On August 4 2002, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman disappeared. For the next thirteen days, their families, the police, and the local community searched for them, while the nation watched in horrified suspense.Holly was a talented ten-year-old girl. Her parents, Kevin and Nicola, were certain she would be the first member of their family to go to university. Almost two weeks after Holly and Jessica went missing, their bodies were found – dumped in a ditch and badly burned. Two days later, Ian Huntley was charged with their murders.In the terrible weeks that followed, Kevin started to make notes, fearful that he might forget important details. Goodbye, Dearest Holly tells the story of the nightmare that began on August 4th, from the moment it became clear that Holly and Jessica were missing, through the long investigation and its aftermath. An unflinching tale of surviving tragedy, Kevin’s diaries tell of battles with the media, police bureaucracy and the legal system. The book includes a gripping account of the trial and convictions of Huntley and Maxine Carr. Above all, Goodbye, Dearest Holly is a loving final act of fatherhood.In this updated edition of Kevin Wells’ best-selling book, which includes a new chapter, he tells how his family continue with their lives ten years on from Holly’s death. It is the moving and emotional story of one family’s battle to regain some semblance of normality.Praise for Goodbye, Dearest Holly:'A brutally honest account of what happens when innocence meets evil. Kevin Wells’ book is about a father’s love, a family’s loss and a nation’s horror. If you want to know the true story of Soham then read it.’ Mail on Sunday

    She spoke to her mother, Sharon Rocha, at 8:30 p.m. that night. This would be the last time anyone from her immediate family ever spoke to her.A search began which lasted an agonizing four months. Sadly, Laci Peterson and her son Conner were found dead on the shores of San Francisco Bay on April 18, 2003.Her husband, Scott, was eventually arrested and charged with the murder of Laci and Connor. After a sensational, media-saturated trial, Peterson was found guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death on March 16, 2005.This book deals with the story in three separate sections: first, Sharon describes the ordinary, loving life her daughter led, including fond memories of her childhood and adolescence. Second, it covers her marriage, disappearance, the community's moving search for her, and her and Connor's eventual recovery from San Francisco Bay. Third, it tells the story of the trial in detail not before revealed. Sharon will also talk about victim's rights, a subject on which she now campaigns regularly.From the Hardcover edition.

    When a "confidential informant" made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement.Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully "patched-in" member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he had unprecedented access to evidence of their criminal activity. After Queen spent twenty-eight months as "Billy St. John," the bearded, beer-swilling, Harley-riding gang-banger, the truth of his identity became blurry, even to himself.During his initial "prospecting" phase, Queen was at the mercy of crank-fueled criminal psychopaths who sought to have him test his mettle and prove his fealty by any means necessary, from selling (and doing) drugs, to arms trafficking, stealing motorcycles, driving getaway cars, and, in one shocking instance, stitching up the face of a Mongol "ol' lady" after a particularly brutal beating at the hands of her boyfriend.Yet despite the constant criminality of the gang, for whom planning cop killings and gang rapes were business as usual, Queen also came to see the genuine camaraderie they shared. When his lengthy undercover work totally isolated Queen from family, his friends, and ATF colleagues, the Mongols felt like the only family he had left. "I had no doubt these guys genuinely loved Billy St. John and would have laid down their lives for him. But they wouldn't hesitate to murder Billy Queen."From Queen's first sleight of hand with a line of methamphetamine in front of him and a knife at his throat, to the fearsome face-off with their decades-old enemy, the Hell's Angels (a brawl that left three bikers dead), to the heartbreaking scene of a father ostracized at Parents' Night because his deranged-outlaw appearance precluded any interaction with regular citizens, Under and Alone is a breathless, adrenaline-charged read that puts you on the street with some of the most dangerous men in America and with the law enforcement agents who risk everything to bring them in.

    For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals and generational changes that produced violent and unreliable leaders and recruits. A twenty year assault against the five families in particular blossomed into the most successful law enforcement campaign of the last century. Five Families is the vivid story of the rise and fall of New York's premier dons from Lucky Luciano to Paul Castellano to John Gotti and more. The book also brings the reader right up to the possible resurgence of the Mafia as the FBI and local law enforcement agencies turn their attention to homeland security and away from organized crime.

    His frozen body was found three days later, eight kilometres from where he was last seen in downtown Saskatoon. The police investigation was cursory — no one seemed to wonder about the abrasions on his wrists or the scrapes on his face, or the fact that he was missing a shoe. Neil was drunk and out walking, the police believed, and had died by misadventure. His mother, Stella Bignell, tried her best to push for answers, but no one in authority wanted to listen to a native woman whose sons had often been in trouble with the law.But Stella did not give up, and neither did the only witness, sixteen-year-old Jason Roy, who had seen Neil, beaten and bleeding, in the back of a Saskatoon police cruiser the night he disappeared. Starlight Tour recounts their struggle for justice in the face of indifferent officials, destroyed police files and institutionalized racism. In the decade following Neil’s death, rumours persisted that police sometimes drove natives beyond the edge of town and abandoned them. But it was only in January 2000, when two more men were found frozen to death, that the truth about Neil Stonechild’s fate began to emerge. A third man, Darrell Night, survived his “starlight tour,” and lived to tell the tale. And soon one of the country’s most prominent aboriginal lawyers, Donald Worme, was on the case.With exclusive co-operation from the Stonechild family, Worme, and other key players, and information not yet revealed in the press coverage, The Starlight Tour is an engrossing and damning portrait of rogue cops, racism, obstruction of justice and justice denied, not only to a boy and his mother but to the entire country’s native community.

    in a second conspiracy to commit murder.

