In just a few days, the names of the 9/11 victims will be read again in New York. I can’t listen to them. It tears me up and it’s been 17 years! I get lost thinking about all the little things like did they have kids (who are now grown) or were they engaged or… More Court Date Aug 23 | Twenty-Six New Charges for Joseph DeAngelo
When the FBI released the news about the Golden State Killer, the Orlando shooting massacre happened and took over the news. Today, when the DeAngelo press conference went live, Cohen was heading to court and the Manafort verdict was coming in. Our poor law enforcement folks can’t get a break! But it’s all good. On… More Top Five Reasons Having the DeAngelo Trial in Sacramento is Pure Gold
The week before DeAngelo’s arrest, I had worked a trade show called RSAC. It’s the biggest cybersecurity show in the US. It happens in San Francisco and I did it while on a crutch (busted up leg) and launching a huge PR campaign. The cover image is from one of our event buttons – it just… More The Day of the Arrest: How I Learned DeAngelo Had Been Caught
My grandmother’s piano sat in our front room. It’s dark cherry and well-worn and every Smith kid had to take piano lessons. I wasn’t that great at playing conventionally, but I was good at playing a song by ear. I could read music and loved all things Billy Joel and Elton John. I aspired to… More The Day We Learned My Dad and Charlene Were Dead
Ever wonder what the heck therapy should do for you? Here’s a summary of what it’s done for me. … More Here’s How Therapy Can Help (From a Non-Therapist)
Sometimes we get so good at our jobs we can do them almost on autopilot. We don’t realize everyone else has no idea what we are doing or why we are going so fast. This was how Thursday went down. Fast, sloppy and almost chaotic. The slap-dash of serial rapist-murder hearings. I’m pretty sure the… More Court Date July 12 | Another Hearing and Meeting New Survivors
I’m pretty sure I spent thousands of dollars in therapy to get over this. No, it wasn’t just this, but being a suspect – despite how ludicrous it seems now – was really awful. Therapy can be a real pain in the butt as you go through crap from the past that frankly, you want… More I Was A Suspect In My Dad’s Murder | Part 2
Probably the one thing about this whole case that caused me the most shame, was being a suspect. I can’t believe it happened and I can’t believe the police thought I could do something so awful. My mom was my alibi that night and she failed to remember I was home. She was in the… More I Was a Suspect In My Dad’s Murder | Part 1
I’m one of those people who doesn’t remember a lot of my childhood. There are good reasons why. While some memories are pure magic – picnics in my gramma front yard in Carmichael, friends who were always by my side, doing well in school and incredible teachers who saw me for who I was –… More Writing a Book About the Murders: I Can’t Do It and Here’s Why
It has been a really tough week. Not so much practically, but emotionally. I realized this morning, in a private moment, that I feel like a rock in a tumbler. My body hasn’t been working right (leg not working right for the third straight month so walking and standing has been challenging), I’m not in… More When Someone Else’s Trauma Triggers Yours
My parents divorced in 1972. It was a bit of a long time coming. My mom was a stay at home mom at that point and my dad had been seeing Charlene for a while (mom discovered credit card receipts – honestly, practically a cliche – she paid the bills, of course he knew she’d… More In Search of Lyman Smith’s Mystery Woman
My new friends in the media warned me about this. They said to be ready for the ups and downs. There would be quiet periods and then the noise would start again as decisions are made and new evidence presented. I’m glad they prepared me. I woke up this morning pretty hot because I’m really… More News of the Day: DNA, Evidence, and Victim’s Assistance
I didn’t know who Michelle McNamara was until I heard Patton talking about her on Conan shortly after she died. I had never heard from her nor read any of her work. That was little more than a year ago. I Googled and discovered her LA Magazine article and then read more about her death… More I’ll Be Gone in the Dark – Telling Other People’s Stories – Barnes and Noble Part 2
“Look for Karen,” Ray texted, “She’s coming up for the book event tonight!” Holy cow, I thought, she’s coming all the way to Citrus Heights to see Patton and crew? I knew Ray (and Karen) from my gig at WebEx, part of Cisco. I know East Area Rapist sleuths are a committed group, but I… More Citrus Heights Barnes and Noble Was Packed with Stories, Interest and Support
I sat in court on Tuesday, listening to arguments for the first time, as they apply to privacy, the search warrant, the search “return” (what they found) and three points of view – that of “the people,” which is the prosecution that doesn’t technically represent the victims but instead represents the state, that of the… More Privacy at Issue in DeAngelo Pretrial Hearing: Discuss