Writer Michelle McNamara, the author of the blog True Crime Diary, finds a new obsession in the "East Area Rapist" (EAR) -- who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s was, ultimately, responsible for 50 home-invasion rapes and 12 murders.Writer Michelle McNamara, the author of the blog True Crime Diary, finds a new obsession in the "East Area Rapist" (EAR) -- who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s was, ultimately, responsible for 50 home-invasion rapes and 12 murders.