You may remember the Golden State Killer, a serial murderer and rapist who terrorized California in the 1970s and ’80s. Police finally caught him several years ago thanks to a genealogy website.
Many of us saw the headlines—and then podcasts, books, and documentaries. It seemed like every angle of the story had been covered. But last summer, I got an email that challenged what I knew.
It came from Susan Bowlus, who survived a brutal rape in 1979. She had evidence to suggest the Golden State Killer, caught minutes from her home, had attacked her. But cops brushed her off. Why? “It was so traumatizing to be gaslit,” she told me in my latest investigation.
For the past year, I’ve been investigating Susan’s case. I learned that across the country, victims face massive hurdles while dealing with police and trying to get compensation. To find answers, Susan had to work with a private investigator. She spent years trying to force law enforcement to hand over her records.
And what she uncovered shocked her: footprints outside her home that seemed to match the Golden State Killer’s. And an internal memo showed that law enforcement was not always forthright about his whereabouts.
Susan is not the only survivor who cops dismissed after the Golden State Killer’s arrest. I hope you’ll read her story.
—Samantha Michaels
