Barbara Rae-Venter

Talk and Book Signing with Barbara Rae-Venter

Barbara Rae-Venter will be in conversation with Steve Broback for this event.

I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever

By Barbara Rae-Venter

For twelve years the Golden State Killer terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for the next forty-four years, until an amateur DNA sleuth opened her laptop. In I Know Who You Are, Barbara Rae-Venter reveals how she went from researching her family history as a retiree to hunting for a notorious serial killer—and how she became the nation’s leading authority on investigative genetic genealogy, the most dazzling new crime-fighting weapon to appear in decades.

Rae-Venter leads readers on a vivid journey through the many cases she tackled, often starting with little more than a DNA sample. From the first criminal case she ever solved—uncovering the long-lost identity of a child abductee—to the heartbreaking story of the Billboard Boy, whose skeletal remains were discovered along a highway, to the search for the Golden State Killer, Rae-Venter shares haunting, often thrilling accounts of how she helped solve some of America’s most chilling cold cases in the span of just three years.

For each investigation, Rae-Venter brings readers inside her unique “grasshopper mind” as she analyzes DNA data and pores through obituaries, marriage records, and old newspaper articles. Readers join in on urgent calls with sheriffs, FBI agents, and district attorneys as she details the struggle to obtain usable crime scene DNA samples, until, finally, a critical piece of the puzzle tumbles into place.

I Know Who You Are captures both the exhilaration of the moment of discovery and the sheer depth of emotion that lingers around cold cases, informing Rae-Venter’s careful approach to her work. It is a story of relentless curiosity, of constant invention and reinvention, and of human beings striving to answer the most elemental questions about themselves: What defines identity? Where do we belong? And are we truly who we think we are?

“A true-crime masterpiece written by a cold-case-cracking master. Barbara Rae-Venter’s investigative DNA work has revolutionized the way law enforcement hunts serial killers.”—John Douglas, New York Times bestselling co-author of Mindhunter

“Barbara Rae-Venter isn’t just the genealogy expert who helped capture the Golden State Killer—she’s an unsung hero who has given murdered women and children their faces and names back, recognizing that their lives mattered.”—Maureen Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of American Predator

Barbara Rae-Venter is a New Zealand–born American investigative genetic genealogist, biochemist, and retired patent attorney best known for her work helping the FBI and other investigators identify Joseph James DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of California at San Diego and later a law degree at the University of Texas at Austin Law School. Rae-Venter is a founder and the president of Firebird Forensics Group, a not-for-profit corporation. Her investigative work earned her a place on the Time 100 list of most influential people in 2019, and she was recognized by the journal Nature as one of “10 People Who Mattered in Science in 2018.”

Steve Broback is the co-founder of Dent the Future an organization that produces events and experiences focused on science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. On various Dent stages, he has had the opportunity to interview Barbara and other noteworthy authors. These include Cady Coleman (NASA astronaut), LeVar Burton (actor and director), Alvy Ray Smith (co-founder of Pixar), and Brian Boitano (Olympic gold medalist). Steve was born in Seattle and earned his degrees in economics and finance at the University of Washington.

Dent

Barbara is a participant in the the annual Dent conference to be held at La Fonda on the Plaza Sept 10-13. Dent is a curated four-day experience, mixing world-class talks with small-group activities, workshops, meals, and adventures that are all carefully designed to bring together people who would otherwise never have met. Dent brings curious, adventurous, and diverse professionals together to explore new approaches to thinking and to facilitate breakthrough ideas and new insights.

https://dentthefuture.com/conference

This program is made possible by the support from Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.