alive and free he’s still very dangerous. In good conscience you’re willing to take the risk he’s out there and thinking about harming people to avoid feeding his big/little ego? Your presumption is that the damage IS DONE. It might not be. I’d feed his big/little ego, assuming he’s alive, and the egos of people around the case, if it means preventing him from harming someone – assuming he’s alive.

I actually don’t understand your logic. In order to feed his ego he has to be alive. If he’s alive he needs to be found. If he’s dead his ego isn’t fed. He doesn’t ‘gain’ anything from the infamy. Keep wondering if the 6th grade male teacher might hold a clue.

If the killer comes from Visalia, would there be an elementary school teacher who taught in a local school there- the killer would have been around eleven I guess-maybe 1965. Now you have me going The other thing that stands out is him calling out to his mother in one instance after a crime. I read somewhere that serial killers are frequently enmeshed with, and have strange relationships with their dominating mothers, and their fathers are often absent. I think he’s killing off his mother each time he commits a crime. No DNA in anyone’s database, not one single speck from any of the crime scenes? Really enjoyed the article, riveting.

I hope they catch the bastard. Right, class photos around this time, and any male teachers teaching elementary school 6th grade level since this would narrow the search a little. There are a number of elementary schools in the Visalia area however. Also, look for a boy who had a discipline problem both in and out of the classroom.

I think Michelle made mention of a rash of crimes, maybe vandalisms or burglaries in the Visalia area at a later time frame, maybe the same kid, age progressed. The Visalia police might even have apprehended this man and have him on record somewhere, in their database. Serial killers often start out committing lesser crimes first, and then progress to more serious ones.

Somebody know him. – I know this is off topic, but you piqued my curiosity, so I went digging. In a 4 minute Youtube video, Elisa Lam is in an elevator, then she peers out into the hallway as if she knows she’s being followed or stalked by someone. It appears she may be high on something, but clearly she’s also afraid.

In the last frames of the video, the elevator doors open twice onto an empty hallway and Elisa is nowhere in sight. I get a very bad feeling from it. It gets weirder. Lam Elisa is the name of the test for tuberculosis(TB). Elisa Lam died on 2/21/13. There was a tuberculosis outbreak in downtown Los Angeles on 2/25/13, near the Hotel Cecil affecting 4500 people.

Whoever killed Elisa must be involved in germ warfare, that’s my best guess. The Lam Elisa/Elisa Lam play on words seems like a sick inside joke. Wonder if there is any video surveillance of the front door or hallways around this time frame. How did her body get into a water tank? Premeditated for sure. And what was she doing in Los Angeles alone? Too bad someone here isn’t on the trail, journalists like Michelle or Joel are like junkyard dogs.

This could also be hazardous, but germ warfare usually suggests something really sinister, like CIA. The people of Northern Cal have been scared by this scum bag for decades. Known as the EAR/ONS not the golden state killer (something the author created, not sure why she felt the name to change his name and add to the confusion). The following website has been in existence for many years. It’s got a good case summary and photos of attack sites. While I am glad that the author has found a new “hobby”, I applaud her efforts to bring renewed attention to this case.

The common assumption is that he is dead since there has been no positive DNA matches. I think it’s cute that you’re trying to coin a new name for the perpetrator, but his name is the East Area Rapist or the “Original Night Stalker”, ONS. Quit confusing people just because you desire to put your stamp on this cool case.

Give me a break. Another crime solver already started an excellent website for ONS. Another man also started one for Zodiac.

Anyone interested should definitely check them out. Thank you for writing about it nonetheless. Alot of cold cases go cold because of initial screw-ups by law enforcement in investigation follow-up or because of the justice system sending dangerous felons back out on the street to restart their whole endless cycle. I was 5 years old in 1977 living in Orangevale,Ca-about 15 miles East of Sacramento.

