True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History and the Authors That Have Written About Them

The 2011 Casey Anthony trial became the most sensational news story of the year. Time magazine called it the social media trial of the century. The 22-year-old single mom was charged with three felonies including first degree murder, aggravated child abuse and manslaughter. When pictures surfaced on the internet showing her at a nightclub shortly after her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, went missing, the media and public went ballistic. Thirty-one days passed after Caylee disappeared before police were notified and then it was not mother Casey, but her family that called police and they were pointing fingers at her.  The trial resembled in many ways the Roman Colosseum, where crowds thirsted to see lions devour the captured prisoner. Internet blogs exploded, just as the Roman crowds must have, with demands for execution. The trial's streaming videos and interactive blogs left the public demanding to see an embodiment of Caesar give his final “thumbs down” against their prize. The trial jury was another matter. Jurors cried as the evidence against her was so thin they had no choice but to find her "not guilty."  Almost unnoticed, a few leading journalists protested the media carnival that became the Casey Anthony trial. They objected to the one-sided narrative informing the court of public opinion forgetting there is a difference between someone appearing guilty and the requirement that prosecutors need to prove in court. The media‘s coverage is something we should discuss beginning with: Did police arrest the wrong person? Was the jury right deciding Casey Anthony was "not guilty"?  Was Casey's mother involved in a coverup of a crime aganst Caylee? Who was Cindy protecting, Casey or her husband, George? THE MEDIA'S COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION-CASEY ANTHONY-Keith Long

This multifaceted probe of murder offenses, offenders, victims, and characteristics of homicide in American society breaks new ground by examining issues generally ignored or neglected among researchers. Topics include murders occurring in the workplace and in schools, those perpetrated by gangs and terrorists, those incited by bias, and intimate and intrafamilial murders. The book discusses sexual killers, serial and mass murderers, and suicide. It also examines psychological and sociological theories on murder and violence, as well as the increasing role the Internet plays in these crimes. Case studies of actual murderers are included. THE DYNAMICS OF MURDER-KILL OR BE KILLED-R. Barri Flowers

Dead just one week into her Australian honeymoon, Tina Watson's body lay a hundred feet below the ocean's surface at the foot of the Great Barrier Reef. Across the globe, three days into a secret Aruban getaway with an older gentleman she met online, Robyn Gardner vanished from the same Aruban town as Natalee Holloway just five years earlier.Why did Robyn Gardner's travel companion purchase a $1.5 million insurance policy and make himself the beneficiary? Did Tina Watson's husband really insist she increase her life insurance coverage to $1 million before the wedding? When both suspects' stories are deemed suspicious, what does the evidence ultimately reveal?Motive and opportunity gave the media full opportunity to cast these suspects as murderers. But what actually happened? And what is it about this pair of bizarre cases that remains brutally chilling to this day? FATAL SUNSE6T: VANISHED BEAUTY-Mark Yoshimoto Nemkoff

Weaver and fiber artist Edith “Pen” Meyer knew her friend Sandy Merritt’s relationship with a married man was wrong. She had even urged Sandy to take out a restraining order against Kenneth Carpenter. Which was why her call to Sandy on February 23, 2005, seemed to come from out of the blue. During it, she told Sandy to drop the restraining order and get back together with Ken. Pen was never seen again. One man stood to gain from Pen’s disappearance: Ken Carpenter. But evidence was bleak: no blood, no DNA, no body. Until detectives found notes hidden beneath a leather chair that turned out to be a playbook for murder…NOTES ON A KILLING-Kevin Flynn

John Sohus, a twenty-something resident of San Marino, California, was allegedly murdered in 1985 by con man Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who has become infamous under his most-known alias, Clark Rockefeller. Rockefeller, the prime suspect in Sohus murder, may have been the last person to see him alive. Nine years after his death, Sohus bones were dug up in the backyard of the home he once shared with his wife Linda, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Rockefeller s 2008 arrest for abducting his daughter put him squarely in the cross-hairs of the decades-old Sohus homicide case. Upon Rockefeller s arrest, Girardot began piecing together the convoluted tale in a series of articles for the Pasadena Star-News. His research resulted in Name Dropper, which reveals inside information about the case Girardot says is the most fantastic he's seen in his 25 years as an investigative reporter. NAME DROPPER-INVESTIGATING THE CLARK ROCKEFELLER MYSTERY-Frank C. Girardot

