Bill Bass, one of the world's leading forensic anthropologists, gained international attention when he built a forensic lab like no other: The Body Farm. Now, this master scientist unlocks the gates of his lab to reveal his most intriguing cases-and to revisit the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder, fifty years after the fact.

    For the first time, the files have been opened, the detectives are talking and the victims are reliving the nightmare. For over 20 years, the dark secrets of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history have remained a closed book. Detectives refused all requests to tell the inside story of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation that logged over two million man-hours of police work. The victims who survived maintained a wall of silence. And the detailed forensic evidence, witness statements and autopsy reports have remained locked away. Until now. Michael Bilton has persuaded the key people to talk. After years of research he can finally reveal the truth behind the murder enquiry that left Peter Sutcliffe free to kill again and again. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, to pathologist's archives and confidential police reports, the story of the hunt is revealed.

    Now, from the much-acclaimed author of Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved, comes the ultimate resource on the serial killer phenomenon.Rigorously researched and packed with the most terrifying, up-to-date information, this innovative and highly compelling compendium covers every aspect of multiple murderers—from psychology to cinema, fetishism to fan clubs, “trophies” to trading cards. Discover:WHO THEY ARE: Those featured include Ed Gein, the homicidal mama’s boy who inspired fiction’s most famous Psycho, Norman Bates; Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, sex-crazed killer cousins better known as the Hillside Stranglers; and the Beanes, a fifteenth-century cave-dwelling clan with an insatiable appetite for human fleshHOW THEY KILL: They shoot, stab, and strangle. Butcher, bludgeon, and burn. Drown, dismember, and devour . . . and other methods of massacre too many and monstrous to mention here.WHY THEY DO IT: For pleasure and for profit. For celebrity and for “companionship.” For the devil and for dinner. For the thrill of it, for the hell of it, and because “such men are monsters, who live . . . beyond the frontiers of madness.” PLUS: in-depth case studies, classic killers’ nicknames, definitions of every kind of deviance and derangement, and much, much more.For more than one hundred profiles of lethal loners and killer couples, Bluebeards and black widows, cannibals and copycats— this is an indispensable, spine-tingling, eye-popping investigation into the dark hearts and mad minds of that twisted breed of human whose crimes are the most frightening . . . and fascinating.

    "You're so right," they say: "Sexual abuse is an enormous problem, particularly for young teens. Thank God mine aren't there yet."No, sorry, says reality, the most common age at which sexual abuse begins is three."Well sure, if you have homosexuals around small children, there's a risk."No, sorry, says reality, most sexual abuse is committed by heterosexual males."Yeah, but that kind of pervert isn't living in our neighbourhood."Sorry, says reality, but that kind of pervert IS living in your neighbourhood. The Department of Justice estimates that on average, there is one child molester per square mile in the United States."Well, at least the police know who these people are."Not likely, says reality, since the average child molester victimises between 50 and 150 children before he is ever arrested (and many more after he is arrested).When all defenses against reality are taken away, some parents switch to resignation, literally resigning from responsibility: "Well, there's nothing you can do about it anyway." This misplaced fatalism actually becomes fatal for some children.Another common refrain uttered by deniers of the dangers of sexual abuse is: "Well, kids are resilient. When bad things happen, they bounce back."Absolutely not, says reality. Children do not bounce back. They adjust, they conceal, they repress, and sometimes they accept and move on, but they don't bounce back.. (From the foreword written by Gavin de Becker)

    The horrifying true story of an abusive husband who committed the ultimate act of violence and betrayal by murdering his two young daughters, as their mother helplessly listened on the telephone.

    As if his crime was not dreadful enough, he has recently admitted that he lied under oath about the circumstances of one of the murders. This in-depth book is written by investigative journalist Nathan Yates, who witnessed the murder hunt first-hand and even interviewed Huntley his and former girlfriend, Maxine Carr. Yates also has an exclusive source for contact with Ian Huntley, and has further revelations about how far Huntley has lied about what happened that tragic day.

    'Perfect Poison' tells the shocking true story of a female serial killer who abused her respected position as a nurse to administer death to her trusting patients.

