Best of
True-Crime

2000

Picking Up The Pieces


Paul Britton - 2000
    That is why the police call on him to help with many high-profile criminal investigations and catch those responsible. How does he do it? In this unique and revealing book, he reveals the psychological and forensic foundations upon which he has based his expertise. It is a remarkable journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind. From top-security prisons and mental hospitals to ordinary outpatients' clinics, Britton introduces us to his clinical and forensic work over the past twenty years. During that time, he has interviewed, assessed and treated people with damaged or broken minds. Paul Britton shows that the answers are often found, not at the crime scene, but hidden away within someone's mind, or deep in their past. Here he reveals the process by which he unlocks and deciphers the truth.

Every Breath You Take: A True Story of Obsession, Revenge, and Murder


Ann Rule - 2000
    Although happily ensconced in a loving second marriage, and a new family of quadruplets, Sheila never truly escaped the vicious enslavement of her ex-husband, multi-millionaire Allen Blackthorne, a handsome charmer— and a violent, controlling sociopath who subjected Sheila to unthinkable abuse in their marriage, and terrorized her for a decade after their divorce. When Sheila was slain in her home, in the presence of her four toddlers, authorities raced to link the crime to Blackthorne, the man who vowed to monitor Sheila's every move in his obsessive quest for power and revenge.

Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make it Right


Barry Scheck - 2000
    Now updated with new information, Actual Innocence sheds light on “a system that tolerates lying prosecutors, slumbering defense attorneys and sloppy investigators” (Salt Lake Tribune)—revealing the shocking flaws that can derail the legal process and the ways that DNA testing has often shattered so-called solid evidence that condemned American citizens to death.

The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion


Stewart P. Evans - 2000
    Solidly researched and profusely illustrated, collated from all the known official records and supplemented by contemporary press reports, it presents for the first time, in one volume, a prime-source reference book on the eleven shocking prostitute murders that took place in the East End of London between 1888 and 1891. While there is no doubt that the Whitechapel Murders, as they were classified by Scotland Yard, were committed by more than one person, no one knows how many of the killings can be attributed to a single culprit. More than one murderer wore the guise of Jack the Ripper, and the certain identities of all suspects to this day remain unknown.Divorcing the facts of the Ripper case from the myths that have proliferated in myriad books and film, this painstakingly compiled sourcebook offers a factual, documented narrative of the entire series of crimes, their forensic evidence, the official suspects and possible accomplices, police reports, and inquests. Any historian or crime fan researching the world's most notorious serial murders, as well as general readers interested in the true facts of the case, will find this book as invaluable as it is affordable.

A Warrant to Kill


Kathryn Casey - 2000
    She even went to the police. No one would believe her--and now she was dead.Problems had always followed Susan White, but when she remarried and moved to Houston's posh suburbs, she thought the past was behind her--until she met a deputy sheriff named Kent McGowen who would soon become her worst nightmare.McGowen was an aggressive cop with a spotty record. When Susan rebuffed his advances, she claimed he stalked and harassed her, using her troubled teenage son as bait. And then, in an act of arrogance and revenge, he made good on his threats, setting her up for the kill.In A Warrant to Kill, Kathryn Casey meticulously pieces together the tragic shards of the case to create a riveting story of vengeance, fear, and justice--of the terrifying power a badge can have in the wrong hands.

The Cases That Haunt Us


John E. Douglas - 2000
    Provocative. Shocking. Call them what you will...but don't call them open and shut. Did Lizzie Borden murder her own father and stepmother? Was Jack the Ripper actually the Duke of Clarence? Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?America's foremost expert on criminal profiling and twenty-five-year FBI veteran John Douglas, along with author and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, explores those tantalizing questions and more in this mesmerizing work of detection. With uniquely gripping analysis, the authors reexamine and reinterpret the accepted facts, evidence, and victimology of the most notorious murder cases in the history of crime, including the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, the Zodiac Killer, and the Whitechapel murders.Utilizing techniques developed by Douglas himself, they give detailed profiles and reveal chief suspects in pursuit of what really happened in each case.The Cases That Haunt Us not only offers convincing and controversial conclusions, it deconstructs the evidence and widely held beliefs surrounding each case and rebuilds them -- with fascinating, surprising, and haunting results.

Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders


Greg King - 2000
    King also brings to vivid life the complete account of the tate murders, describes the lengthy search for the killers. and includes previousl unpublished police and detective reports, trail transcripts and letters from Charles Manson to "squeaky Fromme." More importantly, this is the first book to focus on the victims of the Manson murders. As such, it brings a fresh perspective to the murder story that created a media frenzy foreshadowing what occurs with alarming regularity today.

A Divine Revelation of the Spirit Realm


Mary K. Baxter - 2000
    In vivid detail, she describes her encounters with spiritual beings, both good and bad, as she shares anointed insights into conducting spiritual warfare. This is a strategy manual for spiritual warfare!

Huckstepp: A Dangerous Life


John Dale - 2000
    Throughout her short life, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp lived a dangerous existence. This is a true story, brilliantly told, of someone who was gutsy and determined – and who paid the ultimate price for speaking out against corruption and murder.In 2014, Xoum is proud to release a new edition of this seminal work.Praise for Huckstepp by John Dale‘A marvellous book, brilliantly written and researched.’ Louis Nowra‘A significant, original work that challenges as much as it reveals.’ The Australian‘Dale nails the treachery, corruption and decadence of a part of Sydney society that traces its origins to the Rum Corps.’ Andrew Rule‘A brilliantly constructed record of one of Kings Cross’ most infamous characters. A great city story.’ The Australian‘A fine and disciplined piece of writing.’ HQ‘As gripping as a thriller.’ The Northern Star‘Only the very famous – or infamous – are known by a single name. Huckstepp conjures memories of the bad old days in Sydney; of a time when cops and crims were as likely to be allies as enemies. In the age of Underbelly, John Dale’s new edition of Huckstepp is a timely reminder of the human cost behind the headlines. Through extensive interviews with those who knew, loved and used Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, Dale vividly recreates a time when heroin was currency, and corruption and murder were the everyday tools of violent men. It is a deadly, dangerous, brutal world, depicted with realism, not romanticism. For some, the name Huckstepp will forever carry a frisson of excitement, the promise of secrets, sex, drugs and crime. In this book, Dale ensures that Sallie-Anne’s name will also forever remind us of that fateful moment when a young woman with a gap-toothed smile and a story to tell naively believed that publicity would guarantee her protection. Huckstepp is still famous, but her story runs deeper than the headlines. In this book, Dale takes the reader beyond the underbelly, into the very belly of the beast.’ P.M. Newton

The Murder of Biggie Smalls


Cathy Scott - 2000
    Speculation was aroused over a connection between his murder and that of Tupac Shakur.

O.J. is Guilty But Not of Murder


William C. Dear - 2000
    Always verify." Every detective, public defender, and investigative reporter should have those four words tattooed in black ink on their forehead. Then every time they would look at themselves in the mirror they would be reminded of the great responsibility they have to themselves and to the public to check their facts before jumping to conclusions. Lives are on the line—and not only those of the falsely accused. It is with this in mind that I ask you to step back to re-examine...When Orenthal James Simpson stood and faced the jury, the words Not Guilty' rang out like a rifle shot. Many wept with relief, while others cried foul over the verdict. For months, prior to and during the trial, the private lives of the families of the victims and the accused were dissected and put on public display. While the proceedings unfolded in the courtroom, the people of the world were riveted to their television sets and web sites, devouring each grim bit of evidence or testimony. Opinions were skewed, arguments over the jury's decision were heated. O.J. Simpson became the butt of hundreds of jokes, while the families of the victims were left to mourn their own and seek civil remedies for tragic losses. As the frenzy died down, the media armies moved on to other stories, and people moved on with their lives—each with their own opinion of what really happened. Although the case is over, and O.J. walked away a free man, the question still remains—Who killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman? Stunned by the brutality of the murders, and at the same time fascinated by how the case was being investigated, veteran detective Bill Dear launched his own investigation into the facts. Dear, within weeks of the murders, climbing over the fence at Bundy, sitting at the front door of Nicole's condo and recreating in his mind that dark night of Sunday, June 12, 1994, was convinced that O.J. Simpson could not have committed the murders but may have been at the crime scene soon after they occurred. If this is true, O.J. has known all along the identity of the killer. Once Dear established in his own mind that O.J. was innocent, he focused his attention on six possible suspects. After carefully investigating the facts and not assuming what he had been told, read or shown concerning the alibis of each of the six, Bill Dear was more determined than ever to find the truth. His grueling, six-year search finally narrowed to one major suspect. The facts speak for themselves. Learn for whom and why O.J. may have been willing to stand trial in the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman...as you walk step by step beside Bill Dear on this compelling journey. Bill Dear has uncovered startling new evidence that is certain to change everyone's perception of O.J.'s guilt. This evidence has never been made public.

