Best of
True-Crime

2008

For the Love of Julie: A nightmare come true. A mother's courage. A desperate fight for justice.


Ann Ming - 2008
    Liaising with the police, looking after Julie’s beloved three-year-old son, Ann waited desperately for news. Three months later she found her child's decomposing body behind a bath panel.A violent local man, Billy Dunlop, was tried for her murder but a series of blunders allowed him to walk free. Knowing he could not be tried again under the law of Double Jeopardy, he callously bragged about his 'perfect crime'.But Dunlop had not reckoned on Ann Ming…This is the extraordinary story of a fight for justice which she never gave up. A moving account of courage and determination, showing how much a mother's love can achieve.

The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer


Chris Blatchford - 2008
    Award-winning investigative journalist and author Chris Blatchford tells the never-before-told true story of the most powerful gang in America—and one of the most brutal and ruthless criminal organizations in the world—who control the California underworld and wave the flag of The Black Hand.

Jack the Ripper: The Casebook


Richard Jones - 2008
    One by one the murder victims are revealed, the circumstances of their killings investigated, and the suspects analyzed. What amateur sleuths will find most fascinating here are the many facsimiles of contemporary documents, including letters allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper to police and elsewhere, police reports, press articles, and personal correspondence. These facsimiles provide readers with access to all the available information so they, too, can try to unravel this century-old mystery.

Crack House


Harry Keeble - 2008
    By the end of the decade Britain's inner cities were in the midst of a crack epidemic. Narrated by the leader of the Harginey Drugs Squad, 'Crack House' describes a series of breathtaking raids as well as arrests, beatings, stabbings and shootings.

A Criminal Injustice: A True Crime, a False Confession, and the Fight to Free Marty Tankleff


Richard Firstman - 2008
    He was looking forward to starting his senior year at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School the next day. But instead, Marty woke in the morning to find his parents brutally bludgeoned, their throats slashed. His mother, Arlene, was dead. His father, Seymour, was barely alive and would die a month later. With remarkable self-possession, Marty called 911 to summon help. And when homicide detective James McCready arrived on the scene an hour later, Marty told him he believed he knew who was responsible: Jerry Steuerman, his father’s business partner. Steuerman owed Seymour more than half a million dollars, had recently threatened him, and had been the last to leave a high-stakes poker game at the Tankleffs’ home the night before. However, McCready inexplicably dismissed Steuerman as a suspect. Instead, he fastened on Marty as the prime suspect–indeed, his only one. Before the day was out, the police announced that Marty had confessed to the crimes. But Marty insisted the confession was fabricated by the police. And a week later, Steuerman faked his own death and fled to California under an alias. Yet the police and prosecutors remained fixated on Marty–and two years later, he was convicted on murder charges and sentenced to fifty years in prison. But Marty’s unbelievable odyssey was just beginning. With the support of his family, he set out to prove his innocence and gain his freedom. For ten years, disappointment followed disappointment as appeals to state and federal courts were denied. Still, Marty never gave up. He persuaded Jay Salpeter, a retired NYPD detective turned private eye, to look into his case. At first it was just another job for Salpeter. As he dug into the evidence, though, he began to see signs of gross ineptitude or worse: Leads ignored. Conflicts of interest swept under the rug. A shocking betrayal of public trust by Suffolk County law enforcement that went well beyond a simple miscarriage of justice. After Salpeter’s discoveries brought national media attention to the case, Marty’s conviction was finally vacated in 2007, and New York’s governor appointed a special prosecutor to reopen the twenty-year-old case. At the same time, the State Investigation Commission announced an inquiry into Suffolk County’s handling of what has come to be widely viewed as one of America’s most disturbing wrongful conviction cases. As gripping as a Grisham novel, A Criminal Injustice is the story of an innocent man’s tenacious fight for freedom, an investigator’s dogged search for the truth. It is a searing indictment of justice in America.

I'll Be Watching You


M. William Phelps - 2008
    of photos. Original.

A Descent Into Hell


Kathryn Casey - 2008
    Cave, an ex-cheerleader, had just landed an exciting new job, while a big-money scholarship to UT's prestigious business school lured Pitonyak to Austin. Yet the former altar boy had a dark, unpredictable streak, one that ensnared him in the perilous underworld of drugs and guns. When Jennifer failed to show up for work on August 18, 2005, her mother became frightened. Sharon Cave's search led to Colton's West Campus apartment, where Jennifer's family discovered a scene worthy of the grisliest horror movie. Meanwhile, Colton Pitonyak was nowhere to be found.A Descent Into Hell is the gripping true story of one of the most brutal slayings in UT history—and the wild "Bonnie and Clyde-like" flight from justice of a cold-blooded young killer and his would-be girlfriend, who claimed that her unquestioning allegiance to Pitonyak was "just the way I roll."

Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson


Mayme Johnson - 2008
    Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson. Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree in his lifetime, Bumpy was the man in Harlem. Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson is the first complete biography of a man who for years was Harlem s best kept, and most cherished secret. There is also a full chapter on Madame Stephanie St . Clair, the infamous Harlem numbers banker who instigated the famous fight with Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz. The book is written by Bumpy's widow, Mayme Johnson, and details not only his criminal life but also his personal life. This book also details Bumpy's relationship Harlem dopedealer with Frank Lucas, who has called himself Bumpy's right-hand man, but was -- according to Mrs. Johnson -- little more than a flunky.

Jim Cirillo's Tales of the Stakeout Squad


Paul Kirchner - 2008
    That book is finally here.

To Have and To Kill


John Glatt - 2008
    In each were body parts of a man. In a forensics room, the truth was discovered: William McGuire had been horribly murdered and dismembered.William and his loving wife, a registered nurse named Melanie, had just closed on their New Jersey dream home. Little did William know about the nightmare that was in store... For Melanie had been involved in a long-term affair with a married doctor at the fertility clinic where she worked--and she had plans for the future that didn't include William.Investigators believe that on April 29, 2004, Melanie first drugged her husband, then murdered him in cold blood. Three years after America witnessed the details of the suitcase incident unfold--on "48 Hours, Dateline NBC, "and" ABC Primetime," and in "People "magazine, among other news outlets--Melanie was convicted of first-degree murder and desecrating human remains. This is the true story of a marriage that turned deadly...

