Unmasked by Paul Holes

 

For most of his working life, Paul Holes was a California forensic homicide detective.  As such, he worked on many of the famous cases people have heard of.  He was there for the autopsies of Laci Peterson and her unborn baby Connor.  He was involved in the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard and her rescue eighteen years later.  He uncovered several serial killers.  Paul's main interest was cold cases, those which other detectives had given up on.

The main case which drove him was that of the Golden State Killer.  He started in Northern California as a serial rapist.  He would break into houses where a couple was, subdue and tie up both and then rape the woman as the man was forced to listen.  Children in the house did not deter him and he raped several young girls.  Then when he felt the police were getting too close, he moved his hunting grounds further south and now killed the couples after the rape.  Then he just stopped. 

This case was one that many detectives had worked on over the years and one that was still of interest to many law enforcement personnel and journalists.  Holes worked on the scientific front so was involved in the introduction of DNA as a law enforcement tool.  The early DNA was simple but over the years DNA analysis become more and more intricate and involved and could identify culprits from smaller and smaller samples.  Paul was involved in the eventual discovery and arrest of the Golden State Killer by using a new genetic technique that merged DNA and genealogy to first identify any of a killer's family relationships then work backwards on the family tree identifying suspects and narrowing the list down to the eventual culprit.

But such work takes it toll.  Paul's early marriage ended in divorce and he didn't see his children that often.  A second marriage was to a woman in the field and started much better but soon had the same issues.  Paul was obsessed with his work and would sacrifice almost anything to bring criminals to justice and unfortunately that included family relationships.

I've been aware of Paul Holes for a while.  I first heard of him in Michele McNamara's book, I'll Be Gone In The Dark and Holes talks about his relationship with her as they both searched for the Golden State Killer.  Then I saw him on a crime show where he investigated cold cases.  He is currently working with another cold case journalist, Billy Jensen, on a podcast called The Murder Squad.  He continues to work with families to solve their cold cases and bring them closure.  This book is recommended for true crime readers.