    Now, she updates the most astonishing cases from that acclaimed series—and presents shocking, all-new true-crime accounts—in one riveting anthology. In every explosive chapter of Without Pity, Ann Rule deepens her unrelenting exploration of the evil that lies behind the perfect facades of heartless killers...and the deadly compulsions of greed and power that shatter their outward trappings of material success. They are the admired, trusted neighbor; the affable family man; the sexy, charismatic lover; the high-achieving professional. Perhaps most frightening of all is that they are heroes in their own minds. But when someone gets in the way of their deluded dreams, they are capable of deadly acts of violence with no remorse. Analyzing the true nature of the sociopathic mind in chilling detail, Ann Rule traces the murderous crimes of seemingly ordinary men—killers who drew their unsuspecting victims into their twisted worlds with devastating consequences.

    The girl’s murder would be the catalyst for an epic saga that to this day holds a singular place in America’s collective imagination—a saga that would climax in 1915 with the lynching of Leo Frank, the Cornell-educated Jew who was convicted of the murder. The case has been the subject of novels, plays, movies and even musicals, but only now, with the publication of And the Dead Shall Rise, do we have an account that does full justice to the mesmerizing and previously unknown details of one of the most shameful moments in the nation’s history.In a narrative reminiscent of a nineteenth-century novel, Steve Oney recounts the emerging revelations of the initial criminal investigation, reconstructs from newspaper dispatches (the original trial transcript mysteriously disappeared long ago) the day-to-day intrigue of the courtroom and illuminates how and why an all-white jury convicted Frank largely on the testimony of a black man. Oney chronicles as well the innumerable avenues that the defense pursued in quest of an appeal, the remarkable and heretofore largely ignored campaign conducted by William Randolph Hearst and New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs to exonerate Frank, the last-minute commutation of Frank’s death sentence and, most indelibly, the flawlessly executed abduction and brutal lynching of Frank two months after his death sentence was commuted.And the Dead Shall Rise brings to life a Dickensian cast of characters caught up in the Frank case—zealous police investigators intent on protecting their department’s reputation, even more zealous private detectives, cynical yet impressionable factory girls, intrepid reporters (including a young Harold Ross), lawyers blinded by their own interests and cowed by the populace’s furor. And we meet four astonishing individuals: Jim Conley, who was Frank’s confessed “accomplice” and the state’s star witness; William Smith, a determined and idealistic lawyer who brilliantly prepared Conley for the defense’s fierce cross-examination and then, a year later, underwent an extraordinary change of heart; Lucille Frank, the martyred wife of the convicted man; and the great populist leader Tom Watson, who manipulated the volatile and lethal outrage of Georgians against the forces of Northern privilege and capital that were seeking to free Frank.And the Dead Shall Rise also casts long-awaited fresh light on Frank’s lynching. No participant was ever indicted, and many went on to prominent careers in state and national politics. Here, for the first time, is the full account of the event—including the identities of the influential Georgians who conceived, carried out and covered up the crime. And here as well is the story of the lynching’s aftermath, which saw both the revival of the Ku Klux Klan and the evolution of the Anti-Defamation League.At once a work of masterful investigative journalism and insightful social history, And the Dead Shall Rise does complete justice to one of history’s most repellent and most fascinating moments.

    Within weeks, a second woman was found-her brutalized body dumped in the frozen Texas plains. Over the next seventeen months three more women would fall victim to a faceless evil, fueling the city's fears and baffling authorities whose every lead came to a dead end. For one haunted man the case would never die.A fight for justice as cunning and relentless as the killer himself...Almost fourteen years to the day of the first murder, ambitious investigator John Little reopened the cold-case files determined to deliver closure to the victims' friends and families, and bring a killer to justice. Working on his instincts, following every imaginable clue, Little embarked on an ingeniously clever and exhaustive cat-and-mouse game to trap an elusive serial killer whose sick fantasies would finally be silenced forever.

    The conviction of Gacy on 33 counts of murder is significant in the archives of the criminal justice system in the United States. Two articles give the reader a comprehensive insight on the use of psychics and the lie-detector in a serial murder investigation.

    Moreover, he was as legendary a figure on the streets of New York as on the streets of London.Pearson persuaded the mysterious criminal leader to talk to him - and the result was a story even more extraordinary than that of the Kray twins. Here Pearson reveals the true story of the Englishman who became the adopted son of Joey Pagano, the head of one of the major New York crime families. Here the Englishman tells the story that no-one else dared to tell.

