In 1946, years before the phrase ""serial murder"" was coined, a masked killer terrorised the town of Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border. Striking five times within a ten-week period, always at night, the prowler claimed six lives and left three other victims wounded. Survivors told police that their assailant was a man, but could supply little else. A local newspaper dubbed him the Phantom Killer, and it stuck. Other reporters called the faceless predator the ""Moonlight Murderer,"" though the lunar cycle had nothing to do with the crimes. Texarkana's phantom was not America's first serial slayer; he certainly was not the worst, either in body count or sheer brutality. But he has left a crimson mark on history as one of those who got away. Like the elusive Axeman of New Orleans, Cleveland's Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, and San Francisco's Zodiac, the Phantom Killer left a haunting mystery behind. This is the definitive story of that mystery.

This stranger-than-fiction cold case is about to crack wide open! Perfect for fans of I'll be Gone in the Dark and Zodiac On December 30th, 1999, in rural Oklahoma, 16-year-old Ashley Freeman and her best friend, Lauria Bible, were having a sleepover. The next morning, the Freeman family trailer was in flames and both girls were missing. While rumours of drug debts, revenge killings, and police corruption abounded in the years that followed, the case remained unsolved and the girls were never found. In 2016, crime writer Jax Miller travelled to Oklahoma to discover what really happened. What she unearthed was shocking. These forgotten towns were wild, lawless, and home to some very dark secrets. Finally, in April 2018, the first arrests were made... could justice finally be in sight for the girls and their families? 'There is, in the best of us, a search for the truth, to serve the living and dead alike...Jax Miller is one of those people and Hell in the Heartland is one of those books' Robert Graysmith,author of Zodiac 'Every generation has its standout true-crime writer. Jax Miller does with Hell in the Heartland what Truman Capote did with In Cold Blood' A.A. Dhand, author of Streets of Darkness 'Mesmerizing, raw, evocative, unforgettable' William Boyle, author of A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself 'A captivating ride through the frustrating twists, turns, and dead ends of a horrifying murder case' Publishers Weekly 'Beautiful and devastating' Crime Reads

In this provocative and eye-opening classic of investigative journalism, the #1 New York Times bestselling author and "America's best true-crime writer" (Kirkus Reviews), Ann Rule, explores the nearly twenty-year long search for America's most prolific and horrifying serial killer. In 1982, the body of Wendy Coffield is discovered floating near the sandy shore of Washington's Green River. Authorities have no idea that this tragic and violent death is only the beginning of a string of murders that will rock and terrify the Seattle area for two decades. With her signature riveting prose and in-depth research, Ann Rule takes us behind the scenes of the search for the Green River Killer, a terrifying specter who ritualistically killed young women and eluded authorities for years. From seeking the help of incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to Ann Rule's horrifying realization that the killer she was writing about had attended her book signings, Green River, Running Red is the suspenseful and unforgettable "definitive narrative of the brutal and senseless crimes that haunted the Seattle area for decades" (Publishers Weekly).

John Gilligan is one of the most notorious and hated criminal figures in Irish history. His name is indelibly etched in the national psyche a quarter of a century after he crossed the line to organise the execution of the fearless, high-profile journalist Veronica Guerin. Gilligan's motive for the assassination was, in the words of the prosecution at a subsequent murder trial, 'the necessity of having to protect an evil empire'. At the time Gilligan was one of the most powerful and feared godfathers in the country who controlled a colossal drugs empire and the underworld's most dangerous mob. Gilligan tells the story of a young man's rise through the ranks of gangland following his journey from petty thief to public enemy number one. He was part of the generation of young criminals - like the General, the Cahills, the Hutches - who ushered in the phenomenon of organised crime in Ireland and became household names in the process. This close-up look at a criminal mastermind contains new details including a graphic account of the planning of the Guerin murder, drawn from a sealed statement which was never used, and the prison time and criminal activity which have occupied Gilligan since, up to his recent arrest in Spain on drug trafficking charges.

'Mind-blowing, gut-wrenching, shocking' - Chris Atkins 'Gripping . . . this is one not to miss' - Irish Times For two years, Donna McLean lived a life of bliss with her boyfriend, Carlo. But her great love story wasn't just built on lies - it was one. Because Carlo wasn't a bike-obsessed Italian locksmith at all; he was a British police officer, part of a unit that had worked undercover for years to infiltrate activist groups across the country. More than twenty of those officers deliberately targeted women and duped them into relationships, posing as socialists, environmental campaigners and union reps, before vanishing without a trace. Small Town Girl is Donna's shattering story of a life turned upside down overnight, and her reclamation of a truth that was shamelessly buried by those who should be protecting the most vulnerable in society.

