Frank F. Weber's Blog, page 12

Stand Your Ground

Martin Luther King Jr. This post is to remind people that even though Martin Luther King Jr. did great work in Selma and Montgomery, there’s still work for us to carry on in Alabama. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, creating
the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence, you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor
establish the truth…adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ​Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Christian Minister & Civil Rights Activist, 1968 ​Stand your ground!  There’s a case taking place in Alabama that deserves more attention than it’s been warranted.  It’s based on a stand your ground defense implemented to protect victims of abuse. Brittany Smith faces life in prison for killing the man who raped her. Photograph by Nydia Blas for The New Yorker It was January, 2018. Brittany Smith, age 32, had stopped at McDonalds with her brother Chris, after being hired to work at a flooring company.  Brittany had a history of struggling with substance abuse and 3 of her 4 children had been removed from her custody.  She was finally clean and getting her life back together.  She had recently received increased visitation with her children.
 
Brittany received a call from Todd Smith (no relation) indicating he needed a place to stay.  Brittany had bought a pit bull from Todd.  Smith, age 38, indicated he was stranded in a city park and freezing.  Todd had recently been arrested after an altercation with his father.  Chris advised her not to allow Todd to stay.  Todd had expressed a romantic interest in her in the past.
 
After picking Todd up, Brittany had him assist her with giving her new puppy, Athena, a bath.  Todd had buzzed hair.  Todd was high on meth and under the influence of alcohol.  As she spoke of her sobriety, he apparently felt she now thought she was better than him, so he head-butted her and called her a bitch.  She ran to the bedroom, but he busted through the door.  He choked her until she passed out and raped her.  Todd told her, “Don’t say a fucking word or I’ll kill you.”
 
Brittany clawed at him so hard she ripped some of her fingernails off.  He twisted her head against the side of the bed until she thought her neck would break. When she woke up, he was finishing the assault.  Todd said that if she told anyone what had happened he would kill her and her children.  Todd wanted cigarettes, and Brittany offered to call someone to take them to the store, since she didn’t have a car.  Her brother Chris picked the two of them up, and took them to a gas station.  Brittany entered the store to purchase the cigarettes.  The cashier, Paige Painter, noticed her tangled hair, and scratched face. She asked, “What happened to you?”
 
Brittany asked for a piece of paper, and wrote, “Todd Smith.” Brittany reported having been raped and told Paige that if she was dead by morning, he was the person to blame.  She made Painter promise not to call the police as she was afraid Todd would kill her if he heard the police approaching.
 
After dropping them off, Chris returned to the gas station to speak to Paige.  Chris then retrieved a .22 caliber revolver.  Brittany texted her mother, “Mom Todd has tried to kill me literally.”
 
Chris entered Brittany’s home and requested Todd leave.  Chris fired a shot into the cabinet.  When Todd refused to go, Chris set down the gun and attempted to wrestle Todd out of the home. Todd won the battle and placed Chris a headlock and began choking him.
 
Brittany, picked up the gun, and told Todd to let her brother go. When he kept choking Chris, Brittany fired a shot. When Todd didn’t let go, she fired two more rounds. After he fell, she called 911.  The operator told her how to do CPR, and Brittany performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Todd while Chris did chest compressions.
 
A rape kit was performed on Brittany revealing bruises on her neck, breasts, arms, legs, and pelvis, evidence of strangulation, bite marks on her neck and chin, and secretions on her neck and in her vagina.
 
Chris initially told the police he had killed Todd Smith.  Chris stated he had concerns that in Jackson county Alabama, “Women, get the short end of the stick.” Men are 10% more likely to have a killing determined justified than women.  In Alabama, where Brittany was charged with murder, men are 25% more likely to have a killing determined justified than women.  Within 48 hours, Brittany Smith had been charged with murder. 
 
Sandra Goodman, a Jackson County rape-victim advocate, described the violence in the county as an epidemic. “A lot of the time, they take the woman’s statement and that’s where it stops,” she said, referring to the local police.  From 2000 to 2011, Alabama was a state where a woman was most likely to be murdered by a man.  In 2011, Alabama stopped submitting its data to the FBI, because of the bad publicity. 
 
Brittany Smith has been indicted for murder, and if convicted faces 20 years to life.  Brittany believes if she had not shot Todd, he would have killed her and Chris. Brittany Smith as photographed by her mother. The Stand Your Ground defense was introduced in Alabama in 2006.  The statute makes it legal to use lethal force to defend yourself against threats, with no duty to retreat. The defense, now implemented in 33 states, empowers people to protect themselves in grave situations.  From 2006 to 2010, when Alabama stopped reporting its data, no women had won cases based on the Stand Your Ground defense. Brittany Smith with daughter, her brother Chris, and Todd Smith The following information was taken almost verbatim from an article in The New Yorker magazine on 1/20/2020 written by Elizabeth Flock, titled, “A Violent Defense.”

Example:  In 2014, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tracey Grissom was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder, for shooting her ex-husband, Hunter. The judge did not allow jurors to hear that, in 2010, Hunter had been charged with rape and sodomy after allegedly assaulting Grissom. Grissom said that he had knocked her to the ground, choked her, and sexually abused her until she lost consciousness. She said the attack caused rectal-nerve damage and required surgery, and that she now used a colostomy bag. On the day of the shooting, she said, she’d feared for her life, but eyewitnesses said that she had begun shooting without provocation. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Grissom said, sobbing, after her conviction. “All I did was protect myself.” One of the jurors later said that if she’d been able to hear the details of the abuse, she would have voted to acquit. Tracey Grissom Paige Parker had been married to Todd Smith. “Two weeks after I was married to him . . . he had broke my nose, I couldn’t see straight,” Parker told an online-radio host in early 2019. “I was sitting there crying to myself for a second, and I’m, like, I am a strong person, but I was, like, Why was this happening?”
 
After that, according to Parker and to arrest reports from the time, the violence escalated. Todd broke her nose, ribs, and jaw, and bit her on the face. “I was also beaten and raped and sodomized for years by this man,” she said. “I know what Brittany went through that night, because I went through it for years.”
 
While they were married, Todd was charged with domestic violence five times, but he never went to jail for those charges. Even after Parker filed for divorce, in 2003, the violence did not end. She told the radio host that Todd had duct-taped her to a chair and threatened to throw her in the Tennessee River. In 2004, she got an order of protection.
 
After the divorce, Todd continued to be arrested on charges of domestic violence, including toward a woman with whom he had a child, but they were dismissed. Local law enforcement told me that his accusers often didn’t show up in court, a common reason that batterers escape consequences.
 
Police officers remember Todd well, since they arrested him about 80 times. A former dispatcher at the Stevenson Police Department said that, around 2009, when she failed to respond to his flirtation, he backed her against a desk and tried to tear off her shirt. 
 
It seems ridiculous that a woman who had just been raped by Todd Smith could be facing charges for murdering him.  Cases like this reflect the importance of media bringing injustice to light.  We will see how this plays out.
 
​
 Thanks for listening,
 
 Frank Upcoming Events​            ​January 24, 2020, Frank will be interviewed on film by the Department of Human Services for their national training on “Preventing, Identifying and Responding to Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes with the provision of follow up care.”  This healthcare training video will be part of a national training for healthcare workers.Saturday, January 25, 2020, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Frank will be signing books and answering questions about writing True Crime and forensics at Cat Tales Books and Gifts in Brainerd.  Cat Tales is located at  609 Laurel Street in Brainerd, Minnesota.  Cat Tales is a large independent book store which offers a wide variety of great reads.Frank will be narrating an investigative show on the Oxygen channel, called Murdered by Morning . on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 6:00 pm.  The show is about the murder of Morna Jean Brennen in Maplewood, Minnesota.Thursday, January 30, 2020, Frank Weber will be discussing forensic work and his latest true crime thriller, Last Call, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the  Sauk Centre Public Library .  Frank will be at the library from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. signing books and talking to patrons.  The library’s address is: 430 Main Street South, Sauk Centre, Minnesota.February 1, 2020, Saturday presentation from 5:00-6:00 on forensic work and the writing of True Crime mysteries at Hoops Brewing in Duluth.  Frank will be at the brewery signing and selling books from 4:00 to 7:00.  Stop in and have a cold beverage and ask the questions you’d love to ask about forensic work or forensic shows.  Frank will be sharing a little about what they get wrong on movies and TV.  Hoops Brewing is located at 325 South Lake Avenue, Duluth, Minnesota.

January 2020

The investigative show I narrated will be airing on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 6:00 pm, on the Oxygen channel. The name of the show is “Murdered by Morning.” The show is about Morna Jean Brennen and how investigators had to mull through a variety of suspects to solve her murder.  I had the opportunity to speak with a Brennen family member last week, and, upon request, sent my latest thriller Last Call to them.  I was interviewed for 5 hours in a forensic lab at Inver Hills Community College, in Inver Grove Heights for the show (by a film crew who flew in from Los Angeles).
 
In addition, here are my events for the next 4 weeks:

Saturday, January 18, 2020, presenting on his newest mystery, Last Call, and answering questions about forensic work at the  New York Mills Library  at 10:30 a.m.  Frank will speak for approximately one hour and will be at the library before and after the presentation to sign and sell books and answer questions related to forensics or true crime writing.  The New York Mills Public library is located at 30 Main Avenue North, New York Mills, Minnesota. Saturday, January 25, 2020, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Frank will be signing books and answering questions about writing True Crime and forensics at  Cat Tales Books and Gifts  in Brainerd.  Cat Tales is located at  609 Laurel Street in Brainerd, Minnesota.  Cat Tales is a large independent book store which offers a wide variety of great reads. Thursday, January 30, 2020, Frank Weber will be discussing forensic work and his latest true crime thriller, Last Call, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the  Sauk Centre Public Library .  Frank will be at the library from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. signing books and talking to patrons.  The library’s address is: 430 Main Street South, Sauk Centre, Minnesota.​ February 1, 2020, Saturday presentation from 5:00-6:00 on forensic work and the writing of True Crime mysteries at  Hoops Brewing  in Duluth.  Frank will be at the brewery signing and selling books from 4:00 to 7:00.  Stop in and have a cold beverage and ask the questions you’d love to ask about forensic work or forensic shows.  Frank will be sharing a little about what they get wrong on movies and TV.  Hoops Brewing is located at 325 South Lake Avenue, Duluth, Minnesota.​ On Wednesday, February 5, 2020, Frank Weber will be speaking at the Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour at the  Dock Café , sponsored by the Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, Minnesota.  4:30-6:00 p.m.  The first half hour will be eating and socializing.  This is ticketed event with limited seating (50 people) that will sell out.  Tickets can be purchased at   www.valleybookseller.com   The Dock Café is located at 425 Nelson St E, Stillwater, Minnesota.  Valley Bookseller will be selling Frank’s books at the event, including Murder Book, The I-94 Murders and Last Call, and Frank will be signing books after speaking. ​ Saturday, February 8, 2020, presenting on forensic work and the writing of True Crime mysteries at  Forgotten Star Brewing Co.   Speaking from 6:00 to 7:00.  Frank will be at Forgotten Star from 4:00 to 8:00 talking to people and signing books.  This will be a great time with a guest appearance by the cover model, Elise Yates, dressed as she is on the cover of Last Call.  She will be available for pictures with attendees.  Stop in and have a cold beverage and ask the questions you’d love to ask about forensic work or forensic shows.  Frank will be sharing a little about what they get wrong on movies and TV.  Forgotten Star Brewing is located at 38 Northern Stacks Drive, Fridley, Minnesota.​​ Tuesday, February 11, 2020,  presentation from 6:00-7:00 on forensic work and the writing of True Crime mysteries at  Bad Habit Brewing  in St. Joseph.  Frank will be at the brewery signing and selling books from 5:00 to 8:00.  This will be a great time with a guest appearance by the cover model, Elise Yates, dressed as she is on the cover.  She will be available for pictures with attendees.  Stop in and have a cold beverage and ask the questions you’d love to ask about forensic work or forensic shows.  Frank will be sharing a little about what they get wrong on movies and TV.  Bad Habit is located at 25 College Ave North, St Joseph, Minnesota.​ I apologize for being delinquent in my blogs recently.  I will try to get back to some serious forensics next week.  I’ve been finishing the next book, Lying Close, so I can have it in people’s hands in September.  It’s a bit of a challenge, but we have the front and back covers, and summary, completed.  Lying Close is being edited for grammatical corrections.  It is a little longer than the previous books, but I feel good about this book and it needed to be longer to tell the story.  Here’s the summary:
BCA Investigator Jon Frederick studies the list: A hunting accident.  A country home break-in.  The disappearance of a runaway. Not so shocking, until he considers all of these crimes occurred within 30 miles of each other, in less than a year’s time, in rural Minnesota. The summer of 2019 brings heat, rain, passion, and deception. A smoldering, romantic tryst between a local Christian man and a Muslim Somalian woman becomes entangled in the case.  Jon soon discovers someone close to the investigation is leaking information, placing lives in danger. The investigation leads Jon to the most publicized unsolved assault in recent MN history.  Can he find the traitor lying close?
 
Thanks for listening,
  
Frank

Sneak Peek at Lying Close Covers

I had a great time speaking to the Maple Grove Critical Thinking Club and at the wonderful neighborhood taproom, Wabasha Brewing. Porn and sex crimes
 
There is a site called “Fight the New Drug,” which addressed the problems created in relationships and sex crimes by accessing porn.  The basic premise is that porn, like illegal drugs, ultimately changes the way you think.  Here is a list of the top 20 sites accessed last year: (The arrows indicate if it is up or down from the previous year). To give you an idea of the prevalence in which porn is accessed online in the U.S., the estimate is 10,000 times a second.  The philosophy of Fight the New Drug is that “Porn kills love.”  It takes sexuality out of the context of caring and loving relationships and instead normalizes sexual contact with people you don’t care about.  It also almost always involves power dynamics and humiliation. 
 
From a sociological perspective, it’s interesting that when white Americans were the wealthiest race in the U.S., that white porn was the #1 category.  Now that Asian Americans are the wealthiest race in the U.S., the top categories accessed in the U.S. porn industry are Asian.  “Hentai” is cartoon Japanese porn.  As a forensic psychologist you find large amounts of porn accessed by sex offenders, and violent porn accessed by rapists.  When people say there is no correlation between accessing porn and sex offenses, they clearly have little information about sex crimes.  Every week we receive a referral from a child or adolescent who watched porn and repeated the behavior with a sibling.  Adults need to be responsible for what they allow their children to access.  If they’re going to have porn in the home, it needs to protected from children, like drugs.  Enough said about that… I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  I admire the manner in which Jesus spoke of being kind and understanding. 
  
Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
 
Peter 4:8: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
 
John 15:12: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
 
I remind people, “ All we have is this moment, so act as you wish to be remembered .”
I am so thankful for all of the support I’ve received with my writing.  Last Call sales have taken off like a rocket, and it went into a second print only a month after its release.  I’ve had a great time speaking at various venues, enjoying wonderful conversations with people about forensics, thrillers, characters, and the humor of life.  I’m also now getting close to selling 300 of the Minnesota Murder Trilogy (Murder Book, The I-94 Murders and Last Call).
 
But most of all, I’m thankful for all of the great people in my life, including family, friends, and the many wonderful people whose lives intersect with mine every week (colleagues, students, and everyone I talk to at events).  Again, all we have with people are intersections of time, so make the most of those moments.
 
