The first book ever to describe real life cases of murder, and purported murder, using insulin as a weapon. Covers cases from the USA, UK, Europe, Japan and New Zealand, including the well known Claus von Bulow case, the first criminal trial to be broadcast in its entirety on US TV (later the subject of a Hollywood movie, Reversal of Fortune). Written by Vincent Marks, coauthor of the critically acclaimed book Panic Nation: Exposing the Lies We're Told About Food and Health (John Blake Publishing) and a world authority on insulin, and Caroline Richmond, a medical journalist and writer, this gripping account is intended for doctors and laypeople alike, especially those with an interest in forensic medicine or true life crime.
The true story of a killer nurse whose crimes were hidden by a hospital for years. It’s 1980, and Genene Jones is working the 3 to 11 PM shift in the pediatric ICU in San Antonio's county hospital. As the weeks go by, infants under her care begin experiencing unexpected complications—and dying—in alarming numbers, prompting rumors that there is a murderer among the staff. Her eight-hour shift would come to be called “the death shift.” This strange epidemic would continue unabated for more than a year, before Jones is quietly sent off—with a good recommendation—to a rural pediatric clinic. There, eight children under her care mysteriously stopped breathing—and a 15-month-old baby girl died. In May 1984, Jones was finally arrested, leading to a trial that revealed not only her deeply disturbed mind and a willingness to kill, but a desire to play “God” with the lives of the children under her care. More shocking still was that the hospital had shredded records and remained silent about Jones’ horrific deeds, obscuring the full extent of her spree and prompting grieving parents to ask: Why? Elkind chronicles Jones’ rampage, her trials, and the chilling aftermath of one of the most horrific crimes in America, and turns his piercing gaze onto those responsible for its cover-up. It is a tale with special relevance today, as prosecutors, distraught parents, and victims’ advocates struggle to keep Jones behind bars. “A horrifying true-life medical thriller...”—Publishers Weekly “Gripping...A remarkable journalistic achievement!”—Newsweek “Murder, madness, and medicine...superb!”—Library Journal “Shocking...true crime reporting at its most compelling.”—Booklist
Why would two young boys abduct, torture and kill a toddler? What makes a teenage girl plot with her classmates to kill her own father? Society regards children as harmless - but for some the age of innocence is shortlived, messy and ultimately murderous.Mary Bell, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are infamous for their crimes against other children, but many of the less familiar studies here are equally as shocking. Thirteen murderers - the youngest only ten - used fire, poison, bullets and strangulation on victims from infants to pensioners. In a comprehensive study of juvenile homicide, Carol Anne Davis offers new psychological insights and a hard-hitting look at the role of society in an area too shocking to ignore.
Just over a decade after the Wright Brothers triumph of powered flight, the conduct of war was changed for ever. Until the Kaisers Zeppelins raided British cities and towns, it had been unthinkable that civilian populations and property hundreds of miles from the battlefield could be at risk from sudden death and destruction.In the first section of The Baby Killers Thomas Fegan charts the precise chronology of the air raids on Britain in this most thorough and fascinating work. From the start-point of the doom-laden prophecies of HG Wells and others, he describes the development of the German threat and the desperate search for answers to it. He analyses public reaction and assesses the effectiveness of the campaign as it progressed from airships to Gotha heavy bombers and, later, Giants.The second part of this superbly researched book features a gazetteer to the places bombed. The extent of the list, which includes Edinburgh, Hull and Greater Manchester, will almost certainly surprise most readers. Helpfully there are also comprehensive lists of memorials and relevant museums. The Baby Killers provides a chilling insight into an aspect of The Great War which is all too often overlooked. Yet, at the time, these raids, while modest compared with those of the Second World War Blitz, shook nationalmorale and instilled great fear and outrage. This is an important and highly readable work.
