Frustrated unsolved case

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2010)

A real criminal, a real serial killer and his "adventures". What makes this story interesting is the fact that the police never succeeded and never arrested the killer, in spite of the help of the media in San Francisco. It all amounted to circumstantial evidence and no indictment, not to mention conviction, was ever pronounced, hence no suspect declared and arrested. The case can come out today because all those who were suspected to have played a role in this sinister story are dead or out of the way. That will not change anything anyway because the case is now closed since the main yet undeclared suspect is dead. The real question is to know whether the police, the various police departments concerned did their job properly, if the inspectors did theirs and if their hierarchy supported them. It's always difficult to say especially with the role of the Attorney general or public prosecutor in the area. There are so many elements that may stop an investigation in the USA, particularly elections since the main characters in security forces are elected and local officials are the bosses of the Police. A lot can be said and a lot can be done, or undone or just not done. And that seems to be the case here. The film is slightly slow though and the attempt to dramatize it does not succeed entirely.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID