As their high-profile trial begins, Willy and Sal attempt to neutralize witnesses against them in a variety of ways — some legal, others not so much.

After four decades of searching for him, they got a one hundred percent match to the Golden State Killer's DNA. As 72-year-old former police officer Joe DeAngelo's arrest unfolds in real time, chilling facts materialize that illuminate Michelle McNamara's prescience in her book's epilogue.

In the wake of a stunning verdict, questions arise about the jury's credibility, and one juror in particular soon adopts a very creative legal defense.

Sal takes uncharacteristically desperate measures in the face of new federal charges, an unearthed paper trail and increasing pressure on a confidant.

In 1979, law enforcement is thrilled when the East Area Rapist attacks abruptly stop in Northern California. But in reality, the East Area Rapist had only moved 400 miles south, to commit a number of gruesome murders in the Santa Barbara area, where he would become known as the Original Night Stalker. Michelle McNamara ultimately came up with the name 'Golden State Killer' cause he terrorized up and down the state.
Michelle starts to write a true crime book that would transcend the genre because the way she humanized all of the victims.

Michelle McNamara and her editors agree to push her book deadline after being granted access to the Orange County Sheriff's Department's East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker room. After everybody realized the killer moved south, that story exploded. The hope was that by having greater public attention, the right person gave the right tip.