FOR 134 YEARS, THE MURDERS committed in London's East End by the infamous 'Jack the Ripper' have baffled the world. The Ripper murders commenced in August and continued freely until the beginning of November 1888 when inexplicably the murders stopped. Five women were brutally murdered and savagely mutilated in and around Whitechapel. The killer was never caught despite the very best intentions of the police and thousands of would-be detectives following his trail. Since 1888, much has changed and the crime scene locations known to the Ripper and his victims would be quite unrecognisable to them now. Equally, to the modern-day Londoner or visitor, the locations would remain largely unknown...until now. True crime and social historians Richard C Cobb and Mark Davis return to the Whitechapel of 1888 to see what remains from this dark time in London's history and to take the reader on a step-by-step tour of the modern world of Jack the Ripper. Using the original police reports, state of the art photographs, unseen images and diagrams, they present the truth about what actually happened in the autumn of 1888 and take a look at other victims that may have been killed by the same man. Cobb and Davis give the reader a real sense of how the past meets the present in arguably London's most vibrant and cultural quarter - where the shadow of the Ripper is never too far away.

Mention the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the word "scandal" comes to mind. Within recent history, the association is quite accurate; congressional panels have investigated "abuses, favoritism, and mismanagement" at HUD; at HUD's predecessor, the Federal Housing Administration, the FBI targeted the association for involvement in fraudulent home-improvement schemes; and HUD was scrutinized for lax lending standards, blatant over appraisals, and shoddy housing. In this groundbreaking volume, Irving Welfeld, a senior analyst with HUD, describes and explains these episodes as well as a series of hidden blunders that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

In this thorough, firsthand account, Welfeld provides not only documented history, but analyses of events that arrive at different interpretations than Congress reached in its investigations. Throughout, his readings ask hard and probing questions: Where were the overseers--the media, Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget? To what extent is poor management the root cause of HUD's failures? Will tighter regulation help in keeping out corruption?

After his comprehensive survey of the scene, Welfeld offers solutions: a set of programs that would minimize secrecy on the part of federal administrators and the temptation to abuse the public trust. Most importantly, the programs outlined here will enable HUD to more effectively fulfill its mission to see that there is decent affordable housing for all Americans. This book will be of interest to scholars of public administration, political scientists, and analysts of housing issues.

"I wrapped duct tape around her mouth and her nose and watched her suffocate to death...then I went back to work." (Former Colonel David Russell Williams of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 2010)

Sunday Times best-selling author Christopher Berry-Dee is back with a companion volume that delves even deeper into the savage world of psychopaths and their hideous crimes. This time, however, he combines sections on killers whom he has known, interviewed or corresponded with, with studies of psychopathic serial killers from the past, including Peter Kürten, the 'Düsseldorf Monster'; John Christie, responsible for the killings at 10 Rillington Place; and Neville Heath, a ladykiller in every sense of the word.

The result is a chilling narrative that sets the forensic examination of killers and their crimes within the context of murder in the 20th and 21st centuries, an examination of the evil mind set against the insoluble problem of identifying psychopaths who kill.

This is not a book for the squeamish, but it is undeniably fascinating in its portrayal of just what one human being will do to others - while all too often moving among us unnoticed and unhindered. If their crimes seem as incomprehensible as they are horrific, it is undeniably true that the world's most savage killers may be much closer than we think....

The Making of a Female Serial Killer "In America's First Female Serial Killer, McBrayer offers us a complex and terrifying portrait of a killer who seemed almost doomed from birth." Kate Winkler Dawson, author of American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI #1 Best Seller in History of Ireland, Child Psychology, and Crime & Criminals For readers who are fascinated by how serial killers are made. This book is for listeners of true crime podcasts and readers of both fiction and true crime nonfiction. It is for watchers of television shows like Deadly Women and Mindhunter, who are fascinated by how killers are made. It's for self-conscious feminists, Americans trying to bootstrap themselves into success, and anyone who loves a vigilante beatdown, especially one gone off the rails. America's first female serial killer was not always a killer. America's First Female Serial Killer novelizes the true story of first-generation Irish-American nurse Jane Toppan, born as Honora Kelley. Although all the facts are intact, books about her life and her crimes are all facts and no story. Jane Toppan was absolutely a monster, but she did not start out that way. Making of a serial killer. When Jane was a young child, her father abandoned her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. From there, Jane was indentured to a wealthy family who changed her name, never adopted her, wrote her out of the will, and essentially taught her how to hate herself. Jilted at the altar, Jane became a nurse and took control of her life, and the lives of her victims. Readers of America's First Female Serial Killer: Will gain insight into the personal development of a severely damaged person without rationalizing her crimes Experience the rarely told story of a female serial killer Understand that even monsters were humans, first If you enjoyed books such as In We Keep the Dead Close, Mindhunter, or In Cold Blood; you will love reading America's First Female Serial Killer.

In the wake of recent violence our nation has experienced, and the paranoia that has ensued, we've directed our attention to potential terrorists in our midst. Yet our children face more risk from people they know than from terrorists they have never met. An estimated one in five girls and one in ten boys in the United States experience some form of sexual abuse by age eighteen. What could possibly motivate a person to molest a child? Not Monsters documents the stories of nine convicted child molesters through one-on-one interviews, listening to what offenders have to say about their crimes and exploring the roots of these behaviors from a social constructionist perspective. Their words paint a compelling and frightening portrait of how sexual abuse works in Western culture to perpetuate a political and social system of dominance and control.

This is a new paperback version for 2011. Following the highly successful first volume, it features even more nostalgic photos and memories from the archives of the "Yorkshire Evening Post". There is no more faithful recorder of events which, year in year out, make up the daily life of a great city, than is the local daily newspaper. So there was no better place to begin the stroll down this Memory Lane of Leeds than in the Yorkshire Post Newspapers Library and the Photographic Department, from where most of our pictures were obtained. Others are credited in the text. We think they will jog older minds, intrigue those not so old, astonish and educate the younger end. Perhaps what has most surprised visitors to the city over the years is that Leeds is not packed, boundary to boundary, with dark, satanic mills and spoil heaps. Indeed, it has some fine buildings, a wealth of public parks and open spaces, is ahead of many provincial cities in the provision of outstanding centres of learning and finance and is exceptionally well-served by public transport. Leeds is a city that appeals to tourists, revellers, and of course when it comes to sports Leeds is a city to be reckoned with. The past three decades have seen Leeds grow in stature and importance as well as become a pleasant place to live, work and play.

Joseph Brown confessed to a burglary he committed with an accomplice, who got even by accusing Brown of a murder. Brown was convicted and sentenced to die, although the accomplice failed a polygraph test and admitted he lied. Brown, who came within hours of execution, was released after 13 years on death row--from a chapter on a victim of punishment. ""It was a pretty rough time and we prayed that Yusuf would be found alive. Eighteen days after he disappeared, they found his body in an abandoned school.... After the funeral I was still in shock and not wanting to believe that my Yusuf would never again put his arms around my neck""--from a mother's story about her murdered son. This thought-provoking collection of interviews provides an insight into the multi-faceted issue of victims. Topics include personal accounts, support and survival and voices for reform. Also discussed are organizations that provide assistance to victims.

From her chilling personal account of knowing Ted Bundy to sixteen collections in her #1 bestselling Crime Files series-Ann Rule is a legendary true crime writer. Here, in Practice to Deceive, Rule unravels a shattering case of Christmastime murder off the coast of Washington State-presented with the clarity, authority, and emotional depth that Rule's readers expect. Nestled in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island is a gem of the Pacific Northwest. Life there is low-key, and the island's year-round residents tend to know one another's business. But when the blood-drenched body of Russel Douglas was discovered the day after Christmas in his SUV the whole island was shocked. At first, police suspected suicide, tragically common at the height of the holiday season. But when they found no gun in or near the SUV, Russel's manner of death became homicide.

Can Justice Department officials effectively investigate wrongdoing within their own administration without relying on an independent counsel? In Prosecution among Friends political scientist David Alistair Yalof explores the operation of due process as it is navigated within the office of the attorney general and its various subdivisions. The attorney general holds a politically appointed position within the administration and yet, as the nation's highest ranking law enforcement officer, is still charged with holding colleagues and superiors legally accountable. That duty extends to allegations against those who had a hand in appointing the attorney general in the first place: Even the President of the United States may be enmeshed in a Justice Department investigation overseen by the attorney general and other department officials. To assess this fundamental problem, Yalof examines numerous cases of executive branch corruption-real or alleged-that occurred over the course of four decades beginning with the Nixon administration and extending up through the second Bush administration. All of these cases-Watergate, Whitewater, and others-were identified and reported to varying degrees in the press and elsewhere. Some garnered significant attention; others drew only limited interest at the time. In all such cases the attorney general and other officials within the executive branch were charged with initially assessing the matter and determining the proper road for moving forward. Only a handful of the cases resulted in the appointment of a statutorily protected independent counsel. The primary focus of this book and the case studies that support it center on how the conflicting loyalties of the attorney general and others are resolved when executive branch corruption is at issue. As Yalof demonstrates, the particular circumstances surrounding a given investigation matter a great deal. When the media spotlight, for example, is not so glaring, career prosecutors with limited partisan biases can effectively treat the case like other routine matters. Prosecution among Friends affords readers a greater understanding of the political and legal tradeoffs inherent when the executive branch must investigate and prosecute its own.

NOW A MAJOR SKY ATLANTIC SERIES 'Unputdownable . . . fantastic and terrifying.' Nihal Arthanayake, RADIO 5 The astonishing true story of 'one of the most startling police corruption scandals in a generation' (New York Times) Baltimore, 2015. Riots were erupting across the city. Drug and violent crime were surging, with homicides reaching their highest level in over two decades. For years, Sgt Wayne Jenkins and his elite team of plain-clothed officers - the Gun Trace Task Force - had been the city's lauded heroes, working to get drugs and guns off the streets. But all the while they had been stealing drugs and money and gaming the system. Because who would believe the dealers, the smugglers or the people who had simply been going about their daily business over the word of the city's elite task force? 'A work of journalism that not only chronicles the rise and fall of a corrupt police unit, but can stand as the inevitable coda to the half-century of disaster that is the American drug war.' David Simon

On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane, known to Hogan's Heroes fans as Colonel Hogan, was discovered brutally murdered in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment. His eldest son, Robert Crane, was called to the crime scene. In this poignant memoir, Robert Crane discusses that terrible day and how he has lived with the unsolved murder of his father. But this storyline is just one thread in his tale of growing up in Los Angeles, his struggles to reconcile the good and sordid sides of his celebrity father, and his own fascinating life. Crane began his career writing for Oui magazine and spent many years interviewing celebrities for Playboy -- stars such as Chevy Chase, Bruce Dern, Joan Rivers, and even Koko the signing gorilla. As a result of a raucous encounter with the cast of Canada's SCTV, he found himself shelving his notepad and tape recorder to enter the employ of John Candy -- first as an on-again, off-again publicist; then as a full-time assistant, confidant, screenwriter, and producer; and finally as one of Candy's pallbearers. Through disappointment, loss, and heartbreak, Crane's humor and perseverance shine. Beyond the big stars and behind-the-scenes revelations, this riveting account of death, survival, and renewal in the shadow of the Hollywood sign makes a profound statement about the desire for love and permanence in a life where those things continually slip away. By turns shocking and uplifting, Crane is an unforgettable and deeply human story.

This is a new paperback version for 2011. It includes absorbing real life accounts of nearly every reported murder that took place in Sussex during the twentieth century. It features well-known cases and those which are lesser known but equally fascinating tales of jealousy, revenge and tragedy. In many ways, the counties of East and West Sussex might well be described as the murder capital of the country. True, London has had more murders that ended in the death penalty but Sussex has seen many of the cases which captured the nation's headlines. Amongst those famous cases are John Thorne, who killed his girlfriend and then buried her body on his chicken farm, Patrick Mahon, who cut his victim into pieces at a bungalow on the Crumbles, and Field and Gray who battered Irene Munro to death on that same stretch of shingle beach. The most famous case of all, though, must be that of John George Haigh, who earned himself epithets such as 'the Vampire Killer' or 'the Acid Bath Killer'. However, the lesser-known cases can be even more fascinating and these include a case which involves a house owned by a king. Sussex has them all. This book tells the stories of all the murderers of the 20th century who either killed in Sussex, or had a strong Sussex connection, and who went on to pay the ultimate penalty. Decide for yourself if they all deserved that fate.

The legendary Jack the Ripper murdered as many as ten women between the years of 1887 and 1891 in the East End of London. The debate over his true identity has never been resolved. This unbiased history of the various suspects, including two women, will give any reader a grounding on which to make an informed decision on the identity. Suspects include influential artist Walter Sickert, children's author Lewis Carroll, Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill (father of Winston Churchill), and others ranging from doctors and politicians to wandering lunatics. The encyclopedic entries provide such features as major events and other biographical data in a suspect's life, a complete case chronology for particular suspects, and an analysis of the theories. The entries describe the research and reasons that have contributed to the suspect's positive or negative candidacy as a viable suspect. Within these pages may lie the true Jack the Ripper--the author places all the available facts before the reader.

