True Crime Books

I purchased this book as an audio in 2014. As I disliked its structure and presentation so much the first time and I typically like these books, I wanted to give it another shot. Unfortunately, I still disliked the structure and presentation of the book.This book tells the story of one woman's murder and multiple individuals involved in that murder. In addition this book goes into detail on how the one person serving time in the USA for her death had his constitutional rights completely trampled. Overall this book is messy. The events were messy for sure, but Englade presents the information in such a messy fashion that I found it rather like trying to set Rice Crispy bars with the bare hands. Everything sticks, nothing sticks where it should. There is no clear justice, which though factual is still frustrating.

They Were The Perfect Family. . .For twenty years, Ken and Kristine Fitzhugh and their two sons had lived lives of comfortable middle-class normality in the university town of Palo Alto, California. Then came the shocking news that Kristine Fitzhugh was dead, the victim of a terrible accident... By the time the Palo Alto Police Department looked closer at the death of Kristine Fitzhugh, there could be only one conclusion. Someone had murdered Kristine in her own home, inflicting a series of horrific blows to the back of her head, and then cleaned up the mess to make it look like an accident. Who would do such a thing? Protesting his innocence, Kenneth Fitzhugh was arrested and tried for the murder of his wife. And as the case progressed, one by one, the hidden secrets of the Fitzhugh family came spilling out. . .

Early on a May morning in 1988, Laurie Dann, a thirty-year-old, profoundly unhappy product of the wealthy North Shore suburb of Chicago, loaded her father's car with a cache of handguns, incendiary chemicals, and arsenic-laced food. Driven by fear and hate, she was going to make something terrible happen.Before the end of the day, Dann had blazed a murderous trail of poison, fire, and bullets through the unsuspecting town of Winnetka, Illinois, and other North Shore suburbs. She murdered an eight-year-old boy and critically wounded 5 other children inside an elementary school. It finally took a massed force of armed police to end the killing.The shocking story of innocence destroyed by a rich young babysitter inexplicably gone mad made headlines all across the nation and inspired at least two psychotic killers to follow her example. What lead her to do it? Could she have been stopped? The case raised a host of agonizing questions that have remained unanswered—until now. In this book, three Chicago Tribune reporters who covered the Laurie Dann tragedy have pulled together all the available police evidence, unearthed valuable psychiatric information, and interviewed at length scores of people who knew Dann, many of whom had never before spoken to the media about this case. Despite clear and ominous warning signs, a young woman of beauty and privilege was allowed to deteriorate and go slowly berserk—and no one stopped her. Her parents, her doctors, and the police officers who knew her pathological behavior all failed her at critical times. By its passivity and silence, a community comfortable and quiet on the surface, yet reluctant to admit its underlying flaws, became an unwitting accomplice to the final rampage of Laurie Dann. MURDER OF INNOCENCE is a searing portrayal of a family—and a society—unable to cope, and of a young woman who wanted all too desperately only to be loved.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EBOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN PHOTOS INCLUDED IN THE PRINT EDITION. California attorney Larry McNabney was a wealthy and well-connected legal ace and the proud owner of a champion show horse. When his wife Elisa reported him missing in September, 2001, she claimed he abandoned her after a heated argument and joined a cult. When Larry's body was found in a shallow grave three months later, Elisa was gone. Driving a red convertible Jaguar, her brown hair bleached blonde, Mrs. McNabney was already speeding toward a new life in Florida-and a new identity.Who was Elisa McNabney? She was a female fugitive wanted in the murder of her trusting husband. She was an insinuating beauty with 38 aliases, and a rap sheet 113 pages long whose criminal career was about to come undone. But in the wake of Elisa's stunning confession and conviction, there was one more shocking surprise yet to come from the poisonous black widow...

\ \ Casper, Wyoming:1973. Eleven-year-old Amy Burridge rides with her eighteen-year-old sister, Becky, to the grocery store. When they finish their shopping, Becky’s car gets a flat tire. Two men politely offer them a ride home. But they were anything but Good Samaritans. The girls would suffer unspeakable crimes at the hands of these men before being thrown from a bridge into the North Platte River. One miraculously survived. The other did not.\ Years later, author and journalist Ron Franscell—who lived in Casper at the time of the crime, and was a friend to Amy and Becky—can’t forget Wyoming’s most shocking story of abduction, rape, and murder. Neither could Becky, the surviving sister. The two men who violated her and Amy were sentenced to life in prison, but the demons of her past kept haunting Becky…until she met her fate years later at the same bridge where she’d lost her sister.\ \

The devil in disguiseThis is a well-written account of wife-killer Randy Roth who lived and murdered in King County, Washington.Roth was married four times. His first marriage to Donna Sanchez lasted five years and produced one son. His second marriage to Janis Miranda ended after eight months when Janis fell to her death from Beacon Rock. His third marriage to Donna Clift lasted four months. His fourth marriage to Cynthia Baumgartner ended in less than a year when she drowned.The hard work of detectives and prosecutors is to be much admired. The depth of their investigation is apparent in the staggering amount of evidence they produced.17

In and out of hospitals since birth, angelic nine-month-old Morgan Reid finally succumbed to what appeared to be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Morgan's Texas-born mother Tanya, a nurse and devoted wife, pulled up stakes with her grieving husband Jim, and moved on. It was the best way to put the past behind them. Until their son Michael, a boy who by all accounts was terrified of his mother, began showing signs of the same affliction that stole the life of his baby sister...First, the suspicion: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. Then, Tanya was charged and convicted with felony child abuse of her son. She was later tried and ultimately convicted for first degree murder of Morgan. It would become a landmark trial that unfolded in a series of reversals and bizarre twists of fate as it gradually revealed another side of Tanya Reid—of her own troubling childhood and the dark secrets that drove a woman to the cruelest deception of all...

The late Jack Olsen was simply incapable of writing a bad book. First, few true-crime authors demonstrated such a stubborn insistence on chasing down every stray fact and every peripheral character as this former magazine writer from journalism's Golden Age. Second, his tender-tough-guy prose keeps what might have been exhausting expositions in the hands of lesser writers crackling along like ice cubes in a glass of whiskey. And "The Misbegotten Son" is nowhere near Olsen's finest work. It's no less well-done than any of his other books, mind you. It simply lacks as compelling a central character as, say, Claude Dallas of "Give A Boy A Gun," Fred "Kevin" Coe of "Son" and Steve Titus and MacDonald Smith of "Predator." Arthur Shawcross, a sociopath from a small town in upstate New York, is more of a blank slate, a bland personality that he wore as a mask over a true face of relentlessly murderous rage toward women. His crimes are much more fascinating than he is. Yet, Olsen dives right in, and comes up with a crackerjack third act — as Shawcross targets prostitutes in Buffalo, New York in the late 1980s, a survivor of one of his attacks teams with the cops, very reluctantly, to spread the word among the streetwalking set and smoke out the killer. The woman whose sense of self-worth — and justice — couldn't be beaten out of her by a near-fatal rape or numerous years on the streets near the bottom of the prostitute food chain becomes someone you can't help rooting for. And the whole cops-and-cornerwalkers-learning-to-trust-each-other-just-enough angle is ultimately what makes this book a good one ... if only second-tier by the lofty standards set by the man many called The Dean Of True Crime. I can't say that "The Misbegotten Son" is a book I'll want to re-read, but that's OK. I've got plenty of great Jack Olsen books to page through all over again anytime I want. And I will. The man had the gift.