    Suspicion soon falls on a young black sawmill hand, who tries to flee the county. Captured, he implicates three women, accusing them of plotting the murder and wielding the ax. In vivid courtroom scenes, Bancroft Prize-winning historian Suzanne Lebsock recounts their dramatic trials and brings us close to women we would never otherwise know: a devout (and pregnant) mother of nine; another hard-working mother (also of nine); and her plucky, quick-tempered daughter. All claim to be innocent. With the danger of lynching high, can they get justice?Lebsock takes us deep into this contentious, often surprising world, where blacks struggle to hold on to their post-Civil War gains against a rising tide of white privilege. A sensation in its own time, this case offers the modern reader a riveting encounter with a South in the throes of change.

    Nino, her husband of twenty-five years, got in the way and was shot. The man then attacked and raped Debra, placed her in the trunk of his car, and drove away. Kept hog-tied in her abductor's house, Debra finally learned of her husband's murder from a newscast on a radio that the man blared to muffle her screams while he was out. After five excruciating days, Debra's mounting rage at her captor -- and the wrenching thought of her children burying their father alone -- gave her the courage and strength she desperately needed. She loosened her ties, groped her way to the phone...and dialed 911. Shattered is an indelible portrait of hope, determination, and the agonizing journey back to life. Struggling to heal from her horrendous ordeal and the devastating loss of her husband, Debra also had to endure an agonizing court trial, the raw grief of her children, and her own crippling fear. But through her work in hospice care and as an advocate for victims of violence and trauma, she has slowly discovered the measure of her own strength. A compelling survival story -- tragic and ultimately heroic -- Shattered represents one woman's attempts to make sense of a senseless crime.

    Scouring hundreds of publications, Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook have created a remarkable compilation containing the best examples of the most current and vibrant of our literary traditions: crime reporting.Included in this volume are Maximillian Potter’s “The Body Farm” from GQ, a portrait of Murray Marks, who collects dead bodies and strews them around two acres of the University of Tennessee campus to study their decomposition in order to help solve crime; Jay Kirk’s “My Undertaker, My Pimp,” from Harper’s, in which Mack Moore and his wife, Angel, switch from run-ning crooked funeral parlors to establishing a brothel; Skip Hollandsworth’s “The Day Treva Throneberry Disappeared” from Texas Monthly, about the sudden disappearence of a teenager and the strange place she turned up; Lawrence Wright’s “The Counterterrorist” from The New Yorker, the story of John O’Neill, the FBI agent who tracked Osama bin Laden for a decade—until he was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed. Intriguing, entertaining, and compelling reading, Best American Crime Writing has established itself as a much-anticipated annual.

    A former Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, Gregg McCrary takes us deep into the minds of the nation's shrewdest and most sinister predators. In The Unknown Darkness, he digs beneath the crime scene to examine in raw first-person detail the lethal competition between the country's deviously dangerous killers and the dedicated professionals who are determined to get them off the streets.In the basement offices of the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia -- now familiar from the books and films The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal -- McCrary served in one of the most elite forces for criminal investigation in the world, profiling criminals for over twenty-five years in more than a thousand cases involving homicide, serial murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault. He takes us inside his process on some of his most fascinating cases, including:The Sam Sheppard case -- In revisiting this classic case, what new material did McCrary's analysis discover?The Poet's Shadow -- The strange story of Jack Unterweger and the hunt for an international serial killer that had a bizarre twist.The Buddhist Temple Massacre -- What did the crime scene reveal about the shocking evil that resulted in the deaths of nine gentle people?The Unknown Darkness also explores the strengths and pitfalls of modern criminal investigation and offers vivid details about what happens at a crime scene, what is actually involved in bringing a killer to justice, and finally what kind of a person is able to devote his or her life to grappling with the predators among us. Daring to relive the often harrowing experiences of his time with the FBI, McCrary has put together an eye-opening account of ten of America's most frightening and riveting manhunts. He has also written an engrossing narrative on our justice system -- from the perspective of someone who has lived it day to day.

    They are some of the most horrific crimes imaginable, and unlike robbery-homicides or drug-related murders, the motives behind them are often not clear-cut.For all homicide cases, professional detectives must have practical experience in homicide investigation, but to solve sex-related murders they must also possess a keen understanding of human behavior patterns and human sexuality. With 38 years of practical and clinical experience author Vernon J. Geberth has that understanding.The renowned investigator and author of Practical Homicide Investigation, Geberth now shares his expertise related to the unique characteristics of sex-related homicides. In Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives he:Comprehensively discusses human sexuality and sexual devianceAnalyzes the significance of fantasyPresents the crucial dynamics involved in the search of the crime sceneIntroduces the latest information on the application of DNA technology to sex crimesIncludes investigative checklists, clinical references, and case examplesAnalyzes the typology of offenders and reveals how to determine the "signature aspect"Provides an understanding of the significance of sexual offenders' behaviorsThe mission of every homicide investigator is to bring justice to the deceased and their surviving family. Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives stresses the basics, indicates the practicalities of certain investigative techniques, and provides you with patterns upon which to build a solid foundation for a prosecutable case.