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal


J. Patrick O'Connor - 2008
    This book is the first to convincingly show how the Philadelphia Police Department and District Attorney’s Office efficiently and methodically framed him. It takes you step-by-step through what actually transpired on the night Faulkner was shot, including positioning each of the witnesses at the scene and revealing the identity of the killer. It also details the entire trial and fully covers the tortuous appeals process. The author, a seasoned crime reporter, writes in the language of hard facts, without hyperbole or exaggeration, unfounded accusation or finger-pointing, to reveal the truth about one of the most hotly debated cases of the twentieth century.

Deadly Intent: Crime and Punishment Photographs from the Burns Archive


Stanley B. Burns - 2008
    The book is divided into four sections: crime scenes, police action, punishment, and executions. It is concentrated between 1890 and 1950, a time when criminals often admitted their crimes and were quickly punished. Until the late 1940s, the period from arrest to execution for a capital offense averaged 33 days. The change in police attitudes and of the punishment prescribed for criminal behavior is documented here in iconic photographs. Unlike many previous works on the subject, this compilation of crime scenes gives readers a forensic view, offering entire series of images used by detectives and criminologists. Other photographs reveal the evolving standards of the American criminal justice system, from water torture at Sing Sing prison, whipping posts, penitentiary life, and the notorious deadly work camps of the South, to executions: hanging, firing squads, and the electric chair. Only when all the evidence is presented can justice and humanity be properly served. This compilation of images, most published here for the first time, is a valuable new resource for historians and researchers.

After Evil: She Was One Of The Yorkshire Ripper's Victims, He Was The Boy Left Behind


Neil Jackson - 2008
    Neil's riveting story captures the real nature of the tragedy that murder can visit on a family and shows how incredibly he pieced his life back together after becoming one of the forgotten victims of Britain's most notorious serial killer

If Looks Could Kill


M. William Phelps - 2008
    The shock rippling through the community led to former beauty queen Cynthia George, a respected church member and devoted mother. Married to a wealthy businessman, she seemed to lead a charmed life. But did her beauty mask a heart cold enough to kill? M. William Phelps, award-winning master of the non-fiction thriller, updates this gripping saga of illicit love and murder with startling, unforgettable new insights. Praise for M. William PhelpsHost of Investigation Discovery’s Dark Minds"Phelps ratchets up the dramatic tension."—Stephen Singular "Phelps exposes long-hidden secrets and reveals disquieting truths."—Kathryn CaseyIncludes 16 Pages Of Photos

The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case Of America's Unknown Child


David Stout - 2008
    Posters of the “Boy in the Box” soon dotted the city and police stations nationwide—to no avail. In November 1998 the remains were exhumed for DNA analysis, and the boy was reburied as “America’s Unknown Child.” This is a  riveting true account of the infamous child-murder mystery that has gripped Philadelphia and all of America for more than 50 years.

Hellhound on His Trail


Peter Trower - 2008
    This collection represents some of his best writing from those publications, at turns humourous and heartbreaking, ribald and reflective. Real stories with real characters, told by someone who was really there.

The Thirty-Ninth Victim


Arleen Williams - 2008
    By the time the perpetrator was sentenced in 2003, at least 48 young women had met an untimely death at his hands. What started as as string of local killings in Seattle became a national nightmare before it was over. In homes all across America, television news programs and newspapers large and small carried feature stories about the ever-growing list of victims. Now imagine that during this time, someone you love--your baby sister, a beautiful young woman of 19--suddenly goes missing. The police are at best unhelpful, and at worst, seemingly uninterested in what's happened to her. And then comes word you hoped you'd never receive: your youngest sister's remains have been found. She is yet another victim of the Green River killer. With amazing candor, Arleen Williams tells the story of her family's journey, before and after the Green River killer murdered her sister Maureen and left her body in a stretch of wilderness off the west side of Highway 18. As insightful as it is heart wrenching, The Thirty-Ninth Victim gives you a window into the family dynamics that contributed to this life-altering tragedy. This is a memoir unlike any other. The author set out to tell Maureen's story, but in doing so, she tells bits and pieces of every family's story. You cannot read this profoundly personal and cataclysmic tale and come away unchanged, nor will you ever view your own family in quite the same way. You will applaud Ms. Williams's courage in sharing this recounting of her family's trauma through one of the most atrocious streaks of serial killings in American history. And like the family, you will never forget The Thirty-Ninth Victim.

Pure Murder


Corey Mitchell - 2008
    On a summer night in Houston, two bright, beautiful, success-bound teenage girls crossed paths with a group of young men fueled with alcohol and rage. Four days later, when searchers finally found Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, their bodies were unrecognizable.AN ORGY OF VIOLENCEAt first, the teenage boys grabbed Elizabeth, while Jennifer escaped. But Elizabeth's desperate cries brought Jennifer back to help her best friend. Both girls were subjected to sexual assaults of every conceivable kind--and long, painful, drawn-out deaths.NO MERCYFor days afterward, the killers bragged openly about their crime. By the time prosecutors got the case, convictions for double murder looked like a "slam dunk." But the families of the victims were in for a horrible surprise. In this terrifying case, justice would be a torturous journey.

The Serial Killer's Apprentice: And 12 Other True Stories of Cleveland's Most Intriguing Unsolved Crimes


James Renner - 2008
    He cares about these victims . . . When it comes to true crime, this is the kind of writer we need." -- Crime Shadow NewsAn investigative journalist cracks open 13 of Northeast Ohio's most intriguing unsolved crimes and attempts to crack open dark secrets that have baffled Clevelanders for years, including:- Murder--Beverly Jarosz, just 16 years old, felt a dark foreboding in the months before she was stabbed to death in her quiet Garfield Heights home in December 1964.- Stolen Identity--Joseph Newton Chandler of Eastlake was not who he claimed to be. Some think he was the Zodiac killer; others say he was D.B. Cooper, or even Jim Morrison.- Suicide or murder?--Joseph Kupchik hid gambling problems from friends and family until he was found at the bottom of a nine-story parking deck in downtown Cleveland--with multiple stab wounds.- Heist--In 1969, Lakewood bank employee Ted Conrad nabbed $215,000 from the vault one day after his twentieth birthday. The FBI still shows up at his high school reunions.- Controversy--Jeffrey Krotine was thrice tried for the grisly 2003 murder of his wife and ultimately acquitted, to the frustration of Cuyahoga County prosecutors, detectives, and even jurors.These stories venture into dark alleys and seedy strip clubs, as well as comfortable suburbs and cozy small towns, where some of the region's most horrendous crimes have occurred. Renner's unblinking eye for detail and unwavering search for the truth make this book a gripping read.