A serial killer who wanted to out-kill Ted Bundy. . . In September 2001, Carmen Rodriguez, a beautiful 32-year-old Hartford mother of four, went missing. At first police were stymied. . .until a killer's crucial mistake led investigators down a long, dark road of cold, calculated murder. . . "Phelps is a first-rate investigator." --Dr. Michael M. Baden In 1987, single mother Mary Ellen Renard was strangled, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead in her New Jersey apartment. Her vicious assailant had already killed once. . .and would kill again. But unlike the fiend's other victims, Mary Ellen lived to tell the tale. . . "Phelps gives readers an exclusive, insider's look." --Anne Bremner Clean-cut, popular and on the fast track at a multinational computer firm, Rutgers grad Edwin "Ned" Snelgrove shocked friends and colleagues with a plea bargain for Renard's brutal attack--and the heinous 1983 murder of college girlfriend Karen Osmun. Vowing never to be caught again, Ned spent his time in prison obsessively studying the violent career of his idol Ted Bundy. . .then was released ten years early for good behavior. . . "Phelps proves that truth is more shocking than fiction." --Allison Brennan Unflinching and brilliantly researched, this is an exclusive tour into the twisted mind of an all-American killer. . .and a state attorney's tireless efforts to lock him away forever. Includes 16 Pages Of Revealing Photos

A true story of sin, sex, and murder in a small Arkansas town.When Ruie Ann Park—a pillar of the Van Buren, Arkansas, community—was found beaten to death and lying in a pool of blood in her home, the police and local residents assumed the son was the murderer. But the years would uncover a more sinister story. Up till that night, the Park family seemed to have it all. For fifty years they owned and published The Press Argus newspaper. Hugh was well-connected politically and his wife, Ruie Ann, was the local historian, journalist, and teacher. They had a brilliant son and a shy adopted daughter. They built a beautiful home on top of Logtown Hill with a vista overlooking the Arkansas River, but their idyllic life ended with divorce. Ruie Ann stayed in the home, becoming more bitter and more demanding of the daughter who couldn't match up to her beloved son. The son, Sam Hugh, had a promising legal career but his fondness for young boys, alcohol, and drugs doomed what should have been a successful law practice in his hometown. The daughter, Linda, graduated from college, married an attorney, and moved away to a small town near Little Rock. The police were baffled. Who was smart enough to hide all evidence and pass the lie-detector test?And who would want to bludgeon this mother to death?

"Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers."--Allison BrennanSheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack--and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions. M. Williams Phelps recounts the riveting story of a white-collar love triangle gone horribly wrong. . .and the terrifying infatuation that drove one woman to kill."Anything by Phelps is always an eye-opening experience." --Suspense Magazine"M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer." --TV RageIncludes 16 Pages Of Dramatic Photos

#1 New York Times bestselling author and queen of true crime Ann Rule’s sixteenth volume in her True Crime Files series, Deadly Neighbors delves into the unsolved case of a billionaire’s son mysteriously falling off a balcony to his death and more.In July 2011, billionaire Jonah Shacknai’s Coronado, California, mansion was the setting for two horrifying deaths only days apart—his young son’s plunge from a balcony and his girlfriend’s ghastly hanging. What really happened? Baffling questions remain unanswered, as these cases were closed far too soon for hundreds of people; Rule looks at them now through the eyes of a relentless crime reporter. The second probe began in Utah when Susan Powell vanished in a 2009 blizzard. Her controlling husband, Josh, proved capable of a blind rage that was heartbreakingly fatal to his innocent small sons almost three years later in a tragedy that shocked America as the details unfolded. If anyone had detected the depth of depravity within Josh Powell, perhaps the family that loved and trusted him would have been saved. In these and seven other riveting cases, Ann Rule exposes the twisted truth behind the façades of Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.These doomed relationships are the focus of queen of true crime Ann Rule’s sixteenth all-new Crime Files collection. In these shattering inside views of both headlined and little-known homicides, Rule speaks for vulnerable victims who relied on the wrong people. She begins with two startling novella-length investigations.

Critically acclaimed author Kathryn Casey delivers a riveting account of the brutal murders of young women in the I-45/Texas Killing Fields—a chilling true story that has already helped police uncover evidence that may link suspected serial killer William Lewis Reece to some of the heinous crimes Over a three-decade span, more than twenty women—many teenagers—died mysteriously in the small towns bordering Interstate 45, a fifty-mile stretch of highway running from Houston to Galveston. The victims were strangled, shot, or savagely beaten. Six met their demise in pairs. They had one thing in common: being in the wrong place at the wrong time.The day she vanished, Colette Wilson waited for her mother after band practice. Best friends Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson loved to surf and were last seen hitchhiking. Laura Kate Smither dreamed of becoming a ballerina and disappeared just weeks before her thirteenth birthday.In this harrowing true crime exposition, award-winning journalist Kathryn Casey tracks these tragic cases, investigates the evidence, interviews the suspects, and pulls back the cloak of secrecy in search of elusive answers.