    Based on information compiled from police and court documents, contemporary news accounts, and interviews with O'Banion's friends and associates, Guns and Roses traces O'Banion's rise from Illinois farm boy to the most powerful gang boss ...

    She killed her four children over 10 years. Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura Folbigg died one by one over a 10-year period in similar circumstances - suddenly, unexpectedly and while sleeping. Each was discovered by Kathleen, their mother, who raised the alarm to her husband, Craig, that they were not breathing. When the Folbiggs' marriage fell apart six weeks after the death of their fourth child, Laura, Craig was devastated. It only got worse when he discovered Kathleen's diary in her bedside drawer. Horrified at his wife's ramblings about losing control with the children, her 'terrible thoughts' and her fears she was her 'father's daughter', he took the diary to the police. The diary was the crucial evidence Detective Bernie Ryan had been searching for to confirm his suspicions that the babies had been murdered. With his career and credibility on the line, he made the decision to charge Kathleen Folbigg with the murder of her four innocent babies. No one who knew Kathleen could believe she had murdered her own children. Yet few knew of her tragic past - the fact that her own father had stabbed her mother to death four decades earlier. When The Bough Breaks exposes the secret life of Australia's worst convicted female serial killer, a woman jailed for the unthinkable crime of killing her own children. It raises important issues about parents who do not feel emotionally attached to their children and about the diagnosis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as a cause of death.

    Recalling the hysteria that accompanied the child sex-abuse witch-hunts of the 1980s and 1990s, Rabinowitz's investigative study brings to life such alarming examples of prosecutorial terrors as the case against New Jersey nursery school worker Kelly Michaels, absurdly accused of 280 counts of sexual assault; the as-yet-unfinished story of Gerald Amirault's involvement in the Fells Acres scandal; Patrick Griffin, a respected physician whose life and reputation were destroyed by one false accusation of molestation; and Miami policeman Grant Snowden's sentencing of five consecutive life terms for a crime that, as proved in court eleven years later, he did not commit. By turns a shocking exposé, a much-needed postmortem, and a required-reading assignment for prosecutors and judges alike, No Crueler Tyrannies is ultimately an inspiring book about the courage of ordinary citizens who believe in the American judicial system enough to fight for due process.

    John's by a family in search of a Christmas tree. A manhunt began that culminated in the 1986 arrest of a suspect who confessed to the vicious attack. However, this man later recanted and no conviction was obtained. Twenty-two years after Dana's brutal death, the police are still searching for her killer.

    Renowned for serial hostage taking and his rooftop sieges, he is a legend in his own lifetime. Yet behind the crime and the craziness, there is a great deal more to Charlie. He is a man of great warmth and humor; a man of great artistic talent who exhibits his drawings around the country; and a man with an overpowering urge not to let the system get him down. Insanity is a look into the mind of a true individual—a wild, inspired, single-minded, fascinating man, oppressed not only by the workings of his singular mind, but also by the system that confines him.

    Although no body was found, Chicago police arrested her husband, Adolph, the owner of a large sausage factory, and charged him with her murder. The eyes of the world were still on Chicago following the success of the World's Columbian Exposition, and the Luetgert case, with its missing victim, once-prosperous suspect, and all manner of gruesome theories regarding the disposal of the corpse, turned into one of the first media-fueled celebrity trials in American history. Newspapers fought one another for scoops, people across the country claimed to have seen the missing woman alive, and each new clue led to fresh rounds of speculation about the crime. Meanwhile, sausage sales plummeted nationwide as rumors circulated that Luetgert had destroyed his wife's body in one of his factory's meat grinders. In this narrative history of the Luetgert case, Robert Loerzel brings 1890s Chicago vividly back to life. He examines not only the trial itself but also the police department and forensic specialists investigating the case, the reporters scrambling for details, and the wider society who followed their stories so voraciously. Weaving in strange-but-true subplots involving hypnotists, palmreaders, English con-artists, bullied witnesses, and insane-asylum body-snatchers, Alchemy of Bones is more than just a true crime narrative; it is a grand, sprawling portrait of a city--and a nation--getting an early taste of the dark, chaotic twentieth century.

