As the sun rises over the quiet city of Kingston, New York on July 12, 1988, a local transient discovers the remains of 19-year-old Anna Kithcart. The pretty, black teen-ager had been strangled and beaten to death, with the letters “KKK” carved into her thighs. While her heartbroken family mourns, and the police work around the clock to uncover the truth, the investigation is complicated by the entrance of the Reverend Al Sharpton who insists … [Read more...]
Award Winning Author Richard T. Cahill Jr.
Richard T. Cahill Jr. received his undergraduate degree in History/Political Science from Mount Saint Mary College in 1993 and earned his juris doctorate degree in 1996 from Albany Law School. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and previously served as the representative in the House of Delegates for the New York State Bar Association. His professional experience includes clerking for a criminal court judge, serving as … [Read more...]
Bestselling Author M. William Phelps Provides Another True Crime Hit With TARGETED
In Colbert, Georgia, on June 5, 2000, local amateur bodybuilder, 38-year-old Doug Benton, disappears. Two weeks later, Benton is found shot and ‘stabbed,’ his body encased in cement inside a cattle trough, dumped on a remote stretch of farmland. Local law enforcement—with help from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation—launch what is later alleged to be a ‘targeted’ investigation, focused on one of their own—local deputy sheriff, 36-year-old Tracy … [Read more...]
M. William Phelps: In An Age of True Crime Excess
MY NEW BOOK, TARGETED, IS ABOUT A former Oglethorpe County Georgia sheriff’s deputy who claims to have been framed for a particularly brutal—for a female killer—murder. By whom, you ask? A few of her former fellow law enforcement officers—which has become somewhat of an ornamental and allegorical theme running through our (seemingly) “violent” and (seemingly) “corrupt” American law enforcement community today. We are living in an age of … [Read more...]
Chris Russo Blackwood
Chris Russo Blackwood has always had a passion for solving mysteries. In 2012, she became intrigued by the uncanny coincidences and drama surrounding My Brother's Keeper and began chronicling the myriad facts in this case that would become the basis for her first book. Working side-by-side with her friend, public relations executive Ann Edelman, and Ted Kergan, the victim’s brother and protege, whose dogged determination kept this case alive for … [Read more...]
Man And Woman Killed In Miami Murder-Suicide
Isis Valdes Cruz, 40, was getting out of her car on Wednesday when she was approached by her estranged husband, Heriberto Garcia Ortega, 55, on 58th Court. They got into an argument and Heriberto slashed his wife's throat with a knife, then stabbed himself. Responding officers found Isis dead at the scene and Heriberto conscious but bleeding profusely. He later died at Jackson Memorial Hospital. More Florida Murder-Suicides Man Shoots Neighbor … [Read more...]
Shooting Victim Seeks Help At Subway, But Later Dies
John Roland, 49, died in surgery after a shooting in West Palm Beach. Police deputies were dispatched to a disturbance in the 4600 block of Myla Lane, but just before arriving at the scene, dispatch received a 911 call from a nearby Subway restaurant regarding a shooting victim entering the restaurant. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment, but he died in surgery a little while later. More … [Read more...]
Neighborhood Blames ‘Squatters’ In Fatal Shooting
Neighbors claim a man’s death might not have happened last Tuesday if the city had listened to their cries for help with the rundown squatter home in the neighborhood. The house was an eyesore with an overgrown lawn and broken-in windows. Residents of the Northwood Hills Historic District say the house has been filled with squatters since the owner died a few months ago. Yet despite their many calls for help to police and city officials, the … [Read more...]
A Palm Beach Murder From My True Crime Book, DADDY’S LITTLE SECRET
Rodney Clark, a fifty-year-old man from Jackson, Miss., is being tried in Palm Beach this week after being charged with first-degree murder in the 1987 death of Dana Fader. It will be the first death penalty case to be tried in the county since Florida got a new death penalty law in March. This is a Palm Beach murder from my true crime book, Daddy’s Little Secret: “Detective Venetucci was not just a dedicated detective, he was also the drummer … [Read more...]
Dennis Flynn Gives A Brief History of Hostage Negotiations
The subject of ‘hostage negotiations’, or more commonly referred to by most agencies due to its accuracy as ‘crisis negotiations’, is a relatively new police concept, beginning in the early 1970’s. Considering the City of Boston began using night watchmen in the 1630’s and centralized policing started in the 1830’s, less than fifty years is relatively new. It is argued that hostage negotiations began in New York City during the early 1970’s. … [Read more...]
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