Sneak preview into 2020.  The next book in the Jon Frederick series, Lying Close, is almost finished.  We are finalizing the front and back covers.  Here’s an opportunity to offer some feedback on them.  In Lying Close, an investigator is sent to examine 3 separate crimes; a hunting accident, the disappearance of a teen sex worker and a farmhouse break-in, only 30 minutes apart.  Even though the crimes are close they occur in 3 separate counties (Stearns, Morrison and Todd).  Someone close to the investigation is leaking information, frustrating investigators.  Relationships between the main characters are complicated by misinformation and dishonesty.  The story also involves a relationship between a white Christian man and a Somali Muslim woman in St. Cloud.  He struggles with the feedback he receives from his family and coworkers while she struggles with the pressures of living with the expectations of two worlds. The story is once again based on true crime.
 
Please let me know your preference regarding the two covers.  In the bottom half of the cover, the young woman is hooked up to a polygraph machine with a blood pressure cuff on her right arm, pneumo tubes (which measure breathing) and caps on her fingers which measure galvanic skin response (sweat).  This is an actual computerized lie detector machine and computer screen used in this cover shot. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight…
 
Frank I dedicate this song to Brenda, my spouse of 35 years, my love and best friend for 40.

Totem Pole Murder

​He murdered her by dropping a 700 pound totem pole on her?
​
December 14, 2019, Frank is speaking to the Maple Grove Critical Thinking Club on “Forensic work and writing True Crime mysteries,” from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in room #133 of the Maple Grove Community Center, Maple Grove, Minnesota. ​​Saturday, December 14, 2019, Frank will speaking on Last Call and the writing of True Crime thrillers at the Wabasha Brewing Company on St. Paul’s westside.  Frank will speak from 6:00 to 7:00, but will be there answering questions, and signing and selling books from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to enjoy a cold beverage and have your questions answered about forensics and true crime.  The Wabasha Brewing Company address is: 429 Wabasha Street South, St Paul, Minnesota.  I would like to thank Bent Paddle Brewing, the Little Falls Library and the Brainerd Service League for another great weekend of selling books.  If you haven’t been to Big Sip and Shop event at Maddens on Gull Lake you’ll have to check it out next Christmas.  Morey’s and Cub give away samples, and lots of great jewelry, arts and crafts.  This event is sponsored by the Brainerd Service League and raises money to help women and children in the Brainerd lakes area.  
 
The old, “I murdered her by dropping a 700 pound totem pole on her,” story.  Or “Poor old Kawliga.”
​While crafting a totem pole together, Carl Muggli and his wife, Linda Diane Strandberg Muggli, got into a heated argument over Carl’s internet romance with and Alabama woman.  Muggli claims he raised a 5 foot cant hook (used for prying logs) in a threatening motion toward his wife, and she fell back in fear, knocking a 17 foot, 700 pound totem pole over on top of her, causing her death. 

The 17-foot murder weapon (totem pole) was to be trucked to the courthouse, and after a second-floor window was removed, the plan was to use a crane to get the 700-plus pound pole up and through the window space, where it would be on display throughout the trial.
 
Carl Muggli, age 51, pled guilty to unintentional 2nd Degree murder.  The Dothan, Alabama woman, Margaret Gonzalez, 58, she reported she’s ashamed of her actions in the romance.  She initially met Muggli when she contacted him about purchasing a totem pole.  They sexted pictures to each other, and began a sexual relationship after Linda’s death.  Margaret said she hear Carl arguing with his wife about divorce on the day of her death.  Carl called her a half hour later and said Linda was dead.  Margaret stated she wasn’t aware of Carl’s involvement in Linda’s death until he pled guilty. Linda Muggli, 61, died of severe head trauma on November 26, 2010.

Koochiching County Attorney Jeffrey Naglosky said Muggli matter-of-factly stated at the plea hearing that he did nothing to help his wife, even though he could have. Carl Muggli was arrested in Texas, where he and Linda spent their winters and where he hunted wild boars.  (A cant hook is pictured below.) The next three paragraphs, taken from the Duluth Tribune, suggest that at least a couple of people in the area didn’t think real highly of Carl Muggli:
​
People in the area said they were glad to see the case resolved. Malcolm McAuley, owner of the Woodland Inn restaurant in Ray, said, "She's dead and it's not right.  I don't know what the outcome will be, but when you kill somebody, the consequences ... I hope he gets the max." Bob Neuenschwander, owner of Border Bob's in International Falls, knew the Mugglis for more than 20 years. Neuenschwander employed Carl Muggli when he was in his 20s as a resort worker, and later in a taxidermy business. "She (Linda) was really the best thing that ever happened to him," he said. "It's just so ironic to see somebody given a chance like that in life, and has a really wonderful person who tries to turn them around and ends up losing their life as a result of it. There is an injustice in that that is hard to reconcile." Neuenschwander said the guilty plea, even to a reduced charge, "is probably the most honorable thing he's ever done in his life and maybe the only honorable thing. I never doubted that he was guilty." ​ ​Koochiching County Sheriff Brian Jespersen said Muggli's version of events didn't square with the results of an investigation done by his office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Sheriff said he doesn't believe that it was an accident. "We did get some justice for Linda; she didn't deserve to die. She was a very nice person. You start talking with family and friends and you learn that she was just a very good person all around. It could have been a divorce, or just get up and leave. Carl met up with an Internet relationship and Linda ended up dying over it. To cause someone's death over another woman ... it just got out of control."

I feel bad for Linda.  As I tell people who struggle, “No situation is so bad that you can’t make it worse.”  Carl did.  This is why we need to be particularly careful of the choices made when struggling.
At least Paul Simon had the wisdom to walk away—in the song below.
​
Thanks for listening,
 
Frank Preston conducting at the U of M

Lessons from Katie Poirer

Saturday December 7, 2019, Frank Weber will be discussing forensic work and his latest true crime thriller, Last Call, from 11:00 a.m. to noon at the Little Falls Public Library.  Frank will be at the library from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. signing books and talking to patrons.  The library’s address is:  108 3rd St NE, Little Falls, Minnesota.  Frank Weber’s books are available at The Shoppes of Little Falls.​ Saturday, December 7, 2019, The Bent Paddle Brewing Company is hosting my big Duluth opening of Last Call from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.   I’ll speak from 6:00 to 7:00 about forensic psychology and the writing of True Crime mysteries.  It’s an opportunity to get questions answered about forensic psychology.  Frank will be selling and signing books before and after the presentation.  Book cover model, Elise Yates, will be dressed as she is on the cover and will be available for pictures with attendees.  Stop in and have a cold beverage.  The Bent Paddle Brewing Company is located at 1832 W Michigan Street, Duluth, Minnesota.Sunday, December 8, 2019, Frank will be signing and selling books from 11:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the “Big Sip and Shop” event at Maddens on Gull Lake.  This event is sponsored by the Brainerd Service League (BSL).  This is a group of women who give back to the community by volunteer hours or raising money to help women and children in the Brainerd lakes area.  It’s a great cause and a wonderful opportunity to find some unique and creative gifts.  Maddens is located at 11266 Pine Beach Peninsula, Brainerd, Minnesota.​ Frank at Saint Paul Brewing last weekend As a parent, cases like Katie Poirer are heart-breaking, and as a society we need to learn and adjust to prevent future victims.  The big pictures in this article are of Katie, as she was great, and the perpetrator was a slimeball.
​
On May 26, 1999, Katie Poirer, 19, was working alone at DJ’s Expressway convenience store in Moose Lake when she was abducted. It is significant to note that Katie was an intelligent, athletic person who was in college considering a career in law enforcement, and not just a frail uninformed teen.  I feel it’s important that this is said out of respect for her and the importance of recognizing we can all be vulnerable at times.  The police were called when a passer-by noticed no attendant was working in the open store.  A grainy black-and-white surveillance video showed Katie being forced out of the store around 11:40 p.m., by a man wearing jeans, a backwards baseball cap and a New York Yankees baseball jersey. The man's hand was at the back of her neck, and the way she touched her throat suggested there might have been a cord tied around her neck.  Even though the abductor was a stranger, the manner in which the crime was carried out pointed out that this was a planned premeditated abduction.  It wasn’t a coincidence that this man just happened to have a cord in his hand. The police estimated that the abductor was 5'10" and weighed around 170 pounds. He had long light-colored hair, and appeared to be around 25 years old. The witnesses reported that they had seen a black pick-up truck near the convenience store that evening. One of the witnesses gave a partial license plate number (three numbers and a letter).  A composite sketch of the abductor, based on statements of four witnesses, was broadcast on the local media. The break in the case: 
​
On June 18, Darrel Brown called the police tip line and reported his former co-worker, “Donald Hutchison,” looked similar to the man in the composite sketch provided by the police. Donald had been absent on the day following Katie's disappearance. Donald had recently cut his hair, and had stopped driving his black pick-up truck. Shortly after Katie’s disappearance, Donald quit his job as the janitor at the Minnesota Veteran's Home without any notice. When investigators looked into this tip, they discovered that “Donald Hutchison’s” legal name was actually Donald Blom.