    He spent almost 18 years in Virginia prisons--9 1/2 of them on death row--for a murder he did not commit.This book reveals the relative ease with which individuals who live at society's margins can be wrongfully convicted, and the extraordinary difficulty of correcting such a wrong once it occurs.Washington was eventually freed in February 2001 not because of the legal and judicial systems, but in spite of them. While DNA testing was central to his eventual pardon, such tests would never have occurred without an unusually talented and committed legal team and without a series of incidents that are best described as pure luck.Margaret Edds makes the chilling argument that some other "expendable men" almost certainly have been less fortunate than Washington. This, she writes, is "the secret, shameful underbelly" of America's retention of capital punishment. Such wrongful executions may not happen often, but anyone who doubts that innocent people have been executed in the United States should remember the remarkable series of events necessary to save Earl Washington Jr. from such a fate.

    Authorities quickly arrest the infant's teenage parents, charging them with murder. Did Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson, in fact, murder their own baby? Tammy Wynette died suddenly at a relatively young age, and yet no autopsy was performed? Was someone trying to hide the real cause of death? Did Sam Sheppard (later dubbed "The Fugitive" based on a television series) really kill his wife? And if not, who committed the murder?Things are not always as they appear, as world-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht shows in this riveting behind-the-scenes look at nine famous cases. In the nationally known baby case involving Amy Grossberg and Brian Peterson, Dr. Wecht reviews the evidence and comes to a startling conclusion. In fascinating detail, he demonstrates how the tools of forensic pathology often uncover murky, long-hidden secrets that crack seemingly unsolvable crimes. Writing in the first-person Dr. Wecht leads you into the heart of the investigation, focusing each chapter on a single engrossing drama. He reveals the most startling evidence that shows why JonBenet Ramsey's killer most likely came from within her home, why O.J. Simpson probably had an accomplice in the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, shocking revelations about Robert Berdella's grisly torture and sex-abuse crimes against young men, and many intriguing facts about other infamous cases.If you find the fictional plots of such dramas as C.S.I. exciting, you will be amazed by the true stories told by Dr. Wecht, with the help of two top-flight veteran reporters, Greg Saitz and Mark Curriden, in this amazing real-life thriller. As this intriguing page-turner proves, the science of forensic pathology has changed the face of detective work forever.

    Asian American Studies. Born in Rajasthan, India, Rita leaves her native country to live with her diplomat father in exotic places abroad. Her innocent, happy, and sheltered childhood is characterized by a deeply reflective nature. That childhood comes to an end with her marriage in Ghana to a fellow Indian she meets in the diplomatic circles of Accra. Shock and horror follow, for the union is violently abusive. The couple move to England, then to Canada, where the outcome is breakup, then the tragedy of a murder-suicide. Rita Nayar has a university degree in psychology and a teaching certificate from the University of Sheffield, England. A senior corporate professional in Toronto, she is also an artist and a poet.

    In a companion volume to Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Wakefield (2001) Kate Taylor has assembled more than fifty further accounts of horrific deaths in or near Wakefield. Some killings reflect the tensions and resentment of domestic life but there are mysteries too, like the case of a man found dead in 1860 in a shallow beck with no marks of violence on him. In an incident in Horbury involving the death of a baby in 1849 it was the assistant constable pursuing the inquiries who died. The book shows something of the cultural context that can promote murder - the stigma of illegitimacy in the past and the dangers for a woman who sought a separation order from her husband. Take a journey into the darker and unknown side of your area as you read More Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Wakefield."

    Drug company representatives persuade doctors to prescribe inferior products. Children as young as two are routinely given powerful drugs. Legal drugs, taken exactly as prescribed, are a leading cause of illness and death. Scientists beholden to drug companies fabricate and misrepresent data. This eye-opening book richly documents disturbing trends in Western medicine and urges readers toward a broader understanding of drug use and abuse. Leavitt shows how and why American society must change its medical and policy approaches to drugs and re-orient medical practice to new ways of thinking.

    Robert and Danny Sand were two young brothers who had grown to hate authority. Laurie Bell was a struggling junkie with a fatal attraction to Robert Sand. Together, the trio embarked on a ruthless cross—country crime spree, leaving behind a trail of victims in their violent wake. In Nowhere to Run, crime reporter Mike McIntyre takes you to the scene of the chilling crime, into the hearts of the victim’s family and into the minds of the perpetrators, capturing every twist and turn of the case from the cold—blooded murder to the sensational trial.

