A WALKING NIGHTMARE—IN SIZE-NINE STILETTOS . . . The officer responding to a 911 call at one of Houston’s hippest high-rises expected the worst. After all, domestic violence situations can be unpredictable. But nothing could’ve prepared him for what he a beautiful woman drenched in blood . . . an older man lying dead on the floor . . . and a cobalt blue suede stiletto with tufts of white hair stuck to its five-and-a-half-inch heel. With her stunning looks, magnetic personality, and erratic behavior, Ana Trujillo had a notorious reputation on the downtown Houston scene. She spoke often of occult powers, though few knew how deeply she believed such boasts. Stefan Andersson was a gentle soul, a Swedish transplant with a good career and trusted friends, who was desperate to find someone special. Theirs is a story of obsession, madness, and tragedy. Because once Stefan fell head over heels for Ana, he was under her control—and he didn’t have a chance in hell.
An award-winning journalist and a critically acclaimed bestselling author, Kathryn Casey has written eleven true crime books and is the creator of the Sarah Armstrong and Clara Jefferies mystery series. ANGEL FALLS, her first historical fiction, was inspired by the life of Ruth Robertson, who in 1949 measured the world’s tallest waterfall.
Casey’s books have been Literary and Mystery Guild selections, and DEADLY LITTLE SECRETS was made into a Lifetime movie. Her first novel, SINGULARITY, was named a Best Crime Novel Debut by Booklist, and Library Journal chose THE KILLING STORM for its annual list of Best Mysteries. Elle Magazine picked DIE, MY LOVE as one of the ten best thrillers and crime books written by a woman. True crime matriarch Ann Rule praised Casey as "one of the best," and #1 NY Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen has called Casey "a true crime great."
In addition, Casey has written more than a hundred national magazine articles and pieces for The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Houston Chronicle. In 2022, Casey was featured on the top ten Netflix limited documentary series “Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields.” She’s appeared on dozens of television and radio programs, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, 20/20, 48 Hours, Oprah, Investigation Discovery, the Travel Channel, A&E, and other venues.
Possessed: The Infamous Texas Stiletto Murder by Kathryn Casey is a 2016 William Morrow publication.
This lady was nuts!
While I like to think I know a little about True Crime, more and more often these days, I realize there are just too many cases to keep up with them all. Although I live in Texas, I only vaguely recall this story- mainly because of the murder weapon- that Stiletto shoe.
For some of you, the crime might remind you of a scene in ‘Single White Female’ when Jennifer Jason Leigh stabs Steven Webber in the eye with the heel of her stiletto shoe. Naturally, this true crime case drew lots of media attention beyond Houston or even the state of Texas.
Ana Trujillo stabbed Stephan Andersson to death in his Houston condo- claiming self- defense. Yet it was Ana who had a history of violence and was rumored to have dabbled in the black arts.
This book details the relationship between Stephan and Ana, how it became increasingly volatile, with Stephan unable to free himself from her, despite desperately wishing to do so.
The author did a thorough job- starting with personal biographies for both Stephan and Ana and builds the tension as the horrifying saga deepens. It was hard to imagine two more different personalities- Ana was so aggressive, where Stephan was mild- mannered and gentle. Ana controlled him, manipulated him and despite his misery he seemed to lack the courage to purge her from his life for good.
Casey follows the usual True Crime format, but her writing style gives readers a vivid depiction of the events that transpired, an up close and personal view of the people involved, and a front row seat for Ana’s trial.
This is one crazy case! I think Ana is exactly where she should be! Recommend to readers of true crime!
I read this awesome book in one setting, I'm a huge fan of Katheryn Casey and this book just pushed me over the top. She's is one of the best true crime writers in the business. Ms. Casey being from the area where the crime was committed gave her an insider's view of some of the key players and the swank settings in which this situation unraveled.
I loved the way she downplayed a lot of things that would have almost made this book seem more like a fictional murder mystery instead of the gruesome true crime it was. I believed she captured the true essence of the Ana/Stefan relationship head on. She left no stone unturned that's for sure.
I was thrilled to see that a book was being published about this crime. Living in Texas we heard about the "Stilleto" murder and just an overall view of the status of the trial but that was all. We all thought it was just an older man fixated on a younger woman, that ended in tragedy. That was about it. Ms. Casey opened up Ana's Pandora's box of lies and deceitful past and you just couldn't put the book down because you couldn't believe what else she had discovered.
