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

  J. Tony Serra is the epitome of counter-cultural hero. He has spent his life defending society's marginalized citizens in the courtroom. His role in the Chol Soo Lee case was depicted in the film True Believer and he has gained national prominence for his closing argument techniques. He is a life-long tax resister who has spent time in federal prison in protest of what he percieves to be an unjust political and legal system.  Tony Serra has been a criminal defense attorney for over 45 years. He has been involved with numerous high profile cases including the Black Panthers and the Hell's Angels. He is the reciepient of numerous awards including an ACLU Civil Liberties Award and Lawyer of the Year from the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association. Recently he was incarcerated for federal taxes he decided not to offer a federal government he considers hostile to the poor, immigrants, Native Americans, and folks who enjoy a bit of inner transportation by means of forbidden substances. WALKING THE CIRCLE-PRISON CHRONICLES-J. Tony Serra

Murder in the Mountains: The Muriel Baldridge Story revisits the slaying of Muriel Baldridge, the 17-year old high school cheerleader who was found beaten to death on the morning of June 28, 1949 in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. After a decades-long investigation that featured an amazing array of twists and turns, including a sensational trial and a controversial verdict, the case remains unsolved. To this day Muriel's murder is considered "the most bizarre and confusing case in the annuals of Eastern Kentucky crime." MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS-Michael Crisp

  Raynella Dossett Leath said she came home one morning in 2003 and found her husband’s body in bed—covered in blood, a Colt .38 by his side. But authorities were suspicious of Raynella’s story. Why would her husband of ten years suddenly commit suicide? And if he had taken his own life, why did it appear that three shots were fired?   David Leath was not the first of Raynella’s husbands to turn up dead. After digging into Raynella’s past, police unearthed bizarre, gruesome details surrounding the death of her first husband, who was seemingly trampled by his own cattle. Which led investigators to wonder: Could Raynella have staged his death, too?   To those who knew her, Raynella was a loving mother of two, a good neighbor and friend, a nurse who always reached out a helping hand. Was this woman capable of killing both her husbands? And if so: Why did she do it—out of greed, jealousy or revenge? This is the story about what dark secrets were lurking inside HER DEADLY WEB-Diane Fanning

  To his parishioners, minister Matt Baker seemed a pious and good man. To his wife, Kari, he was a devoted husband and caring father. Always sunny and vivacious, Kari never questioned their frequent relocations from one small Texas Baptist church to another. Even when tragedy struck, Kari remained strong—until one day, inexplicably, she took her own life. To friends and family, Kari's suicide made no sense—and they struggled with questions they couldn't answer. Why couldn't Matt hold a job with any one church? Why did he cut off all contact with Kari's devastated parents soon after her death? And who was the blond companion he began appearing with just days after the funeral? But it would take a team of investigators and dogged determination to bring Matt Baker's dark secrets to light—revealing a shocking history of lies, infidelity, cruelty, and sexual obsession that may have led a serial predator cloaked in God's word to commit murder.

Chelsea King was a popular high school senior, an outstanding achiever determined to make a difference. Amber Dubois loved books and poured her heart into the animals she cared for. Treasured by their families and friends, both girls disappeared in San Diego County, just eight miles and one year apart. The community's desperate search led authorities to John Albert Gardner III, a brutal predator hiding in plain sight. Now Pulitzer-nominated author Caitlin Rother delivers an incisive, heartbreaking true-life thriller that touches our deepest fears. LOST GIRLS-Caitlin Rother

  In February 1975, 9 year-old Marcia Trimble left her house in Nashville to deliver Girl Scout cookies in the neighborhood. She never returned. After a massive but fruitless search, her body was discovered on Easter Sunday. Outrage and horror gripped the community of Nashville, but the murder investigation was frustrated at every turn. The case went cold for three decades until it was finally solved. In January 1997, Herbert Blitzstein was found murdered in the living room of his Las Vegas townhouse. A notorious mob insider, "Fat Herbie" had pursued loan sharking and other rackets for decades. Now, Blitzstein had been dispatched gangland style—by three bullets to the back of the head—in what appeared to be a classic contract killing. But the details of who killed him and why turned out to be much more complicated, and the real motives and circumstances remain murky to this day. These are just two examples of the riveting stories assembled by bestselling criminologist R. Barri Flowers in this unparalleled collection of some of the top true-crime writers in the world. There are seventeen contributors including Amanda Lamb, Burl Barer, R. Barri Flowers, Cathy Scott, Patricia Springer, Harold Schechter and Katherine Ramsland. Spanning murder cases from the beginning of the twentieth century to today-MASTERS OF TRUE CRIME-CHILLING STORIES OF MURDER AND THE MACABRE-Edited by R. Barri Flowers

By the time Richard Trenton Chase graduated high school, everyone knew he was strange. But no one had any idea how bizarre he'd become, or what dark impulses were flowing through his troubled brain. The transformation from the outwardly strange young man to the diabolical killer he ultimately became, was gradual and would not become known until it was too late. First it was the killing of small animals and birds, and the drinking of their blood. However, when these sacrifices failed to satiate his needs, Richard Chase would seek out the highest form of life, and the city of Sacramento, California would react in horror to the hideous murders and mutilations committed by his hands. For those living in the quiet neighborhoods where the murders occurred, it was nothing less than a time of terror until the fiend was captured. Vampire: The Richard Chase Murders, including 23 photos, is an in-depth look into the life and disturbed mind of a killer, his family, and his many victims, the living as well as the dead. Discover what it was like for the police, and what a difficult job they had finding a killer they knew wouldn't stop until he was apprehended. It was a race against time, in a series of murders that would stun even the most hardened investigators. It is the story of a city under siege, held captive by the man whose appetite for blood could not be satisfied. VAMPIRE-THE RICHARD CHASE MURDERS-Kevin M. Sullivan  

David Mahler, a 43-year-old east coast lawyer, came to Hollywood for the celebrity lifestyle, the movie industry, and the women. At his seven-level home in the Hollywood Hills, Mahler rubbed elbows with the seedy elements of the entertainment world: wannabe rock stars, drug kingpins, and adult film stars—one of whom introduced him to Kristin Baldwin, a pretty, upbeat blonde. One night, during a violent argument in his bedroom, a vicious, drug-crazed Mahler grabbed a gun. A shot rang out—and Kristin was never seen alive again. 

Laurie Show was as compassionate as she was hard-working. The outgoing high-school junior worked part-time to pay for the home she and her divorced mother shared. Yet she always had time to tutor friends struggling in school. And she befriended a dejected classmate after his traumatic breakup with his pregnant long-time girlfriend Michelle Lambert. But soon things spiraled into jealous obsession, stalking, and a brutal attack that left Laurie murdered in her own bedroom. And once Michelle started telling one lie too many, the ensuing investigation shattered a peaceful community. Noted crime writer Lyn Riddle also brings you the latest updates on Michelle Lambert, her accomplices, and those involved in this unforgettable case. OVERKILL-Lyn Riddle

  On the morning of April 8, 2006, residents of the hamlet of Shedden, Ontario, woke up to the news that the bloodied bodies of eight bikers from the Bandidos gang had been found dead on a local farm. The massacre made headlines around the world, and the shocking news brought a grim light to an otherwise quiet corner of the province. Six Bandidos would eventually be convicted of the first-degree murder of their biker brothers. Like other outlaw bikers, Bandidos portray themselves as motorcycle enthusiasts who are systematically misunderstood and abused by the police, as well as feared by the public. We now know the Bandidos were anything but simple motorcycle enthusiasts. However, unlike such biker gangs as the Hell's Angels, who run sophisticated operations, the Bandidos were highly disorganized, prone to petty infighting and even engaged in sabotaging fellow members. This is the story of how the Bandidos self-destructed over one very dark night. As gripping as any crime novel, The Bandido Massacre takes us inside a crumbling brotherhood bent on betrayal and self-obliteration. THE BANDIDO MASSACRE-Peter Edwards

    In 1980 in Toledo, Ohio—on one of the holiest days of the church calendar—the body of a nun was discovered in the sacristy of a hospital chapel. Seventy-one-year-old Sister Margaret Ann had been strangled and stabbed, her corpse arranged in a shameful and stomach-churning pose. But the police's most likely suspect was inexplicably released and the investigation was quietly buried. Despite damning evidence, Father Gerald Robinson went free. Twenty-three years later the priest's name resurfaced in connection with a bizarre case of satanic ritual and abuse. It prompted investigators to exhume the remains of the slain nun in search of the proof left behind that would indelibly mark Father Robinson as Sister Margaret Ann's killer: the sign of the Devil. When Satan Wore a Cross is a shocking true story of official cover-ups, madness, murder and lies—and of an unholy human monster who disguised himself in holy garb. WHEN SATAN WORE A CROSS-Fred Rosen

When the infamous gangster Whitey Bulger went on the lam in 1995, the streets of Boston became a war zone between the Mafia and the renegades, with the Winter Hill Gang looking on. Rogue Mobster: The Untold Story of Mark Silverman and the New England Mafia chronicles the inside story of the Boston mob wars of the 1990’s when over two dozen gangsters were killed in a vicious war for control of the Boston underworld. Rogue Mobster is told in the words of Mark Silverman, an outsider from Medford who got inside the mob and became an integral part of the ensuing war. His account is the first-ever inside glimpse into what went on at the street level, why people were killed, and what the stakes were. Silverman grew up in the shadow of Whitey Bulger, Howie Winter, Raymond Patriarca and Jerry Anguilo, bosses of Boston’s most infamous crime families. With a Jewish last name, his opportunities should have been limited in Boston’s Irish/Italian underworld, but he moved up quickly, gaining acceptance across the board. Silverman was ‘made’ in the Patriarca Family as a reward for infiltrating a renegade mob faction backed by a New York family. The book begins with a unique history of the Boston gangland scene and takes the reader up to the late 1980’s,Silverman recounts the shifting alliances and friendships that were torn apart as the various mob factions battled for control of the Boston underworld through the early 2000’s. Rogue Mobster is a firsthand account of the violent Boston mob wars of the 1990s, when bodies were piling up across New England and Mark Silverman was walking a tightrope between Winter Hill and the Mafia. ROGUE MOBSTER-Mark Silverman and Scott Deitche

The greatest counter-culture lawyer of his time. His trials have garnered him acclaim as one of the greatest criminal defense lawyers of the century. He's the white tornado in court, a semantic samurai, a shaman, a bard, a hero to some, a trickster to others, and always a force to be reckoned with, respected by all. This is a no-holds barred examination of the man, his renegade lifestyle, his resolute beliefs, and the legal system he serves and transforms. Filled with murder, drugs, and death-penalty cases, snitches, the psychological elements of crime, the nullification of and nexus with juries, closing arguments, and more, Lust for Justice pulls the black robe off the justice system to reveal what it is: a railroad to prison for minorities. In Lust for Justice, you view the law through the eyes of one of its greatest practitioners - and you'll never look at it the same way again. LUST FOR JUSTICE-The Radical Life & Law of J. Tony Serra-Paulette Frankl and J. Tony Serra

When prison inmate Robert Reldan's aunt died and left him an $8.9 million trust fund, Arthur and Barbara Reeve, parents of murder victim Susan Reeve, acted to deprive Reldan of the funds that could gain him freedom on parole. The Reeves ultimately got an unheard of $10 million judgment against their daughter's killer, effectively stripping the man known as America's richest inmate. Soon after Susan's murder, the Reeves set up a scholarship fund in her name and the killer's money is currently used in that fund which helps to educate young men and women. The Charmer embraces the hunt to bring Susan'a killer to justice and then the chase of a lifetime by one family determined to give their slain daughter a voice, decades after she was silenced. THE CHARMER-The True Story of Robert Reldan-Rapist, Murderer and Millionaire-and the Women who Fell Victim to his Allure- Richard Muti and Charles Buckley

  In the early 1970's, Frank Matthews became America's biggest drug kingpin. His organization, headquartered in Brooklyn, stretched across more than 20 states, and he became the only Black gangster to establish direct ties to the French Connection heroin pipeline. After being indicted in 1973, he disappeared with 15-20 million dollars in drug profits, equivalent to roughly 100 million in today's cash. Despite one of the largest manhunt's in US history, Frank Matthews hasn't been seen since. There is no proof of whether he is alive or dead. To quote the federal prosecutor assigned the Matthews case he "was a pioneering giant of drug distribution". His organization eventually outgrew even the Italian Mafia and when he built himself a mansion in Staten Island's most exclusive neighborhood (and across the street from Mafia boss Paul Castellano) he found himself on the verge of war with La Cosa Nostra. He also battled militant Black Muslims for control in the streets of New Jersey and Philadelphia as he built his empire. See the amazing true story of Frank Matthews' rise to power as America's biggest kingpin and how he escaped justice for nearly 40 years. THE FRANK MATTHEWS STORY-Ron Chepsiuk and Al Profit