When DNA from the EAR matched a string of unsolved California murders committed by a killer dubbed the "Original Night Stalker" (ONS) the case again gained traction.

Holes struck up a friendship with journalist Michelle McNamara, who coined the term Golden State Killer (GSK) to publicize the connection between the EAR-ONS cases.

In the meantime, Holes helped investigate dozens of cases including those of convicted murderers Philip Joseph Hughes Jr. and Roger Kibbe, and looking into if Phillip Garrido was connected to other unsolved crimes after he was identified as the kidnapper of Jaycee Dugard.

Holes watched the home for the activity of DeAngelo, who at the time was only a leading suspect tied to the Golden State Killer rapes and murders.

Holes decided not to approach the home for fear of causing a disturbance or tipping off DeAngelo of any suspicion of his involvement as a suspect in the case.

[10] In a 2017 interview, Holes was skeptical of the link between the two, based on credible witness descriptions,[11] but changed his mind after the DeAngelo arrest.

In September 2022, Holes and journalist Kate Winkler Dawson started the true crime podcast Buried Bones on the Exactly Right Network.