Evil Beyond Belief: An A-Z of Heinous Crimes


Charlotte Greig - 2008
    

Swamp: Who Killed Margaret Clement?


Richard Shears - 2008
    Margaret Clements, a rich hieriess living on a large property in Gippsland, Victoria, suddenly disappeated and was never heard of again. The author investigates what might have happened. Australian content

The Best American Crime Reporting 2008


Jonathan Kellerman - 2008
    An eclectic collection of the year's best reportage, The Best American Crime Reporting 2008 brings together the murderers and the master­minds, the mysteries and missteps that make for brilliant stories, told by the aces of the true-crime genre. This latest addition to the highly acclaimed series features guest editor Jonathan Kellerman, bestselling author of more than twenty crime novels, most recently Compulsion and the forthcoming Bones.Story of a snitch / Jeremy Kahn --A season in hell / Dean La Tourette --I'm with the Steelers / Justin Heckert --House across the way / Calvin Trillin --Caged life / Alan Prendergast --Badges of dishonor / Pamela Collof --Dangerous minds / Malcolm Gladwell --Dean of Death Row / Tad Friend --Tainted kidney / Charles Graeber --Ploy / Mark Bowden --Day of the dead / D. T. Max --Just a random female / Nick Schou --Serial killer's disciple / James Renner --Mercenary / Tom Junod --Murder at 19,000 feet / Jonathan Green

Poison: From Steeltown to the Punjab, the True Story of a Serial Killer


Jon Wells - 2008
    One of six book-length stories published in the Hamilton Spectator, Poison is a riveting piece of crime reporting that won a National Newspaper Award in 2004. Chronicling the life and crimes of serial murderer Sukhwinder Dhillon, who coolly dispatched two wives, two twin infants, and a friend just for insurance money, Poison details the trail that stretched from Canada to India, the work of the insurance claims investigator and the detectives who suspected wrong-doing, the forensics that sealed Dhillon's fate, and the legal twists and turns of the double murder trial that followed.

The Collected Works of Max Haines Volume 6


Max Haines - 2008
    In these books the iconic master of murder unravels the grisly crimes of Paul Bernardo, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Kaczynski, and many others with his trademark wit and a wicked sense of humour, showing exactly why the Toronto Star calls him “the master of true crime tales” and “our most civilized crime writer.”

The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case, and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster


Rose Keefe - 2008
    Like many of his pre-Volstead contemporaries, his historic impact has been overshadowed by Al Capone and Murder Inc. He is listed in today's crime anthologies primarily because four members of the gang, along with corrupt cop Charles Becker, died in the electric chair for the July 1912 murder of gambler Herman Rosenthal. In New York City from 1908 to 1912, however, Zelig inspired admiration and fear, and he was synonymous with the word 'gangster.' New York editor Herbert Bayard Swope recalled that The Starker (Yiddish for 'Big Boss') threw terror into the heart of the New York underworld like no one has before or since." Based on dozens of interviews and years of painstaking research, "The Starker" introduces readers to a story from New York's criminal past that is dazzling in its audacity and criminal in the success of the people responsible for the murders in covering up their own crimes."

Staffordshire Murders


Alan Hayhurst - 2008
    Brings together murderous tales that shocked not only the Staffordshire county but made headline news throughout the nation, including the poisonous Dr Palmer, murder on the canal, a tale of infanticide, the body in the gasometer, the chauffeur's revenge, murder on Cannock Chase and more.

Cumbria Murders


Paul Heslop - 2008
    They include the cases of Wai Sheung Siu Miao, strangled while on honeymoon in 1928; William Armstrong, shot by the Revd Joseph Smith in 1851; Ann Sewell, stabbed to death by farmhand George Cass in 1860; and the murder of Jack West at his home near Wokington in 1964, whose killers were the last two men to be lawfully hanged in England. Paul Heslop was a policeman for over thirty years, mostly as a detective. His experience and understanding of the criminal justice system give authority to his unbiased assessment and analysif of the cases in this book. His carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Cumbria's history, and should give much food for thought.

Bloody Hollywood


Troy Taylor - 2008
    But beneath the shiny surface of glitz and glamour in America's movie capital is a dark side of crime and corruption and behind the doors of the lavish homes, luxury hotels, and magnificent mansions are tales of spirits who do not rest in peace. There are many unsolved mysteries connected to Hollywood, as well as tales of scandal, depravity, murder, and, of course, ghosts! In this installment of the best-selling "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" Series, author Troy Taylor takes you behind the scenes of Hollywood noir in a way that no other book ever has. This is not your typical Hollywood ghost book, but a unique perspective on how crime, murder, sin, sex, scandal, and unsolved mysteries have shaped the haunted landscape of Tinseltown. From the bloody history of L.A. & Hollywood to the myriad of scandals, sin & gore-soaked crime of the film colony's Golden Age, this is a chilling look at the haunted underbelly of Hollywood - and the dark side of the American dream!

Trials of a Forensic Psychologist: A Casebook


Charles Patrick Ewing - 2008
    Bringing to life the psychological and legal details of each case as well as the personal stories involved, this volume insightfully covers those issues facing forensic psychologists, including:Ability to Waive Miranda Rights Coerced Confessions The Insanity Defense Malingering Battered Woman Syndrome Evaluating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse The Implications of Extreme Emotional Disturbance Informative, compelling, and educational, each of the ten cases presented in Trials of a Forensic Psychologist: A Casebook offers a rare glimpse at the work of forensic psychologists, how forensic psychologists are examined in court, the ways in which their expertise is used by the legal system, and the contributions they make to the system's ultimate goal of doing justice.

Gangs II


Ross Kemp - 2008
    In this sequel to the bestselling 'Gangs', Ross Kemp once again infiltrates groups of the deadliest criminals in countries as varied and far-reaching as Argentina, Bulgaria and Kenya.

Crime Scene Investigations More Stories from the Australian Police Files


Vikki Petraitis - 2008
    Vikki Petraitis describes in detail four more fascinating stories from the Australian Police files, including the Russell Street Bombing in 1986.

Walking on: A Daughter's Journey with Legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser


Dwana Pusser - 2008
    This intimate, thrilling, and heartfelt biography presents Pusser as only his family and closest friends knew him. From the highly publicized and tragic ambush that resulted in the death of Pusser's wife to the private, tender memories only a daughter can relate about her beloved father, all of the events of Pusser's life unfold in this engaging and exciting read. A well-deserved addition to the lore surrounding the celebrated sheriff, this title is certain to surprise and captivate old and new Buford Pusser fans alike. ABOUT THE AUTHOR The daughter of Sheriff Pusser, Dwana Pusser worked in radio broadcast communications for more than fifteen years. She is actively involved in civic affairs in Adamsville, Tennessee, and she keeps alive the spirit and feats of her father by maintaining a Web site in his honor and hosting the annual Buford Pusser Festival in Adamsville.

