Paul Holes

Paul Holes (born March 15, 1968) is an American former cold-case investigator for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. Holes is known for his contributions to solving the Golden State Killer case using advanced methods of identifying the killer with DNA and genealogy technology. Since retiring in March 2018, Holes has contributed to books, television, and podcasts about the Golden State Killer and true crime.

Paul Holes
Holes in 2019
Born (1968-03-15) March 15, 1968
MacDill AFB, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Cold-case investigator, sheriff, writer, podcaster
Years active1994–Present

Education

Holes studied at the University of California, Davis, from 1986 to 1990. There he received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry.[1]

Investigative career

Holes was sworn in as an investigator for the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in Martinez, California, in 1994.[2] In the same year, Holes first discovered the cold case files of the East Area Rapist (EAR). His interest in the case was ignited and he remained close to the files, reviewing them any chance he had between active cases in Contra Costa County until a DNA break in 2001 expanded the case even further. When DNA from the EAR matched other unsolved murder crimes throughout California, the case again gained traction and had expanded in evidence.

After years of gathering evidence and using as many DNA samples as he could without depleting the evidence, Holes made contact with genealogist and scientist Barbara Rae-Venter. Rae-Venter used DNA from the Golden State Killer to construct a genetic profile of the suspect and create a family tree that was detailed enough to narrow down the suspects to Joseph James DeAngelo.[3]

In March 2018, Holes visited the Citrus Heights home of DeAngelo on his final day as an investigator before his retirement. Holes watched the home for the activity of DeAngelo, who at the time was only a leading suspect tied to the Golden State Killer rapes and murders. Holes decided not to approach the home for fear of causing a disturbance or tipping off DeAngelo of any suspicion of his involvement as a suspect in the case. Using discarded DNA samples from DeAngelo's home, detectives were able to match his DNA to that known to be from the Golden State Killer. DeAngelo was later taken into custody by the Sacramento Police on April 24, 2018.[4]

While researching the EAR case, it began to be strongly suspected by some that another high profile unsolved case, the Visalia Ransacker, and the EAR were the same person based on evidence similarity.[5][6][7][8] However, unlike the Golden State Killer case, no current DNA link existed.[9] In a 2017 interview, Holes was skeptical of the link between the two, based on credible witness descriptions,[10] but changed his mind after the DeAngelo arrest.[11]

Podcasts

In 2019, Holes and investigative journalist Billy Jensen released a true crime podcast called The Murder Squad that explored evidence and discussions of unsolved murders, unidentified remains, and missing persons cases.[12][13] The weekly podcast was a production of Exactly Right, a podcast network created by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, hosts of My Favorite Murder. The podcast was cancelled by the network in May 2022.


In September 2022, Holes and journalist Kate Winkler Dawson started the true crime podcast Buried Bones on the Exactly Right Network.

Personal life

Holes is currently married and has two adult daughters[14] and two adult sons.

In the media

Holes became an internet sensation following the attention of his role while investigating the Golden State Killer case with Michelle McNamara, the now deceased writer and creator of the famous Golden State Killer name.[15] He has also been a celebrated name with Murderinos, fans of the My Favorite Murder podcast, which started the #HotforHoles fanbase.[16]

Holes has been published and featured in many media outlets in discussion with the Golden State Killer leading up to and following DeAngelo's arrest.

2000

2009

  • MysteryQuest: Season 1, episode 3
  • THS Investigates: The Original Night Stalker

2016

2017

2018

  • The Golden State Killer: It's Not Over: Season 1, episodes 1–4
  • Evil Has a Name: The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation: audiobook writer, narrator[17]

2018-2019

  • Unmasking a Killer: Season 1, episodes 1–7

2019-2020

  • The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes

2020

2021

  • The Riddle of Emmon Bodfish: audiobook writer, narrator[18]
  • A Devil in the Valley: audiobook writer, narrator[19]

2022

  • Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases: memoir[20]

2023

  • Real Life Nightmare, Season 4

References
  1. "Detective in East Area Rapist case, Paul Holes, has become an unlikely sex symbol – and hashtag". The Sacramento Bee.
  2. "Chasing Evil". www.diablomag.com. January 29, 2018.
  3. "Exclusive: The woman behind the scenes who helped capture the Golden State Killer". Mercury News. August 25, 2018.
  4. Sanchez, Ray; Johnson, Elizabeth I.; Almasy, Steve; Orjoux, Alanne (April 25, 2018). "Authorities have been looking for the Golden State Killer for 40 years. They've arrested an ex-cop". CNN.
  5. Garcia, Natalie (2007). "Retired officer looking to solve 1975 cold case" (PDF). Visalia Times-Delta. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  6. "The mystery of the Visalia Ransacker won't go away after 41 years". fresnobee. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  7. "Was Visalia the training ground?". Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  8. McNamara, Michelle; Oswalt, Patton; Flynn, Gillian (2018). I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. HarperCollins. pp. 88–91. ISBN 978-0-06-231980-7. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  9. "Alleged serial killer arrested in Sacramento also known as Visalia Ransacker, officials say". ABC30 Fresno. April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  10. "Case 53: Bonus Interviews (Part 1 and 2) – Casefile: True Crime Podcast". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. June 15, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  11. KTVU (May 2, 2018), Full Interview: Golden State Killer investigator Paul Holes, retrieved August 12, 2018
  12. Reilly, Dan. "How True Crime Podcast 'The Murder Squad' Will Crowdsource Investigations". Fortune. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  13. Sherer, Devon (March 13, 2019). "The Murder Squad Is a True-Crime Podcast That Wants You to Solve The Crimes". Vulture. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  14. Holes, Paul (August 4, 2018). "Daughters in my mind are his last victim upon finding out out who he is. My heart goes out to them. Not sure about the psychology just yet – too many unanswered questions". @PaulHoles. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  15. Bolonik, Kera (April 26, 2018). "Remembering the Crime Writer Who Didn't Live to the Golden State Killer's Arrest". The Cut.
  16. Ioannou, Filipa (May 10, 2018). "'Hot for Holes': Detective who tracked Golden State Killer now a sex symbol". SFGate.
  17. "Evil Has A Name". www.goodreads.com.
  18. "The Riddle of Emmon Bodfish". www.goodreads.com.
  19. "A Devil in the Valley". www.goodreads.com.
  20. "Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes". Celadon Books. September 21, 2021.
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