    It is a message from a 12-foot by 9-foot cell in a cinderblock building surrounded by coils of razor wire in the middle of a dirt field in Arkansas. It was written by a young man named Damien Echols and it chronicles his life and his experiences in a way that clearly illuminates him, not as a monster, but as a human being. For over 10 years Damien has been an inmate on death row for a crime he did not commit. He, along with Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley have become known as The West Memphis Three, and though the story of their arrest and conviction is widely known, most people don't know the real people behind the sound bites and the TV news segment clips. Damien has spent much of his time behind bars diligently maintaining his integrity and his sanity by writing. Almost Home is the product of that self-discipline, and in it you will meet someone who has survived an ordeal many of us would find impossible to live through. killer, but as time passes and more facts rise to the surface, it becomes even more clear that he is the victim of a peculiar species of hysteria. Read this book and know the truth about him. It is an urgent message from death row; the whole story of who Damien Echols really is.

    Drawing on extensive interviews with key witnesses and lead investigators, as well as secret evidence files that never made it to trial, Crier traces Scott's bizarre behavior; shares dozens of transcripts of Scott's chilling and incriminating phone conversations; offers accounts of Scott's womanizing from two former mistresses before Amber Frey; and includes scores of never-before-seen police photos, documents, and other evidence.The result is thoroughly engrossing yet highly disturbing -- an unforgettable portrait of a charming, yet deeply sociopathic, killer.

    Six months later, she was dead. Jeff and Jill Cahill seemed to have it all. Two kids, a dog, a nice house of the picket fence variety. But their relationship wasn't as happy as it seemed. Jeff and Jill had been having serious financial problems and were headed towards divorce, legally separated but living in the same house until Jill could afford to move out. But on April 21, 1996 Jeff and Jill had a torrid argument while their kids were upstairs sleeping. In the aftermath, Jeff claimed that his wife had started stabbing him with a kitchen knife - and that was the reason for his taking a Louisville slugger straight to her head. She lay in a coma for nearly six months, and just as she started to show signs of coming out of it.... she received a visitor.On October 27th of that same year, staffers at the University Hospital in Syracuse New York, noticed a strange-looking guy lurking in the hallway wearing a wig and outdoor boots. When Jill's nurse went to check on her patient, she found her gasping for air, with bruises around her mouth, and white powder (later to be determined as cyanide) flecked across her chest.

    The operation, a federally-funded investigation performed in cooperation with the local authorities, was based on the work of one notoriously unreliable undercover officer. At trial, the prosecution relied almost solely on the uncorroborated, and contradictory, testimony of that officer, Tom Coleman. Despite the flimsiness of the evidence against them, virtually all of the defendants were convicted and given sentences as high as ninety-nine years. Tom Coleman was named a Texas Lawman of the Year for his work.Tulia is the story of this town, the bust, the trials, and the heroic legal battle that ultimately led to the reversal of the convictions in the summer of 2003. Laws have been changed in Texas as a result of the scandal, and the defendants have earned a measure of bittersweet redemption. But the story is much bigger than the tale of just one bust. As Tulia makes clear, these events are the latest chapter in a story with themes as old as the country itself. It is a gripping, marvelously well-told tale about injustice, race, poverty, hysteria, and desperation in rural America.

    Evans, a career criminal, master of disguise, prolific thief, and serial killer.

    In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and untouchable Southie legend. Stretching from the earliest New York and New Orleans street wars through decades of bootlegging scams, union strikes, gang wars, and FBI investigations, Paddy Whacked is a riveting tour de force that restores the Irish American gangster to his rightful preeminent place in our criminal history -- and penetrates to the heart of the American experience.

    The coverage is supported by extensive data and research, and it profiles some of the most prominent murderers of our time. Author Eric Hickey examines the lives of over 400 serial murderers, analyzing the cultural, historical, and religious factors that influence our myths and stereotypes of these individuals. He then describes the biological, psychological, and sociological reasons for serial murder, offering his own Trauma-Control model for explaining serial murder behavior.

    But how could he have drowned when the water level was only four feet deep? And why was his body covered with cuts and bruises from head to toe?Wicked StepmotherSuspicion soon fastened on the dead boy's stepmother, Jessica Schwarz, who boastfully described herself as "loud and crude." She was a brute and a bully--but was she a torturer and child killer? Investigators unearthed a pattern of nightmarish physical and mental abuse that she had inflicted on the boy, one that left even hardened police sleuths sickened.Day Of ReckoningDuring her trials, Jessica Schwarz was smugly defiant, until convictions for criminal child abuse and second degree murder wiped the smirk off her face. She is now serving a seventy-year prison term. Carol J. Rothgeb, author of Hometown Killer, and Scott H. Cupp, the prosecutor who successfully convicted Jessica Schwarz, now tell the riveting inside story of how a brutal killer's reign of terror was finally brought to an end.