"Amelia Dyer: Angel Maker tells the true story of a "kind", "homely" and "motherly" nurse who made a living by strangling unwanted babies to death. Born into a respectable working-class family, Amelia joined a nationwide network of women who pursued an "occupation which shuns the light". Amelia became adept at her trade, sidestepping the authorities for almost three decades and even initiating her own daughter into her nefarious profession." "Using hospital, prison and police archives, census records, contemporary newspaper reports and Dyer's own correspondence, authors Alison Rattle and Allison Vale reconstruct her life. Here, for the first time, is the full story of this ordinary woman who became a monster."--BOOK JACKET.
An anthology of True Crime focused on women who killed children, even their own. ALEXANDRA TOBIAS - On January 19th, 2010, 22 year old Alexandra Tobias was playing Farmville on Facebook at home in Jacksonville, Florida when she was interrupted by the cries of her three month old baby, Dylan. She tried to silence him by shaking him roughly - hitting his head in the process. The child fell unconscious and she placed a frantic call to 911. The child would be taken to the hospital where he would die the next day. Alexandra would be arrested for second degree murder. Just over a year later, on February 1st 2011, Tobias was sentenced to 50 years in prison. "He who is the most defenceless among us was murdered by his own mommy. And why? Because he was crying during a game of Fishville or Farmville or whatever was going on during Facebooking time that day," the presiding Judge Adrian G Soud said. In the time between the crime and the sentencing, news organizations across America picked up the story.Why would Alexandra kill her baby?KATHLEEN FOLBIGG - Kathleen Folbigg was a serial child killer who murdered her three infant children and was convicted for the manslaughter of a fourth. Her killings would take place over the course of an eight-year period during in which she was never suspected. She would only be discovered after her husband discovered her personal diary in which she detailed the motivations behind her killing spree. This is her story.SUSAN SMITH - The idea of a mother who kills her children will always capture the attention of the nation, and in some cases the entire world will tune in as they did in Smith's situation, at first with sympathy and then with outrage. Why would someone commit the most unspeakable of acts? How could a mother kill her child? In 1994, these questions were asked of Susan Smith, a young woman living in Union of South Carolina during an unusual case.CHRISTINE RIGGS - Christina Marie Riggs was convicted of murdering her two young children in Arkansas in 1997. Three years later, she would become the first woman executed in that state since 1845. Struggling with depression and mental health issues, Riggs succumbed to her own warped world view in a botched murder/suicide of her own children leaving an entire nation asking "why"?
An anthology of True Crime focused on women who killed children, even their own. ALEXANDRA TOBIAS - On January 19th, 2010, 22 year old Alexandra Tobias was playing Farmville on Facebook at home in Jacksonville, Florida when she was interrupted by the cries of her three month old baby, Dylan. She tried to silence him by shaking him roughly - hitting his head in the process. The child fell unconscious and she placed a frantic call to 911. The child would be taken to the hospital where he would die the next day. Alexandra would be arrested for second degree murder. Just over a year later, on February 1st 2011, Tobias was sentenced to 50 years in prison. "He who is the most defenceless among us was murdered by his own mommy. And why? Because he was crying during a game of Fishville or Farmville or whatever was going on during Facebooking time that day," the presiding Judge Adrian G Soud said. In the time between the crime and the sentencing , news organizations across America picked up the story.Why would Alexandra kill her baby?KATHLEEN FOLBIGG - Kathleen Folbigg was a serial child killer who murdered her three infant children and was convicted for the manslaughter of a fourth. Her killings would take place over the course of an eight-year period during in which she was never suspected. She would only be discovered after her husband discovered her personal diary in which she detailed the motivations behind her killing spree. This is her story.SUSAN SMITH - The idea of a mother who kills her children will always capture the attention of the nation, and in some cases the entire world will tune in as they did in Smith's situation, at first with sympathy and then with outrage. Why would someone commit the most unspeakable of acts? How could a mother kill her child? In 1994, these questions were asked of Susan Smith, a young woman living in Union of South Carolina during an unusual case.CHRISTINE RIGGS - Christina Marie Riggs was convicted of murdering her two young children in Arkansas in 1997. Three years later, she would become the first woman executed in that state since 1845. Struggling with depression and mental health issues, Riggs succumbed to her own warped world view in a botched murder/suicide of her own children leaving an entire nation asking "why"?
