Michelle McNamara, a crime writer who was married to comedian Patton Oswalt, died Thursday, the Associated Press reports. She was 46.
No cause of death was given, though Oswalt’s publicist, Kevin McLaughlin of Main Stage Public Relations, said that she died in her sleep at her Los Angeles home.
Oswalt, whose credits include the sitcom “The King of Queens,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and the film”Ratatouille,” married McNamara in 2005.
McNamara was the founder of the website True Crime Diary, which detailed breaking news and cold cases alike. She eschewed high profile crimes for more obscure stories, writing about the Golden State Killer and the murder of nurse Melanie Howell in 1976.
“I wanted to get more involved in the cases that were fueling my own curiosity,” McNamara said in a 2007 interview.
She is survived by Oswalt and their seven-year-old daughter, Alice.