    She stood to make millions, but it wasn't the money that made Ted's friends suspicious: Generosa Ammon had a history of violent outbursts and bizarre obsessions.BUT EVEN HIS WEALTH AND POWER…A talented interior decorator, Generosa had fashioned a lavish lifestyle for her husband and their two children, divided between Fifth Avenue, the Long Island estate, and a manor house in England. But when Generosa discovered Ted had a mistress, her demons were unleashed…COULDN'T SAVE HIM…She began a very public affair with Danny Pelosi, a strikingly handsome womanizer who was also her electrician. She called him her "tool belt guy." But he was also an ex-con who was suspected of playing a pivotal role in Ted's murder and the final destruction of a once-perfect family.In Almost Paradise, New York Times bestselling author Kieran Crowley, who has covered the Ammon case from the time it broke, recreates the three tumultuous lives that intersected fatally in East Hampton that fall.

    Frantic, Lisa’s family and friends mounted a tireless search for the missing 18-year old across three states. The answer to Lisa’s disappearance was found a week later in the icy waters of the North Platte River. The first search was one of love and futility. After Lisa was found murdered, a second search was launched. A search for justice. Ron and Sheila Kimmell were determined to find their daughter's murderer despite the many jurisdictional and bureaucratic obstacles they encountered. It would take years before the mystery unraveled and the Kimmell's discovered truths more horrifying than anyone could imagine. Numerous similar homicides remain unsolved in the western states. Are they connected in some way? Can Ron Sheila's relentless pursuit for justice help find answers for other families?

    This book tells for the first time the story from a police perspective. For ten years, the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Superintendent John Bennett QPM, has refused to tell his story. Now, together with BBC journalist Graham Gardner, he reveals the full story of how the West's were caught, how the case was prepared and how it nearly failed to come to court. This book chronicles the roles of those who brought down two of Britain's most infamous killers, shedding light on the real heroes of one of the saddest chapters of criminal history. It explores the court processes, the complications of Rose West's trial, her unsuccessful appeal and the difficulty of dealing with witnesses in such a traumatic case. On one level, this is a story of the triumph of good over evil; on another it is a detailed documentation of how a murder investigation really works - the pressures, the commitment and the physical and emotional drain on those who carry out this work.

    Even in works of fiction, the detective has been far more widely represented than his or her counterparts in the lab. Then, in 1994, two events dramatically heightened the public's awareness of the scientists behind the scenes: the advent of reliable DNA identification and the trial of ex-football star O.J. Simpson. Now, the field of forensics is one of the fastest-growing in the scientific community, and the exploits of the multitalented men and women who use science to unravel crimes are widely celebrated in novels, movies, and on television. Body in Question takes a comprehensive look at the meticulous work and cutting-edge science that go into solving crime today. It examines the broad scope of contemporary forensics, shedding light on the history, technology, and application of each particular specialty the discipline encompasses: microbiology, biochemistry, entomology, and physics, to name just a few. Also included are hundreds of photographs and illustrations (some of them quite graphic) of the pioneering scientists, ingenious criminals, and scientific breakthroughs and processes that are all part of the fascinating history of forensics. In Body in Question, author Brian Innes has rendered the challenging technical terrain of forensics accessible to everyone, regardless of scientific background. The application of each branch of forensics is illustrated with accounts of numerous real, and some fictional, cases that show the science at work. With a foreword by Ronald Singer, President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Packed with hundreds of photographs, many of them published here for the first time, this book provides an indispensable overview of forensics today.

    From Martin Luther King to Nicole Brown Simpson, from Marilyn Monroe to Errol Flynn, from John F. Kennedy to Charlie Chaplin: the most celebrated personalities in the annals of true crime are featured in the first part of this collection.In the second part, Haines offers a fascinating compendium of some of the strangest murderers imaginable: killers who boil their victims, strangle them with upholstery cord, or slash their chests with a cross.In the third part, originally published as Murder Most Foul, Haines showcases more than fifty murderers from eleven countries. Jerry Rosenberg earned a law degree while serving a forty-year sentence and went on to enjoy a lively practice representing other prisoners. Armed robbery convict Norman “Red” Ryan so reformed himself that Canadian parole laws were changed to enable his early release. These are among the many weird and wacky criminal cases included in this volume.The Collected Works of Max Haines, Volume 5, is a testament to the author's skill at giving new life to old crimes and a reminder that truth is always stranger than fiction.

