Edgar Awards Countdown: I Know Who You Are
the one (partly) about the Golden State Killer and (mainly) about investigative genetic genealogy
In the weeks leading up to the Edgar Awards ceremony, I’ll be reading and and reviewing the six books nominated for the “Fact Crime” category. This is the fifth installment; you can read about the Polly Klaas kidnapping here, cryptobros here, the Murdaugh case here, and Roaring ‘20s corruption here.
cw: mention of sexual violence
We’ve arrived at the penultimate nominee for 2024’s Fact Crime Edgar, and this one definitely has a point of view it is unafraid to unapologetically share! Its author, Barbara Rae-Venter, is a former patent attorney whose retirement hobby of building family trees using DNA databases turned her into one of the leading experts in investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), a field which has been used to identify and, if possible, prosecute a slew of high-profile cold cases in recent years.
The book opens with BRV’s work identifying a woman who was kidnapped as a child by a man she would later learn was not her father. Her invaluable and prodigious ability to reconstruct family trees helped Lisa Jensen find her birth family, and eventually led to further IGG breakthroughs that would solve the notorious Bear Brook quadruple-murder case. And let me take a moment to heartily recommend the compelling and fascinating podcast Bear Brook.
However, BRV knows what most people are probably picking up this book for, as its full title, I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever, prominently references (and features—the “Golden State Killer” typeface is nearly as large as the main title on the book’s cover) one of the most surprising and captivating cases of the last forty years: the identification, arrest, and prosecution of the man responsible for at least 13 murders and 51 rapes in the ‘70s and ‘80s in California.
The true crime universe’s interest in the Golden State Killer traces back to the work of Michelle McNamara, whose blog, podcast, and articles for Los Angeles magazine kept the three-decades-old unsolved crimes of the offender variously known as the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Original Nightstalker, the Clearfield Rapist, and the Diamond Knot Killer connected and foregrounded in public discourse. The fact that an important part of this process was successfully branding the man as The Golden State Killer is probably something we true crime scholars should think through?
In any case, McNamara’s work, along with the latter-day fame of Detective Paul Holes,1 has made any text that addresses the arrest and conviction of GSK of reliable popular interest. And Barbara Rae-Venter has certainly earned her place at the table. I Know Who You Are meticulously describes the theory and practice of IGG in a way that is understandable to this very-nonexpert, but also has a strong interest in storytelling that is accessible and interesting even if you, hypothetically, skim the science-y parts. When GSK was arrested at around the midpoint of the book, I wondered aloud what the rest of the narrative would cover. The answer is several more heartbreaking cases that BRV’s work, which she describes in compelling detail, would help bring to closure. At times the chronology of BRV’s participation in cases is a little muddled, but what comes through with repeated and impassioned clarity is her belief in the value of using public genetic databases to aid law enforcement in criminal investigations.
To the book’s credit, it takes the ethical debate over IGG seriously, noting the objections of those who voice concerns about how the technology might violate privacy rights, abet unjust police practices, and contribute to racial disparities in the criminal justice system. I find these objections persuasive; BRV does not. She pushes for ancestry and genealogy companies to provide more, not less, access for law enforcement, and to make opting out of making one’s own genetic material available for searches more, not less, difficult. Though I don’t endorse this argument, I do think it’s important that the book includes it.2
Along with making the work of IGG feel as exciting and impressive as any forensic investigation, BRV includes details about her life that I found charming. I enjoyed knowing that her entire house is painted in shades of yellow, that while she labors away at her laptop she drinks tea out of a cup decorated with five sheep, and that her go-to order at her fave Mexican resto is chile verde. Barbara Rae-Venter has dedicated the second half of her life to work she finds rewarding and inspiring, and in so doing became a crucial part of bringing notorious murderers to justice and helping to offer possible closure to dozens of families. As a middle-aged woman thinking about my own possible second act, I raise my Baby Yoda decorated tea cup to her.
Read if you like: Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., crime procedurals where little old unassuming ladies bring the hammer of justice down, Miss Marple-style
Program Note!: True Crime Fiction will be taking a one-week hiatus as I will be fulfilling a life-long dream to visit London. Drop your food and sightseeing recommendations in the comments! So you won’t be bereft of true crime content while I’m gone, give the recently aired This American Life episode “Minor Crimes Division” a listen. It makes the case that true crime stories that don’t include violence, exploitation, or traumatic reenactments can still offer powerful insights about social dynamics, family relationships, and political injustices.
The first time I encountered Holes was through another problematic fave: the My Favorite Murder podcast. He currently has a podcast, Buried Bones, under the MFM production umbrella. One day I might unpack the sordid history of his affiliation with Billy Jensen, but today is not that day.
She also at times leans heavily into a genetic theory of identity—that it is DNA that inextricably binds family members to each other, and to their ancestral homeland. This felt like a bit of lane-swerving on BRV’s part. It might be her experience of her identity, but DNA is certainly not the final word on where we belong or who we call family.
Thanks for posting that. I was not aware that IGG had developed to the point where it had become an acronym. Sounds like a fascinating account. As a UK-based non-fiction crime author, I was also not aware that there was a Fact Crime Edgar – which I'll certainly keep an eye on from now on.
You and I are definitely on the same page! Last night I was working on my Edgar Awards edition, but for fiction and television. Love that you cover true crime, and this is a great piece. Have fun in London! Taking a photo up in The Eye is very touristy but so worth it for the view. Do Kensington Gardens and check out the Peter Pan statue; it’s within walking distance of the Natural History Museum, which I also love.