On March 6, 1992, Elizabeth DeCaro, a 28-year-old mother of four was found dead in her own home, murdered execution-style with two bullets to the head. Her husband Rick was immediately suspect, having previously struck her "accidentally" with the family van after taking out a $100,000 life insurance policy on her. This book presents the true story of Elizabeth's family and their search for justice against the man who continued to play father to the children whose mother he had killed. Photos.
What do Jack the Ripper, The Son of Sam, Wayne Williams, Jeffrey Dahmer, The Boston Strangler, and The Coed Killer John Norman Collins have in common with this obscure case? What connects the people of London, New York, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Boston and Ann Arbor, Michigan to those in the tiny town of Folly Beach? Drawing upon 20th-century media coverage and on 19th-century tabloid accounts of Jack the Ripper, the author constructs vivid and provocative portrayals of the ways in which some of the most notorious serial killers affected the communities they terrorized.
Procedural and technical inaccuracies can ruin an otherwise effective crime novel, especially given the public's ever-increasing interest in forensic details. In this fascinating guide, readers delve into the worldof murder to learn how and why people commit homicide and how detectives capture the deadly perpetrators.
-- The six myths of serial murder: addressing the "black hole of misinformation" that surrounds the subject. -- Detailed case studies of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and other serial killers. -- The state-of-the-art in law enforcement investigation of serial murder. This book brings together all of what we know, what we think we know, and what we don't know about the horrific violence of serial murder. Part I introduces the subject of serial murder and presents the "six myths" of serial murder that interfere with understanding and successful investigation. Part II presents detailed case studies of four infamous serial killers, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Kenneth Bianchi and Henry Lee Lucas. Part Ill focuses on the investigation of serial murder, showing the problems law enforcement faces -- notably "linkage blindness", the inability of unwillingness of police agencies to share information on unsolved murders. This section includes an extensive discussion of fourteen different police responses to serial murder. Finally, the author -- a noted criminologist and former homicide investigator -- discusses the future of serial murder and its investigation. Students of criminology, psychology and sociology; true crime buffs; mystery writers and readers; journalists; skeptics; and criminal justice professionals.
In a series of death row interviews done shortly before his execution, infamous serial killer Ted Bundy gave a third-person "confession" of his many murders. This definitive book on Bundy was recently made into a Netflix documentary. What goes on in the mind of a serial killer? Drawn from more than 150 hours of exclusive tape-recorded interviews with the handsome, charismastic Bundy, whose grisly killing spree left at least 30 young women dead across seven states between 1974 and 1978, this chilling exposé provides a shocking self-portrait of one of the most savage sex murderers in history. Speaking eerily in the third person, Bundy reveals appalling details about his crimes, discloses how he attracted his victims, explains how he methodically disguised his acts, and recounts his two daring jailbreaks. Bundy also offers his thoughts on other infamous serial killers, including John Wayne Gacy and Son of Sam.
World War II may be over. But two sisters are far from safe. Inspired by true events, this is the latest gripping and powerful novel from the acclaimed author of Making Bombs for Hitler. Sisters Krystia and Maria have been through the worst -- or so they think. World War II ravaged their native Ukraine, but they both survived, and are now reunited in a displaced persons camp. Then another girl accuses the sisters of being Hitler Girls -- people who collaborated with the Nazis. Nothing could be further from the truth; during the horrors of the war, both sisters resisted the Nazis and everything they stood for. But the Soviets, who are now in charge, don't listen to the sisters' protests. Krystia and Maria are taken away and interrogated for crimes they never committed. Caught in a dangerous trap, the sisters must look to each other for strength and perseverance. Can they convince their captors that they're innocent -- or escape to safety before it's too late?
This book presents an in-depth psychological analysis of the development of the serial killer personality that will fascinate all readers, from the experienced criminology student to the casual true-crime reader. Real-Life Monsters: A Psychological Examination of the Serial Murderer takes a different approach than most titles on a similar topic: the author develops and proposes an original psychological explanation, rather than simply repeating some of the long-held theories for these criminals' heinous actions. The work addresses current issues, presents detailed commentary and personal observation, and contains photographs that will fascinate general readers interested in the subjects of true crime, serial killers, and psychopathology. The first part of the book carefully examines the research past and present regarding clinical, psychological, societal, and biological bases for violent behavior, specific to the serial murderer. Part two establishes a novel theory of the pattern of violence and then explores this hypothesis through eight case studies, interviews with serial killers, and elemental analysis. The work also contains a chapter based on conversations between the author and a convicted serial murderer.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!
Fans of Sadie and You will be riveted by this compulsively readable new thriller about a survivor of dating violence who uses her newfound awareness of everyday evil to hunt for a killer. When Catherine Ellers returns home after her first semester at college, she is seeking refuge from a night she can barely piece together, dreads remembering, and refuses to talk about. She tries to get back to normal, but just days later the murder of someone close to her tears away any illusion of safety. Catherine feels driven to face both violent events head on in hopes of finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice with the help of her childhood friend, Henry. Then a stranger from college arrives with her lost coat, missing driver's license--and details to help fill in the gaps in her memory that could be the key to solving both mysteries. But who is Andrew Worthington and why is he offering to help her? And what other dangerous obsessions is her sleepy town hiding? Surrounded by secrets and lies, Catherine must unravel the truth--before this wolf in sheep's clothing strikes again.
Killer Looks is the definitive story about the long-forgotten practice of providing free nose jobs, face-lifts, breast implants, and other physical alterations to prisoners, the idea being that by remodeling the face you remake the man. From the 1920s up to the mid-1990s, half a million prison inmates across America, Canada, and the U.K willingly went under the knife, their tab picked up by the government. In the beginning, this was a haphazard affair -- applied inconsistently and unfairly to inmates, but entering the 1960s, a movement to scientifically quantify the long-term effect of such programs took hold. And, strange as it may sound, the criminologists were right: recidivism rates plummeted. In 1967, a three-year cosmetic surgery program set on Rikers Island saw recidivism rates drop 36% for surgically altered offenders. The program, funded by a $240,000 grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, was led by Dr. Michael Lewin, who ran a similar program at Sing-Sing prison in 1953. Killer Looks draws on the intersectionality of socioeconomic success, racial bias, the prison industry complex and the fallacy of attractiveness to get to the heart of how appearance and societal approval creates self-worth, and uncovers deeper truths of beauty bias, inherited racism, effective recidivism programs, and inequality. ,