    . . . Griffin richly documents the Black Mafia’s organization, outreach and over-the-top badness.”—Philadelphia Inquirer“Griffin’s reporting on the Black Mafia and its interaction with law enforcement, the Nation of Islam and the Italian mob is fascinating.”—Philadelphia Weekly“A confident chronicle of Philly’s Black Mafia, the decades-long collaboration among drug dealers, Muslim clerics and local politicians.”—Philadelphia Magazine“A richly detailed narrative of the murderous history of the city’s first African-American crime syndicate.”—Philadelphia Daily News“A great, sprawling epic.”—Duane Swierczynski, editor-in-chief, Philadelphia City Paper“If you’re a crime buff, a history lover, or if you just want something fascinating to read, it’s a book you can’t refuse.”—Terri Schlichenmeyer, syndicated reviewer and host of www.BookWormSez.com“I couldn’t put this book down.”—Keith Murphy, award-winning broadcaster and host of “The Urban Journal” on XM Radio’s The Power“Sean Patrick Griffin has given us a really extensive look into the Black Mafia . . . and has produced one of best pieces of research on the underworld . . . that I have ever seen.”—Elmer Smith, “The Exchange,” 1340AM WHAT“The book is incredible . . . amazing stuff.”—Dom Giordano, radio host, 1210AM WPHT“Sean Patrick Griffin, in surreal detail, lays out the twist and turns, the political and religious associations . . . a guaranteed chilling read.”—The Melting Pot “Searing, unrelenting and ruthlessly precise, a nose-in-the-bloodstains account of the violence that splattered black Philadelphia in the late 60s and early 70s.”—Henry Schipper, producer of “Philly Black Mafia” in the “American Gangster” TV seriesThe Black Mafia is one of the bloodiest crime syndicates in modern US history. From its roots in Philadelphia’s ghettos in the 1960’s, it grew from a rabble of street toughs to a disciplined, ruthless organization based on fear and intimidation. Known in its “legitimate” guise as Black Brothers Inc, it held regular meetings, appointed investigators, treasurers and enforcers, and controlled drug dealing, loan-sharking, numbers rackets, armed robbery and extortion.Its ferocious crew of gunmen was led by Sam Christian, the most feared man on Philly’s streets. They developed close ties with the influential Nation of Islam and soon were executing rivals, extorting bookies connected to the city’s powerful Cosa Nostra crew, and cowing local gangs. Police say the Black Mafia was responsible for over forty killings, the most chilling being the massacre of two adults and five children in a feud between rival religious factions. Despite the arrests that followed, they continued their rampage, exploiting their ties to prominent lawyers and civil rights leaders. Convictions and sentences eventually shattered their strength—only for the crack-dealing Junior Black Mafia to emerge in their wake.Author Sean Griffin, a former Philadelphia police officer turned university professor, conducted scores of interviews and gained access to informant logs, witness statements, wiretaps and secret FBI files to make Black Brothers Inc. the most detailed account ever of an African American organized crime mob, and a landmark investigation into the modern urban underworld.

    This book gives a warts and all portrayal of the gangster."

    Sara Payne's Haunting words as she announced that the body of her daughter - snatched and murdered by paedophile, Roy Whiting - had finally been found. In this heart-rending memoir, Sara tells her personal story. She describes to hear news of her missing daughter, and the terrible moment when her worst fears became reality. She Explains how she and her family tried to cope with their grief and the stress placed upon them by the media campaign for Sarah's Law. As the family struggled to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of tragedy, they found that each reminded the other of the child they had lost. Guilt and anger pushed Sara's Marriage into a spiral of alcohol abuse and violence.

    Over the past five years, he has written powerfully about prison life for the Guardian. The Home Stretch picks up where the enormously popular A Life Inside left off. Like his previous book, this does not glorify wrongdoing, nor does it seek to justify the crimes of its author or any other prisoners. However, with one eye to the outside world, this book sets out to answer some of the questions raised by his first collection of articles. James considers the nature of freedom, and what exactly his life will look like when he is eventually released. He also talks candidly—and with great wit—about the unexpected way the world has changed during his imprisonment. This book asks how someone who has been imprisoned for so long deals with a life beyond the prison gates.

    Includes photos. Within the pages of this book are some of the most notorious and often baffling cases in Leicestershire’s history—from the appalling double murder at Melton Mowbray in 1856, known locally as the Peppermint Billy murders, to the 1953 murderer Joseph Reynolds, who killed because he wanted to know how it felt. This book explores the cases that dominated the headlines, not only across the city and surrounding county but also nationwide. These are the stories from a time when murder was a capital offense and guilt or innocence was proven without the benefit of modern forensic technique or DNA profiling. Included also are some of those mysterious cases that will remain forever unsolved, as in the now famous case of Bella Wright. Known across the whole country as the Green Bicycle Murder, it commanded public attention in 1919 because of the complex and puzzling nature of the crime—and has continued to do so ever since.

    Throughout the book, renowned experts James Alan Fox and Jack Levin examine the theories of criminal behavior and apply them to a multitude of well-known and lesser-known multiple homicide cases from around the world. The book shows readers the commonalities and variations among multiple murders; addresses the characteristics of both killers and their victims; and, in the concluding chapter, discusses the special concerns of multiple murder victims and their survivors.

    Author uses recently discovered information in this book to present a new view of Moran.

    Two sons of the notorious Kath 'Granny Evil' Pettingill had been acquitted of killing two young policemen in the Walsh Street outrage, and so any attempt to pursue them would not only be dangerous but easily portrayed as persecution.Along comes undercover cop Lachlan McCulloch. Through a chance encounter with an underworld insider who knew the drug-pushing Pettingill crew, Lachlan McCulloch had the opportunity to infiltrate them. Senior officers knew they were sending him into danger - but the chance was too good to miss.Lachlan McCulloch spent months befriending the people who had killed his comrades, knowing they would kill him without compunction. But he lived to tell the tale. Finally, he can tell it!

    The Camm's lived the American Dream. They had what seemed like a loving marriage, a nice little house with a white picket fence, and two adorable children. To top it all off, David Camm was a pillar of the community who had dedicated his career to the enforcement of the law and the sanctity of human life. Then, this happened.Three days later, it got worse when police arrested David Camm for the triple murder. Soon, new stories started emerging: stories about mistresses and violent bursts of temper. And as the ugly truth about the Camms' marriage got uglier and the evidence against David started piling up, two families-and the community at large-took positions at opposite sides of a yawning and bitter divide.Was David Camm a dedicated, conscientious public servant-the victim of unspeakable tragedy, railroaded by an unfair system? Or was he a cold-hearted murderer who earned his three murder convictions and every one of the 195 years behind bars to which he was sentenced?Investigative journalist John Glatt finds out in this gripping new book.