    But few, including Chris, had seen Liysa's other side -- her controlling behavior and dark moods, her insatiable hunger for money and property. And no one anticipated the fatal outcome of a family camping trip in an Oregon forest. Liysa soon revealed herself as a victim of domestic abuse that culminated at the campsite, where she shot Chris in self-defense. But crime scene evidence led detectives to wonder if Liysa was a killer, not a victim. Her controversial trial stunned all who thought they knew her. A lifetime of sociopathic manipulations and lies had been expertly hidden behind her façade of perfection -- as was her rage to destroy any obstacle to her ultimate happiness, even if it was the man she vowed to love forever.

    A chapter is devoted to each murder featured. Kevin Turton covers not only the events and subsequent investigation but also the trial of the killer and public reaction to the crime.

    Six died. Despite the fact that the crimes occurred in a state that prides itself on being tough on criminals, the death penalty was not an option for the Belachheb jury. Even though he had committed six murders, and his guilt was never in question (despite his insanity defense), his crimes were not capital murders under 1984 statutes. As a direct result of this crime, during the 1985 regular session the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 8—the “multiple murder” statute—to make serial killing and mass murder capital crimes. Belachheb’s case serves as an excellent example to explore capital punishment and the insanity defense. Furthermore, Belachheb’s easy entry into the United States (despite his violent record in Europe) highlights our contemporary fear over lax immigration screening and subsequent terrorism. The case is unique in that debate usually arises from an execution. Belachheb was given life imprisonment and is currently under maximum security—a fate some would argue is “worse than death.” He is scheduled to have his first parole hearing in 2004, the twentieth anniversary of his crime.

    From the Yorkshire Witch, Mary Bateman, to the shocking murder of Barbara Waterhouse and the resurrectionists of the 1830s, the book attempts to look through the horror and bloodshed and into the social and personal circumstances in which these crimes took place. Mary Bateman and Charlie Peace in particular, achieved national notoriety, the rest of the cases have been long forgotten, until now!"

    Full description

    This title focuses on the changes to NSW criminal laws after these murders.16 b&w photos

    But this act of wanton terrorism was only the tip of the iceberg. This book reveals the terrible truth about this man. In 1997, the walls of Copeland's bedroom were decorated with pictures of terrorist attacks and massacres. He would lurk around Soho sex shops looking for snuff videos. He was a member of not only the National Front, but also the White Wolves, one of the most sinister, evil Nazi organizations in living memory. Here he became exposed to witchcraft, black magic and satanism. It was only a matter of time before he would embark upon a campaign of terror that would strike fear into the heart of a nation.

    Academicians in the fields of criminology, sociology, history, political science and African-American Studies will find the book compelling and important. This book provides the first sociological analysis to date of Philadelphia's infamous "Black Mafia" which has organized crime (with varying degrees of success) in predominantly African-American sections of the city dating back to the late 1960's. Philadelphia's 'Black Mafia' -is a first step in developing both data and sophisticated theoretical propositions germane to the ongoing study of organized crime; -uses primary source documents, including confidential law enforcement files, court transcripts and interviews; -explores the group's activities in detail, depicting some of the most notorious crimes in Philadelphia's history; -thoroughly examines the organization of the Black Mafia and the group's alliances, conspiracies and conflicts; -challenges many of the current historical and theoretical assumptions regarding organized crime.

    Kennedy was murdered in Dallas in 1963, researchers have laid the blame on everyone from organized crime to shadowy government officials. The Kennedy Assassination explains the various facts and theories surrounding the assassination so that the reader may draw informed conclusions about this cataclysmic historical event.

    Once England's second city, it is built on a thousand years of bloodshed, from war to noble rebellion, death has tracked the city's footsteps.The foul deeds and suspicious deaths that are included in these pages, start with the details of the early history of punishment in York and close with the city's only unsolved murder. From 1800–1946 covers the period that saw York slide from Georgian splendor to an overpopulated, seething walled slum, before re-emerging after World War Two. 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in York' tells the story of some of the city's darkest moments: from Hanging Bishops to Sweet Toothed Poisoners; Insane Arsonists to Murder of the most foul kind.Take a journey into the darker and unknown side of your area as you read 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in York'.

    In addition to her personal saga, the book presents added material listing expert opinions, information, and resources, serving as supportive and reinforcing background for her experiences.