The East Area Rapist (as he’s known in Sacramento) attacked a house three blocks from where I lived. Steinberg Cubase 7 Crack Elicenser Emulator. Two other attacks occured within a mile of my home. I’ll never forget seeing my father adding an extra deadbolt to each door and making 1/2″ x 1/2″ wooden squares to place in all the window jams. The Visalia school teacher theory is a bit of a reach. The majority of the rapes (especially from 76-77) occured in East Sacramento. We had two Air Force Bases open during that time and it’s more likely he was military. Both bases were in the Eastern part of town, a stones through from many attacks.

Great article but not crazy about adding another name. People in Sacramento will only remember him as the East Area Rapist.

I agree with one commenter that they should within a certain time frame interview 6th grade visalia students documenting any unusual negative interactions between student and teacher like the cancelled trip that was mentioned or teachers if that is feasible noting the age factor. Document contractors in Sacramento that did work in Southern California in the mid and late 70s.

Document contractors employees or subs that could have been that height. Apparently the heat was on in Visalia is why he migrated to Sacramento to continue his crime wave. He had to have a way to make a living apparently it was in the trades area. Look up sole proprietorship contractors in Sacramento and document that. The more documentation the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place.

This case is the hallmark reason for all males to be dna’d it has had a dramatic effect on rape crime and why crime has gone down in general. A lot of people were looking for a bright shiny object with the zodiac is why they had the wrong suspect. The Zodiac was Larry Cane someone who was low key and everywhere he went a body turned up. Why the light bulb never went on regarding that issue I’ll never know. I guess i’ll do a little Walter Mitty myself.

The article says, “On the back of the map, amid a series of doodles and girls’ names, is the word punishment scrawled hard in black pen with the letter p written backward. Right above the word punishment, in faint handwriting, are the words “Come from Snelling.” At least that’s what Pool believes. It’s the last name of the man murdered in Visalia.” Who says Snelling is the name of the man? Snelling is smack down in the middle of California – right in the middle between Visalia and Sacramento. At the time Snelling was close to Castle AFB, which was a major SAC base during the Cold War.

The Snelling/Hornitos/Merced Falls/Mariposa area was, if I remember the stories I heard growing up, home to a lot of retired military, bikers, survivalists, etc. “Come from Snelling” doesn’t necessarily convey that he’s talking about the man he killed. A fascinating case about a less famous serial killer. It’s tragic the author had to lose her life for me to end up finding this through the facebook feed, but she was a talented writer in her own right – but even more so, a dedicated detective. My only hope is that she’s got consciousness on the other side and is able to find out the real Golden State Killer.

She really deserves this truth. RIP and hope to share this so more people can learn about Michelle McNamara and the Golden State Killer. Out of the various responses to this story, only one — from a victim’s family — makes any sense at all! The ego will never grasp that all the suffering we experience is 100% our projection so how do I beget a loving and peaceful world? By thinking only loving and peaceful thoughts! Forgiveness gets you there forgiveness is our only function on earth!

To the disturbed individual who committed these acts, I extend my unconditional love that love can never be changed. All things we think and do in this world cannot touch our sinlessness! We are eternally free, and will all awaken from the dream we thought we had to have (whether I dreamed of myself as a man of virtue or of sin). My love for you is timeless and complete in an insane and mutable world, and in that all our errors of perception are healed! Love never defends, it only extends!

You are eternally my brother! Fundraiser: The case of the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist in California will be presented at CrimeCon, a true crime convention in June 2017 in Indiana. This unidentified serial rapist/killer has raped 45 women and murdered 12 women and men in California. Relatives Debbi Domingo and Michelle Cruz, who each had a family member murdered by GSK, will be presenting.

We are raising funds for them to go and have a booth there. We have raised $3000 of $5000 needed. Every donation helps!

I’ve always wondered how they knew EAR would go in the homes earlier than when he made his attacks and set the place up. Whenever I’ve heard this brought up the speaker(s) always refer to the fact that he had the shoelaces, whatever he used to bind the gals up, like stashed in the sofa, or wherever. Why couldn’t he have done those things just after breaking in, and before attacking?

I do recall one report that said he took the shells out of a shotgun that was in the bedroom where the couple slept. So I guess that would be one case where he would have had to enter earlier.