You may have seen that Michelle McNamara, true crime writer and wife of Patton Oswalt, died in her sleep April 21 in Los Angeles. In addition to the actor/comedian, she is survived by their 7-year-old daughter, Alice.

Michelle, 46, died just before Patton's comedy show dropped on Netflix, and right after he had tweeted about the death of Prince. She wasn't known to be ill, and Kevin McLaughlin of Main Stage Public Relations told CNN, "Her passing was a complete shock to her family and friends, who loved her dearly." According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cause of death may take months to determine because the L.A. County coroner's office is so backed up with cases.

Patton Oswalt was understandably silent on social media for a while, but returned April 29 to praise his wife and share a link to a donation page where fans can support the writing non-profit 826LA in her honor.


Patton also retweeted other tributes to Michelle:


A couple of days after that, he returned to share a heartbreaking, but very wise, quote from their daughter Alice:


That poor girl. Your heart has to go out to her. It must be such a tough and confusing time for the whole family, but Alice sounds like a strong young lady with a mature perspective, and hopefully she can help her dad get through this.

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