Book picks similar to
Breaking Point by Suzy Spencer
true-crime
non-fiction
nonfiction
crime
Precious Angels: A True Story of Two Slain Children and a Mother Convicted of Murder
Barbara Davis - 1999
But the subsequent investigation revealed a darker truth -- the murder of two innocent children by their own mother. Through meticulous research and exclusive sources, "Precious Angels" presents the complete story of this shocking crime.
Family Blood: The True Story of the Yom Kippur Murders
Marvin J. Wolf - 1993
By 1980 he had gained and lost two fortunes, had built his plastics company into a cash cow that supported his large extended family in great luxury. Killed in 1985 along with his wife Vera, the police asked Vera's sister if the Woodmans had any enemies, she replied , 'Yes, their sons.' Family Blood follows the investigation of these murders and reveals a story of the American Dream gone wrong. Gerald, behind his facade of charm, piety and filial warmth, was a ruthless, amoral businessman, a philandering husband, a ferociously abusive father, and a compulsive gambler. His sons, Neil and Stewart, inherited his charm and business principles. This is the story of the hidden dynamics of an outwardly successful American family that came to a shocking and violent end. It is also the story of a clan of whose menfolk guarded a dark secret from their wives - and everyone else - for three generations. Further it is the chronicle of two dogged police detectives who exposed the Woodman's sordid secrets to the light of justice.
Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
Mara Leveritt - 2002
Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt's The Devil's Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became known as the West Memphis Three.For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers, alleged members of a satanic cult, with the killings. Despite the witch-hunt atmosphere of the trials, and a case which included stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison and Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. The guilty verdicts were popular in their home state, even upheld on appeal, and all three remained in prison until their unprecedented release in August 2011.With close-up views of its key participants, this award-winning account unravels the many tangled knots of this endlessly shocking case, one which will shape the American legal landscape for years to come.
Missing Mom: A True Crime, True Family Story
Daniel Murphy - 2015
This true story begins on a sunny July morning in 2003, just outside of Flint Michigan, when an eighty year old grandmother has mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth. Days later the charred remains of her car were identified, after being completely destroyed by an intentional fire; but she was nowhere to be found. We had to find her. She was my mom...
One Last Kiss: The Chilling True Story of a Cheating Husband Who Murdered His Wife and Children
Michael W. Cuneo - 2012
Unfortunately, the ministry he worked for had a no-divorce policy. So he made other plans.On May 5, 2009, Illinois police received a call from Coleman, who claimed he was unable to contact his family. When police investigated, they found Coleman’s wife and two sons strangled in bed. Across the walls, spraypainted in red, were various obscenities—the word punished among them. Did this respected church man murder his family to be with his lover? Or was something—or someone—else more sinister afoot? Police would eventually uncover two threatening letters sent to the Coleman home, and key testimony from Chris’s mistress only complicated the criminal evidence. Coleman’s trial raged on—along with a statewide debate over the death penalty—and questions about his role in the murders remained unanswered. His fate still hangs in the balance…
Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer
Maureen Boyle - 2017
In Shallow Graves, investigative reporter Maureen Boyle tells the story of a case that has haunted New England for thirty years. The Crimes: The skeletal remains of nine of the women, aged nineteen to thirty-six, were discovered near highways around New Bedford. Some had clearly been strangled, others were so badly decomposed that police were left to guess how they had died. The Victims: All the missing women had led troubled lives of drug addiction, prostitution, and domestic violence, including Nancy Paiva, whose sister was a hard-working employee of the City of New Bedford, and Debra Greenlaw DeMello, who came from a solidly middle-class family but fell into drugs and abusive relationships. In a bizarre twist, Paiva’s clothes were found near DeMello’s body. The Investigators: Massachusetts state troopers Maryann Dill and Jose Gonsalves were the two constants in a complex cast of city, county, and state cops and prosecutors. They knew the victims, the suspects, and the drug-and-crime-riddled streets of New Bedford. They were present at the beginning of the case and they stayed to the bitter end. The Suspects: Kenneth Ponte, a New Bedford attorney and deputy sheriff with an appetite for drugs and prostitutes, landed in the investigative crosshairs from the start. He was indicted by a grand jury in the murder of one of the victims, but those charges were later dropped. Anthony DeGrazia was a loner who appeared to fit the classic serial-killer profile: horrific childhood abuse, charming, charismatic, but prone to bursts of violence. He hunted prostitutes in the city by night and served at a Catholic church by day. Which of these two was the real killer? Or was it someone else entirely? Maureen Boyle first broke the story in 1988 and stayed with it for decades. In Shallow Graves she spins a riveting narrative about the crimes, the victims, the hunt for the killers, and the search for justice, all played out against the backdrop of an increasingly impoverished community beset by drugs and crime. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews, along with police reports, first-person accounts, and field reporting both during the killings and more recently, Shallow Graves brings the reader behind the scenes of the investigation, onto the streets of the city, and into the homes of the families still hoping for answers.