Dorset Murders (True Crime History)


Nicola Sly - 2008
    These include arguments between lovers with fatal consequences, family murders, child murders and mortal altercations at Dorset's notorious Portland Prison. The entire country thrilled to the scandalous cases of Alma Rattenbury and Charlotte Bryant who, in the 1930s, found living with their husbands so difficult that both found a terminal solution to the problem. In 1856, Elizabeth Browne rid herself of a husband and, in doing so, became the inspiriation for Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. The mystery of the Coverdale Kennels at Tarrant Keynston, where not one, but two kennel managers died in suspicious circumstances, remains unsolved to this day. And it was in Bournemouth that Neville Heath committed the second of his two murders, which led to his arrest and eventual execution in 1946. Illustrated with fifty intriguing illustrations, Dorset Murders will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of the county's history.

Somerset Murders


Nicola Sly - 2008
    They include the cases of Elizabeth and Betty Branch, a mother and daughter who beat a young servant girl to death in Hemington in 1740; 13-year-old Betty Trump, whose throat was cut while walking home at Buckland St Mary in 1823; factory worker Joan Turner, battered to death in Chard in 1829; George Watkins, killed in a bare knuckle fight outside the Running Horse pub in Yeovil in 1843; Mary Fisher, stabbed to death by her husband in Weston-super-Mare in 1844; and elderly landlady, Mrs Emily Bowers, strangled in bed in Middlezoy in 1947. This carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Somerset's history.

Blood Feud


Robert Scott - 2008
    Scott recounts the horrifying true story of Jesse James Hollywood, a flashy drug dealer who kidnapped the brother of one of his clients--an event that inspired the feature film "Alpha Dog." Original.

The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosemo and the Ladies of the Levee


Art Bilek - 2008
    For the first time, the true story is told of the colorful characters who peopled the Levee from the time of the Columbian Exposition to the Roaring Twenties, clearly the most colorful period in Chicago's history. The product of five years of research through Chicago daily newspapers, magazines, and periodicals, and books on the city's history, it documents the story as it occurred, with all of the sights, sounds, and smells of that lusty, unruly era. THE FIRST VICE LORD is the story of an immigrant Italian lad who grew up in the tenements of Chicago, where he worked first as a lowly street sweeper, then as a brothel operator and vice lord, and finally as the owner of the most famous restaurant of his day. His story is told against the backdrop of an open red-light district so famous it was known to the crown heads of Europe.

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Shrewsbury and Around Shropshire


David J. Cox - 2008
    They also tell us much about social conditions and attitudes in the past. And such cases make absorbing reading. David Cox's graphic account of 16 notorious cases in Shrewsbury and around Shropshire is a particularly strong and revealing study of this kind. Using newspaper reports, census returns and court records, he reconstructs each case in vivid detail. At the same time he looks into the background of the crimes and into the lives of the criminals, and he describes the methods of detection and the punishments that were imposed. The cases he's chosen range in date from the medieval period to the twentieth century. Included are the case of the forger who had his ear nailed to a post, the father who killed his infant son with vitriol, the transportation of a 70-year-old woman, the murder of an inmate in a lunatic asylum, a twentieth-century highway robber and a VC winner involved in bigamy. The personal dramas David Cox explores in this book will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the sinister side of human nature and human weakness.

Leicester Murders


Ben Beazley - 2008
    From the brutal murder of John Paas in 1832—whose killer became the last man in England to be gibbeted—and the poisoning of a 70-year-old widow by two young men, to the fatal shooting of a young woman in 1919—a case which was known as the “green bicycle murder” and was to become one of the most fascinating murder cases in legal history—this is a collection of the most dramatic and interesting criminal cases that have taken place in Leicester between the mid-1800s and the 1950s. This carefully researched, well-illustrated, and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shadier side of Leicester's history.

Execution's Doorstep: True Stories of the Innocent and Near Damned


Leslie Lytle - 2008
    Since capital punishment was reinstated in the mid-1970s, over 120 individuals have been proven wholly innocent of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. But this statistic, as horrifying as it is, does not begin to tell the whole story. Leslie Lytle confronts the human suffering behind these miscarriages of justice in her effort to reveal how and why they occurred. Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, Lytle guides the reader through the fateful crimes, the arrests, the trials, the incarcerations, the struggles to prove innocence, and the difficult readjustments to life in the free world. Execution's Doorstep is more than a gripping human-interest story. As Lytle shows, the criminal justice and capital punishment systems that we have established to protect us are fallible and subject to the same incompetencies, petty corruptions, and politicizations to which all human institutions are prone. As we relive these heart-rending stories of innocents damned, this book poses a simple question: can we trust the life and death of any man to a system run by men?

Searching for Anna


Michaele Benedict - 2008
    In Searching for Anna, her mother and Doug French, a family friend, describe the incredible efforts to find what became of Anna

Slaughter in the Sacramento Valley


Terry Grosz - 2008
    By the time Conservation laws and practices began to show results, some species were already decimated, and others had begun to slide into extinction.Read about the true stories of avian destruction that occurred during the mass-market hunting days of California’s Sacramento Valley. You’ll hear from both the shooters engaged in the slaughter and the out-numbered and hard pressed wildlife law enforcement officers whose dangerous job it was to stop them. There are also stories of the unsung heroes of wildlife preservation—those people who have quietly gone about the business of saving those in the world of wildlife who have little or no voice.This book provides and exciting glimpse into the rough-and-tumble and often dangerous tide into a bloody spell of American history that has long been ignored—a history in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation documents that the mortality rate of Conservation Officers is nine times higher than the next most dangerous kind of law enforcement.Terry Grosz was a Conservation law enforcement officer for more than 30 years, both nationally and internationally. A natural story teller, Grosz writes about some of the remarkable characters he met—on both sides of the law—and some of the tight spots he got in and out of.

School Shootings: What Every Parent and Educator Needs to Know to Protect OurChildren


Joseph A. Lieberman - 2008
    Investigative journalist and longtime educator Lieberman takes an insightful look inside the minds and hearts of those affected by school shootings--and the kids who commit the shocking crimes.

