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True Crime by Evil Killers #1
Arnold Sodeman: The True Story of the Schoolgirl Strangler
Captured in the 1930s before the words psychopath and pedophile were part of common vernacular, notorious serial killer Arnold Sodeman murdered four young girls with little thought of remorse. Without guilt, the evil serial killer strangled them to death with their own clothing and left their small bodies alone in the Australian brush, earning himself a chilling position in the annals of Australian crime.
The first victim in his child murder spree, 12-year-old Mena Griffiths, showed signs of having been sexually assaulted, although the man who would become known as The School-girl Strangler denied the assault, and blamed the killing of both Griffiths and the other girls on his inability to control himself after he’d been drinking.
The horrific story of this true-life murderer – a tale of mental illness, childhood abuse, brain damage and alcoholic blackouts – is true crime as its most terrible, and ranks among the worst child murders in world history.
After his arrest, Sodeman calmly confessed, saying that when intoxicated, he became overcome by thoughts of revenge, and like a real-life Jekyll and Hyde, transformed from doting husband and family man into a barbarian who strangled four little girls.
He chose children and teens, he said, because he could lure them away much easier, but the cold-blooded killer really didn’t seem to recognize the abhorrence of taking a child’s life.
Experts now say the handsome but strange Sodeman would likely have been unfit to stand trial for his crimes, given his family’s extensive background of mental illness, but in the 1930s, the serial killer’s biography was a tale that left Australia stunned.
The first victim in his child murder spree, 12-year-old Mena Griffiths, showed signs of having been sexually assaulted, although the man who would become known as The School-girl Strangler denied the assault, and blamed the killing of both Griffiths and the other girls on his inability to control himself after he’d been drinking.
The horrific story of this true-life murderer – a tale of mental illness, childhood abuse, brain damage and alcoholic blackouts – is true crime as its most terrible, and ranks among the worst child murders in world history.
After his arrest, Sodeman calmly confessed, saying that when intoxicated, he became overcome by thoughts of revenge, and like a real-life Jekyll and Hyde, transformed from doting husband and family man into a barbarian who strangled four little girls.
He chose children and teens, he said, because he could lure them away much easier, but the cold-blooded killer really didn’t seem to recognize the abhorrence of taking a child’s life.
Experts now say the handsome but strange Sodeman would likely have been unfit to stand trial for his crimes, given his family’s extensive background of mental illness, but in the 1930s, the serial killer’s biography was a tale that left Australia stunned.
68 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2015
22 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Jack Rosewood
91 books146 followersI live in one of the most beautiful places in Florida, Jupiter, with my wife, two kids and our golden retriever, Vincent. I've been a full time author for the last 15 years and I wouldn't trade it against anything in the world!
My father was a journalist and wrote about some of the worst crimes you could ever imagine, and that's where my big interest from serial killers and other horrible crimes comes from. Just to hear my father talk about the evil acts of Ted Bundy as we were out fishing as a kid are some of my best memories.
My father was a journalist and wrote about some of the worst crimes you could ever imagine, and that's where my big interest from serial killers and other horrible crimes comes from. Just to hear my father talk about the evil acts of Ted Bundy as we were out fishing as a kid are some of my best memories.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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December 18, 2017A short review of the crimes of Arnold Sodeman, an Australian serial killer caught in the 1930's, who preyed on children and teens. He came from a background of mental illness.
April 10, 2015
Short but worthwhile
I liked this book. No, I really, really liked this book. I read true crime, but too often there is a hundred pages or more of background information that didn't need to be added.m
This book has exactly the right amount of information. There is just enough background to make it worth the read. I wish there were more books like this one that give the facts, fleshed out enough to be understood without endless trial notes, long winded background stories, etc.
This is a horrifying story, slight gruesome without being macabre. The story is a fast read and if you are like myself, you will read it straight through to the end.
