I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK - Michelle McNamara launched a podcast entitled ‘True Crime Diary’ in 2006. She published an article, entitled ‘In the Footsteps of a Killer’, in Los Angeles magazine in 2013. A burglar turned rapist turned killer terrorized California communities up and down the state, escaping capture for decades. Victims found they had been spied on from their yards outside their home, once footprints and evidence of entry attempts--successful or otherwise--had been left behind. She had become obsessed by the East Area Rapist, renaming him the Golden State Killer. Those efforts took the form of a book manuscript she worked on. Over the preceding decades the media referred to him as: the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Night Stalker, and the Original Night Stalker. When DNA evidence confirmed the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker were the same person, ‘EARONS’ came to be used. Along the way, California's DNA database began to fill up with samples from accused and convicted felons. The case came to haunt Michelle, which oftentimes disrupted her sleep, obsessing late into the night writing or researching. Michelle McNamara died unexpectedly in 2016, at the age of 46, survived by her husband Patton Oswalt, a professional comedian. The book had only been partially completed. She had taken a dangerous mix of narcotics, anxiety meds and sleeping pills. She died in her sleep.  Her husband released I'll Be Gone in the Dark posthumously in 2018, nearly 2 years after her death, and 2 months before an arrest would be made in the case. Media pressure intensified as a result of her book, which had become a bestseller. Detectives used commercially available genealogy searches, investigators identified family members directly related to the killer, identifying 25 different family trees from the roots up. They used age, gender, and place of residence, to rule out suspects populating those family trees.  Suspects were eliminated one by one, until a final one remained. DNA samples were secretly collected from Joseph James DeAngelo, which he’d left in publicly accessible locations. Those matched the DNA profile of the Golden State Killer. With absolute certainty, the serial attacker had finally been brought to justice. Joseph James DeAngelo has already admitted responsibility as of this writing. He committed 13 murders, 50 rapes, and over 120 burglaries between 1973 and 1986.  HBO purchased the rights and filmed a series of the same name, which premiered this year. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, the book's title, references a direct quote by the killer to one of his victims: "You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark.”.

THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE

Will the 2nd season of American Crime Story live up to the legacy of the 1st season? The Assassination of Gianni Versace will certainly face comparisons to The People v. O.J. Simpson. Because the O.J. miniseries was good, really good, and had a stellar cast. American culture changed so much in the 90s, so it’s important to remember how much has happened. In that era, Hollywood was still deeply ensconced in the celluloid closet. So society recoiled more so when informed, via splashy headlines, that a gay serial killer was on the loose. Andrew Cunanan, a name whispered softly in hallways, not overtly stated in polite company. Gianni Versace, did you hear what happened to him? Surely, he must be involved in sordid dealings with this gay serial killer. With the atelier dead and buried, everyone left had to figure out what to do with the company. The Versace brand would likely have died with Gianni’s passing. But somehow Donatella was able to find a way to endure the transition. She and the company survived in the face of cutthroat tastemakers’ fashion whims. Nobody believed she had a shot. Will the miniseries be just as good? My hunch says no, but stay tuned to find out and come to your own conclusion.

https://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-people-vs-oj-simpson.html

HELTER SKELTER

HELTER SKELTER - In the late sixties, Playboy magazine published an article with photos predicting: "This is the year that Sharon Tate happens ..." She had already appeared in The Fearless Vampire Killers. Also, she’d appeared in the film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s first novel, Valley of the Dolls. She’d gone on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in this movie. Married to Roman Polanski, her director in Vampire Killers, Sharon was close to her son’s delivery date. She was in-between projects in LA, another one of her films had just wrapped, The Thirteen Chairs co-starring Orson Welles. Waiting for her husband’s return from filming, she spent an evening with friends after dining out at her favorite restaurant. Yet, that awful night, her young life was about to be cut short. Sharon Tate was murdered, along with four others, by the Charles Manson family. The murders included Steven Parent, deceased in his parked car on the driveway. Along with Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger, found dead on the front lawn. Sharon Tate’s neck was tied with rope to Jay Sebring’s and they were found in the living room. Sharon had been stabbed sixteen times and died along with her unborn son. Recounting the events leading up to the murders, the true crime book entitled Helter Skelter detailed what happened. Charles Manson and his cult devotees, also known as The Family, committed the heinous crime as part of their vision of apocalypse, war, and violence. He drew his references from Beatles music and the Book of Revelations. Manson and his followers were successfully prosecuted and found guilty as part of their scheme to trigger Helter Skelter.