Donald Blom owned a 20-acre property in Moose Lake, 12 miles from the convenience store from where Katie had been abducted. They also learned from the neighbors that Blom had spent a lot of time at the property before Katie's abduction, but not since.  Donald Blom was spending time with his family at a campground 140 miles away from his home in Richfield, Minnesota when initially questioned by agents from Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He was arrested later that same day, June 22, while driving home. Blom presented as cooperative, but refused to give a statement and requested an attorney. He was initially held in a county facility but was placed in solitary confinement after his plans to escape from the facility were discovered.  Donald Blom had a pickup truck registered to his name, with a license plate number matching the partial number provided by the witness.
 
The investigators searched Blom's residence and his extensive Moose Lake property, with the assistance of over one hundred members of the National Guard and several hundred volunteers from the local community. They were unable to find Katie or her body, despite extensive search in the area. They found some firearms, which Blom was prohibited from possessing, due to his prior felonies. 

On the second day of the search, they found a number of bone fragments, in a fire pit on the Blom's property. The fragments were sent to a lab, where they were identified as pieces of human bones and a charred portion of a human tooth. The DNA tests proved inconclusive, but an examination by the dental experts established that the filling of this tooth portion matched that of the fillings used for Katie. Her dental work had used a unique composite for her fillings.  The researchers stated that the tooth belonged to a young female, and the probability that it belonging to Katie Poirer was quite high. When asked whether the remains in the fire pit were those of Katie Poirer, Blom said "I guess so." When pressed, he said he "didn't know." When asked, "Then whose remains are they?" he replied, "Well, I was asking that myself, man."

On September 8th, Blom confessed to abducting Katie, strangling her and burning her body in the fire pit. Blom's account was somewhat inconsistent with the evidence. The surveillance video showed the man with his hand on the back of her neck. Blom stated that he walked out of the store with Katie: she asked him to let her go several times, but did not fight with him until he started choking her at his property. Blom also said that he killed Katie with his bare hands, and burned her dead body with wood and paper.  Wood and paper alone would not have been sufficient to reduce a human body to ash. Blom never confessed to sexually assaulting Katie, and instead stated he did not know why he had committed the crime.

Blom soon recanted his confession of murder, saying that the stress of the solitary confinement and hallucinations due to "ten medications" had prompted him to make a false confession. Donald Blom was ultimately convicted of murdering Katie Poirier. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.  Blom was initially incarcerated in Pennsylvania, but has since been moved to a prison in southern Minnesota (MN Correctional Facility- Faribault).  Donald Blom is suspected of being a serial killer.

Donald Blom appealed his conviction, but his wife, Amy, now came forward and admitted she had lied on his behalf when she attempted to provide him with an alibi.  Donald wasn’t with her the night Katie had been murdered.  Amy reported Donald had been punching and kicking her for years.  She felt helpless and lied for him.  Donald had been married twice before and told her he would take her last name out of respect for her.  She was flattered and hadn’t considered he was hiding his past.  Blom’s sons confirmed the domestic abuse she reported indicating she had bruises and black eyes.  She stated she had learned to behave in a submissive manner, to avoid being abused. Early life

Donald Albin Blom was born in 1949. Donald Blom's father had abused him when Donald was 13 years old.  Donald became a teen drinker and had difficulty abiding by rules.  In 10th grade, he was sent to a reform school.

In 1975, Blom kidnapped a 14-year-old girl, gagged her and raped her. He locked her up in his car trunk, but she managed to escape and turn him in. He went to trial and was convicted.

In 1978, Blom committed aggravated assault.

In 1983, he was arrested again for criminal sexual conduct. This same year, Blom threatened two teenage girls at knifepoint in a remote area. He tied them to a tree, and put socks in their mouths. He choked and revived one of them several times, as he threatened to rape them. The girls were rescued when a police officer saw their car parked the wrong way, and came by. Blom fled into the woods, and later changed his appearance by dying his hair. He was arrested two months later, when one of the girls recognized him. He pled guilty.

In 1992, a psychologist predicted that if Blom was not closely monitored, he would probably engage in additional hurtful behavior. However, Donald Blom changed his name, got a job and married. By May 1999, he had six felony convictions, five of which involved kidnapping and sexual assault.

Lessons:

The murder of Katie Poirer prompted changes in registration laws.  People were concerned that a violent offender was living just outside of Moose Lake and no one was aware.  For this reason, failure to register an unreported address now can result in 1 year incarceration in prison, and people are now actually checking the addresses to confirm the offenders are there. 

Still today, I deal with cases where attorneys argue a juvenile who abuses a child doesn’t need life altering treatment if it takes as long as 2 years.  I, on the other hand, think about the victims you are saving.  I wish people changed abusive habits quicker, but they typically don’t due to years of accumulating unhealthy information.  I, like most therapists, have no desire to keep people in therapy longer than necessary to make healthy changes.  I will continue to ask courts to address juvenile sex offenses seriously, so we don’t have more of these adults.  My concern is the need for effective help, over the need for legal charges.  Unfortunately, too many families blame victims and will not follow through getting a juvenile help without being court-ordered to do so.   

Thank you again for the great support for my release of Last Call!  The sales have been amazing and it’s been a blast talking about the development of the book in a variety of communities and venues.

Congratulations to Pierz for winning a state championship!  This is a great group of young men, who are well coached and represent the community well.  I realize there are great adolescents in every community, on winning and losing teams, and this takes nothing away from them.  I admire people in all types of performances who give their best, while risking public embarrassment. I have included some pictures below.

Thanks for listening,
 
Frank This song is dedicated to Katie Poirer and all the great people lost.  The lights in the audience remind of the souls that I pray are in a better place.  Hug your kids and love them with all you have!

Tell Me More

I have a couple of great book events this weekend. 

November 30, 2019 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving).  Frank will be signing books from 10:00 to 1:00, at Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery in Park Rapids.  Frank will also have the MN Murder Trilogy signed, shrink wrapped,  and wrapped with crime scene tape as a gift package.   Beagle & Wolf Books is located at 112, 3rd Street West, Park Rapids, Minnesota. ​
Beagle and Wolfe is a wonderful independent book store designed to help readers find what they desire.  A place where customer service still matters!

Sunday, December 1, 2019, Last Call in St. Paul!  Frank will be speaking on Last Call and the writing of True Crime thrillers at Saint Paul Brewing in St. Paul.  Frank will speak from 2:00 to 3:00, but will be there answering questions, and signing and selling books from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. A chance to question what they get wrong in crime shows, while enjoying a cold beverage.  Get your questions answered or just learn about forensics and true crime.  Saint Paul Brewing is located at:  688 Minnehaha Avenue East, St Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul Brewing is located in the old Hamm’s brewery.  Hamm’s was once the largest brewery in Minnesota, and the plant was so big it had its own zip code.  It’s worth the trip to walk through the ruins.  Hamm’s had the unfortunate history of being bought out by one year Minnesota beer wonders like Olympia and Strohs, which sealed its destiny.  Saint Paul Brewing is a friendly tap room and I particularly like their red ale. Tell me more, telomeres
This is an odd blog.  Much of forensics involves science, so I’m constantly looking for new information.  I’m a fanatic about learning, so I thought I’d share an odd tangent I recently explored. I’m going to talk about a discovery, telomeres, which affect our vulnerability to disease and aging.  It all started with Leonard Hayflick’s work.