In Cold Blood: Discovering Chris Watts - Part One - The Facts
Netta Newbound - 2020
He then went on to dispose of their tiny bodies into huge tanks filled with toxic crude oil.Nico Lee Watts, Chris and Shanann’s unborn son.No doubt, most of you watched the story unfold on the news, open-mouthed, in total shock. What could push a loving father to brutally murder his family? Surely there was some mistake? We all have preconceived ideas of how a monster should look–grotesque, hideously deformed, a crazed madman–not this handsome, mild-mannered, shy, polite gent who was often portrayed as the perfect husband and father.So, what happened?During this series we will look at the facts, the police investigation, the evidence, hear Chris Watts’ explanation and his reasoning. We will try to make some sense of what occurred during the early hours of August 13th 2018.We will endeavour to present to you all aspects of the case, right from the initial investigation and how it unfolded, to the first and subsequent confessions all transcribed word for word (where possible) from actual video and audio footage obtained from the FBI’s Discovery Files.
Becky: The Heartbreaking Story of Becky Watts by Her Father Darren Galsworthy
Darren Galsworthy - 2016
As her father Darren discovered the horrific details of what happened to his darling girl, his world fell apart.Writing about his darkest hours and unbearable pain, Darren uncovers what Becky’s relationship with her step-brother Nathan, a child he had raised as his own son, was really like. He recalls the devastation of discovering the truth about the depravity with which Becky was torn from him in the safety of her own home. And he recounts the torment of the legal battle to see his step-son sentenced to life behind bars.But, at its heart, Becky is a poignant personal story, a chance for Darren to pay tribute to his darling daughter, to celebrate her life and take back control of how she is remembered.Darren recalls with enduring love the daughter he fought so hard to get custody of after she was taken into foster care as an infant; the happy child who completed his life; and the innocent schoolgirl who brought joy and happiness to all her knew her.Both heartfelt and haunting, searingly honest and unflinching, this is the ultimate story of a family tragedy.
Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder
Tina Dirmann - 2008
A retired probation officer and a stay-at-home mom, they were looking forward to entering the next phase of their golden years. Their plan: To sell their home--a 55-foot, $435,000 yacht--and start a new life on land...and spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible. The Hawks were thrilled when a young man named Skylar Deleon wanted to buy the boat for himself, his wife, and their two kids. Little did Thomas and Jackie know that this unemployed, former childhood actor and dishonorably discharged Marine had another devious plan in mind: To lure the couple out to sea, force them to sign away their life savings, throw them overboard, and leave them
Bad Blood
Don Davis - 1994
The sons of a high-powered Hollywood Executive and his beautiful wife, they lived in a pampered world of Beverly Hills mansions, swimming pools and private tennis courts.But the dream became a nightmare when police found the butchered bodies of the boys’ parents, Jose and Kitty in the family room of their five-million dollar mansion. Only days after the couple was laid to rest, the brothers began an appalling spending spree, buying Rolex watches, designer clothes and a new Porshe. Seven months later all of Hollywood was stunned when the 18 & 21 year old brothers were arrested for the horrendous killings.In wrenching testimony, Lyle & Erik accused their father of sexually brutalizing then since they were children, claiming his sadistic acts of perversion and cruel violence drove them to their unspeakable crime. blood.
