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'I'll Be Gone in the Dark' director Liz Garbus says law enforcement was critical to solving these crimes — even though that's not always the case

Jun 25, 2020, 21:16 IST
Insider
Liz Garbus (inset) said law enforcement (pictured during the arrest of a Golden State Killer suspect) helped solve the case.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images and Lars Niki/Getty Images
  • "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" director Liz Garbus said law enforcement officers were critical to solving the case of the Golden State Killer, but that the role of police isn't always that simple.
  • The Golden State Killer was a serial rapist and murderer who terrorized much of northern California in the '70s and '80s, and is the subject of a new HBO documentary.
  • According to Garbus, California detectives working the crimes "really devoted themselves to this case and they did bring justice to the enormous number of the victims."
  • "So that's when you see law enforcement working, finally, after way too long," she added.
  • But the director also said that in other cases, the role of the police isn't always so positive.
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Liz Garbus said law enforcement was key to solving the case of the Golden State Killer — even though the role of police in criminal cases isn't always as positive.

During an interview with Insider, Garbus shared her experience working with law enforcement while filming the upcoming HBO docuseries "I'll Be Gone in the Dark." The show is based on the true-crime book of the same name by the late Michelle McNamara, and follows McNamara as she searches for the Golden State Killer's identity before her death.

"Michelle scored these relationships with law enforcement that were pretty strong, and it's interesting to look at it in the light of today," Garbus said. "[Retired detective] Larry Crompton and [retired investigator] Paul Holes, they really, really devoted themselves to this case and they did bring justice to the enormous number of the victims."

"So that's when you see law enforcement working, finally, after way too long," Garbus added.

Law enforcement have consistently shared composite sketches of the Golden State Killer with the public.Rich Pedroncelli/AP

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While the director praised Crompton and Holes' work on the case of the Golden State Killer, who's thought to be responsible for 13 murders and over 50 rapes, she said that their status as detectives might have made a difference.

"It's a very different milieu than cops on the street and the kind of policing that we are all examining right now," Garbus told Insider, referencing the recent protests against police brutality (and calls for defunding the police force) that are taking place across the nation.

Garbus also acknowledged that the role of law enforcement isn't always so clear-cut in other cases, and referenced her 2019 film "Who Killed Garrett Phillips?" The documentary focused on the case of Oral "Nick" Hillary, a Jamaican man who was accused of and arrested for murdering a white boy in upstate New York, despite a lack of evidence.

"I've certainly made a number of films in my career that have examined the shortcomings of law enforcement and the criminal justice system," Garbus said to Insider.

Focusing on McNamara as she works with law enforcement and fellow true-crime enthusiasts to identify and catch the notorious Golden State Killer, Garbus' new docuseries comes as protests against police brutality continue across the US, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement.

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Many people are also calling for the defunding of police departments, citing continued violence against poor, Black, and brown people by officers as a reason to liquidate police budgets.

And while "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" doesn't touch on issues of police brutality directly, it does feature law enforcement (and their efforts to track down and arrest the Golden State Killer) prominently.

The first episode of "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" will premiere on HBO Sunday, and you can watch the trailer below.

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