THE CLUTTER MURDERS

The Clutter murders - It was 1959, in the middle of the night, at an isolated Kansas farmhouse. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith had just driven four hundred miles across state and entered a darkened home. The cellmates planned to rob this unsuspecting family, leave no witnesses, and start a new life in Mexico. The Clutter family—Herb, Bonnie, their daughter Nancy, and son Kenyon—were roused from sleep. The cellmates insisted they give up the location of a hidden safe. There was a problem with the plan … since there was no safe … and, no cash. They bound the family, searched for money and briefly debated what to do. In a fit of rage, Smith slit the father’s throat and put a bullet in his head. They rest of them had to die too, in cold blood. Finding nothing of value, the killers left with a small radio, pair of binoculars and less than fifty dollars in cash. The Clutter murders would later be described in the vanguard nonfiction novel, In Cold Blood. Truman Capote, author of Other Voices, Other Rooms, left New York for Kansas after reading a 300 word newspaper article. His co-author and research assistant was Harper Lee, an author in her own right, of To Kill a Mockingbird. Capote and Lee grew up together and had been childhood friends. First published in The New Yorker, In Cold Blood was a sensation and the pioneer of the true crime genre. It has been adapted into film, television and a graphic novel.

http://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-cold-blood.html

http://chadschimke.blogspot.com/2014/07/capote.html

 

THE PEOPLE VS OJ SIMPSON

THE PEOPLE VS OJ SIMPSON - With the recent airing of the TV miniseries, The People v. O.J. Simpson, the public is once again fascinated by this spectacle. It’s a rags to riches to rags story. A gifted young man wins his way out of the projects (San Francisco Hunter’s Point), only to end up tried, sued, bankrupt and in prison. What happened, you might ask? It all changed on a summer night in 1994, when a secluded sidewalk was discovered awash in blood. That of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman … but they were nothing more than friends. What came next was characterized as the Trial of the Century. An instant star maker, the key player’s names are famous, even today. Kris Kardashian (Jenner), Johnnie Cochran, Al Cowlings, Christopher Darden, Robert Kardashian, Robert Shapiro, Kato Kaelin, Marcia Clark. Since then, OJ lost a wrongful death trial, was evicted from his estate, was investigated for drug trafficking and is currently imprisoned for armed robbery. Check out this American classic true crime story!

http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/american-crime-story/about

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788432/

MICHAEL ALIG CLUB KIDS CO-FOUNDER TO BE RELEASED FROM PRISON

MICHAEL ALIG CLUB KIDS CO-FOUNDER TO BE RELEASED FROM PRISON

The following is a snippet from a longer article on the Huffington Post. I have always found Alig to be a fascinating infamous celebrity. The stuff from which horrific nightmares are made.

'90s New York nightlife icon and Club Kids co-founder Michael Alig is slated to be released from prison on May 5 after serving 17 years for the murder of friend and fellow club kid Andre "Angel" Melendez in 1996.
Alig, whose story was documented in the film "Party Monster," will reportedly not immediately re-enter the club scene as a way of life. According to Black Book:
His transition to the real world will be eased by a support group who, for the most part, have stuck by him for more than a decade and a half. Michael has never used a computer or cellphone but he has remained keenly aware of the world we live in. There is no chance that he will return to clubs as a way of life, but he will paint and write, and as always, try to impact the way we think.
Alig's release comes at a interesting time, with a resurgence in New York nightlife occurring following the regulatory and velvet-roped nature of the scene throughout the 2000s.
Alig has also been active on Twitter recently, using the editor of his memoir to communicate his thoughts to the outside world.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/michael-alig-release_n_5166796.html