Still Missing: More Unsolved Missing Persons Cases in New Zealand


Scott Bainbridge - 2008
    

History of Australian True Crime


Steve Samuelson - 2008
    This engrossing book revisits the major incidents to shock us all from Federation to the present day. Bushrangers, baby-killers, notorious gangsters, murderers, standover men, corporate villains, corrupt cops and a few petty crims - all are paraded before us in a compelling cavalcade of Aussies behaving badly. The book is divided into decades with more attention given to the years closest to the present day. There are two or more photos on each spread with quotes, lists and sidebars. The stories are presented in a visual style that is easy to read and encourages hours of browsing. There are also special feature spreads throughout highlighting other areas related to crime like policing, investigating, forensics and sentencing. The History of Aussie True Crime revisits many of the most infamous events in our history and also reveals a few less familiar tales. It gives a fascinating overview of how we have changed and developed as a nation for there are always criminals as well as heroes among us.

The Lawless Coast: Murder, Smuggling And Anarchy In The 1780s On The North Norfolk Coast


Neil Holmes - 2008
    

For Members Only


G.T. Harrell - 2008
    After nearly two years of interviews and subsequent research, it has been discovered that a close relative of the family was one of the most powerful figures in the Mafia from the 1940s to the mid 1990s, yet his identity until now has never been revealed. He was the consigliere for all of the American Mafia. The book tells in detail the life and times of a family who escaped the threat of Fascism in Sicily at the turn of the century and the rise of one of the children to a major figure in the Mob. Another sibling returned from a tragic life in an orphanage only to become an adept criminal. He ultimately spent twenty years off and on in prison with the Who's Who of the Mafia, men who became friends and had secret stories to tell. After prison, he became one of the pioneers of Off Off Broadway in NYC and later was responsible for the regeneration of Little Italy in the Lower East Side of NYC. The book details the influence and protection afforded later generations of the family to this day. It offers a unique insight into the real life of people during this 100 year period. Myths about the Mob are disclosed and inaccuracies in the history of the Mafia are corrected. It is a very compelling epic true story. It is a book you will not be able to put down. Look on www.mafiasecretjudge.com for further details.

Reflections


Iceberg Slim - 2008
    "Reflections" is the poignant and memorable recounting of many of his true life experiences.

A Never Event


Evelyn McKnight - 2008
    During chemotherapy treatments, 857 patients who were already waging the fights of their lives against cancer, were inexplicably exposed to the deadly, blood-borne hepatitis C virus. At least ninety-nine of them contracted the lethal illness. The horror was unprecedented - this was the largest healthcare-trannsmitted outbreak of hepatitis C in American history. "A Never Event" - a term used to describe a preventable medical tragedy - is a searing story of recklessness, deception and betrayal. It's part mystery, part courtroom drama. Written by a survivor of the tragedy and an attorney who represented many of the victims. A Never Event is a wake-up call to medical and legal communities nationwide.

Up the Creek Without a Paddle: The True Story of John and Anne Darwin: The Man Who 'Died' and the Wife Who Lied


Tammy Cohen - 2008
    Despite a massive search following his disappearance in 2002, John Darwin's body was never found, and his wife Anne spoke of her anguish at not being able to lay her husband to rest. Family and friends were amazed and delighted at John’s return, but soon intriguing evidence was revealed. Cleveland police had reopened the case in September 2007 after they received new information that raised suspicions over Darwin's apparent disappearance. Photographs were then uncovered showing John and Anne together in Panama in 2006, and it soon became clear that—far from being the miraculous return of a lost canoeist—this was a case of serious fraud. In fact, Anne had cashed in her husband's life insurance policies and was claiming a widow's pension while John lived in hiding at the couple's home. In 2004 he obtained a false passport in the name of John Jones, allowing him to travel with his wife to Panama where they intended to set up home. John and Anne were subsequently arrested on suspicion of fraud and remanded in custody. This is the remarkable story of the man who came back from the dead, the wife who concealed his existence from the world, and the web of lies that unraveled to reveal the incredible truth of the Darwins' deception.

Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts


Alan Rogers - 2008
    In this authoritative book, Alan Rogers offers a comprehensive account of how the efforts of reformers and abolitionists and the Supreme Judicial Court's commitment to the rule of law ultimately converged to end the death penalty in Massachusetts.In the seventeenth century, Governor John Winthrop and the Massachusetts General Court understood murder to be a sin and a threat to the colony's well-being, but the Puritans also drastically reduced the crimes for which death was the prescribed penalty and expanded a capital defendant's rights. Following the Revolution, Americans denounced the death penalty as "British and brutish" and the state's Supreme Judicial Court embraced its role as protector of the rights extended to all men by the Massachusetts Constitution. In the 1830s popular opposition nearly stopped the machinery of death and a vote in the Massachusetts House fell just short of abolishing capital punishment.A post–Civil War effort extending civil rights to all men also stimulated significant changes in criminal procedure. A "monster petition" begging the governor to spare the life of a murderer convicted on slight circumstantial evidence and the grim prospect of executing nine Chinese men found guilty of murder fueled a passionate debate about the death penalty in the decade before World War I.The trials and executions of Sacco and Vanzetti focused unwanted international and national attention on Massachusetts. This was a turning point. Sara Ehrmann took charge of the newly formed Massachusetts Council Against the Death Penalty, relentlessly lobbied the legislature, and convinced a string of governors not to sign death warrants. In the 1970s the focus shifted to the courts, and eventually, in 1980, the Supreme Judicial Court abolished the death penalty on the grounds that it violated the Massachusetts Constitution.

In Search Of Melissa Thayer: Reinvestigating The Trim Triple Homicide


Emeric Spooner - 2008
    The town is also famous for its Historical Murder Mysteries. In my first book I have covered one of Maine's most famous Unsolved Murder Mysteries. The murder of Sarah Ware, which occurred in 1898. Before there was Ware, there was the Trim Triple Homicide. For 1876 it was the biggest murder case the young State had ever seen. I have attempted to record the true story behind the tragedy of the family that lost their lives and the trial of the Suspect, a Sea Captain named Edward Smith.

Love You To Death: Ireland's wife killers revealed


Michael Clifford - 2008
    A picture is revealed about how little has changed in this area of crime, but also about how societys attitude has changed towards it, as reflected in court verdicts and sentences. From open-and-shut cases to ones that relied on detailed forensic evidence, the book also examines the aftermath, describing courtroom scenes of high emotion as the bereaved family seek to ensure their former in-law is held accountable for the crime. In its detailed examination of Irelands most notorious wife killings from the 1940s right up to present day and the most recent returned verdict in the Siobhan Kearney case, Love You to Death charts each story from apparently normal marriages all the way to a violent ending and a legal conclusions. A chilling, gripping and at times gruesome read.

