The Golden State Killer has been caught.

I know we still have miles to go before there’s a conviction, but based on DNA, we got him.

In March 1980, my father and stepmother were murdered in Ventura, California.

For twenty years, we thought this was a horrendous murder in a small town.

And then the Orange County Cold Case division linked our murder to a series of others in Southern California. Shortly after, the murders were connected to a series of rapes in Northern California. All of these crimes were connected by DNA. I never thought the killer would be caught. While for many this means closure, for me, it feels like a new beginning. There’s finally a face. And there will be a trial.

Meanwhile, we will all continue to ask, how could one man hurt so many?

I’m going to start writing again. I need to get this stuff out of my head. By allowing myself to believe he’s been dead all these years, I realize, I had found a way to cope and move forward and a single mom. But now, there’s a face. A man. He’s been in Citrus Heights this whole time.

That really pisses me off.

He didn’t deserve to have a life. His kids don’t deserve to have a monster for a parent. His victims didn’t deserve to be haunted by him well after his attacks. There’s nothing I want to say to him.

Here’s what I do know: so many people have been touched by these crimes in some way – and I am hungry to hear their stories. From the kids who used to ride their bikes in front of his house, to the woman who told me her daughter used to baby his kids. To my cousin who served as a Sheriff Reserve Officer that chased the SOB when the police knew he had been in the area. Everyone has a story. Please share them with me. It actually helps.

Please feel free to leave your comments below.