Leonard Hayflick believed that cellular aging is a natural process, rather than the result of damage by oxygen free radicals.  Hayflick allowed cells to age under glass by providing them with all the necessary nutrients for cell growth and protecting them from external stress or contamination.  In this ideal condition, it was believed that the cells would double again, and again forever.  However, the cells stopped multiplying after 50 divisions.  Cells from adults divided fewer times than cells from children and cells from children divided fewer time than cells from embryos.  The total number of cell division is correlated with the age of the donor and is never infinite.

Hayflick limit = The limit for most human cells is approximately 50 divisions, suggesting that the lifespan is a limited genetic program.
​
Professor Elizabeth Blackburn received the Nobel Prize for her work on Telomeres.  The Nobel winner says keeping telomeres – the ends of our chromosomes – in prime condition can stave off diseases associated with ageing. Telomeres are disposable buffers at the ends of chromosomes which are truncated (shortened or cut off) during cell division. Their presence protects the genes from being truncated instead. Fluorescence-stained chromosomes (red) on a microscope slide. Telomeres (yellow) sit at the ends of each chromosome. Photo courtesy of Dr. Robert Moyzis, UC Irvine, US Human Genome Program
​The longer your telomeres, the better.  How do you get your telomeres longer?  Exercise, eat healthy and reduce your stress.

The good news is you don’t have to exercise like crazy. People who do moderate aerobic exercise – about three times a week for 45 minutes – have telomeres as long as marathon runners. Mixing things up seems to help.  One study showed the more different kinds of exercise people did, the longer their telomeres.

Studies looking at people under severe chronic stress find their telomere shortness relates to how severely that stress is experienced. The damage is worse in sedentary people. Even 10-15 minutes of light exercise a day appeared, in one study, to buffer the effect of stress.

A balanced diet with whole foods such as vegetables, fruits and grains, helps telomeres. Avoiding a diet high in processed foods, red meat, sugary drinks and highly refined white bread results in quantifiable improvement of telomeres.

Are marriage and children telomere-friendly?  Oddly enough, yes.

Married people and those with committed partners have longer telomeres. A study done on women in abusive relationships found their telomeres were shorter, and the amount they were shorter related to the number of years they remained in the abusive relationship. We have known for years that being in a threatening situation for a long period of time, wears people down physically. One preliminary study has suggested having children may help telomere health, but it has not yet been independently repeated.

Commercial tests of telomere length are available, but don’t waste your money.  It’s the long term change in habits, over a decade, that predicts increased health span.  If you have them tested, and they’re long, and you revert to unhealthy habits they shorten.

The solution is to get some exercise, eat healthy and maintain stable relationships –and don’t make yourself crazy over any of the three.  So how long have we known this?  I’d argue since about 350 years before the birth of Jesus when a philosopher named Aristotle wrote about “the Golden Mean.” “Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency”
​— Aristotle People either succumb to the extreme of excess, which can take form in the accumulation of wealth, food, drugs, alcohol or descend into deficiency, like inadequate attention to education, diet, healthy sport activities and intellectual pursuits.  Anytime I hear of a man bragging about being a billionaire, my first thought is “There’s a guy who’s out of balance.  It never occurred to him to share?”

​
Thanks for listening,

Frank

San Jose

When is it appropriate to speak on your phone in your car?  (Example below)
 
I had the opportunity to speak at the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library this past weekend.  It’s an eight story library the city shares with San Jose State University.  This library has the largest Beethoven collection outside of Germany and the 8th floor features floor to ceiling glass windows that overlook the city.
 
One month before I spoke at the library, Joseph “Joey” Vicencio opened fire on the library from the parking garage directly across the street.  One shot nearly hit San Jose State freshman Garrett Bruner as he sat at an eighth-floor desk facing the library’s front window. That near-miss fueled an attempted murder charge.  Joey Vicencio, age 21, was charged with a felony for each bullet he allegedly shot.
 
“Thankfully no one was killed in this case, but anytime someone shoots at an occupied building, the results can be tragic,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marina Mankaryous said. The San Jose Police Department released photographs of the shooting near the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (San Jose Police Dept.) Vicencio’s motive remains unclear.  It appears he was a depressed man who intended to make the rest of the world suffer for his misery.  Vicencio was holding a loaded magazine while hiding the gun in his waistband.  He later told police officers that his intention was only to hurt himself (which really doesn’t explain why he was firing at the windows of the library). Ultimately, only 1 bullet penetrated the library windows.  Vicencio used a semi-automatic handgun (based on the bullets and shell casings recovered at the shooting site). The actual weapon has not been recovered. If convicted, he faces a sentence of life in prison.
​
Vicencio’s father, Jimi Vicencio, said his son had struggled with depression, which he said runs in the family and that Joseph had a “fascination with guns.” Jimi felt he was to blame for a dysfunctional home life that led to Vicencio and his brother being taken away from their parents as young children, and living in foster and group homes since.
 
At the time of Joey Vicencio’s arrest, he was already being prosecuted for a felony concealed weapon charge stemming from a March incident at a San Jose group home.  A group home employee wrestled away a 9mm semi-automatic pistol from him. Joey had an arrest for vandalism two years prior, at another group home, after a “rage” in which he damaged property. Police appropriately placed on an involuntary mental-health hold for evaluation after each charge, which barred Vicencio from legally buying or possessing a gun. Getting back to the original question:  After I finished speaking at the library, the woman who identified the shooter asked to speak to me.  (I will keep her name anonymous.) On September 20, 2019, she had finished her work shift and was in the 4th floor of the parking garage, when she observed a masked man carrying a gun coming up the stairwell.  It started me thinking about the terrible situation she was in and the variety of choices she had to make. 
​The shooter was by the stairwell and the elevator was too slow to wait for.  She went to her car, since it was away from the shooter. She had a moment to escape and decided it was better than hiding and risking he would find her. She started her car and started driving out of the garage.  Fortunately, the exit route took her away from the shooter.  She called for help. This is an okay time to talk on the phone when driving.  But when you're exiting from the 4th floor, each loop takes her back toward the shooter.  So even though she was below him, she faced the possibility that he’d come back down the stairwell and was waiting for her, loop after loop after loop after loop.Then she gets to the bottom.  She can’t simply ram through the bar blocking exit and drive out, because it’s not a thin board.  Instead, it’s solid metal and cars aren’t what they were 30 years ago.  The result of her ramming that bar would most likely be the plastic on the front end of her car would fall apart and her car would die.  So she rolls down her window, takes out her card… The bar finally raises. Now she reaches the exit below the shooter.  He’s shooting at the library windows. Does she risk that the shooter might change the trajectory and shoot straight down at her car when she leaves?  Or does she just sit there?  She elected to dart out down the street and safely escaped. 
As we spoke I could still feel the tremendous anxiety she felt over the situation, and I felt bad that we live in a world where self-centered people have a need to make everyone else suffer because they’re miserable.
 
Flash forward to Halloween in San Jose.  (While this story may not seem related, it is.)  Brenda and I enjoyed Halloween night in San Jose.  However, that afternoon San Jose police officers responded to a man walking down the street brandishing a gun.  Officers asked the man to drop the gun.  He refused.  An officer shot and killed him.  It was later discovered the man was actually holding a replica of a gun.  In fairness to the officer, it looked real.  See below: ​Witnesses of all races supported the officer on the news that night.  There were no protests.  People basically said we’re tired of the mass shootings.  If he’s not going to drop the gun, then accept the consequences.  Nobody wants any more innocent people killed.
 