The Executioners


Phil Robin Clarke - 2008
    In this book, the authors focus on the death sentence - whether by formal execution or unjust means.

The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers


Bryan Christy - 2008
    Van Nostrand owns a business in Florida importing as many as 300,000 iguanas each year as well as hundreds of thousands of snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, and scorpions. This book tells how, for years, Special Agent Chip Bepler has been trying to expose Van Nostrand's suspected crimes as a reptile smuggler.

Myth of the Hanging Tree: Stories of Crime and Punishment in Territorial New Mexico


Robert J. Torrez - 2008
    In this thoughtful study, former New Mexico State Historian Robert T�rrez examines several fascinating criminal cases that reveal the harsh and often gruesome realities of the role hangings, legal or otherwise, played in the administration of frontier justice.At first glance, the topic may seem downright morbid, and in a sense it is, but these violent attempts at justice are embedded in our perception of America's western experience. In tracing territorial New Mexico's efforts to enforce law, T�rrez challenges the myths and popular perceptions about hangings and lynchings in this corner of the Wild West.

Tainted Legacy: The Story of Alleged Serial Killer Bertha Gifford


S. Kay Murphy - 2008
    The sheriff of St. Louis County emerged from the vehicle and walked slowly up the front steps. A middle-aged farmwife answered his knock. She spoke quietly with him, excused herself to powder her face, then allowed herself to be led outside and taken away. Authorities sought to question her in a mystery which had been building for twenty years: Was she a selfless saint who voluntarily cared for the acutely ill in order to nurse them back to health and restore them to their families, or a minister of death whose crimes would qualify her as Americaas first female serial killer? In this riveting nonfiction memoir, S. Kay Murphy recounts the tale of searching for the truth about her great-grandmotheraaccused murderer Bertha Gifford.

Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers, and Chaos in New York City, 1920-1940


Patrick Downey - 2008
    While numerous books have been written on the city's organized-crime scene, this book completes the picture by introducing readers to infamous New Yorkers such as Richard Reese Whittemore, leader of a gang of jewel thieves; extortion queen Vivian Gordon; bandit and Sing Sing escapee James Nannery; Al Stern and his gang of kidnappers, the men behind the ill-fated 1926 Tombs Prison break; the marauders behind the 1934 Rubel Ice Plant armored car robbery; and dozens of other law breakers who have never before been covered in book form. Patrick Downey also includes a fresh look at a few characters of the era who have received individual book-length treatments.

John Christie: Crime Archive


Edward Marston - 2008
    Within its grimy walls its notorious resident, John Christie murdered six women and then concealed them in house and garden. There are many gruesome aspects to the case including Christie s sexual proclivities. But most unsettling of all is the fact that another tenant in Christie s house, Timothy Evans, was hanged for murdering his wife and baby girl when Christie may have committed the act. This bloody history takes you inside the claustrophobic confines of Notting Hill s most famous address, drawing on the wealth of Christie trial records at the National Archives, from medical reports to floor plans of the murder house, as well as the inquiries that re-examined the Evans verdict

Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives- Paperback


Ann W. Burgess - 2008
    

Convicts, Jailbirds, and Reform School Girls: True Life Tales of Crime and Punishment in the 1950s


David Jacobs Jr. - 2008
    They live for rape, robbery, narcotics, violence and murder - and that's when they're behind bars. JAILBIRDS: Here are the gutter sweepings of the jailhouse system: second-rate, penny-ante crooks, thieves, dope peddlers, strong-arm goons and scam artists. They dream only of getting up enough nerve to pull off some heavy scores and graduate to big-time plunder and murder.AND REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS: Forming switchblade-wielding girl gangs, taking their first shots of heroin, making "easy money" by selling their fresh young bodies, and attaching themselves to up-and-coming gun punks and triggermen, they're strictly poison in a candy wrapper.CONVICTS, JAILBIRDS AND REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS -singly or in combination, they spell "Trouble" for decent citizens and the police as witnessed in this double fistful collection of true crime tales from the 1950s.

Criminology: The Key Concepts


Martin O'Brien - 2008
    Criminology: The Key Concepts is an authoritative and comprehensive study guide and reference resource that will take you through all the concepts, approaches, issues and institutions central to the study of crime in contemporary society.Topics covered in this easy to use A-Z guide include: policing, sentencing and the justice system types of crime, including corporate crime, cybercrime, sex and hate crimes feminist, marxist and cultural approaches to criminology terrorism, state crime, war crimes and human rights social issues such as anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and pornography criminal psychology and deviance Fully cross-referenced, with extensive suggestions for further reading and in-depth study of the topics discussed, this is an essential reference guide for students of Criminology at all levels.

Blood Legacy: The True Story of the Snow Axe Murders


James Pylant - 2008
    Snow axe murders which occurred near Stephenville, Texas, in 1925, is told in documented detail. The wife of Mr. Snow and the mother-in-law of Mr. Snow are connected by family to various other murders that occurred in Erath County, Texas, and neighboring counties over the course of more than 100 years.

Cyber Crime Fighters: Tales from the Trenches


Felicia Donovan - 2008
    This book provides a good primer on how your personal information can be easily obtained by some of the folks you least want to have it." -Maureen Boyle, crime reporter, The Enterprise of Brockton, MA "Experts Felicia Donovan and Kristyn Bernier pull no punches in explaining the dangers lurking on the Web, from identity appropriation and theft to using new technology and the Internet to facilitate real-life stalking. Parents especially will be shocked at how easy it is for predators to target and solicit children online. "By clearly explaining the dangers that lurk online and highlighting practical tips to minimize your risk, the authors have created a book that not only educates but empowers readers to protect themselves." -Jennifer Hemmingsen, columnist and former public safety reporter, The (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette Written by leading cyber crime investigators, Cyber Crime Fighters: Tales from the Trenches takes you behind the scenes to reveal the truth behind Internet crime, telling shocking stories that aren't covered by the media, and showing you exactly how to protect yourself and your children. This is the Internet crime wave as it really looks to law enforcement insiders: the truth about crime on social networks and YouTube, cyber stalking and criminal cyber bullying, online child predators, identity theft, even the latest cell phone crimes. Here are actual cases and actual criminals, presented by investigators who have been recognized by the FBI and the N.H. Department of Justice. These stories are true--and if you want to stay safe, you need to know about them. - Learn how today's criminals can track your whereabouts, read your emails, and steal your identity - Find out how much of your personal information is already online--and how to keep the rest private - Learn how cyber stalkers really think--and how to protect yourself from them - Protect your laptop, your iPod, and your precious data from getting stolen - Encounter the "dark side" of Internet dating - Discover the hidden crime wave on today's specialized social networks - Uncover the cell phone "upskirters" and "downblousers" --and the technicalities that keep them out of jail - Follow cyber crime specialists as they investigate and catch online sexual predators - Get the real truth about phishing, pharming, criminal spam, and online scams - See how investigations really work--and why TV crime shows often get it wrong! - Walk through your own personal, step-by-step, online safety checkup