Arnold Sodeman was a strange bird. No one will ever really know if his brain issues actually put him into a fugue state or if he merely claimed it to have a "reason" for a seemingly insensible crime.
I liked this book. No, I really, really liked this book. I read true crime, but too often there is a hundred pages or more of background information that didn't need to be added.m
This book has exactly the right amount of information. There is just enough background to make it worth the read. I wish there were more books like this one that give the facts, fleshed out enough to be understood without endless trial notes, long winded background stories, etc.
This is a horrifying story, slight gruesome without being macabre. The story is a fast read and if you are like myself, you will read it straight through to the end.
Arnold Sodeman was a strange bird. No one will ever really know if his brain issues actually put him into a fugue state or if he merely claimed it to have a "reason" for a seemingly insensible crime.
September 15, 2015
I knew nothing about Arnold Sodeman prior to reading this book. This brief account provided the basic, important information about the case.
Arnold Sodeman was a parent'sworst nightmare --- he murdered little girls. Four innocent little girls had their futures stolen by a madman. Sodeman had a family history of mental problems including a grandfather who had an inflammation of the brain. However, he was not insane in the legal sense. He was capable of luring the children away and killing them.
This book is well-written and contains very few errors. I will look for more books by this author.
Arnold Sodeman was a parent'sworst nightmare --- he murdered little girls. Four innocent little girls had their futures stolen by a madman. Sodeman had a family history of mental problems including a grandfather who had an inflammation of the brain. However, he was not insane in the legal sense. He was capable of luring the children away and killing them.
This book is well-written and contains very few errors. I will look for more books by this author.
March 28, 2017
This book goes into the the history of Arnold Sodeman. Something interesting about this story was how Sodeman feels about his crimes, and how he felt about being arrested for his crimes. I don't want to give a spoiler, but this is a great short that offers up a short case study on the effects of diminished capacity.
Jack Rosewood goes through an outline of the crimes, the arrest, and the outcome of the case. I would recommend this as a case study for individuals that are looking into effects of brain damage in correlation to violence and violent crimes. You might also be interested in this book if you want to look at the correlation of mental illness and violent crimes.
Jack Rosewood goes through an outline of the crimes, the arrest, and the outcome of the case. I would recommend this as a case study for individuals that are looking into effects of brain damage in correlation to violence and violent crimes. You might also be interested in this book if you want to look at the correlation of mental illness and violent crimes.
May 8, 2017
Kept repeating itself in the story.
November 13, 2019
Brief but potently disturbing, informative, and well-done.
4 stars.
4 stars.
December 22, 2020
Interesting but too short on the audiobook
January 19, 2025
Nothing special. Very simplistic story telling.
June 5, 2017
I really enjoyed this author who gives the facts as they are with no add on or fillers which makes this a wonderful short listen that really holds your attention. My heart really went out to the families of these children as well as the victims. I think the thing that touched me the most was the letter his wife wrote to him asking for the truth and talked about their daughter. The next thing that really hit home as how he killed and then went visiting, to understand what I mean you will have to read or listen to this story.
Mr. Thynne narration was great he gives the facts as they are only giving emotion if it is needed. He narrates a clean, clear, crisp audio with no background noises. There are no volume changes, if any breaks were taken I could not tell. He did no character voices but I didn’t feel they were needed. The audio was done in even tones but in a way that you feel the effect of the horror of the act that was done. I told his performance was really good. He has a very nice pleasant voice to listen to that really pulls the listener in.
I have mixed feelings about Mr. Sodeman. I do feel he used his alcohol as an excuse. I am not saying it didn’t play a part in his act just that it is too easy to blame what you do on drinking. With his families past and how people thought he was strange I would have thought the family would have kept an eye on the whole family throughout the years and got help for those that needed it. There are a lot of interesting facts one being what they found in his brain that might have lead him to do what he did. If you love true crime and you are looking for an interesting listen that only gives the facts I hope you pick this up. It will make you wonder if he could have been helped before he started murdering if he had the help that we have today back then. There are places where you jaw will drop and others where your heart just about breaks for the victims as well as the families.