Despite that, I loved San Jose.  We drove up into the mountains and looked down at Silicon Valley below.  We walked Stanford University campus.  At Stanford University, tuition, room and board is free for families with an income of less than $65,000 a year, provided they are accepted into the college.  They want the smartest from all schools.  The result is that the majority of the students come from public schools.  San Jose has the highest percentage of millionaires and billionaires of any city in the United States. Silicon Valley is in the background European pastry in San Jose ​We ate amazing fusion food American/Mexican/Asian and enjoyed Palo Alto.  San Jose is 36% Asian ancestry, 32% Chicano ancestry, 26 % white, 3% African American and 3% mixed ancestry.  It was interesting to be in a Chicano community for Halloween and view the variety of “Day of the Dead” ofrendas.  Since we were staying close to San Jose State University for Halloween, on every bus stop we met college educated skeletons, superheros, princesses, etc. waiting for a ride out to club. I even met a nice nun.  I have to tell you, I spoke to this nun at the bar, surrounded by people. When I asked to take a picture with her, and even after, I didn’t realize she wasn’t wearing much on the bottom half. It wasn’t until the next day, when I looked at the picture, I realized. I thought about not including it, but I had to laugh at this, and I hope you can also. Thanks for listening,
 
Frank This is one of those old songs, that was surprisingly open-minded for the era it was written.  “Those Williams boys still mean a lot to me-- Hank and Tennessee.  I guess we’re all gonna be what we’re gonna be.  So what do you do with Good Ole Boys like me…”. Hank Williams was an alcoholic, and Tennessee Williams was gay.  Hank wrote some great tunes and Tennessee as a great playwright.  And Don Williams had a voice that’s as smooth as an ice cold amber ale.

Last Call Reviews

​The reviews are coming in, and I'm thankful! Last Call:  A True Crime Novel. “Weber’s star has continued to rise since the publication of his first two thrillers, Murder Book and The I-94 Murders.  His latest, once again inspired by real events- starts in Brainerd, when 19-year-old Audrey Evans disappears…”
Lake Country Journal October/November 2019 Author Frank Weber releases third True Crime Thriller
‘Last Call’ Author releases third book in series involving Investigator Jon Fredrick; a launch event of his new book is scheduled Saturday
Written By: Brainerd Dispatch | Oct 16th 2019 - 1pm.

An unthinkable evil is preying on young women in a tight-knit northern Minnesota community in a book written by author Frank Weber. It's a terrifyingly twisted case that will alter the lives of everyone close to Investigator Jon Fredrick -- and maybe even end the lives of a few, according to a news release about the book’s release.

Using his understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma and actual court cases, author Frank Weber’s newest novel, “Last Call” published by North Star Press, is the third book in his highly-acclaimed award-winning Investigator Jon Frederick series that includes “Murder Book” and “The I-94 Murders.”

Weber will appear for the official launch of “Last Call” from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Roundhouse Brewery in Brainerd. The launch includes a 5 p.m. book talk with an author, with a question and answer period to follow. The event is free and open to the public.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, in a news release, stated Weber is “An author who knows his material.”

As a 25 year veteran of the forensic psychology profession, Weber has spent a large portion of his life in service to those in need. As the clinic director at CORE Professional Services, his work has ranged from assessing murderers chained to the cement floor in the basement of a prison to providing therapy for wealthy professionals who’ve engaged in multiple affairs. Weber has testified as an expert witness in numerous sexual assault and homicide cases and has received the President’s Award from the Minnesota Correctional Association for his forensic work.

To relieve some of the stress he encountered during his forensic career, Weber turned to fiction writing as a way of detaching from the human tragedies that are routinely part of his caseload. Weber released his first true-crime novel, “Murder Book,” in 2017. His second book and a Midwest Independent Publishers Association winner,” The I-94 Murders,” was published in September 2018. His third book released this month -- “Last Call” -- continues the saga of the flawed but brilliant protagonist, Jon Fredrick, the news release stated.

In “Last Call,” Fredrick is encased in a cloud of suspicion and fear as the sinister acts of abduction and murder wreak havoc in a rural community. To protect his family, his friends and even his enemies, Fredrick must use his wits, old-school police work, cutting-edge forensics, and his own specially created algorithm to identify and catch a terrifying predator criminal who is preying on his community. The story begins as 19-year-old Audrey Evans suddenly disappears during a bitterly cold winter’s night after leaving a convenience store in Brainerd. As a BCA investigator, Fredrick is called in and is determined not to let the young teen end up one of the 40,000 missing women in the U.S.

Described as a “spine-tingling thriller that tests an investigator’s tender compassion and the gritty resilience of a soft-spoken young woman,” Weber has crafted yet another riveting thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Fans of true-crime thrillers will be pleasantly surprised that “Last Call” can be read as a stand-alone novel without needing to read the prequels. Readers will also be drawn into the story by the continued conflict and torment in the main character’s life, the news release stated. The chaos of the young investigator’s work spills over into his personal life as a deceptive past lover puts his relationship with his long-time love, Serena, in jeopardy. The fuse of an explosive situation ignites after the investigator’s name is used to solicit a woman, and one last call will detonate it all.

“I filled the story with hometown characters that every rural Minnesotan can identify with,” Weber shared. “’Last Call’, as with all of my books, also has a broader appeal that fans of fiction thrillers and true-crime novels can connect with and enjoy.”

Weber revealed his two decades of experience as a forensic psychology profession has given him an insight into human behavior and violent acts that few authors possess. Having counseled women who have been abducted and abused has given him a front-row seat to understanding the victim’s turmoil and thought processes. That insider knowledge, and understanding of violent crimes, is deeply steeped into the pages of “Last Call.”

“In the book, character Jon Frederick states early on that ‘even killers are heroes in their own stories,’” Weber added. “That is an example of the gritty insightfulness that comes with being a veteran forensic psychologist for over 25 years and I feel it adds an unbeatable authenticity, suspense and realism to the story.”

“Last Call” is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Book Review of Last Call
Charles Johnson. Charlie/sixty October 2109​

In a style Frank Weber employed in his first two books, each chapter is from the viewpoint of any of these characters. As you read of their actions, you learn their inner thought as well – and though one might expect the language to be quite “adult” and “blue” or “unsavory” for such dealings in the crime world, Mr. Weber deals out the vocabulary in a more literary and refined manner. The reader can also expect a few engaging moments of comic relief to counterbalance the otherwise dour nature of the book.

So, despite the dark and graphic topics and the myriad of characters ranging from youthful innocence to total rancor, author Frank Weber spins a tale that finds the experienced law enforcement community using the best of their wits to narrow down the list of suspects – and yet, it is not that easy when those suspects are no slouches at achieving their nefarious goals as well. Call it a high-tech game of cat and mouse, or call it hide and seek with no rules, but for sure you can call it a good bit of writing from Mr. Weber. It is an effective way to deliver such a tale as LAST CALL. Mystery lovers: Get your questions answered by local author
Clairissa Baker, St. Cloud Times
Published 2:29 p.m. CT Oct. 19, 2019

ST. CLOUD —  Mystery lovers, it's time to get answers to your questions about criminal investigations and novel writing.

Local forensic psychologist Frank Weber will be speaking about his latest book, "Last Call," and his day job Monday night at Beaver Island Brewing Co. 

Weber, who conducts assessments of people convicted of murder and sexual assault, published his third mystery book, "Last Call," this month. The book, set in Brainerd and ending in the St. Cloud area, details the disappearance of a young woman and includes  real forensic techniques and backdrops of Minnesota towns. 

"I have a lot of fun with my stories," Weber said. "Nothing is in my book by accident." 

After each of his last two books, Weber said he planned to take two months off from writing. Within a month, however, he had already written around 100 pages.

He hopes to keep publishing one book per year, he said, and is already writing his fourth. 

More: Local forensic psychologist published second novel, has third planned

What has helped Weber while writing books? 