    This book tells the painful story of Hedda's 12 years with Steinberg, how she went from quiet book editor to notorious battered woman blamed for her daughter's death because she didn't "get out" soon enough. But, as the title suggests, Hedda not only survived the double abuse, but grew strong in the process and went on to become an advocate for other battered women - writing and speaking, teaching women how to stay out of and/or to survive intimate terrorism. In her Prologue, Ms. Nussbaum states the book's primary purpose: "I pray that my story be an inspiration to women to see the truth before it's too late and to use their inner strength to save their own lives and those of their children. If this book saves just one child or one mother, I will be content. If it saves even more, I will be fulfilled." Ms. Nussbaum is a former senior editor at Random House and the author of the children's books Plants Do Amazing Things and Animals Build Amazing Homes.

    Stewart Evans here takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the world of Victorian crime and punishment. Berry was a man of mystery. He took a genuine interest in his 'victims' and the crimes they had committed. As an amateur criminologist he built his own black museum and kept scrapbooks relating to his activities. He was also something of a showman, and not averse to publicity, whose press coverage caused the government acute embarrassment. was often too upset before and after one of his 200 executions to be able to speak. One of his most famous (non) jobs was the strange case of John Lee ('The man they could not hang'). When Berry pulled the lever on the gallows nothing happened. After three attempts, Lee was reprieved. There were also a few horrific incidents on the gallows and his job evidently had its effect on him as, in retirement, Berry became so depressed that he took steps to commit suicide.

    Fake identities. Drugs. Cash. Danger. All in a day's work for a Drug Squad cop Made infamous by tV series Underbelly and Underbelly: A tale of two Cities, the Australian underworld has been exposed. UNDERCOVER is the story of an undercover detective working to infiltrate the Australian drug scene. Damian Marrett's penetrating yet darkly comic insights and astonishing candour provides the real story behind bringing down the Griffith Mafia. After reluctantly joining the Victorian Police in 1986, Damian Marrett was handpicked four years later to work in a covert capacity for the Drug Squad. Marrett was so exceptionally talented that he was responsible for some of the biggest drug busts in Australian law enforcement history. the young detective is famously known for infiltrating the seemingly impenetrable Griffith Mafia, in an operation codenamed Afghan which is still regarded as Australia's most complex covert sting operation. Compelled to stay in character for long periods of time over the nine month operation, Marrett became the knockabout drug dealer Ben Gleeson. Operation Afghan concluded in a tense stand-off in country NSW where ten mafia gangsters were arrested on 36 separate drugs and firearms charges. the trial followed and eight were sentenced to 41 years of combined jail time. true crime addicts will find Marrett's account of his six years as an undercover agent organising dangerous stings in the criminal underworld a must-read. West Australian

    Dave Courtney's Little Black Book is back, and will tell you all you ever needed to know about gangsters and London's criminal under-world.Packed with amazing insider-knowledge:- Profiles of legends such as Reggie Kray and Ronnie Biggs- The tougher-than-tough women in Dave's world- Who made it - and who didn't- A dictionary of gangster speak

    Small had agreed to testify before the state legislature about gang violence inside Arizona State Prison and was murdered the day before his scheduled appearance. This murder proved the catalyst for an all-out war between the State of Arizona and the Aryan Brotherhood. Through five trials, Farmer claimed self-defense and the jurors acquitted all ten of his co-conspirators. Thornton Price, one of the defense attorneys, now tells how Farmer and Small became cannon fodder in this war to reclaim Arizona’s prisons from rival gangs. These gangs—the Aryan Brotherhood, the Mau Maus, and the Mexican Mafia—were suspected of committing more than a dozen murders over the previous two years, motivating politicians to crack down after the violence could no longer be ignored or contained. To reconstruct the case, Price reviewed 16,000 pages of court records and conducted interviews with key participants to piece together an insider’s account of the crime and the politics behind its investigation. Prison murders should be easy to solve, but investigators quickly learned that the convicts’ code of silence makes these cases often impossible to win in court.Price focuses on the special problems posed by prison crime by getting inside the skins of men like murderer Terry "Crazy" Farmer and William "Red Dog" Howard, one of the Florence Eleven and a founder of the Aryan Brotherhood. He also presents the perspectives of state investigators and reveals how they calculated to pit black witnesses against white killers until one black would break the code of silence and provoke feuding within the Brotherhood.Murder Unpunished tells how society’s most outrageous criminals ran the prison through gang violence as outside the walls Arizona struggled to outgrow its Wild West past. Like few other books, it reveals how prisons incubate predatory criminals and gangs, and it exposes the unique difficulties of prosecuting prison crimes. It is a gripping account that cuts to the heart of our penal system and a cautionary tale for citizens who prefer to keep prisons out of sight, out of mind.

    

    No apparent motive. Very few clues.While the devout Catholic family fought to piece their lives back together after the capture and trials of the killers of their daughter, they suddenly faced an unexpected opponent who would use their story in a religious-political spin that would take the world by surprise.Dead Family Walking sheds the truth about the life of the murder-rapist buried next to bishops, priests and nuns on sacred ground in a Baton Rouge cemetery and details of his forbidden death row intimacy no one was supposed to know about.

