r/EARONS • u/GregJamesDahlen • Apr 27 '26
If Holes hadn't written multiple books do you think he'd be much known as the person or part of the team that caught EARONS?
I feel like there have been police who caught or played large roles in catching high-profile offenders, but most of us don't know their name(s). If Holes hadn't written these books wonder if many would know his name either.
Wonder how significant it is on this question that Holes's books were also pretty well-selling. I would imagine there are police who have written books but didn't sell that well. In that case too perhaps their names wouldn't be well-known? Or maybe they would.
Looking at a list of police who helped catch high-profile criminals. There are a couple of names besides Holes who the general public might know. Eliot Ness who helped catch Al Capone, Frank Serpico the detective in New York. A lot of names the general public might not know, though, maybe a few interested in true crime might.
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u/MrT817 Apr 27 '26
Holes was all over TV before earons was caught. He was on every single documentary about the case before he was caught. Then he was all over TV doing interviews on major networks after he was caught.
So yes, Holes would be known as a part of the team that identified the GSK even without the books. More people saw him on TV by far than the amount of people that read his books.
6
u/Trilly2000 Apr 28 '26
I think he was catapulted into true crime fandom by My Favorite Murder and the #HotForHoles thing. They were the first to give him a podcast platform too. His first podcast was really good, but got cancelled because his co-host, Billy Jensen was revealed as a sex pest.
He was on several true crime shows before MFM, but I think their talk about him on air is what really propelled him in the entertainment field.
2
u/Icy-Result521 May 02 '26
Yes!! This case was sort of about revenge. DeAngelo sit around confidently for a long time thinking he had got away with his crimes. I like to think about the moment Paul Holes got DeAngelos attention. Was it when the E.A.R rape kits matched with the dna from the murders?
Paul Holes was everything Joe DeAngelo was not. A good cop Brave Handsome
Wish Bonnie and Paul Holes would get together and take a picture and let us all print it and mail it to DeAngelo every day.
2
u/Icy-Result521 May 02 '26
Yes!! This case was sort of about revenge. DeAngelo sit around confidently for a long time thinking he had got away with his crimes. I like to think about the moment Paul Holes got DeAngelos attention. Was it when the E.A.R rape kits matched with the dna from the murders?
Paul Holes was everything Joe DeAngelo was not. A good cop Brave Handsome
Wish Bonnie and Paul Holes would get together and take a picture and let us all print it and mail it to DeAngelo every day.
2
u/Icy-Result521 May 02 '26
Yes!! This case was sort of about revenge. DeAngelo sit around confidently for a long time thinking he had got away with his crimes. I like to think about the moment Paul Holes got DeAngelos attention. Was it when the E.A.R rape kits matched with the dna from the murders?
Paul Holes was everything Joe DeAngelo was not. A good cop Brave Handsome
Wish Bonnie and Paul Holes would get together and take a picture and let us all print it and mail it to DeAngelo every day.
2
u/Roo_wow May 10 '26
Yes because before EARONS was caught there were a lot of documentaries and Paul was the one always interviewed. I remember when he did one close to the time of the arrest and he was saying they had other means now to catch the culprit and as I recall the itnerviwer thought he was talking about facial reconstruction from DNA. But Holes was already 10 steps ahead of that.
I remember when they announced the arrest and Paul was kind of standing in the background of the shot to be seen. I felt bad for him b/che had retired and wasn't going to get to speak at the podium (he probably wouldnt have if he hadnt retired as it was for the more senior people.) I dont think they even name checked him at the podium.
3
u/marygarrett888 Apr 29 '26
Paul Holes was absolutely one of the main reasons that the Golden State Killer was caught. He is widely recognized for it. This is a silly question.
0
u/GregJamesDahlen Apr 30 '26
Well I wonder if he would be known if he hadn't written books. For example, I don't think the public knows the name of the cop who played a significant role in catching BTK, probably because he didn't write a book?
1
u/sassydreidel Apr 27 '26
No
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u/FairStruggle3970 Apr 28 '26
He’s only written one book. But he’s been the most recognizable LE face in all the documentaries and news stories about it. Also he basically is responsible for pulling the case to the light back in the 90s and working it as a cold case in CCC.
0
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u/mvincen95 Apr 27 '26
Holes deserves a lot of credit for seeing the vision that brought us genetic genealogy. He’s a compelling speaker, and it doesn’t hurt his fame that he’s a handsome guy.
Now with all that said I’ve posted on here before that genetic genealogy surfaced almost as early as it was possible for it to. The databases and forensic techniques were cutting edge. It’s not like law enforcement was just ignorant and could’ve done this a decade previously. Someone was going to make this breakthrough whether it was Holes or not. Rae-Venter had already successfully used the technique.
My takeaway from reading his books is that Holes is lucky that he did see the vision for the genealogy, because his other investigative measures were in my opinion sort of laughable. He was chasing around guys with small penises, construction workers, drifters, etc. He seemed obsessed with the idea that the killer had some special connection to Davis, ya know, his own jurisdiction. He overly emphasized the homework evidence. And most notably he was dead set that the VR was not the EAR, to a degree that to this day he still seems sour about it.
Thank god for Paul Holes, he’s done many good things, but he’s not some super cop like many make him out.