    More than 16 young boys throughout the Midwest, California, Oklahoma and Arizona had disappeared under very similar circumstances and at least 14 had been discovered murdered. This pedophile predator had made the Midwest his killing field from 1972 until 1979 when a handful of dedicated lawmen finally caught his track. These lawmen, from 7 states and many different agencies, joined forces to hunt this predator down before he could kill again. Slayer of Innocence is a true narrative account of that desperate struggle.

    Get a glimpse into a world that few people outside the law enforcement profession really understand. In his own words, this veteran police officer shares his perspectives and draws you into his experiences with a delightful mixture of intelligence, compassion, candid familiarity, and tongue in cheek humor. Add a dash of irreverent sarcasm and the classic cynicism you might expect from a grizzled veteran officer, and you have this truly gripping and entertaining work. Feel the passion that pulses through every page as you read through a collection of short stories that chronicle a broad spectrum of everyday police work from the mundane to the bizarre and the hilarious to the heartbreaking. Experience through riveting first hand accounts both triumphs and tragedies that afford the reader a unique insight into what it�s like, and what it takes to be a real American cop.

    Lees discovered his great talent for solving crimes and catching criminals. He captured stage robbers in Missouri, tracked con men to New York and caught the notorious eastern bank robber, Jimmy Hope in the middle of a San Francisco heist.San Francisco in the 1850’s, was the gateway to the gold fields, a city filled with adventurers, outlaws, con men and desperadoes of every description. In 1853 Isaiah Lees was appointed the first Chief of Detectives on the new Police Force and during nearly fifty years he acquired an amazing record. An innovator of police methods, Lees easily eclipsed such legendary lawman as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. When he retired as chief in 1900, the San Francisco Chronicle stated that “in point of service, no one has ever equaled the record of Lees.” He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time, and this is his exciting, true story, told here for the first time.

    Simmons, a fifty-year-old tavern keeper and farmer, was hanged in Detroit for murdering his wife, Levana Simmons, in a drunken, jealous rage. Michigan executed only two people during the fifty-year period, from 1796 to 1846, when the death penalty was legal within its boundaries. Simmons was the second and last person to be executed under Michigan law. In A Hanging in Detroit David G. Chardavoyne vividly evokes not only the crime, trial, and execution of Simmons, but also the setting and players of the drama, social and legal customs of the times, and the controversy that arose because of the affair. Chardavoyne illuminates his account of this important moment in Michigan's history with many little-known facts, creating a study that is at once an engrossing story and the first historical examination of the event that helped bring about the abolition of the death penalty in Michigan.

    Entries include important figures such as famous and infamous wardens, notable prisoners, prisons, escapes, prison riots, fires, prison security, convict labour, scandals and triumphs, terminology, and more.

    It is a reflection on the crime of murder: how the crime affected the community, the families of the victims and how the crime was solved. The story takes you from the time the killer was a child up to and including his commission of the crime, his arrest, trial, conviction and sentencing. It involves the process of the investigation as seen through the eyes of the author, who was one of the investigating detectives. It relates how, like the work of a jigsaw puzzler, the detectives gathered, analyzed and put the pieces of the puzzle together to bring the investigation to it's ultimate conclusion. Russell Smrekar, a college student, commits a theft of a few dollars worth of meat from a super market. In order to save himself from punishment he determines to eliminate all witnesses against him. In his resolve to carry out his plan not only are people murdered, but also others are made to disappear never to be seen again. Read how a small town police department working incooperation with other agencies solved a heinous crime and the methods used to bring a killer to justice. The book details not only how investigations were carried out by routine police work, but also by use of the para-normal bordering on the occult.

    Drew Mackenzie was the News of the World's crime correspondent, and in Sunday Bloody Sunday he offers a gripping collection of Britain's most terrifying and shocking crimes. In The Spanish Connection, undercover agent John Lightfoot was living a luxurious life on the Costa del Sol among drug barons, gaining the confidence of some of the worlds most dangerous men. Violent retribution was a constant threat, and more than once his life was in mortal danger. This is the true story of false promises, betrayal, and intrigue that is all part of the dirty war being fought daily against drugs in the UK.