    

    Thieves!, the latest in the "True Stories from the Edge" series, brings ten exciting stories of master thieves and their master crimes.Willie Sutton was casing a bank when he noticed that the manager looked a lot like Sutton himself, so he walked into the vault, loaded up with banknotes, and calmly walked out. D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000 in payment, and parachuted from the aircraft. He was never captured.Other criminals in this book were no less brazen: Arthur Barry, the greatest jewel thief in American criminal history Vincente Perugia, who boldly stole one of the world's greatest art treasures Amil Dinsio, one of the most accomplished bank vault robbers in the U.S. Victor Desmarais and Leo Martial, a hapless duo who bungled their getaway James Landis, who stole two bricks of freshly printed banknotes from his employer -- the U.S. Treasury Adam Worth, the Napoleon of Crime the Great Train Robbers, who planned one of the largest heists of all time the five heisters of the Great Purolator Caper, whose ineptitude ensured captureReaders will find nothing but high-stakes action in Thieves!. Though many of the bandits ended their careers broke and disillusioned, these impresarios of crime make for great reading.

    This book gives details of Florida's most heinous sexual murder, and places readers right in the midst of the unfolding drama.

    That year, the widely publicized case of Mary Ellen Wilson - a nine-year-old girl who had been a prisoner in her tenement home, enduring unimaginable cruelty - drew national attention to child abuse and to the notion that children are entitlted to humane treatment. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) founder Henry Bergh and his attorney, Elbridge T. Gerry, intervened on behalf of the abused little girl." This examination of the case begins with a look at Mary Ellen Wilson's life and the events surrounding the case. It draws upon, and reproduces, numerous primary sources. Mary Ellen's famous court testimony, queries urging Henry Bergh's ASPCA to continue work on behalf of children, articles describing the courtroom scene, pleas from Mary Ellen's family appealing for her custody and published documentation of the trial itself are all offered here for the first time.This edition is out of print. Newer editions are titled "Case #1: The Mary Ellen Wilson Files".

    She spent six years as a profiler and was involved in 35 serial killer investigations, which she described in her first successful book, Catch Me A Killer. Now, in this comprehensive study of serial homicide, she offers vital information about the mind of the serial killer, including behavioural patterns and motives. This serious attempt to understand the serial killer can help stop them. For, as the author points out, a serial killer's prospect of rehabilitation is negative, and he must be removed from society for the remainder of his life. Includes a section of black and white photos of real crime scenes.

    

    A young girl waylaid and battered with a hedge stake while returning home from Mansfield on a warm summer evening. Four family members butchered in a blazing house just off Commercial Street. An old farmer repeatedly speared by a hayfork in the mire of a rural farmyard. A drunken housewife found murdered in a haystack at Worksop, a razor killing and suicide on Nottingham Road, and the mysterious woman’s skeleton discovered in the spoil of Sherwood Colliery tip. These, and other cases detailed here, show how often violent death has visited Mansfield and North Nottinghamshire in the past. Drawing on two hundred years of reported crime in Mansfield and the surrounding area, this account reveals the grim catalog of foul deeds, the variety of lethal weapons used—from a hedge stake to a mohair bootlace—and the age-old motives of greed, jealousy, forbidden desires, and thwarted love that have so often led men and women to murder.

    Not for him the flabby compromises shown to today's criminals. Kirby's methods lead straight into the underworld, meeting informants in often dangerous situations, gathering together intelligence before hitting the criminals hard, either when they're carrying out a crime or hauling them from their beds at an unwholesomely early hour. Whether it's the Kings Cross job that became the worst kept secret in London, or the case of the unhappy bigamist who burst into tears, Kirby tells things the only way he knows - no punches pulled. His tales of how life in the force used to be in the good old days are sometimes shocking, sometimes blackly funny, and always compelling.

    A Mission of gutsy sleuthwork through the unfathomable grief of personal loss to uncover the web of intrique and betrayal surrounding the events of that horrific day.

    Or was she? So little is known of this young woman, so thoroughly has she evaded all attempts at researching her life that, in all truth, there is very little we can actually say we know about her. Whilst research has led to significant advances in other areas of the Whitechapel crimes, she remains an enigma. This book pulls together what we can learn and reasonably infer about this most elusive victim of the most elusive killer in criminal history.

    In a highly unusual move, the police allowed her family to be involved in the investigation — as long as they didn't interfere with law enforcement. Over the next several years, Fran's sister Sherrie Gladden-Davis played a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, tracking Smith and his activities across the United States. She could go where police couldn't — and she dedicated herself to helping authorities get the evidence they needed to unravel the mystery of her sister's disappearance. My Sister Is Missing is Sherrie Gladden-Davis's harrowing account of the search for her sister's killer, and the inspiring story of her extraordinary path to justice.

    While the entire number of legal executions that took place in New Jersey will probably never be known, this book covers all documented executions conducted in or by the state from 1691 through 1963 (the last year any executions were carried out). Each entry includes the executed's name, age, gender, and race, a detailed account of the crime for which he or she was sentenced to death and information on the place and method of execution.

    

    In many cases murder, drugs or foul play are suspected -- in others the investigators are simply unable to account for the individuals or solve the mystery behind their disappearance. Among the police opinions some are published here for the first time.