In Tampa in 1948, known gangster Jimmy Velasco was gunned down by a hit man. In the ensuing weeks, when neither the Tampa Police Department nor Hillsborough made an arrest, Jimmy’s brothers took the investigation to the governor, who ordered a grand jury investigation. In February 1949, the findings were revealed. Among the discoveries was a “pay off” list written by Velasco prior to his death detailing the public officials he paid off to remain immune to law enforcement. The public was captivated by the news and rumors swirled over who was named. The grand jury never released the names on the list and it has been locked away ever since. TAMPA BAY ORGANIZED CRIME-Paul GuzzoThis list detailed a who is who of Tampa's leadership, from judges to city councilman to the mayor and sheriff. Some of these names are old hat, exposed years later by the Kefauver Commission. Others are new and previously thought up-standing leaders.

A beautiful, young American woman was kidnapped and confined against her will in the putrid depths of Tijuana, Mexico. Drugged and tortured, she lived in constant fear for her life. Kidnapped by the Cartel opens the doors into the secret covens of Mexican Organized Crime, a terrifying place where many are lost forever. The slimy backstreets of Tijuana are graphically revealed as the disgusting, gruesome, and violent places they are known to be.The U.S. State Department has warned against non-essential travel along the United States/Mexico border, especially in the violent cities of Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana. This novel gives a taste of what goes on behind the fence. KIDNAPPED BY THE CARTEL-A NOVEL INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY-Karen Scioscia

Where was Sandra? Across the country, parents watched with growing panic as the surveillance video was replayed on the evening news: a young girl in black leggings and a Hello Kitty t-shirt, skipping alone through the mobile home park where she lived. Her bouncing steps carried her quickly across the screen and beyond the camera's view-just two weeks after she celebrated her eighth birthday, Sandra Cantu disappeared. Within days, panic gave way to horror when investigators reported that Sandra's neighbor, 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby, had been arrested and charged with the rape and murder of the young girl. Sandra's death at the hands of a trusted adult female sent a powerful message to parents everywhere: The days of warning against "Stranger Danger" are long gone, having been replaced by an even darker era where stereotypes no longer exist and families can never be sure who to trust. SEARCHING FOR SANDRA-THE STORY BEHIND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SANDRA CANTU-Stacy Dittrich

From ancient Rome through the Dark Ages to the burgeoning West to the open highways of urban America, from the unconscionable exploits of French religious zealot Gilles de Rais to such all-American monsters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Aileen Wournos, Katherine Ramsland makes an eye-opening case for the existence of serial killers throughout time, and offers a complete chronological record of the serial-killer phenomenon-as well as the parallel development of psychology, forensic science, and FBI profiling in the serial killer's evolving manifestation throughout human history. THE HUMAN PREDATOR-A HISTORICAL CHRONICLE OF SERIAL MURDER AND FORENSIC INVESTIGATION-Katherine Ramsland

For twenty-five years, John E. Douglas worked for the FBI, where he headed the elite Investigative Support Unit. The real-life model for FBI Agent Jack Crawford in "The Silence of the Lambs", he's had a brilliant and terrifying career, getting inside the minds of notorious murderers and serial killers including Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam). Written with long-time collaborator Mark Olshaker, "Law & Disorder" is Douglas' most provocative and personal book to date. In it, he addresses every law enforcement professional's worst nightmare: those cases where, for one reason or another, justice was delayed ...or even denied. Through a series of character-driven case histories - from the earliest trials in Salem, Massachusetts to the bungled trial of Amanda Knox - Douglas shows what happens when the system breaks down and bias, media coverage, and other influences get in the way of a dispassionate pursuit of the evidence. Here also are Douglas' personal reflections on his ongoing search for the truth - from painful lessons learned early in his career to his controversial findings in the West Memphis Three and Jon Benet Ramsey investigations. Brimming with procedural detail, "Law & Disorder" is an eye-opening insider's account of the exhilaration and frustration that attend the quest for justice. LAW AND DISORDER-Mark Olshaker

The behavior and activities exhibited by offenders that distinguish lust murderers from among other types of serial murderers are presented through a multiple case studies analysis of the offenders' psychosocial histories and offense patterns. The lust murderers examined include Theodore Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Dennis Rader. The study advocates that a primary function of the development of typologies is to provide aid and assistance in the investigation of violent crime, specifically violent sexualized homicides. EROTOPHONOPHILIA-INVESTIGATING LUST MURDER-Janet McClellan

This book examines the effectiveness and efficiency of the typologies of lust murder (erotophonophilia) advocated by contemporary researchers, specifically, Godwin, Holmes and Holmes; Keppel and Walter; Kocsis, Cooksey, and Irwin. The behavior and activities exhibited by offenders that distinguish lust murderers from among other types of serial murderers are presented through a multiple case studies analysis of the offenders' psychosocial histories and offense patterns. The lust murderers examined include Theodore Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Dennis Rader. The book proposes the need for a composite typology technique in order to have a more promising approach in identifying a suspect pool from a broader range of psychosocial, offense activities, and particular offender characteristics to aid in investigations. The study advocates that a primary function of the development of typologies is to provide aid and assistance in the investigation of violent crime, specifically violent sexualized homicides. With a unifying theory or model that explains the offense aspects, distinguishes significant crime scene activities, victim targeting, and variances of significant or available forensic findings will result in the viability of typologies as effective tools in the criminal investigation of lust murder. EROTOPHONOPHILIA-INVESTIGATING LUST MURDER-Janet McClellan

What goes through the dark minds of such notorious killers as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam"), John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader (the "BTK Killer"), and others? In this chilling book, you'll read exactly what they were thinking in their own words as they committed horrible crimes. Using court transcripts and police interviews, veteran true-crime and crime-fiction writer Tom Philbin has compiled the testimony of twenty infamous serial killers-nineteen men and one woman. For fans of crime stories who look for realism, this book is like no other. The descriptions couldn't be more realistic since, in effect, the book is written by the serial killers themselves. Their words range from the bizarre and weirdly fascinating to the revolting and horrific. In each case, Philbin provides a background profile to give readers a sense of the context from which these monsters emerged. Though they come from different backgrounds, nationalities, and generations, their words do reveal certain common elements. Not one evinces any sense of compassion or sensitivity in regard to their victims. They appear to be unable to control the impulses that lead them to kill. And in many cases, they derive a perverse sexual satisfaction from their deeds. Taking true-crime reading to a new level of immediacy, this disturbing book offers a glimpse into the worst side of human nature. I, MONSTER-SERIAL KILLERS IN THEIR OWN CHILLING WORDS-Tom Philbin

Returning for another chilling season, Investigation Discovery’s DARK MINDS transports the most dangerous of all criminals right into your own home. In the series, returning on February 27, non-fiction crime author M. William Phelps ( his latest is The Kiss of the She-Devil) and criminal profiler John Kelly revisit unsolved homicides believed to be the work of serial killers. The twist? They have an insider that intimately understands the disturbed mind of a murderer – because he is one, currently serving multiple life sentences in a maximum security prison. With a new voice on the other end of the line this season, known only to audiences as “Raven,” this unique source offers his “expert” opinion to profile the killers whose victims deserve justice and whose families deserve answers. Raven’s voice and identity are disguised as he uses his own personal experience to formulate theories about the motives and practices of each murderer, providing unorthodox yet invaluable information that Phelps and Kelly make sense of in an effort to provide law enforcement with critical leads. DARK MINDS-M. William Phelps

Kelley Cannon was living the American Dream. The former prom queen had three beautiful children with her successful, handsome husband, Jim, and an elegant home in well-to-do Nashville. But when their housekeeper found Jim murdered, strangled to death as their children slept, the fairytale collapsed. Behind the facade, Kelley's glamorous lifestyle was being torn apart by infidelity, alcohol, and drug abuse. When she went from prime suspect to accused, a jury had to decide: How could a 90-pound woman overpower a grown man to death? Their finding: premeditated murder, a life sentence - and a privileged life that masked a dark, violent truth. HOUSE OF LIES-Linda Rosencrance