    The original leader of the group was Henry Starr, the Cherokee bandit, who claimed to have robbed more banks than any man. Upon his death, a middle-age storekeeper along with an audacious young war hero named Ed Lockhart took over the helm. In a time when most Americans were captivated by the "Teapot Dome" scandal, the death of President Harding, and the gridiron adventures of Notre Dame's "Four Horsemen," folks living in the Ozark Mountains watched with fear and fascination as the outlaw band committed their bold depravations. Although the gang's take rarely amounted to over $2,000, it must be remembered the average yearly income for a family of five in 1922 amounted to $2,100. A gallon of gas cost eleven-cents and a loaf of bread fetched only nine pennies. The outlaw horde eventually met their match when they collided with such notable lawmen as Mont Grady, the Choctaw Indian manhunter with nerves of steel, and Cherokee County Deputies Jay Fellows and Jerry Powell, who rode horseback forty-eight hours in blizzard conditions without the benefit of food or rest in a dogged pursuit of the lawbreakers. Although members of the bandit gang received a great deal of notoriety from their illicit adventures, it was these officers and the ordinary citizens of towns such as Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Stroud, Oklahoma who took up arms and fought the outlaws to a standstill, who proved to be the real heroes of the story. This account, which takes place in the "Roaring '20s," is meant to serve as a prelude to the author's first book, The Bad Boys of the Cookson Hills, which chronicled the activities of another band of outlaws who launched a prolific series of attacks on nearly two-dozen banks in Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas during the 1930s depression era. This second "Cookson Hills" Gang was headquartered in the same geographic area as the earlier version noted in this narrative and some of the characters involved with the original outfit were active members of the latter group.

    Keppel and Birnes take readers inside the operations of serial killer task forces to learn why. What is the underlying psychology of a serial killer and why this defeats task force investigations?This is the first book of its kind that combines state-of-the-art psychological assessment experience with the expertise of a homicide investigator who has tracked some of this country's most notorious serial killers. The author also brings to the book hands-on best practices gleaned from the experience of other task forces.Readers, both professionals and students, will benefit from the comprehensive and critical case reviews, the analysis of what went wrong, what went right, and the after-action recommendations of evaluators in the US, UK, and Canada.The book covers: * The nature of the psychology of a serial killer * How crime assessment profiling reveals that psychology * Why psychological profiles fail * How serial killer task forces defeat themselves * How the media can, and usually does, undermine the task force operation * The big secret of all serial killer investigations: police already have the killer's name * The best practices for catching a serial killer

    on January 21, 1998, in Escondido California, a picturesque city near San Diego. The incessant buzzing of her granddaughter's alarm clock awakened Judith Kennedy. She wondered why Stephanie's alarm wouldn't stop. It was a school day. Had Stephanie overslept? Judith Kennedy went to Stephanie's room to investigate. To her horror, she found her granddaughter on the floor in the entryway to her bedroom. Stephanie did not move. She lay in a pool of blood. Twelve-year-old Stephanie Crowe had been stabbed to death. She died while trying to make her way into the hall to seek help. She had been stabbed nine times. The medical examiner ruled that Stephanie's death was a homicide. How could this brutal murder have happened in Escondido, where violent crime is rare and murder is almost nonexistent? The crime was mysterious, There did not appear to be any evidence of forced entry and there was no evidence of theft. Who would want to kill Stephanie? And why? Who would have the opportunity to kill her in her own bedroom in the middle of the night? How could the rest of her family have slept through such a brutal attack? A peaceful community, a horrendous crime, and mysterious circumstances, These elements and more - including actual testimony from the investigation - will intrigue anyone who wants to know more about who killed Stephanie Crowe.

    This edition has a new afterword that includes information regarding Katie and John Bender long after they fled Kansas in the 1870s.

    The scenic landscape of Chesterfield presents a pleasant face to it's visitors, but a study of it's past shows that it has often been a dangerous place to live. Exploring a catalogue of crimes, some of which are little known while others still claim media attention today. 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Chesterfield' has a blood stained thread of crime that is followed from the 'Parish Church Murders of 1422' through later centuries to such crimes as 'A Scandalous Assault 1875' and 'You have Kicked me to Death 1882'. What unfolds is a dark chronology of the criminal past of Chesterfield. Take a journey into the darker side of your area as you read 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Chesterfield'.

    From the "Phantom Killer" that haunted Texarkana in teh mid-1940s to the day of terror in 1991 when a crazed man began spraying bullets into Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, author Carlton Stowers recoutns the infamy and infamous from the crime files of Texas.

    This true story reveals the series of blunders that forced 4-year-old Andy Setzer into a one-way slaughter-chute of foster care -- and straight into the "protective custody" of murderers.