    This updated and significantly expanded edition of Victims of Justice tells the pivotal story of Cruz and his two co-defendants after the 1983 murder of ten-year-old Jeanine Nicarico of Naperville, Illinois. The book follows the story from the day the crime occurred to the groundbreaking trial of seven law officers accused of conspiring to deny Cruz a fair trial.The kidnapping of Jeanine Nicarico from her quiet suburban home and her brutal slaying sparked a public demand for justice. But the longer authorities strove to execute Cruz and the two other men, the more evidence emerged that the defendants were innocent-and that the death penalty process in America itself was deeply flawed. Here is the start of a chain reaction that led to a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois and the clearing out of Death Row, as Illinois Governor George Ryan-worried about unfairness in death penalty convictions-granted clemency to all those awaiting execution. This is a detailed study of a nationally known case that should be cited whenever serious scholars examine how capital cases are prosecuted in America. Here is the most thorough investigation yet published into the background of the man who-after Cruz already was on Death Row-claimed to be the real killer.

    "When the People Were in Terror" by Norman Hastings republishes for the first time a comprehensive series of early 20th century articles about the impact the Whitechapel murders had on society, from the police investigation of the crimes to the fear that gripped the public. "The Murder in Cartin's Court" by Don Souden looks at how the early newspaper reports seriously bungled the facts of the death of Mary Jane Kelly, the fifth (and last) of the canonical five Ripper victims. "The London Police: The View from the Irish Press" by Alan Sharp examines how journalists reacted to the police investigation, concentrating on reports printed in Ireland. Other contents include Stewart P. Evans with new information on the legends that psychic Robert Lees solved the case, Wolf Vanderlinden looking for the meaning behind several contemporary newspaper reports, and several other short pieces. Ripper Notes is a nonfiction anthology series covering all aspects of the Jack the Ripper case.

    After hearing a scuffle, a neighbor arrived to find Trigg Maxwell lying unconscious on the kitchen floor as his family looked on. Within fifteen minutes Maxwell was dead - evidently from being bludgeoned. Edith and her mother, Ann, were indicted for his murder the next day." "Never Seen the Moon is the story of how an event local authorities dismissed as just another murder came to captivate newspaper readers across the country. The case also symbolized a national shift in attitudes toward women and their place in the world - particularly the issue of jury participation." "Edith claimed that her father had tried to whip her for staying out late. She had, she said, defended herself with a high-heeled shoe, thus earning the sobriquets "slipper slayer" and "curfew girl." Immediately granted celebrity status by the powerful Hearst newspaper syndicate, Maxwell was also championed as a martyr by advocates of women's causes. Claiming her actions to be a justified reaction to years of physical and verbal abuse, feminists regarded the case as the embodiment of the depression-era debate between modern and traditional values." "Maxwell's story would eventually be picked up by the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, and even detective magazines. Nationally known journalists, including Ernie Pyle, James Thurber, and Walter Winchell, commented on the case. Warner Brothers created a screen version of the story, and Eleanor Roosevelt helped in securing Maxwell's early release from prison." Never Seen the Moon presents a recreation of a young woman's wild ride through the legal system. It also examines the national press's stereotyped coverage of Appalachian culture and that coverage's effect on the outcome of the case. Hatfield's discussions of class and gender tensions in a developing region, the

    This lavishly-illustrated book is the first full-length study of a killing that shocked the nation but was to remain unsolved. Many suspects and motives have been put forward, with one theory even implicating Clark's own police colleagues.The authors were all born and bred in the Dagenham area, and have used original sources to uncover new facts and insights into this fascinating case. The action ranges from rural Essex to London's prisons and convict hulks, from the wilds of British Columbia to the Australian goldfields.Along the way we meet a cross-section of the early Victorian community, from the monarch herself down to the wretched victims of the 'Hungry 40s'.

    Andrew J. Spallek starts things off with a comprehensive look at the reasons why Montague John Druitt was named as the top suspect by a high-ranking police official at the time, as well as new information that has been discovered since then. Stewart P. Evans, author of several of the most respected books on the case and a former police officer, takes an in-depth professional look at George Hutchinson, who is sometimes considered a suspect because of the puzzling aspects of the witness statement he gave of a man seen with Mary Jane Kelly, the last of the Ripper's known victims, shortly before her death. Leanne Perry follows with details on Kelly's former lover Joseph Barnett, also believed by some to have been her killer, and the job he lost as a fish porter at Old Billingsgate Market. Wolf Vanderlinden tackles another high profile suspect, Dr. Francis Tumblety, while trying to get to the truth about some of the stories of his life that have always been considered to be damning evidence against him but appear to be quite different from how they have been previously portrayed. Jeffrey Bloomfield comes next with the life and crimes of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, the man whose executioner claimed was trying to admit to being Jack the Ripper while being hanged for the poisoning deaths of prostitutes in London's East End. Don Souden critically examines all the major witness to see how reliable they were in offering clues to the murderer's identity. Des McKenna compares the two differentversions of Tom Slemen's claims that Claude Reignier Conder should be considered to be Jack the Ripper. Tom Wescott then brings the main section to a close with a bang by revealing a largely forgotten contemporary suspect who has not been mentioned in print since the 19th century. There are also short pieces on various claims that the killer was locked up in an asylum and not prosecuted because of being insane, a look at the current state of Ripperology, and reviews of recent books. Ripper Notes is a nonfiction anthology series covering all aspects of the Jack the Ripper case.