Sleeping with a monsterAt first, Linda Bergstrom's marriage to her husband James was idyllic. They were young and in love; he was about to enter the Navy and she was eager to start a family. But it wasn't long before the dream exploded. James became abusive and violent, prone to sudden bursts of anger, long silences, and unexplained disappearances. But Linda vowed to hold on, despite the pain and fear . . . and her disturbing suspicions about her husband's secret life.Then, not long after their move to Houston, Texas, she made a terrifying discovery: James's hidden cache containing duct tape, a ski mask, and handcuffs. No longer could Linda Bergstrom deny the hideous truth.The man she lived with, the man she married for love, was a dangerous psychopath. And there was no escape and nowhere to run. Because no one—not her friends, the Navy, or the police—would believe her.

“Kathryn Casey is one of the best true crime writers today.”—Ann Rule With true crime classics like Descent into Hell and Die My Love, author Kathryn Casey has peered into the darkest corners of the Lone Star State, shedding a fascinating, chilling light on a series of notorious Texas murders. In Shattered, she explores in riveting detail an infamous Houston area crime: the brutal slaying of a young mother and her unborn child by the person closest to them.  Bestselling author Carlton Stowers numbers Kathryn Casey “among the elite of true crime writers,” and Shattered—a shocking true story of blood, rage, and betrayal—will only enhance her reputation as one of the best of the best.

The Peernocks cast the impression of being a very well-to-do and content family evenl after the separation of Richard and his wife. But madness was contained inside their house and one night Richard Peemock came to kill his wife and daughter, brutally beating them, force feeding them alcohol and placing them together in a car which he let drive into a wall so that it would seem like a drunk driving accident.What Richard Peernock didn't forsee was his daughter's survival and her willingness for the first time to describe, in detail, her father's psychosis and his manipulative personality.Once a successful whistleblower, Peernock denied his involvement in the murder, claiming a conspiracy against him on all levels. Confounding the justice system, hiring and firing lawyers, representing himself, saying everyone was against him. After numerous tense trials, Peernock was finally sentenced to life in prison, though those close to him still live in fear.

The day before Halloween 2004 was the last day on Earth for respected, well-liked college professor Fred Jablin. That morning, a neighbor discovered his body lying in a pool of blood in the driveway of Jablin's Virginia home. Police immediately turned their attentions to the victim's ex-wife, Piper, a petite, pretty Texas lawyer who had lost a bitter custody battle and would do anything to get her kids back. But Piper was in Houston, one thousand miles away, at the time of the slaying and couldn't possibly have been the killer . . . could she?So began an investigation into one of the most bizarre cases Virginia and Texas law enforcement agencies had ever encountered: a twisted conspiracy of lies, rage, paranoia, manipulation, and savage murder that would ensnare an entire family—including two lethally close look-alike sisters—and reveal the shocking depravities possible when a dangerously disordered mind slips into madness.

There was only one way to please her father: Murder his wife.... David Brown was the consummate entrepreneur: a computer wizard and millionaire by age thirty-two. When his beautiful young wife was shot to death as she slept, Brown's fourteen-year-old daughter, Cinnamon, confessed to killing her stepmother. The California courts sentenced her harshly: twenty-four years to life. But in the wake of Cinnamon's murder conviction, thanks in part to two determined lawmen, the twisted private world of David Brown himself unfolded with astonishing clarity -- revealing a trail of perverse love, twisted secrets, and evil mind games. A complex and often dangerous investigation suggested a horrifying scenario: Was the seemingly bland David Brown really a stone-cold killer who convinced his own daughter to prove her love by killing for him? A man who turned young women into his own personal slaves, who collected nearly $1 million in insurance money, and married his dead wife's teenage sister, David Brown was a sociopath who would stop at nothing...a deadly charmer who almost got away with everything.