NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle McNamara, a crime writer and wife of comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, has died at her home in Los Angeles, according to Oswalt’s publicist. McNamara was 46.
Kevin McLaughlin of Main Stage Public Relations said Friday that McNamara died in her sleep Thursday. No cause was given but McLaughlin said her passing “was a complete shock to her family and friends, who loved her dearly.”
McNamara graduated from the University of Notre Dame and received a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Minnesota. She founded the website True Crime Diary, which covers both breaking stories and cold cases.
In a 2007 online interview, McNamara said she started the blog almost as a lark. “I wanted to get more involved in the cases that were fueling my own curiosity,” she said.
She didn’t focus on the big celebrity murder case but ones that were smaller and out of the public eye. She wrote about the Golden State Killer and the 1976 murder of nurse Melanie Howell.
“It’s the ones that really don’t get that much attention that interest me because I think what’s interesting about them is there’s more stuff to be unearthed that hasn’t been in the public yet and you can do it,” she wrote.
Oswalt is a comedian whose TV credits include “Veep,” ”Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “The King of Queens” and films including “Magnolia,” ”Starsky & Hutch” and “Ratatouille.” McNamara and Oswalt married in 2005.
Along with her husband, McNamara is survived by a 7-year-old daughter, Alice.
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Horrible. How does a 46-year old woman lie down in bed and expire? What a nightmare.
For those of you who only know of Michelle in relation to her husband, here’s her magnum opus.
That scares the shit out of me too.
This is a nightmare for that family. So inexplicable and random, that poor kid is going to grow up with a lot to carry.
My cousin, who was a completely healthy, athletic person died in his sleep at age 45. No cause of death was ever found. And several years later, the same thing happened with his son – again, no health issues whatsoever and very athletic. Apparently this does sometimes just happen.
Just another reminder of the brevity of our lives. My thoughts go out to Patton, their daughter and family. Terrible news.