The Golden State Killer - Encore
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[Music] [Phone ringing] Victims lined up in a courtroom to confront Joseph de Angelo, the so-called Golden State Killer. My safety was shattered as a mass man, DeAngelo. Gilding a knife told me to kill me if I gave you what you demanded. Calling him the devil incarnate and a sick monster. [Music] The Golden State Killer is the most prolific serial predator in the nation. He attacked across the state from Sacramento down to Orange County across 15 different jurisdictions. He was the boogeyman. He was the man in the bushes that we didn't know who he was, and we didn't know when he was going to strike again. Standing up in front of me was this man with a ski mask on, holding a large butcher knife. It was sheer terror. My sister was the Golden State Killer's final victim. What's fascinating to me about this case is rich with so many clues. Michelle McNamara had a passion for true crime. Michelle was hot on the trail of the Golden State Killer. She was writing a book about him, and she was a mom and a wife to a comedian, Patton Oswalt. My wife is ten times smarter than me. She is thinking and operating on this way elevated level from where I am. She had a mind for the details of true crime, the way that other people have for baseball or me, for films. She could recall the details of pretty much every late 20th and 21st century crime. It was just in her head. That's why I just don't think this is like pure sexual sadism. I think there was something else. She had such good insight, and I think it's because other investigators had trusted her. They told her things that weren't in some of the original files. She was tenacious about investigating the case. She thought she was getting real close to finding him. We found the needle in the haystack. In D'Angelo, I want you to look at me. I want you to look at me in D'Angelo, and I want you to remember what I have to say. In the early morning of July 17th, 1976, my life was changed forever. I was 15 years old. I was 16 years old at the time. My God, we were just high school kids. You ready? I stole my innocence, my security. Threatened my life. Threatened my life to my family. I was 13 years old. You hid in plain sight that you are now visible. For everyone to despise, loathe, and afford. The devil can keep you company in your prison cell as you nod away at whatever soul you have left. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh, Miss Berman. You said you'd call me, you bastard. [Music] Patton Oswald is a comedian and actor known to millions of fans. She said I was inconsiderate, condescending, and I look like a lesbian art teacher. And a voice known to millions of kids. [Music] Yet he would tell you it was his first wife, Michelle McNamara, who was the true star of the family. Something Patton sensed as soon as they began dating. I've met someone who is so much, so above my punching class in terms of intelligence and wisdom and empathy. I was done for it. She took a little bit of convincing. But, convince her he did, in 2005.
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Survivors confront the man known as The Golden State Killer, after his 40-year reign of terror. Correspondent Tracy Smith reports for "48 Hours."