Start writing in the middle. 
Often, writers will go from the beginning of a story and get stuck on the details later. For Weber, that is not how stories happen. Weber said he will write the scene that comes to him and work the rest of the book around that. 
"It's OK to just write the middle, and come back and pull it together later," Weber said. "I've had a lot of people tell me that's helped."

Make notes.

More often than writer's block, Weber struggles to find enough time to write as ideas occur to him. 

He recently organized his home, he said, and found notes with little sentences and ideas written on them. When he does struggle with writing, he will step away from the book for a week or two and come back to it. 

View the writing in a different way. 

It helps to listen to his writing out loud, according to Weber. Weber travels throughout the state to work as a forensic psychologist. During his drives, he said, he listens to a recording of the book he is working on. 

"It helps me process it differently," Weber said, and it gives him time to think about how he is presenting the story. 

Base characters on real life. 
​
"Everyone of us has people around us that would be a good story," Weber said. He gets ideas for his stories from cases, but he also gives his characters features of people he knows.
One character, called Ray-Ray, repeats everything he says twice. 
"They know rural characters like that," Weber said of readers.  Upcoming EventsSaturday, October 26, 2019.  Signing books at Barnes and Noble in St. Cloud, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.  Barnes and Noble is located at 3940 Division Street, St Cloud, Minnesota, 56301October 28, 2019, at 4:00 p.m. presenting on the newest thriller, Last Call at Northern Lakes Senior Living center in Baxter.  Frank will be speaking from 4:00 to 5:00 and will be signing books after.  This is a free event open to the public!  Northern Lakes is located at 8186 Excelsior Road, Baxter, Minnesota.November 1, 2019, speaking on the writing of true crime novels and the latest thriller, Last Call at the King Library and San Jose State University Library from 12:00 to 1:30 at 150 East San Fernando Street, San Jose’, California.November 9, 2019, Frank will be signing books at the Fall Into Books Event, at the Museum of Visual Arts, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Museum is located at 500 North Main Avenue, in Sioux Falls.November 11, 2019, testify as expert witness at civil commitment hearing in Washington county, Stillwater, Minnesota.November 20, 2019 discussing Last Call at 3:30 p.m. with the Pierz Book Club at the Brickyard Bar in Pierz.   This discussion is for people who have read Last Call.  It is open to the public. November 30, 2019 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving).  Frank will be signing books from 10:00 to 1:00, at Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery in Park Rapids.  Frank will also have the MN Murder Trilogy signed, shrink wrapped,  and wrapped with crime scene tape as a gift package.   Beagle & Wolf Books is located at 112, 3rd Street West, Park Rapids, Minnesota.December 10, 2019, Frank will be speaking to Brainerd Rotary Club on forensic work and writing True Crime mysteries from 12:40 to 1:00 p.m.  This meeting will take place at The Blue Room at Yesterday’s Gone, 219 South 9th  Street in Brainerd, Minnesota (Next to the ‘new’ Brainerd water tower).December 14, 2019, Frank is speaking to the Maple Grove Critical Thinking Club on “Forensic work and writing True Crime mysteries,” from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., in room #133 of the Maple Grove Community Center, Maple Grove, Minnesota.

After only a couple weeks on the market, Last Call is going into its second print.
 
Thank you!
 
Frank

Fight Club

I was testifying as an expert witness in court today.  After 2 hours of questions, the defense attorneys wanted to consult before continuing.  The judge granted them a 5 minute break and they stepped out.  I remained on the stand. The court reporter turned to me and asked, “Are you speaking on your mysteries at the Roundhouse this weekend?”

I smiled and said, “I am.”

She told me , “My friends are excited about this!”

Life is good! The next week will be wild for me.  Cover model, Elise Yates will appear at both the Roundhouse and Beaver Island events, dressed as on cover.  We will have free appetizers.  It will be a blast! October 15, 2019 Interview with Clairissa Baker, St. Cloud Times regarding the release of my latest thriller, Last Call.October 16, 2019, interview with Jim Maurice of WJON 1240 AM on release of Last Call and Beaver Island book opening. 12:20 p.m.October 17, 2019, interview with Bob Hughes, Morning Host of KNSI FM 103.3 or AM 1450. 8:05 a.m.
October 17, 2019  Presenting at the Law Enforcement and Mental Health: Expanding Possibilities for a Biopsychosocial Inclusion at 1:00 p.m.. The Conference is hosted by the Departments of Social Work, Criminal Justice and the Center for Continuing Studies of Saint Cloud State University, at the Kelly Inn - 100 4th Avenue South, Saint Cloud MN, 56301. October 17, 2019 Speaking on my latest thriller,  Last Call at the Bierstube in Hastings at 6:30 p.m.  The Bierstube is located at 109 11th Street West, Hastings, Minnesota.The Roundhouse Brewery is hosting my big Brainerd opening of Last Call on Saturday, October 19, 2019​ from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.   I’ll speak at 5:00 about writing True Crime mysteries and you can get questions answered about forensic psychology.  The Roundhouse Brewery is located at  1551 Northern Pacific Rd, Brainerd, Minnesota.  It is located at the old trainyard in downtown Brainerd.  This will be a great time and with a title like Last Call, it only seems fitting.  Stop in and have a cold beverage.  Book cover model, Elise Yates, will be dressed as she is on the cover and will be available for pictures with attendees.The Beaver Island Brewing Company is hosting my big St. Cloud opening of Last Call on Monday, October 21, 2019.   I’ll speak from 6:00 to 7:00 about writing True Crime mysteries and you can get questions answered about forensic psychology.  Beaver Island Brewing Company is located at 216, 6th Avenue South, St. Cloud.  It is right off of division close to the exits to St. Cloud State.  This is going to be a blast and there is no cost.  Stop in and have a cold beverage.  With a cover of Last Call by bar, and the back of the book featuring a young woman by the river, Beaver Island is the perfect location!  (The Beaver Islands are the islands in the Mississippi river through St. Cloud.)Saturday, October 26, 2019.  Signing books at Barnes and Noble in St. Cloud, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.  Barnes and Noble is located at 3940 Division Street, St Cloud, Minnesota, 56301October 28, 2019, at 4:00 p.m. presenting on the newest thriller, Last Call at Northern Lakes Senior Living center in Baxter.  Frank will be speaking from 4:00 to 5:00 and will be signing books after.  This is a free event open to the public!  Northern Lakes is located at 8186 Excelsior Road, Baxter, Minnesota. Did you ever hear a news story and wonder, “Is that real?”  The answer to this one is “yes and no.”  When I heard 3 staff members at a nursing home in North Carolina were running a fight club, it seemed ridiculous.  It is ridiculous.  It wasn’t really a fight club, in the sense that you imagine regularly scheduled fights.  But it is sadly true, that they encouraged a couple of dementia clients to fight each other. Tonacia Yvonne Tyson, 20, Marilyn Latish McKey, 32, and Taneshia Deshawn Jordan, 26, have all been charged with at least one count of assault of a disabled person.
 
North Carolina Department of Human Services documents revealed that a staff member recorded two women with dementia physically fight each other. The two nursing home residents fought while the three aforementioned employees watched and cheered.
 
At one point, the two patients fell on a bed, whereupon Resident A continued to beat her.

Resident B screamed. “Let go, help me, help me, let go,”

But the facility’s staff ignored her pleas and said, “Stop screaming, [expletive].”

Resident B’s attacker then began choking her while a staff member suggested to “punch her in the face.”

A staff member was then heard asking if somebody was filming the fight, and urged her coworker to send her the footage.
​
What the hell is wrong with people?  The most important part of a sensational story like this is to remember there is an incredible number of kind and caring people of every race and religion.  There are health care workers who could be saints, and there are those who simply shouldn’t be health care workers.  Whenever I hear a story like this, I go out of my way to be nice to people.  It’s the only way to combat hate.
 
Let's end with the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:  (Although he wasn’t really a sissy—sorry, bad church humor). He is my patron saint! Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life
Amen
 
Thanks for listening,
 
Frank

Dead Wrong

Last Call books are all mailed out, and the Little Falls opening was a blast! Last Call sales have been amazing!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  People have kindly spread the word, as along with the rush for Last Call, I sold 30 of the trilogies the first 2 days I had them.  The trilogy is all 3 books, signed, shrink wrapped, and bound with crime scene tape.  It sells for $40, tax is included.

Upcoming Events:
October 12, 2019 Signing books at the Twin Cities Book Festival at the Minnesota Fairgrounds from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.October 17, 2019 Speaking on my latest thriller,  Last Call at the Bierstube in Hastings at 6:30 p.m.  The Bierstube is located at 109 11th Street West, Hastings, Minnesota. The Roundhouse Brewery is hosting my Brainerd opening of Last Call on Saturday, October 19, 2019​ from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.   I’ll speak at 5:00 about writing True Crime mysteries and you can get questions answered about forensic psychology.  Get there early.  There will be a good crowd!  The Roundhouse Brewery is located at  1551 Northern Pacific Rd, Brainerd, Minnesota.  It is located at the old trainyard in downtown Brainerd.  This will be a great time and with a title like Last Call, it only seems fitting.  Stop in and have a cold beverage.  Book cover model, Elise Yates, will be dressed as she is on the cover and will be available for pictures with attendees. The Beaver Island Brewing Company is hosting my St. Cloud opening of Last Call on Monday, October 21, 2019.   I’ll speak from 6:00 to 7:00 about writing True Crime mysteries and you can get questions answered about forensic psychology.  Get there early (It opens at 5:00).  There will be a good crowd!  Beaver Island Brewing Company is located at 216, 6th Avenue South, St. Cloud.  It is right off of division close to the exits to St. Cloud State.  This is going to be a blast and there is no cost.  Stop in and have a cold beverage.  With a cover of Last Call by bar, and the back of the book featuring a young woman by the river, Beaver Island is the perfect location!  (The Beaver Islands are the islands in the Mississippi river through St. Cloud.)Saturday, October 26, 2019.  Signing books at Barnes and Noble in St. Cloud, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.  Barnes and Noble is located at 3940 Division Street, St Cloud, Minnesota, 56301October 28, 2019, at 4:00 p.m. presenting on the newest thriller, Last Call at Northern Lakes Senior Living center in Baxter.  Frank will be speaking from 4:00 to 5:00 and will be signing books after.  This is a free event open to the public!  Northern Lakes is located at 8186 Excelsior Road, Baxter, Minnesota.November 1, 2019, speaking on the writing of true crime novels and the latest thriller, Last Call at the King Library and San Jose State University Library from 12:00 to 1:30 at 150 East San Fernando Street, San Jose, California.  
Dead to Rights -- 17 years later
 
Weimar, California is a town of 209 people, with a general store and one stop light.  On January 7, 1991, two people were murdered by a resident, and it took 17 years to solve.
 
A friend of Jackie Barton’s, Deborah Sander, goes to Jackie’s house to return money Jackie had borrowed her.  There is no answer, but the curtains moved.  It felt wrong, so she went home to get her husband and Jackie’s brother, William Voyles.  The doors are locked, and there is no evidence of a break-in.  William climbs in the back window and screams, “Oh my God!”  The bloody scene is described as “inhuman.”   {I have to make a quick remark on Deb’s great decision to leave and get help.  People too often allow their brain to over-ride their instincts.  When a rabbit sees a wolf, it doesn’t stop and think, “Well this one’s never hurt me before.”  People do that all the time, when their gut is telling them it’s a bad situation.} 
 
Hugh “Cleve” Gresham had been shot in the head, while lying in bed (likely sleeping).  The powder burn on the skin suggested the gun was placed against his head.  Jackie had been sexually assaulted and shot multiple times.  “It Goes Down Good,” was written on the wall with soap.  The reason for this has never been understood.  People described Jackie as a great friend, and Cleve as, not bad, but a little harder to get to know. 
 
Suspects:  (One of these men is the killer.)
 
Chainsaw Charlie had a heated argument with Cleve the previous week.  Charlie showed no emotion when discussing the murders.  Charlie stated he was mad at Cleve, because Cleve wouldn’t get up and jump his car.  Charlie’s alibi is that he was with 3 women, but he didn’t know their last names.  He was released, even though they couldn’t confirm his alibi, because they had nothing to hold him on. 
 
Mexican Joe (Ex-boyfriend).  A local paralegal indicated Jackie had contacted her about receiving a no-contact order against her ex-boyfriend one week before her death.  Jackie had said Mexican Joe told her if he caught her with anyone, he’d kill her.  Jackie decided to take the situation into her own hands, instead of going through court.  {Wise or Unwise?} Jackie had a neighbor people didn’t mess with.  He was a tough and angry character.  Jackie asked Joe Foster to go to her ex and tell him to back off.  Joe talked to him, and the harassment ended.  Problem solved.  Mexican Joe was out of state when the murder occurred.
 
Joe Foster had a history of violent behavior.  He reported he was home with his wife on the night of the murders, and his wife confirmed the alibi.
 
Rick Pilgrim. A wealthy individual who was frequently seen talking to Jackie.  Rick states his close friendship with Jackie was completely platonic.  His alibi was that he was home taking care of his ill wife. Rick is asked to take a polygraph, but on the day of the polygraph, he disappears. His wife files a missing person’s report.  The next day, a neighboring county contacts investigators.  Rick took a turn at a high rate of speed and died in a car accident.  Was it suicide?  Did he know something?  Rick’s DNA is tested.  It doesn’t match the killer. 
 
The case goes cold for 17 years.  In 2008, the county is awarded a cold-case grant, and the case is reopened.  (Investigators are taught that often the killer’s name is already in the cold case file.)  The case is reopened, but the subsequent interviews result in no new information. 
 
A CODIS Hit!

Proposition 69 in California allows prisons to finally DNA test incarcerated prisoners.  (They were looking for the Golden State Killer at the time.)  In 2008, a perfect DNA match finally occurs in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).  Sheriff's detectives find the match, Joseph Victor Foster, at Soledad State Prison, where he was serving time for kidnapping and raping a family member. He now faces two counts of murder in Placer County for the deaths of Jacqueline Barton, 33, and Hugh Cleveland Gresham, 37, in 1991.
 
The investigators return to speak to Joe’s wife.  She stated she lied because she was afraid Joe would kill her.  She now admits Joe left that night, and when he returned, he burned his clothes. 
 
A deal with the devil:  When Jackie asked Joe to be a “Badass,” and scare off her ex-husband, she didn’t realize that he felt entitled.  Joe believed he owed her and if she wasn’t going to willingly submit, he’d take it.  The evidence indicates Joe entered the neighbor’s home.  Shot Cleve.  Raped Jackie.  Brutally murdered her.  Joe denies the offense, even though the DNA has him dead to rights for both the rape and murder. Joe pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty. 
 
It’s interesting that for 17 years, in a town of 209 people, a man got away with murder.  While Mrs. Foster could have helped resolve this much earlier, imagine the fear she lived with.  It’s a lesson on the importance of talking to our neighbors, so terrible people are delt with before they kill people.
 
On the brighter side.  I have incredible banners made by Froggy’s Signs in Little Falls.  The stands I bought are designed for inside.  I set them outside during my opening and I was so busy signing books I didn’t realize it got windy and they busted.  I went to Froggy’s and told them, “This was my fault.  I’m not looking for any handouts.  I just need a quick solution as I have major events each of the next 5 weeks.”   They thanked me for my business and gave me 2 new stands at no cost.  Thank you Kari, and the folks at Froggy’s! Thanks for listening,
 
Frank
 
I’m still putting a playlist to put together as I’m setting up for presentations on Last Call.  I like Gladys Knight.  This is a great song for Last Call, when you think of someone being held hostage:  “I’ve really got to use my imagination, to think of good reasons, to keep on keepin on.  I’ve got to make the best of, a bad situation…”