Sande fortællinger: seriemordere og drabsmænd

When In Good Hands won The American Society of Journalists and Authors book award for general nonfiction, the judges called it "riveting reading!" It's a medical and psychological mystery story with important lessons for parents. Here's what Nicholas Pileggi, a master of true crime (including the books and screenplays he wrote for the films Goodfellas and Casino) said about it:"In Good Hands is the true story of two four-month-old infants who died in a South Carolina home day care within nine months. Was it a coincidence, or were these crimes? Pathologists said the cause was sudden infant death syndrome, but the police suspected foul play. As investigators struggled to answer the many questions the deaths provoked, none was larger than this: If these were murders, why would the church-going mother of three who ran the day care, and seemed to love children, kill them? In his superb book, author David Hechler delivers not only answers, but information that could make day care safer for all children." It's not a simple story. Intelligent and dedicated professionals disagreed about what happened. Skilled pathologists acknowledged an autopsy can't always distinguish sudden infant death syndrome from murder. Parents wanted to believe the best about their day care providers, defending them even when there were reasons to question the choice. In this case, there were actually two adults running the day care where children died: Josh and Gail Cutro. Some parents felt that Josh, who had been in trouble with the law, was a more likely suspect than his wife, who had not. He was the one with the volatile temper. But the police investigation also turned up startling evidence that raised questions about Gail Cutro's psychological state. She appeared to be a shy and deferential mother who loved babies. But psychologists and the prosecutor found a lot goingon beneath the surface. The big questions were these: Would the jury find this evidence persuasive enough to convict? And what can parents learn from this story that will help them protect their own children in day care?

When two General Motors executives drove into Crater Lake National Park in July 1952, no one could have predicted they would be dead within an hour-not even their killers. It was a crime of opportunity, a botched robbery during the middle of summer in a crowded national park. When Albert Jones and Charles Culhane were found shot to death two days later, the story became a national obsession. The FBI used every resource and available agent but, as time wore on, the investigation ran out of steam. A lack of evidence worked to the killers' advantage. They had committed a perfect crime. The FBI tried hard to solve the case. Their 2,000+ page report details a staggeringly complex, multi-agency effort: 200 ballistics tests, 1,000 interviews, 466 license plate identifications. The man-hours were beyond calculation and yielded valuable information. Buried within the individual reports of the FBI, Oregon State Police, and local other agencies were many clues to the nature and identity of the perpetrators. The FBI file had rarely been seen by anyone outside the bureau until December 2015 when the author received it on two discs, satisfying a Freedom of Information Act request submitted three years before. This book summarizes all that information and adds to the research: the FBI file, Oregon State Police reports, fresh research and interviews, county records, rare firsthand accounts, reaction from one victim's family, and an obscure college thesis that first named the killer. The Crater Lake Murders tells the true narrative: four men with nothing in common until the day they met-an encounter from which only two of them walked away. The details of the double murder remained a deadly secret kept and held by an unlucky few for seventy years. Add to this the personal account of a man to whom the killer once confessed. On the day he died in 1966, the confessor reminded his wife about "the things that nobody talks about," and as a final wish, implored her to contact the local sheriff with the information, which she did. The details of that report have never been revealed. Until now.

From historical accounts to modern cases, explore the captivating psychology behind these killer women, unraveling their motives and unveiling the dark complexities of human behavior.

Little Falls, MinnesotaThanksgiving 2012When two teenage cousins break into a residence on Elm Street, a true-life horror story unfolds. Little do they know that the retired homeowner has set a sinister trap to catch whoever was burgling his home.More than twenty-four hours after the two teenagers lose their lives, investigator Jeremy Luberts responds to a suspicious activity complaint at that same Elm Street residence, beginning a case that will forever alter his life and embroil his community and the nation in a debate over just how far people can go to protect themselves in their own homes.