Family Skeleton: A Brother and Sister's Journey from Murder to Truth


Sabrina Carmichael Yaw - 2008
    Then when Andre was 20, Sabrina told him she watched their abusive mother and older brother beat to death Andre’s three-year-old twin, Latanisha, and hide her body in a bedroom closet, where it remained for two decades. Family Skeleton meticulously profiles the players in this horrific drama, while telling the story of the secret's revelation, the grim family dynamics that drove both the savage killing and the cover-up, and Andre and Sabrina’s heroic attempts at healing.

Running With Dillinger: The Story of Red Hamilton and Other Forgotten Canadian Outlaws


Edward Butts - 2008
    Here are more remarkable true stories about Canadian crimes and criminals — most of them tales that have been buried for years. The stories begin in colonial Newfoundland, with robbery and murder committed by the notorious Power Gang. As readers travel across the country and through time, they will meet the last two men to be hanged in Prince Edward Island, smugglers who made lake Champlain a battleground, a counterfeiter whose bills were so good they fooled even bank managers, and teenage girls who committed murder in their escape from jail. They will meet the bandits who plundered banks and trains in Eastern Canada and the West, and even the United States. Among them were Same Behan, a robber whose harrowing testimony about the brutal conditions in the Kingston Penitentiary may have brought about his untimely death in "The Hole"; and John "Red" Hamilton, the Canadian-born member of the legendary Dillinger gang.

Confronting Cyber-Bullying: What Schools Need to Know to Control Misconduct and Avoid Legal Consequences


Shaheen Shariff - 2008
    There is a current policy vacuum relating to the extent of educators' legal responsibilities to intervene when such expression takes place outside of school hours and school grounds on home computers and personal cell phones. Students, teachers, and school officials are often targets of such expression. The author analyzes government and school responses by reviewing positivist paradigms. Her review of a range of legal frameworks and judicial decisions from constitutional, human rights, child protection, and tort law perspectives redirects attention to legally substantive and pluralistic approaches that can help schools balance student free expression, supervision, safety, and learning.

Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business: Shocking Declassified Details from the FBI's Greatest Undercover Operation and a Bloody Timeline of


Joe Pistone - 2008
    Posing as jewel thief “Donnie Brasco,” Pistone spent the next six years undercover in the Family, witnessing-and sometimes participating in-the Mafia's gruesome activities while gathering enough evidence to send over 200 gangsters to jail. Pistone told his story in the 1988 book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia-a New York Times bestseller and later a feature film starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. But because of pending trials at the time of publication, many details of the alleged crimes were held back. Now, in Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Pistone for the first time reveals with great detail the horrific deeds of wiseguys Tony Mirra, “Lefty” Ruggiero, Sonny Black, and the rest of the cold-blooded Bonanno crew. Pistone puts the operation into historical perspective, detailing the timeline of Mafia trials that crippled the New York City crime family over the past 25 years. He also recounts his experiences after the operation, his time on the Hollywood set with Pacino and Depp, and other undercover operations through present-day. A tense, thrilling account of the greatest infiltration ever by a federal agent into the most brutal gang of killers in the world, Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business is the final chapter in the story of a real American hero.

Policing Domestic Violence


Laura Richards - 2008
    It sets out approaches to help identify victims early and target offenders through the effective use of intelligence across a range of offending. It also offers guidance on investigative techniques, risk assessment, inter-agency murder reviews and information-sharing. The impact of domestic violence on children and other witnesses is discussed, and the powers available to police under new legislation are outlined.This title provides officers with information on all the practical measures to protect victims through the civil courts and through inter-agency schemes and perpetrator programs. It also includes a chapter on the topical subject of honor-based violence and forced marriage and gives advice on the various measures officers can take. All the issues covered in the book are supplemented with useful case studies and checklists, as well as examples of log taking and relevant forms, illustrating how the issues are dealt with in practice.The book forms part of the Blackstone's Practical Policing Series. The series, aimed at junior to middle ranking officers, consists of practical guides containing clear and detailed explanations of the relevant legislation and practice, accompanied by case studies, illustrative diagrams and useful checklists.

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in the Fens


Glenda Goulden - 2008
    

Finders Keepers: A Senior Citizen's Bizarre Encounter with Local Law


Virginia M. Bolen - 2008
    Bolen found a watch in the parking lot of the shelter in which she volunteered in August of 1997, she had no idea the trouble that would follow. In Finders Keepers, she shares her story of being arrested and charged with felony theft in a small town in Montana. This accounts narrates Bolen s encounter with a justice system run amuck. She describes what happened to her and how she fought back over a period of years to gain vindication. She was harassed, intimidated, jailed, and pilloried in the press for a crime that law enforcement knew she didn't commit. Through her own words, public records, correspondence, and newspaper articles, she portrays the personalities involved, including jail inmates (even the girlfriend of a serial killer), sheriff s deputies, county attorneys, bridge players, the mother of a world champion poker player, and a Montana State Senator. Finders Keepers gives insight into the personalities and mindset of authorities, who ignoring facts and common sense, persist in wielding their power. It s a case that s been followed by the legal community, even outside of Montana, because of its challenge to prosecutorial immunity."

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Southport


Geoff Wright - 2008
    Taking the reader on a sinister journey through centuries of local crime and conspiracy, this book features cut-throats and poisoners, murderous lovers, baby-farmers and baby-killers, burglars, fraudsters and the so-called 'doctor of death'.

