Kidnapping, Murder, and Mayhem

 

Killers Among Us - Vol. 1 (Click Here)

It's rare that I publish something personal on my blog. But I’m making an exception today.

In March of last year, my wife of 51 years passed away. My depression was immobilizing. At the same time, I developed a heart valve leak which drained me of my energy. Between the mental debilitation and the chronic physical exhaustion, I did little writing. In fact, I could barely function for months on end.

I eventually received surgery to repair the heart valve, and it went well. In fact, I’m back to normal. For an 82-year-old codger, I’m feeling pretty good.

My depression over Marilyn comes and goes. I’ve learned to control it much  of the time. But there are moments...

My son and cohort in crime, Sim, encouraged me to write another book. That would keep my mind away from dark thoughts, he said. 

Killers Among Us - Volume 1 features 12 investigations of little-known murders in the United States. Each story is an 8-12 minute read and I guarantee you’ve never heard of most of these cases.

There’s the serial rapist who received a sentence of 40 years in prison, but got into a work release program after only 6 years. Within days, he tracked down two of his victims who had testified against him and murdered them. How do these things happen, and why do they happen over and over?

There’s the Jacksonville, Florida killer who received a sentence of 20 years for a robbery that turned into murder. Florida, notorious for letting violent criminals out early, did it again. The killer served 6 years, then was released. Not long after he ended up back on the streets, he followed a young woman out of a Walgreens pharmacy, abducted her, stole her debit card, and murdered her. Despite questions by the media, no one ever figured out why this convicted killer got out early.

Then there's the California man who parked his Jeep in the middle of a busy railroad track. The reason? He wanted his wife to take him back after she kicked him out. Because of the Jeep on the tracks, the cars of two different trains derailed in a horrendous crash, killing 11 commuters and severely injuring hundreds. Bet you haven’t read about that case.

Oh, one other thing. If you like Killers Among Us - Volume 1, please leave a review. Even if it's only, "Good book," that'll help.

Thanks for reading this post. And a special, special thanks to my long-time blog readers.