Book picks similar to
The Summer Wind: Thomas Capano and the Murder of Anne Marie Fahey by George Anastasia
true-crime
non-fiction
delaware
crime
"I'll Get You!" Drugs, Lies, and the Terrorizing of a PTA Mom
Sam Rule - 2016
When a school parent angrily accused Kelli of keeping her son waiting during the afterschool pick-up, it appeared to be a simple confrontation with an overprotective mother. Kelli soon learned, however, that she was the target of a twisted plot against her that involved drugs, lies, schemes, and a campaign to ruin her life. The vendetta led to reputations tarnished, careers lost, secret lives uncovered, two parents in jail, families destroyed, and a $5.7 million civil judgment.
"I'll Get You!" Drugs, Lies, and the Terrorizing of a PTA Mom
is the true story of an ordinary American woman who survived an evil conspiracy that turned her life upside down and shook her hometown to its core.
The Fall
Amy Dale - 2014
She is too late. A secret camera captures him covering her mouth to suppress her screams as he drags her back inside. 69 seconds later Lisa Harnum is dead. But Simon Gittany insists he has done nothing wrong - he claims his beautiful partner died for a secret she feared would be exposed. The grainy final image of Lisa alive would later horrify a nation, a chilling reminder that the greatest harm can come to us from the hands of those we love. It was also the first hint police had that all was not what it seemed with the outwardly charismatic Gittany. What was Lisa's secret? Did the bubbly Canadian hide a past she would die to protect? How far did Gittany, a man with a criminal past, go to watch her every move and conversation? Police sensed a ruse the man who installed cameras in every room in his luxury apartment was trying to lead them off track with tales of his troubled lover's final days. Their suspicions are further confirmed when it emerges his well-kept recording devices had been switched off only hours before Lisa died. With only two witnesses to that final minute, one who can no longer speak, detectives question if they could ever prove a charge of murder. A week later, a grieving, distraught mother in Toronto answers the phone. A man who looked up 15 storeys into the city skyline has come forward. And what he's seen changes everything. The Fall goes behind the headlines of the country's most captivating court case to bring the story of how Lisa fell in love and grew to fear her fiance. It reveals that while Lisa couldn't escape the danger of Simon Gittany she left behind clues to help catch a killer from beyond the grave.
The Missing Beaumont Children: 50 Years of Mystery and Misery
Michael Madigan - 2015
A crime so shocking that it has often been described as a defining moment in this country's history.After 50 years of intense police investigation the whereabouts of Jane (9), Arnna (7) and Grant Beaumont (4) is still a mystery; Australia's most famous unsolved crime.On the morning of January 26, 1966 the three children set off from their Somerton Park home to Glenelg Beach on a bus to enjoy a brief excursion at Adelaide's most popular beach only a few kilometres away. Apart from a brief sighting from the Beaumont family's postman early on that afternoon, there have been no other sightings of the children since.The 'mystery' of the children's disappearance has often overshadowed the 'misery' the Beaumont parents have had to endure. This book takes the reader inside the trauma of Nancy and Grant; from the panic and heartbreaking first few days to the utter despair in later years.Only seven years after the Beaumont disappearance, two girls Joanne Ratcliffe (11) and Kirste Gordon (4) were abducted from Adelaide Oval during a football match. Were the two abductions connected? How could they not be connected?Author Michael Madigan delves into the sordid world of the numerous 'persons of interest' who have at times been suspects in this case and forensically answers the question 'who could do such a thing?'
INCONVENIENCE GONE: The Short Tragic Life Of Brandon Sims
Diane Marger Moore - 2018
Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon's father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle's shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon's body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder. And she would have except the detective didn't believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice.