Mr. Thynne narration was great he gives the facts as they are only giving emotion if it is needed. He narrates a clean, clear, crisp audio with no background noises. There are no volume changes, if any breaks were taken I could not tell. He did no character voices but I didn’t feel they were needed. The audio was done in even tones but in a way that you feel the effect of the horror of the act that was done. I told his performance was really good. He has a very nice pleasant voice to listen to that really pulls the listener in.
I have mixed feelings about Mr. Sodeman. I do feel he used his alcohol as an excuse. I am not saying it didn’t play a part in his act just that it is too easy to blame what you do on drinking. With his families past and how people thought he was strange I would have thought the family would have kept an eye on the whole family throughout the years and got help for those that needed it. There are a lot of interesting facts one being what they found in his brain that might have lead him to do what he did. If you love true crime and you are looking for an interesting listen that only gives the facts I hope you pick this up. It will make you wonder if he could have been helped before he started murdering if he had the help that we have today back then. There are places where you jaw will drop and others where your heart just about breaks for the victims as well as the families.
June 30, 2015
I enjoyed this True Crime short read very much, for it's length it's by far the best true crime I've read. The book captures all the horrible acts made by Mr. Sodeman without useless information just to fill out the lines, I loved it! The perfect amount of information with a great timeline and some closure with a great aftermath chapter with just the right amount of psychology behind Sodemans terror. I'm looking forward for more books by the author, every true crime book should be written with the same structure as this book.
September 4, 2015
I found this short work to be a great read, well-written and to the point. Unlike many other true crime works Rosewood refrains from a great deal of speculation about what might have gone on behind closed doors. While such speculation can be very interesting nothing is lost by its omission here.
I have not yet read his other true crime works but if they are similar I would think they would be wonderful collected into a larger volume with each as a chapter.
Reviewed from a copy made available via LibraryThing.
I have not yet read his other true crime works but if they are similar I would think they would be wonderful collected into a larger volume with each as a chapter.
Reviewed from a copy made available via LibraryThing.
August 31, 2015
I received an advance review e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is true crime from the 1930s in its purest form. The author presents the true facts in a concise manner giving us the evidence, conclusions, and psychological theories related to Mr. Sodeman and the murders.
September 11, 2015
I liked the fact that it ended with Sodeman realized that something was wrong Sith him. Did he know about his father and grand father were both I'll. Did they commit any crimes? I wish you would ha ve
Told more about them. Did Arnold know about them? I
Wish you you had given more info about Arnold's home life.
Told more about them. Did Arnold know about them? I
Wish you you had given more info about Arnold's home life.
July 6, 2015
Good coverage of important case information
I enjoyed the case, with enough information for proper coverage. Facts were presented, evidence explained, conclusions supported. Excellent length read.
I enjoyed the case, with enough information for proper coverage. Facts were presented, evidence explained, conclusions supported. Excellent length read.
January 12, 2016
Speed read
Quick, short and to the point...a killer back in the early 1900s and one to cause horror to all around...remorse came at the end to his spouse and the ending words were not a fight but to face Execution...
Quick, short and to the point...a killer back in the early 1900s and one to cause horror to all around...remorse came at the end to his spouse and the ending words were not a fight but to face Execution...
August 26, 2015
Really quick read. I enjoyed the case.
September 8, 2015
Good read!
Enjoyed this historical true crime book. His crimes were really chilling, those poor little girls and their families. I do recommend this book highly.
Enjoyed this historical true crime book. His crimes were really chilling, those poor little girls and their families. I do recommend this book highly.
October 15, 2015
Love of True Crime
While short, found it a telling story of man's sometimes blatant disregard for fellow human life.
True crime readers must
While short, found it a telling story of man's sometimes blatant disregard for fellow human life.
True crime readers must
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews