The Mom Trap: A Mommy Review Blog: true crime

Showing posts with label true crime. Show all posts

Book Review: The Bike Path Rapist by Jeff Schober with Detective Dennis Delano

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

As a boy, Detective Dennis Delano never aspired to be a cop; but it was apparently his destiny.

Working as a homicide detective in Buffalo, New York, Detective Delano would spend hours studying cold cases to refine his investigative techniques.

All the while, a serial rapist was on the loose in and around the bike paths of Western New York.

His first known attack occurred in 1977, and his would continue raping - and killing at least three women - until 2006.

Three decades of stalking women and brutalizing them.

He became known to law enforcement as The Bike Path Rapist.

And in the meantime, an innocent, mentally-ill man, Anthony Capozzi, would pay for The Bike Path Rapist's crimes with twenty-two years of life; his freedom.

When Detective Delano discovered Capozzi's innocence, he made it his mission to set him free.

What should have been a simple task became a politically-induced nightmare for Delano and Capozzi's family.

Yet Western New Yorkers remained oblivious to the political details as detectives from a specially formed task force hunted a serial rapist turned murderer.

DNA evidence would soon identify Almetio Sanchez as the man women had feared meeting along the beautiful yet secluded bike paths; a man beloved within his community but whom harbored a sociopathic hatred towards women.

Sanchez's crimes would solve almost thirty years worth of cases; many of which had ran their statute of limitations.

And vindicate an innocent man of the crimes for which he had been wrongfully convicted.

Unfortunately, the overinflated ego of a rogue District Attorney would be exposed and a dedicated cold-case detective would be forced into retirement; making the case of The Bike Path Rapist end on a bittersweet note.

Bike Path Rapist is the book to read if you want to know all of the inside workings that pertains to this twisted case that spanned three decades.

From the inner-office disputes to legal wranglings to head butting between the brass and prosecutors, Bike Path Rapist is an straight-shooting account of the hunt for a monster and the careers it would subsequently end.

Buy It! Purchase Bike Path Rapist from Amazon for only $7.99.

Book Review: A Cold-Blooded Business by Marek Fuchs

Monday, July 27, 2009

Melinda Lambert Harmon was a devout member of the Nazarene church in Olathe, Kansas.

Growing up the daughter of a highly respected Nazarene church official, Dr. Wilmer Lambert, and later marrying her teenager sweetheart David Harmon, Melinda's life appeared to be one of many blessings.

Yet something was apparently lacking.

Not long into the marriage and while working at the Nazarene College in Olathe, Melinda was introduced to and began working closely with Mark Mangelsdorf; an up and coming young man in charge of organizing concerts on the campus of the MidAmerica Nazarene College.

It wasn't long until Mangelsdorf found himself in a tight-knit friendship with the newlywed Harmons.

Although all three appeared to be zealous in the practice of their strict religion, friends and neighbors would come to question the possibility of an adulterous affair between Melinda and Mark.

Then on a cold, dark night in February 1982, Melinda beat on the door of her next door neighbors claiming that David had been brutally attacked by two black men before the intruders fled the Harmon apartment in possession of the keys to the bank where David was employed.

Yet the police wasn't buying what Melinda was selling. Unfortunately, between limited evidence and the interference of Melinda's powerful father, homicide detectives were at an impasse on solving David's murder.

For 20 years, "the buckle of the bible belt" would be divided between those who supported Melinda and Mark and those who felt disgust at the two getting away with murder.

Then in walked two cold case detectives, a district attorney looking to take the next step up the political ladder, and friends and family still seeking justice for David Harmon.

What follows is the story of reopening a case considered colder than a Sunday in hell, hours of tireless detective work, and the amazing toe-the-line confession and accusation from Melinda.

Author Marek Fuchs crosses over from writing about the corporate world into the business of cold-hearted murder.

Well written and full of detail, plus a one-on-one interview with the accused, A Cold-Blooded Business is a tale of true crime that will make you question the validity of believing the old adage that you reap what you sow.

Book Review: The Bike Path Killer by Maki Becker and Michael Beebe (Almetio Sanchez)

Monday, June 29, 2009

As early as 1977, he prowled the paths and streets of Buffalo, New York and its surrounding communities.

He was first known as The Bike Path Rapist.

He preyed on women. Looking to take control, then brutally rape them. Until control and rape were no longer enough.

Then he killed them.

And became known as The Bike Path Killer.

But he made mistakes. Big mistakes.

He left his DNA behind.

And while his reign lasted almost 3 decades, science was refining the art of identifying a criminal through their unique genetic markings.

The Bike Path Killer was unveiled: Almetio Sanchez.

Sanchez was well known and liked in his circle. He was a church going, golf player who was devoted to his two sons and was deeply in love with his wife Kathy.

It was all a persona to cover the evil within.

The Bike Path Killer is written by two journalist who worked for the The Buffalo News at the time of Sanchez's arrest.

Unfortunately, as is frequently found among this genre, newspaper reports can't turn true crime writers as their books often turn into compiled newspaper reports of the crimes.

And just as a newspaper uses fillers to keep a hot story selling the papers, those same fillers were tossed into this book: many of the first pages details the life story of numerous detectives and investigators involved in this case (irregardless of how minute their contribution).

As a result, I found myself skimming numerous pages.

The Bike Path Killer is an interesting case. Unfortunately, I found too much fluff in between the story.

Book Review: Mail Order Murder by Patricia Springer (Jack Reeves)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Emelita Reeves was a beautiful, eighteen-year-old Filipino living in Cebu City, Manila and desperate to help her family overcome their poverty stricken state.

When her father placed an ad about his daughter in a mail order bride magazine, he didn't realize that his dreams of a better life for Emelita and the family's chance at financial assistance would lead to a brutal murder.

Jack Reeves was immediately smitten with the almond-eyed, black hair Emelita; and soon she would become his bride.

His fourth bride; and the third to die in questionable circumstances.

When Emelita went missing on October 11, 2004, her friends were the first to report her disappearance; especially after being instructed by Emelita that, should they ever be unable to reach her by cell phone or pager, they should immediately call the police - because Jack had killed her.

Emelita had longed to return to the Phillipines. She suspected that her husband Jack was responsible for the deaths of second and third wives - hence the instructions to her friends. But providing for her family - via a financially stable American - was Emelita's duty; so she stayed.

Following the report of Emelita's disappearance, the investigation that ensued would unearth Jack's obsession with perversion, a need for control, and a drive to kill to protect what was his - more than once!

Jack Reeves may have outsmarted the police more than once, but then his path crossed with Detectives Tom LeNoir and Buddy Evans of the Arlington, Texas, Police Department.

His life would never be the same.

Mail Order Murder is another awesome true crime book written by Patricia Springer. Well written and researched, this tale of murder and manipulation will keep fans of the true crime genre engrossed until the very end.

Book Review: Invitation To A Murder by Gail Abbott Zimmerman (Mark Winger)

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Donnah Winger was an outgoing, fun-loving, new mother when - on August 29, 1995 - she was beaten to death with a hammer in her own home as her newly adopted daughter lay in a bedroom just down the hall.
Who could commit such a vicious, cold-blooded killing in the middle of the afternoon?

According to her husband, Mark, it was the driver of an airport shuttle van service which Donnah had used just a few days before her death. A man known as Roger Harrington.

Mark Winger told a compelling, heart-wrenching story of hearing a thump and running to see what happened; only to be greeted by the gruesome attack on Donnah by Harrington.

And police believed him...for four years.

One detective, however, never bought what Mark was selling and tried to warn his fellow investigators. Unfortunately, the higher-ups of the Springfield, Illinois police department weren't listening.

Until Mark's mistress at the time of the murder stepped forward.

What ensues is a full scale investigation to bring Mark Winger to justice for killing not only his wife, but an innocent man; a man whose family, for years, had suffered the shame and humiliation as parents of an alleged murderer.

I first became interested in the Mark Winger case after watching CBS's 48 Hours episode on the subject (and the basis of this book).

This 336 page book is filled with more detail than could be crammed into an hour long television show. Even those who watched the documentary will be pleasantly surprised at the behind-the-scenes information contained within Invitation To A Murder.

More Resources On This Case:

Donnah and Mark's Engagement Announcement in the New York Times
48 Hours correspondent Richard Schlesinger video on Winger case
Donnah Winger Memorial Fund for Women In Distress of Broward County, Florida information

Book Review: Body Parts by Caitlin Rother

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Wayne Adam Ford walked into Humbolt County, California Sheriff's Office and told them he had "hurt some people." Little did deputies realize just how bad Wayne had hurt four women and many others that may never be known.

In Pulitzer Prize winning author Caitlin Rother's newest release Body Parts, readers are invited into the twisted mind of a serial killer; one who not only strangled his victims to the point of unconsciousness, but would revive them only to kill them.

And if that wasn't bad enough - Ford's first victim was dismembered following her death; her nipple toted in his shirt pocket sealed in a sandwich bag.

When I first began reading this book, I was very disappointed in Rother; one of my favorite true crime authors. I had the impression that she seemed to be sympathic to Ford and believed 100% in his sad tale of bickering, divorced parents and a lost son (the result of one of his divorces) used along with his mild, friendly demeanor.

But I was wrong! If this Rother's intent - to make a reader feel somewhat badly for Ford - she did an excellent job. Yet with a slight of hand (read: turn of a page), Rother's written point of view changes and readers meet a cold, brutal, lying, manipulative killer who deserves no sympathy.

And just when you think you can feel no more disgust, Rother introduces Victoria Redstall; a former breast-enhancement (get the irony?) herbal supplement spokesperson turned self-proclaimed journalist (using the term loosely) and Ford "agent."

This 406 page paperback true crime is a must read for anyone who enjoys this genre. I found it to be very well-written, extremely intense; a book that I could not put down.