Guilt by Matrimony: A Memoir of Love, Madness, and the Murder of Nancy Pfister
Nancy Styler - 2015
The question was: Who did it? Fewer than twelve hours after her body was found and without any evidence, police decided a married couple from Denver had killed her. Within a few days, they arrested and charged Nancy Styler, a friend of Pfister’s who’d had a falling out with her after a business deal went sour, and Dr. Trey Styler, Nancy’s disabled husband, who recently lost the family home, his medical practice, and any hope of a peaceful retirement for himself and his wife. Eleven days later, police also arrested and charged Kathy Carpenter, Pfister’s underpaid and overworked personal assistant and closest friend.Months later, Trey Styler, who was slowly losing his grip on reality as he battled with mental illness, confessed to the crime. Rampant speculation spread about whether he was involved at all—or if his confession was that of a man on his deathbed—because a medical condition appeared to have left him barely able to walk, much less carry out such a heinous crime.In Guilt by Matrimony, Styler’s widow, Nancy, reveals the answers to the biggest mysteries of this case and recounts the trauma of being falsely accused and imprisoned for a first-degree murder she had no knowledge of. And, in the only interview before his death, Trey gives his account of that fateful day.New York Times bestselling author Daleen Berry covers this compelling story from the inside, following the Stylers from their fairy-tale life in Denver to the morning of their simultaneous arrest to Nancy’s release from jail and her attempts to rebuild her shattered life. Filled with details from exclusive interviews, a close look at the botched small-town police work, and first-person accounts of what really happened, Guilt by Matrimony is the definitive look at a shocking murder that rocked Aspen.
Double Jeopardy
Bob Hill - 1995
It is a law intended to protect the innocent from unfair harassment and persecution.But sometimes it protects the guilty as well.Guilty As SinThe circumstantial evidence against southern businessman Mel Ignatow was solid -- effectively damning him for the savage 1988 sex torture/slaying of his former girlfriend, Brenda Schaefer. There was motive, unimpeachable forensic evidence . . . even testimony from an eyewitness who took photographs of the gruesome, horrific crime. But in a Kentucky courtroom, frustration, ignorance, incompetence and fate pulled a supposedly open-and-shut case in shocking, unexpected directions -- and tied the concept of American justice into knots that might never be undone.
Who Killed Scott Guy?: The Case That Gripped a Nation
Mike White - 2013
A behind the scenes view of the murder trial that gripped the nation.
The Mammoth Book of the History of Murder
Colin Wilson - 2000
The thirst for blood and cry for deadly vengeance lie deep in humankind, as criminologist Colin Wilson authoritatively illustrates in this millennial history of the most heinous of human crimes. Analyzing the tangle of motives behind murder and examining an astonishing variety of homicidal methods over the past twenty centuries, Wilson not only profiles infamous historical figures like Vlad the Impaler, Ivan the Terrible, Gilles de Rais, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Marquis de Sade, and Jack the Ripper, but also studies particular categories of homicide and such phenomena as the Jacobean witch hunts and gangland killings of America's Jazz Age. Wilson's chronicle includes, too, the serial killings, random shooting sprees, and cult murders that have troubled more recent times. The comprehensive history and illuminating analysis of how humans kill, and why, make crime-expert Wilson's volume one that no true-crime fan or student of criminology will want to miss.
Finding Bethany: A True Crime Memoir
Glen Klinkhart - 2014
Finding Bethany is the true story of how, as a young boy, Glen Klinkhart was unable to save his sister from a heinous sexual homicide, and how he began his journey as a police officer to find the lost, the missing, and to bring those who would do evil upon others to justice. His career as a homicide detective takes the reader along as he travels from the brink of exhaustion and obsession and into the dark and evil world of sociopathic killers, and those who would do anything to help them. Finding Bethany details what real life homicide investigations are like, from his unique perspective as a victim and as a reluctant hero. The reader will experience the bizarre twists and turns down dark paths which result in macabre dead ends, and unexpected miracles found within the darkest of circumstances. His cases include the stories of people who were willing to give of themselves for someone they often didn’t even know. Finding Bethany is also about two brothers – one a sociopath, the other a good man whose own love for his evil brother had been exploited his entire life.
Dixie's Last Stand: Was It Murder or Self-Defense?
John Ferak - 2015
Then one summer day in 2002, Dixie’s mean and wicked husband was gone. Some of the local residents presumed that Scott packed his bags and left town. But others were skeptical. After all, Scott’s brown Ford pick-up truck was still parked in his driveway. The disappearance mystified Defiance for more than a year. Then in late October, 2003, the truth emerged … or did it?
Mob Killer:
Anthony M. DeStefano - 2011
He hung grisly souvenirs on nails in his junkyard.La Costra NostraCharles Carneglia was a stone-cold killer who fell in with the bloodthirsty John Gotti crew. As the infamous crime family rose to power with their murderous trail of sex, jealousy, greed, and revenge, Carneglia rose with them.Mafia, Madness And MurderThis is the horrifying story of a misfit who fit perfectly into the New York mafia. In a harrowing journey inside a ruthless criminal underworld, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano chronicles one man s life in a world of depraved acts of violence and the horrors that went with being a member of the Gambino family."Thrilling American crime writing. -Jimmy Breslin on "King of the Godfathers"Includes 16 Pages of Shocking Photos"
Black Hands: Inside the Bain Family Murders
Martin Van Beynen - 2020
One lay dead from a single bullet to the head. The other was the only survivor: David Bain. Since then, the country has asked: Who killed the Bain family? David, or his father Robin? And why?Award-winning journalist Martin van Beynen has covered the Bain story closely for decades. His 2017 Stuff podcast, Black Hands - based on the manuscript for this book - topped the charts in New Zealand and around the world and has been downloaded more than 5 million times. Now, his book brings the story completely up to date: exploring the case from start to finish, picking through evidence old and new, plumbing the mysteries and motives, interviewing never-before-spoken-to witnesses andguiding readers through the complex police investigation and court cases, seeking to finally answer the question: Who was the killer?Black Hands is a riveting read from the first word to the last, by a skilled writer who knows his subject inside out.“If anyone can pass judgement it can only be those who sat through the whole trial.” - David Bain in New Idea
True Crime Stories Volume 2: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases (List of Twelve)
Ryan Becker - 2017
From Blaine Norris and Ryan Trimble, who conspired to commit bloody murder for the sake of a film, to James Edward Pough who became a mass shooter after his car was repossessed, it is a frightening yet fascinating look at the sometimes-trivial things which set people onto a path of brutal killing and terror. Each one made their darkest fantasies into a reality when they made the decision to kill and each one has earned their own terrible place in this gruesome hall of fame. Get a copy of List of Twelve: Volume 2 and be prepared for an insight into the darkest recesses of dangerous minds like no other book before it.
Center of Attention: A True Crime Memoir
Jami D. Brown Martin - 2020
The photo looks completely out of place on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list where it’s been since December, 8, 2007. For eight of those years, Jason appeared directly beside Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden is long gone, but Jason is still wanted for armed robbery and murder.For years, his sister, Jami D. Brown Martin has watched the true crime programs and read the amateur investigative blogs devoted to Jason, his crime, and the efforts to apprehend him knowing the story wasn’t as simple, nor was it just Jason’s. To be the sister, brother, or relative of one of the world’s most wanted men is to live every day with the horrible truth and many consequences of his brutal act.CENTER OF ATTENTION is the story of a former Mormon missionary turned murderer. It is also a riveting look behind the facade of the genetically blessed, seemingly prominent and pious Brown family of Laguna Beach, California. It is a tale of the family patriarch, John Brown, who disappeared without a trace ten years before his son. More important, it is the gripping and ultimately hopeful story of the sister of one of the world’s most wanted fugitives and her journey to accept that despite being a product of the same crazy environment as her brother, her life and path are her own.
Bye Mam, I Love You
Sonia Oatley - 2014
A mother's search for justice. The shocking true story of the murder of Rebecca Aylward
On Saturday, 23 October 2010, Sonia Oatley waved off her 15-year-old daughter, Becca, to meet Joshua Davies, a former boyfriend. Becca’s hope was that the two of them would get back together, but it was not to be. By 3pm, oddly, she stopped answering her mobile. By 7.30 she was officially declared missing. And at 10am the following morning, while Sonia and the family were out searching, came the call that is every parent’s worst nightmare. The police had found the body of a young girl in local woodland: she’d been bludgeoned to death with a rock.
Bye Mam, I Love You is the story of Rebecca Aylward’s murder � a slaying that was described by an incredulous media as having been committed for �the price of a breakfast’. But, as soon became clear, this was no crime of passion. Becca’s death had apparently been many months in the planning, by a calculating, cold-blooded killer.
From the immediate arrest of 16-year-old Joshua Davies, to the lengthy investigation and harrowing five week trial that convicted him, this book is both an expression of a mother’s love and her pride in a daughter who had so much to live for, as well as an insight into the mind of a brutal murderer.