By an expert with over twenty-five years' experience interviewing more than thirty of the most dangerous male and female serial killers of contemporary times, this latest book from the bestselling author explores the darkest corners of these thrill-killers' minds. As all law-enforcement authorities, including the FBI's elite Behavioral Science Unit, will confirm, the majority of sexual psychopaths gain most of their perverse thrills from the stalking of their unsuspecting victims, often in so many different ways. For them, the actual kill is frequently something less, after which the dead body is treated like so much garbage and simply abandoned or thrown away. Yet as these cases show, a victim has often been unwittingly followed, watched, or even visited before they are attacked, sometimes for weeks or even months. Having exhaustively studied the case histories of more than sixty modern-day sexually motivated serial murderers - some still alive, others subsequently executed - the author zeros in on the Internet porn industry as one of the main motivating drivers in cultivating fantasy stalking, which can lead to rape, multiple rapes, and homicide graduating to serial murder. Even more chillingly, anyone who is active on social media is a potential stalker's victim.

An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, this "impressive...open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America" (The Wall Street Journal) shows legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applying his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. Between 1898 and 1912, families across the country were bludgeoned in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Jewelry and valuables were left in plain sight, bodies were piled together, faces covered with cloth. Some of these cases, like the infamous Villasca, Iowa, murders, received national attention. But few people believed the crimes were related. And fewer still would realize that all of these families lived within walking distance to a train station. When celebrated baseball statistician and true crime expert Bill James first learned about these horrors, he began to investigate others that might fit the same pattern. Applying the same know-how he brings to his legendary baseball analysis, he empirically determined which crimes were committed by the same person. Then after sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, he and his daughter Rachel made an astonishing discovery: they learned the true identity of this monstrous criminal. In turn, they uncovered one of the deadliest serial killers in America. Riveting and immersive, with writing as sharp as the cold side of an axe, The Man from the Train paints a vivid, psychologically perceptive portrait of America at the dawn of the twentieth century, when crime was regarded as a local problem, and opportunistic private detectives exploited a dysfunctional judicial system. James shows how these cultural factors enabled such an unspeakable series of crimes to occur, and his groundbreaking approach to true crime will convince skeptics, amaze aficionados, and change the way we view criminal history.

When Maximilian Potter went to Burgundy to report for Vanity Fair on a crime that could have destroyed the Domaine de la Romanee Conti-the tiny, storied vineyard that produces the most expensive, exquisite wines in the world-he soon found a story that was much larger, and more thrilling, than he had originally imagined. In January 2010, Aubert de Villaine, the famed proprietor of the DRC, received an anonymous note threatening the destruction of his priceless vines by poison-a crime that in the world of high-end wine is akin to murder-unless he paid a one million euro ransom. Villaine believed it to be a sick joke, but that proved a fatal miscalculation; the crime was committed and shocked this fabled region of France. The sinister story that Potter uncovered would lead to a sting operation by top Paris detectives, the primary suspect's suicide, and a dramatic trial. This botanical crime threatened to destroy the fiercely traditional culture surrounding the world's greatest wine. Like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, SHADOW IN THE VINEYARD takes us deep into a captivating world full of fascinating characters, small town French politics, an unforgettable narrative, and a local culture defined by the twinned veins of excess and vitality and the deep reverent attention to the land that run through it.

Ciudad Juarez lies just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. A once-thriving border town, it now resembles a failed state. Infamously known as the place where women disappear, its murder rate exceeds that of Baghdad or Mogadishu.

In "Murder City," Charles Bowden has written an extraordinary account of what happens when a city disintegrates. Interweaving stories of its inhabitants--a raped beauty queen, a repentant hit man, a journalist fleeing for his life--with a broader meditation on the town's descent into anarchy, Bowden reveals how Juarez's culture of violence will not only worsen but inevitably spread north.

A Thorough, Comprehensive Guide to Serial Killers for True-Crime Fans Equal parts fascinating and horrifying, the stories of serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer have taken on a new cultural prominence with the rise of the true-crime genre. Now, The Wikipedia Encyclopedia of Serial Killers offers murder fans and curious readers a new opportunity to learn about the lives and histories of these infamous criminals in greater depth and detail than ever before. Featuring extensive information about the backgrounds, crimes and aftermaths, victims, arrests and trials, and current lives of serial killers across the globe, as well as a variety of supplemental information--mug shots and crime-scene photos, letters from murderers, and information on victims and survivors--this book is an essential guide for all true-crime fans or any reader who wants an insight into the dark minds of the most notorious criminals in the world. Included in The Wikipedia Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, among many others, are: Ted Bundy The Zodiac Killer John Wayne Gacy Aileen Wuornos Son of Sam Jeffrey Dahmer The BTK Killer Gary Ridgway Samuel Little Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo With nearly six million English-language articles covering essentially any topic imaginable, Wikipedia is one of the most visited websites on the internet and an important resource for anyone curious to learn about the world. This curated selection of content has been carefully selected and compiled by our editors to be the definitive book on the subject.