    In West Auckland, over a period of twenty years during the middle of the nineteenth century, Mary Ann Cotton, to date Britain's most prolific serial killer, killed no fewer than twenty-one p... Full description

    The twin fascinations of death and villainy will always hold us in their grim but thrilling grip. In Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Guildford, the chill is brought close to home as each chapter investigates the darker side of humanity in cases of murder, deceit, and pure malice committed over the centuries in the area. From crimes of passion to opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of murder, the full spectrum of criminality is recounted, bringing to life the more sinister history of Guildford and the surrounding villages.

    

    Her analysis is based on an examination of the circumstances surrounding more than 100 cases recorded in the U.S. and elsewhere from the 17th century to the present. Particular attention is paid to the effect of gender bias in people's perceptions of criminal women. Scott teaches criminology at the U. of Ontario Institute of Technology. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

    It also tells the agonizing story of Joan McHugh, Robin's friend, who wrestled with issues of trust, loyalty and the value of friendship in the face of incriminating evidence. The Deadly Confidante is the culmination of years of tireless research; the author skillfully compiled reports, court records, police interviews and in-depth research in retelling the story. Was Robin Lee Row a compassionate mother or was she a cold and calculating killer? A provocative, must read true-crime story with an unforgettable outcome.

    Ten years after the massacre, Peter Sotos re-examines Dunblane, dissecting Thomas Hamilton's motives and revealing the gay sub-culture of clandestine paedophilia which spawned this most reviled of all killers.

    For nearly a decade in the turbulent period of the 1920s and 30s, he was one of the most infamous and feared criminals in the Southwest. Convicted of one of his murders in Oklahoma he was sentenced to life and escaped, killing a cop and receiving another life term in Kansas, and then escaped again, leading ten others in a mass breakout. In the last months of his life, he rose to national notoriety as a prolific bank robber and suspect in the infamous Kansas City Massacre and became the first criminal ever shot down by agents of that fledgling agency which would soon become the FBI.

    Nine days after the incident, Houdini was dead, the victim of a ruptured appendix, and his killer, a Montreal student named J. Gordon Whitehead, was nowhere to be found. Up to now, this tale of a mistimed punch and an untimely death had become myth, with many questions still unanswered: What happened to the man who threw the fatal punch? Who were the two witnesses and how much did they know? Was Houdini's death truly an accident? Interviews, affidavits, eyewitness reports of the night, and the only known photograph of Whitehead ever published all shed new light on an enduring mystery. Written with flair and wit, this tale of true crime gradually builds a riveting profile of the life of this intriguing but unknown historical figure, finding and then following Houdini's killer.

    The Rita Nitz Story: A Life Without Parole is an in-depth personal investigation into Miley’s murder, for which Rita Nitz was convicted as an accomplice to life in prison. Born in 1959, Rita was thirty when she was sentenced in 1989. Her husband, Richard Nitz, was convicted of the murder. Detailing the crime and its aftermath, Larry L. Franklin uncovers a disturbing set of facts that illuminate a possible miscarriage of justice.Was Rita Nitz involved in the murder of Michael Miley? Franklin doesn’t purport her guilt or her innocence but instead details the plight of a troubled woman who was a victim of sexual abuse and domestic violence at the hands of family members and spouses and who may also have been a victim of inadequate legal representation and a judicial system more interested in delivering the maximal punishment than in serving justice. Consulting with experts in prosecutorial conduct, jury psychology, and forensic evidence, Franklin discovered details that were withheld from the jury and the public during the trial in 1989. He also suggests other theories and names possible perpetrators involved in the murder that further imply shoddy police work and a tainted criminal investigation. Drawing on numerous conversations with Rita at the Dwight Correctional Center in Illinois, Franklin divulges the story of Rita’s tumultuous youth and her three problematic marriages. He shows her to be a battered woman who didn’t fully understand the circumstances and behavior that led to her being implicated in such a hideous crime and who lacked the financial resources and emotional strength to navigate the legal tangle that entrapped her.Franklin also points out the disparity in justice between Rita and Richard, who is up for parole in less than twenty years, while Rita remains sentenced to life without parole. In attempting to reach the truth about Miley’s murder, Franklin highlights abuses in the Illinois correctional system and disparities between the treatment of male and female convicts, sketching a blueprint that could improve law enforcement and justice in rural Illinois.

    Equally innocent was bright, young babysitter Evelyn Hartley. But, someone came in and snatched her while she was baby-sitting and she was never seen again. This story still haunts La Crosse fifty-plus years later, with just about everyone holding a theory about what happened to her or a story about how they were affected by her disappearance and presumed murder. There was no CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News then. In fact, La Crosse did not even have its own TV station. Still, the national media descended on the city just like they do today. It was a media frenzy with reporters from New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and more chasing police officers and each other to get the next case. High school boys were asked to take lie detector exams to prove their innocence -- and they all agreed. No parents protested. Everyone wanted to help find Evelyn. Drivers had the cars inspected and then given an I'm OK sticker. Why so much interest? As a Detroit News reporter said in 1954, she was an ordinary girl in an ordinary home and someone had come in and taken her. The case resonated with people then and continues to throughout Wisconsin because she was so ordinary. New clues were uncovered in preparation of this book, Where s Evelyn, and readers learn about Evelyn as a person. The book also includes crime scene photos and newspaper articles during the time when the issue was still hot. Three filmmakers, inspired after reading the book, are now at work on a documentary, about the case.