Jerome: Solving the Mystery of Nova Scotia's Silent Castaway


Fraser Mooney Jr. - 2008
    Jerome was the name given to the nearly dead, legless stranger who washed up on a Digby Neck beach in 1863. During the next fifty years, Jerome spoke only a few words and never revealed his identity. Author Fraser Mooney Jr. embarked on a ten-year investigation to find the remarkable truth about Jerome. Using newspaper articles, historic documents, and interviews, Mooney explores and dispels the myths that have long been associated with Jerome and provides amazing detail about his life on Digby Neck. He takes us through Jerome’s life-from his appearance on the beach, through the time he spent living with a number of families in the region, to his death. Most importantly, Mooney discovers the truth behind the identity of the anonymous, mutilated man who took his secret to the grave. Including photos of Jerome, the beach where he was discovered, and those who knew him, Jerome is an incredibly well researched, intriguing book that will appeal to readers who enjoy Maritime mysteries and historical non-fiction.Fraser Mooney Jr. is a journalist as well as a communications professional, accomplished public speaker, and award-winning cartoonist. A graduate of Saint Mary’s University as well as Ryerson University’s journalism program, Mooney has contributed stories and cartoons to various newspapers. He lives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Chasing Killers: Three Decades of Cracking Crime in the UK's Murder Capital


Joe Jackson - 2008
    For over 30 years, Jackson worked the crime beat, first as a uniformed cop then as a seasoned murder squad detective. In this hard-hitting memoir of his most memorable cases, he reveals the reality behind chasing killers and other crooks in 'No Mean City'. As a young cop, Jackson was threatened by Glasgow's most ruthless gangster, Arthur Thomson, and, as a fresh detective, he took part in the hunt for Bible John, Glasgow's most shadowy serial killer. He locked up more than his fair share of paedophiles and sex beasts along the way and, as a veteran Senior Investigating Officer, he cracked the hardest homicide nut there is: a murder without a body. Jackson's investigations have grabbed headlines, while his 'collars' have filled jails. Chasing Killers will shock readers with its behind-the-scenes look at how murder probes are run. Every case is related with candour and humour, and is laced with the kind of detail that only an expert can provide. Joe Jackson has been called the real-life Taggart, but this is no TV fantasy - this is real city police work: concrete hard, soot black and blood red.

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Jersey


Glynis Cooper - 2008
    The book describes in detail over 30 cases and the fates of both victims and perpetrators, with illustrations from contemporary reports and old and new photographs of the scenes of the crimes.

The Life I Survived: My True Life Story of my Horrific Sexual Abuse at the Hands of my Real Father Over a 21 Year Period


maria la bella - 2008
    This is a true life story about my fight for survival, against sexual physical and mental cruelty by my biological father, I was abused over a period of 21 years.

In The Wind The Story of Randolph Dial and Bobbi Parker


Randolph Dial - 2008
    The Notorious Artist Convict Details His Escape with the Deputy Warden's Wife and Their 10 1/2 Years On The Run.

Mexico's Struggle with 'Drugs and Thugs'


George W. Grayson - 2008
    

Cold Cases True Australian Crime


Norm Lipson - 2008
    COLD CASES follows each case in compelling detail, including the gory case of the Kirribilli killer whose victims sexually assaulted and strangled body as found near The Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1984; and the story of Lorraine Whyte, the arsenic poisoner who was charged twice

The Case of the Zodiac Killer (Crime Scene Investigations)


Diane Yancey - 2008
    Clues to crimes both spectacular and ordinary can now be found in the tiniest bits of evidence thanks to cutting-edge forensic techniques. Crime Scene Investigations examines the fascinating world of the criminal investigator and other professionals who are on the front line of solving today's (and some of yesterday's) most notorious crimes. All books feature crime statistics, career information, explanations of crime-solving techniques, and crime-busting facts. In addition, bibliographies for further research, full-color photographs, charts, and a detailed index are also included.

Families Behind Bars: Stories of Injustice, Endurance and Hope


Kay Danes - 2008
    What would it be like if you got a phone call to say your child has been arrested for smuggling drugs into an Asian country and they are now on death row?Family Behind Bars is about the real life stories of several families from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and United States who bear horrendous burdens having loved ones detained in foreign prisons, their experiences and how they have coped during these times.Kay writes from her own experience of being imprisoned in Laos under false charges and includes her own story in this collection.

Unsolved Crimes


Michael Newton - 2008
    This book covers cases such as Jack the Ripper, unidentified serial killer; the murder of Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia); and, the assassination of John F Kennedy, officially solved but often disputed.

Murder at Anna Bay


John Suter Linton - 2008
    Detective Sergeant Peter Fox from Maitland Police Station led the murder investigation.Early suspicions indicated Judith Brown might have fallen victim to a botched break-in. With no eyewitnesses and the forensic evidence not pointing to a single suspect, investigators were left with little to go on. Within weeks of the murder, Peter Fox's team was reduced to one, with the support of Crime Scene Examiner, Detective Senior Constable Peter Muscio.Against advice to take what he had to a Coronial Inquiry and with a growing workload, Peter Fox continued his investigations into Judith Brown's murder. A suspect emerged, though there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest. Driven to see justice done, he continued to gather evidence, spending part of every day following up leads. After 18 months Peter finally put together a compelling, though circumstantial case against his suspect. It was a risk. Some of Peter's colleagues still didn't believe the evidence would stand the scrutiny of a trial.Three years after Judith Brown's murder, Peter Fox's suspect faced trial in the Newcastle Supreme Court. The jury would hear not all of Peter's evidence, most importantly, what Peter believed to be the motive for the murder. Peter, himself, would be accused of being obsessive, while every piece of physical evidence was attacked for supporting only what Peter Fox wanted it to.In the end, the murder of Judith Brown was solved, not by a confession or showing motive, but by passionate police work in presenting one of the most fascinating and complicated circumstantial cases to be placed before a NSW Supreme Court.

Invitation to a Murder: 48 Hours


Gail A. Zimmerman - 2008
     "My wife is dying on the floor! Please, please come help!" The frantic 911 call sent emergency units racing to a tidy brick home in suburban Springfield, Illinois. Beautiful, vivacious Donnah Winger had been bludgeoned to death by a male intruder; her attacker was fatally shot by Donnah's husband, Mark. In the aftermath of the horrific home invasion, family and friends rallied around Mark, a wellliked and respected nuclear scientist, and the infant daughter he and Donnah had just adopted; some even called him a hero. But one rookie detective didn't buy Mark Winger's version of the grisly events of that August afternoon. After four years of relentless investigation, a closed case is reopened, and fragments of truth -- including shocking new witness testimony -- come together to reveal how Mark Winger turned a chance meeting with a troubled young man into the almost seamless killing of his own wife, with an Invitation To A Murder.