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich - 2017
The child of two lawyers, they are staunchly anti-death penalty. But the moment convicted murderer Ricky Langley’s face flashes on the screen as they review old tapes—the moment they hear him speak of his crimes -- they are overcome with the feeling of wanting him to die. Shocked by their reaction, they dig deeper and deeper into the case. Despite their vastly different circumstances, something in his story is unsettlingly, uncannily familiar.Crime, even the darkest and most unsayable acts, can happen to any one of us. As Alex pores over the facts of the murder, they find themself thrust into the complicated narrative of Ricky’s childhood. And by examining the details of Ricky’s case, they are forced to face their own story, to unearth long-buried family secrets, and reckon with a past that colors their view of Ricky's crime.But another surprise awaits: They weren’t the only one who saw their life in Ricky’s.An intellectual and emotional thriller that is also a different kind of murder mystery, THE FACT OF A BODY is a book not only about how the story of one crime was constructed -- but about how we grapple with our own personal histories. Along the way it tackles questions about the nature of forgiveness, and if a single narrative can ever really contain something as definitive as the truth. This groundbreaking, heart-stopping work, ten years in the making, shows how the law is more personal than we would like to believe -- and the truth more complicated, and powerful, than we could ever imagine.
The Psychopath: A True Story
Mary Turner-Thomson - 2021
Unbeknownst to her, this would be the start of a bold new chapter in her life, fighting to protect other women from his heartless gaslighting campaigns—and putting a stop to his endless deception.
Always In Our Hearts: The Story Of Amy Grossberg, Brian Peterson, The Pregnancy They Hid And The Baby They Killed
Doug Most - 1999
But in November of their Freshman Year, the two young lovers spent a night in a Delaware motel room where, after hiding her pregnancy from her family and her friends for nine months, Amy gave birth to a baby boy. Only she and Brian knew the child even existed . . . until the next morning when the newborn's corpse turned up in the motel dumpster. The case caused a countrywide outrage, and the teenagers ended up in court, desperately fighting for their lives and ultimately against each other...
A Dark Night in Aurora: Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings
William H. Reid - 2018
Only one man was allowed to record extensive interviews with the shooter. This is what he found. On July 20, 2012 in Aurora, Colorado, a man in dark body armor and a gas mask entered a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises with a tactical shotgun, a high-capacity assault rifle, and a sidearm. He threw a canister of tear gas into the crowd and began firing. Soon twelve were dead and fifty-eight were wounded; young children and pregnant women were among them. The man was found calmly waiting at his car. He was detained without resistance.James Holmes, who would be known as "The Batman Killer," is unique among mass shooters in his willingness to be taken into custody alive. In the court case that followed, only Dr. William H. Reid, a distinguished forensic psychiatrist, would be allowed to record interviews with the defendant. Reid would read Holmes' diary, investigate his phone calls and text messages, interview his family and acquaintances, speak to his victims, and review tens of thousands of pages of evidence and court testimony in an attempt to understand how a happy, seemingly normal child could become a killer.A Dark Knight in Aurora uses the twenty-three hours of unredacted interview transcripts never seen by the public and Reid's research to bring the reader inside the mind of a mass murderer. The result is chilling, gripping study of abnormal psychology and how a lovely boy named Jimmy became a mass murderer.
Race To Justice
Larry Sells - 2019
Drivers and racing crews from across the country converged on "The Brickyard," site of the Indianapolis 500, to help search for her.
As the head mechanic for the Dick Simon racing team, known as “Crabby” across the race circuit, Michael had a reputation for bullying and abuse. He'd immediately become a suspect in Cynthia's disappearance. But with a strong alibi, there was nothing authorities could do when he decided to take a vacation to Florida and skip a scheduled polygraph test and the search for his estranged wife. ??? Nor could law enforcement charge him when Cynthia’s body was found a few weeks later in northern Indiana - minus her head. The case went cold for six years until a newly elected prosecutor allowed his deputies to charge Michael Albrecht with murder. ??? But would they be able to prove his guilt? This true crime legal thriller written by one of the prosecutors, Larry Sells, and journalist Margie Porter, runs at full throttle and will leave you on the edge of your seat right up to the checkered flag at the final verdict.
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