The Mammoth Book of the History of Murder


Colin Wilson - 2000
    The thirst for blood and cry for deadly vengeance lie deep in humankind, as criminologist Colin Wilson authoritatively illustrates in this millennial history of the most heinous of human crimes. Analyzing the tangle of motives behind murder and examining an astonishing variety of homicidal methods over the past twenty centuries, Wilson not only profiles infamous historical figures like Vlad the Impaler, Ivan the Terrible, Gilles de Rais, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Marquis de Sade, and Jack the Ripper, but also studies particular categories of homicide and such phenomena as the Jacobean witch hunts and gangland killings of America's Jazz Age. Wilson's chronicle includes, too, the serial killings, random shooting sprees, and cult murders that have troubled more recent times. The comprehensive history and illuminating analysis of how humans kill, and why, make crime-expert Wilson's volume one that no true-crime fan or student of criminology will want to miss.

JonBenet: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation


Steve Thomas - 2000
    Who killed the young beauty queen and why? Who is covering up for whom and who is simply lying? In JonBenet, the most authoritative and comprehensive study of the Ramsey murder, a former lead Boulder Police detective, Steve Thomas, explores the case in vivid and fascinating detail-pointing the way toward an analysis of the evidence some deem too shocking to consider. Here, Thomas raises these and many other provocative questions:-How was the investigation botched from the beginning-and why did police so carelessly allow the crime scene to be tampered with?-Why were John and Patsy Ramsey protected from early questioning and any lie-detector tests, even though their stories and behavior were erratic, suspicious and inconsistent?-Why was crucial evidence ignored, why were certain key witnesses unquestioned by detectives, and why were the Ramseys privy to sensitive information about the case and even police reports?

Forensics: True Crime Scene Investigations


Zakaria Erzinçlioğlu - 2000
    Starting from the fundamental principles of forensics that 'every contact leaves a trace', the author presents a study of the techniques that we have all heard about in trials and on TV, but until now have remained mysteries to the outsider.

Unholy Covenant: A True Story of Murder in North Carolina


Lynn Chandler Willis - 2000
    At last, she was marrying the man she loved, Ted Kimble—a fellow Christian and son of a local preacher. But little did she realize her new husband had a dark side. Shock waves rocked the small, North Carolina town of Pleasant Garden when Patricia’s charred body was discovered inside the Kimble’s burned-out home. Soon family and friends learned an even worse truth—Patricia had died from a bullet wound to the head. Now, in Unholy Covenant, North Carolina journalist Lynn Chandler-Willis uncovers the story behind the crime. Taking readers from the crime scene to the courtroom, she delivers a passionate account of a crime that forever changed the lives of many in the small North Carolina community.

Sex Sadists


David Jacobs - 2000
    of photos.

Bombs Guns and Knives: Violent Crime in Australia


Malcolm Brown - 2000
    

Voice of the Shoah: Remembrances of the Holocaust


Elliott Gould - 2000
    

Ramraiders


Stephen Richards - 2000
    Ramraiders are interviewed and photographs from inside of prison are included.

Legends


Stephen Richards - 2000
    Haven’t heard of Bronson - you must be from Mars. Capable of bending steel bars with his hands, punching through bullet-proof glass and kicking his way out of steel doors. Bronson gives his utmost respect to most of the faces within. Legends that Bronson feels deserve space in this A-Z guide of criminals and those connected in some way to them. You will not be able to put this book down. Includes a guest spot given over to Manchester’s Paul Massey. Short succinct write-ups. Bronson goes overboard in this book with a universal appeal. USA serial killers and others from around the globe. Nicknames leave little to the imagination: The Mummy, The Wolf Man, The Human Slug, Semtex Man, The Pie Man, The Wizard, Cannon Ball, Quasimodo, Voodoo Man, The Promoter and hundreds more – all real people. Legendary Scottish Bank Robber, James Crosbie - guest contributor for Scotland. Foreword by Joe Pyle Snr. Ireland isn’t forgotten either. Look out for the mystery ‘Legend’ and some surprises are in store. Icons are few; Legends are many, look out for the ‘Icons’ section. Who makes it in to the top slot, find out? Who is the ‘Mystery Legend’? Truth about Lady Diana’s death, Al Fayed and the bodyguard’s story, too much to list.

Perfection to a Fault: A Small Murder in Ossipee, New Hampshire, 1916


Janice S.C. Petrie - 2000
    When Florence Small's smoldering body rose to the surface of the basement water, local folks immediately suspected her husband of the crime. Frederick Small was an outsider, a Boston man, who had moved to Ossipee Lake to semi-retire. There was a deep distrust of "city fellas up there behind the Ossipees," in 1916 and perhaps this suspicion was warranted. But how could Frederick have been responsible for a murder and a fire that happened 7 hours after he had left for Boston on a business trip? The sensational trial that followed was unlike any previously experienced in Carroll County. And although everybody from the Boston area to Portland, Maine, had an opinion, nobody anticipated the decision the jury would reach. The unrest on the ill-fated property remained even in 1956, when Anna Foley's unsuspecting son and daughter-in-law felt the effects of the events of 1916 one August night while vacationing on the property.The Manchester Leader and Evening Union newspaper wrote in anticipation of a verdict, “If the state has proved its case, it has developed a new type of New Hampshire criminal. It has brought forth a cool, daring, mechanical and chemical genius, a man who scorned the ordinary forms of murder but who brought forth to the mountains of this quiet village a science which would baffle a Craig Kennedy or Sherlock Holmes. The jury of his peers will decide whether Frederick L. Small is that man or the normal individual who has been made a victim of circumstances and is being tried for a crime which he never committed and of which he had no knowledge.”Voted "Best in New Hampshire" by New Hampshire Magazine and was a featured segment on WCVB-TV Boston's "Chronicle."

A Call for Justice: A New England Town's Fight To Keep A Stone Cold Killer In Jail


Denise Lang - 2000
    He butchered a family in their home--not far from the site where he had killed another woman two years earlier--just for the thrill, it seemed, of watching them die. When Craig Price was apprehended by police two weeks later, he grinned cheerfully and confessed to the crimes. He was tried and convicted, but sentenced to a mere five years imprisonment--the maximum penalty allowed by law. At the age of twenty-one he would be sent back to the streets and no one doubted he would kill again...unless drastic measures were taken.A Call for Justice is the gripping true story of how a cop willing to put his career on the line, members of the victims' families, and other enraged citizens banded together and dedicated years of their lives to keeping a remorseless young killer behind bars. They would gain national media attention, enlist the aid of Rhode Island's attorney general, and even capture the ear of the President of the United States. Theirs is a cautionary tale of a flawed legal system ill-equipped to dispense true justice--and of a community's determination to see justice done, even if it meant twisting the law until it worked.When the law won't work, you have to work the law...

Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations


Robert D. Keppel - 2000
    Robert D. Keppel presents five detailed profiles of savage killers, to demonstrate how the smallest procedural detail can assure or wreck successful prosecution, and suggests how investigators can plug the loopholes.

The Vengeful Heart: And Other Stories: A True-Crime Casebook


Stephen G. Michaud - 2000
    Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth. The journalists, with a combined total of more than 80 years of experience in crime reporting, have spent much of that time at murder scenes, in courtrooms and behind bars in the company of killers. Drawn from the casebooks and personal notes of Michaud and Aynesworth, the book provides an inside look at the motives, passions and terror wrought by some of the country's most brutal killers.

Murder, Culture, and Injustice: Four Sensational Cases in American History


Walter L. Hixson - 2000
    J. Simpson trials -- offers interesting observations into the greater cultural and political forces that shaped their verdicts. His step-by-step analysis of the details of each case provides not only insight by skillful synthesis of the existing literature but also a solid overview of the events surrounding these four cases, each of which became a national obsession as well as a miscarriage of justice.

The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping Trial


Judy Monroe - 2000
    Despite every effort by his parents and police to secure his safe return, little Charlie Lindbergh was eventually found, dead. Was Bruno Richard Hauptmann the kidnapper, or was he unfairly convicted? That question is still debated today.

Rebels and Mafiosi


James J. Fentress - 2000
    Between 1820 and 1860, rebellions shook the island as these men joined with Sicily's intellectuals in the struggle for independence from the Bourbon Kingdom of Naples. This lively account--the first to locate the emergence and evolution of the mafia in historical perspective--describes how those rebellions led to the birth of the modern mafia and traces the increasing influence of organized crime on the island. The alliance between two classes of Sicilians, James Fentress shows, made possible both the revolution and the mafia. Militancy in the ranks of the revolution taught men of honor how to organize politically. Communities then resisted the demands of central government by devising alternative controls through a network of local groups--the mafia cosche.Fentress tells his operatic story of honor and crime from the viewpoint of the Sicilians, and in particular of the great city of Palermo--from Garibaldi's historic arrival in 1860 to the spectacular mafia trials around the turn of the century. Drawing on police archives, trial records, contemporary journalism, and government reports, he describes how enduring political power plus a (richly deserved) reputation for violence helped the mafia secure covert relationships with groups that publicly denounced them. These contacts still protect today's mafiosi from Rome's efforts to eradicate the organization. The history of the mafia is indeed, Fentress shows, the history of Sicily.

No Tears to the Gallows: The Strange Case of Frank McCullough


Mark D. Johnson - 2000
    The story began in 1918, just after the Great War had ended, when young Frank McCullough was sentenced to be hanged for the murder of a police officer. He claimed the killing was an accident, but it seemed his case was hopeless; he was a drifter, probably a liar, and most definitely a thief.Yet McCullough was also handsome, charming, and intelligent, and the society around him was entering a time of unprecedented change. The war had turned the old order upside down, and nothing would ever be the same again. The city of Toronto was full of the sights and sounds of recent immigrants; veterans were flooding back having witnessed the horrors in Europe; and authority, especially that of the police, was deeply distrusted.Convicted murderer Frank McCullough became a popular hero, and his case a flashpoint for all the tensions in the city. Thousands of upstanding citizens – middle- and working-class men and women, children and churchgoers – petitioned Ottawa on his behalf. They followed Frank’s story in the newspapers like addicts, and almost every day there was a breathtaking new twist: the appearance of his mysterious lover, Vera de Lavelle; his escape from prison and the manhunt to track him down; his recapture after living openly with Vera in the crowded heart of the city. The story climaxes the night before McCullough’s scheduled execution, when a mob of thousands swarm below his death cell window, cheering on their man and threatening to storm the jail.Mark Johnson has constructed a lively, suspenseful, and fast-moving narrative. In addition to a fascinating character study of a killer, he captures the social mores and complexities of post World War I Canadian society, a society in upheaval, marked by violent labour unrest, preoccupied with social reform and morality, yet endlessly sentimental and intrigued by vice.

Century of Slaughter


Michael Newton - 2000
    Book by Newwton, Michael