40 pages • 1 hour read
Michelle McNamaraI'll Be Gone in the Dark
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3 Summary
McNamara passes away in her sleep on April 21, 2016, leaving I’ll Be Gone in the Dark unfinished. Journalist Billy Jensen and researcher Paul Haynes, a prominent member of the GSK crime forum (who McNamara calls the “Kid”), continue McNamara’s work. Haynes and Jensen write Part 3 of the book, describing McNamara’s research methods and the avenues for further investigation into the GSK.
McNamara amassed thousands of files relating to the GSK during her research, and was in the process of systematically going through the information at the time of her death. McNamara’s notes are extensive, ranging from collections of maps of the neighborhoods where the GSK struck, to lists of items the GSK stole from his victims. Haynes and Jensen note that McNamara was particularly invested in a form of investigation known as geo-profiling.
In geo-profiling, investigators use the locations of a serial killer’s crimes to deduce where the killer lives. Haynes and Jensen write that, given the GSK’s continual attacks in the Sacramento area, it is almost a certainty that the GSK lived in Sacramento in the late 1970s. They also argue that it is likely the GSK lived in Southern California during the early 1980s, when he committed a series of double homicides. Using this information, one could “in theory” find the GSK by systematically looking through a list of individuals who resided in Sacramento and Southern California during these two time periods (297). Though McNamara and Holes attempted such a search, the task was difficult because no single database listing individual’s residences exists. Instead, they cobbled together a list of possible suspects matching the geographic profile by reviewing local government records, including telephone books and marriage records.
Holes further attempted to pinpoint the GSK’s residence by mapping out the killer’s crimes in Sacramento and looking for “buffer zones” (293). Serial criminals usually avoid committing crimes too close to their residence, creating so-called buffer zones, or blank areas, in the maps of their crimes. By analyzing the locations of the GSK’s crimes, Holes was able to pinpoint an area on the border of Carmichael and Fair Oaks, two towns in which he believes the GSK may have resided.
McNamara and Holes also attempted to track down the GSK using his DNA, particularly his Y-DNA profile. In genetic databases, inserting the Y-DNA profile yields any blood relative matches. In one instance, Holes inserts the GSK’s Y-DNA information into a database to find an exact match. However, the match comes from a fellow investigator who uploaded the GSK’s DNA information. McNamara hoped to compare the GSK’s Y-DNA profile to the database of a commercial genetic company such as 23AndMe. However, 23AndMe refuses to allow police to access its database, “citing privacy issues” (309).
Afterword Summary
Patton Oswalt, McNamara’s husband, writes the Afterword to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’s. Oswalt reflects on McNamara’s life and their relationship, writing that he and McNamara shared very little in common, except for the topic of serial killers. McNamara’s interest focuses on the tireless work of the detectives chasing serial killers, as well as the trauma of those affected by the killer. Oswalt recounts a story from when he was writing a sitcom based on his own life. After telling his writing partner about McNamara’s true crime blog and her obsession with investigating unsolved murders, the partner says that his wife’s life would make for a more interesting television show than Oswalt’s. For Oswalt, this is a clear example of how McNamara was “quietly, effortlessly original” (319). Oswalt closes by reflecting on how McNamara was able to hold and sustain readers’ attentions in a culture characterized by distracting “clickbait” (320).
Epilogue Summary: “Letter to an Old Man”
In the epilogue, McNamara writes a letter addressed to the Golden State Killer, whose identity is unknown at the time of writing. Though McNamara is unable to put a face to the GSK, she writes about the myriad ways in which she does know him: through his “approach” to his crimes and through what he “left behind” (323). McNamara describes the GSK as a “voyeur” obsessed with violent fantasies about women. Chasing after thrills led him to commit increasingly brutal crimes, resulting in a series of murders (323). McNamara warns the GSK that, though his stealth tactics may have helped him evade capture at the time of his crimes, the advent of the internet and technology means it is only a matter of time until his identity is revealed and he is arrested for his crimes.
Part 3-Epilogue Analysis
Though McNamara’s colleagues, Billy Jensen and Paul Haynes, initially attempt to fill in the gaps in McNamara’s manuscript after her death, they realize this to be an impossible task: McNamara wrote “with a style that couldn’t be replicated” (286). Instead, they describe her methods and the evidence she collected. As the GSK’s identity was unknown at the time of their writing, Jensen and Haynes seek to highlight the various methods that might allow the search to continue—and carry on her work.
Despite her death, McNamara gets the last word. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark closes with her “Letter to an Old Man”—and letter directed at the GSK, who would presumably be an old man at the time of McNamara’s writing. Throughout the book, McNamara argues that a serial killer gains power from anonymity. So, though she still cannot name the GSK, she uses the letter to identify him nonetheless. She describes all the known aspects of his identity, and in so doing gains some power over the GSK. McNamara includes details of the GSK’s crimes, speculating on the violent fantasies that may have motivated him to repeatedly attack women. Ultimately, the letter functions as a warning: Though he may have eluded law enforcement thus far, McNamara and others refuse to give up searching for the GSK; it is only a matter of time before he will be forced to “walk into the light” (328).