This book is a must for true crime fans!
I would like to thank William Morrow Publishing for providing me an e-galley for my honest opinion of this book.
A very well written true crime book. It did (does) make my blood anger that a defense lawyer can go so far but I know of this practise of blaming a victim because women are raped every second and so many of them do not even tell their friends let alone the cops because the ones that do go to trial are vilified by the defense lawyers. This is not a woman who is being victimized a second time but a man in this case and I think it is ridiculous that this is allowed. Sorry but I do not think justice is being done in so many cases so does the American justice system work? I do not think it does. (And let's not speak about the lack of punishment that is going on in my own country and others here in Europe. )
Yes I am someone who is quick to forgive but I do not have the right to do that when it is not my own being slaughtered. Too many victims or their families are being wrung through the wringer after they lost their loved one (s). Deals are being made they do not have a say in for instance.
Anyway back to the book. I enjoyed reading this book by Kathryn but it got annoying once Ana met Stefan because it is hard for me to read that someone is getting away with such bad behaviour. As evidenced in my writing Kathryn managed to engage me by her writing. Recommend.
This is a truly sad case of a truly pacifist man who allowed a woman to beat him to death rather than hurting her. It's so hard to understand though. He must've hard rock hard control of himself. It makes him even more admirable too, though. Such a sad story and the defense had to run his name through the mud with the self-defense.
I know, I try not to feel irked at defense. I'm not one of those people who'll raise my fist in anger at defense lawyers. They're just doing their jobs. But it was still rather sad with this case in that there was absolutely ZERO evidence that the victim did anything to stop her. They couldn't even find a single drop of her blood.
It was laughable that she tried to pass off her bruises and other injuries she'd received in a fight that had happened two weeks earlier as what he'd done to her. Considering he'd taken her to the police and hospital so there was extensive documentation on that. That's the sad irony of this case: he was the only one who took her in after her last friends finally got to the end of their rope and threw her out (for instigating that fight), and she murdered him two weeks later.
So sad. Some cases you can feel a bit ambivalent about the victim but in this case, you know the world truly lost someone precious, someone who was truly good, as a result of this crime.
I hadn't read true crime for a while- it seems to have fallen out of fashion- and I was very happy to read this book, which is extremely well written and wow- what a story. Casey has a crisp writing style. She never lets you forget that Ana and Stefan are/were real people but she's not overly sympathetic to either of them. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to true crime fans AND to those who read procedurals and mystery novels. Good show!
Stefan Andersson was a gentle man who had terrible luck with romance. After a night out, his ex-girlfriend Ana Trujillo murdered him using her shoe.
I had never heard of this case, but it is remarkable not merely for the murder weapon but for the fact that it features a man as the victim in an abusive relationship. The author discusses the backgrounds of both Andersson and Trujillo and goes over the facts of the case in a clear and evenhanded manner.
I did think the emphasis on Trujillo's occult leanings was somewhat superfluous though, as it didn't seem to have much bearing on the case.
This was the first Kathryn Casey book I have ever read, but it won't be my last. I heard about this case on the news. I was born and still live in Houston, Texas. This case was huge. Everyone was talking about it when the trial started. If you want to read a book about this case I would choose this one. It was well researched and written. It really gives you all the facts while remaining unbious. I just flew through this book. I will defiantly be reading more Kathryn Casey books in the future.
Possessed Possessed, The Infamous Texas Stiletto Murder is the latest work by True Crime author Kathryn Casey. Mx. Casey has written a number of True Crime books, and Possessed is yet another gripping, gritty case.
Early in the morning of 09 June 1993, Houston police responded to a 911 call. The first officer on the scene was taken aback at what he saw. Stefan Andersson was lying in a pool of drying blood, the victim of some terrible attack. The only other person there was his girlfriend Ana Trujillo.
Possessed gives us a comprehensive look into the past of both Stefan and Ana. Describing their childhoods, and focusing mostly on the last 10ish years of their lives. Stefan was a professor and researcher at the University of Texas, and Ana was usually out of jobs, relying on the men in her life to support her. And Stefan was a brilliant mark for Ana.
The book gives a quite detailed look at what happened the last six months that Stefan and Ana were together, disclosing their fights, their drinking problems, and Ana's continuing spiral into the spiritual practices that she'd cobbled together from a number of other practices. Stefan is painted as the victim, not only because he was the person murdered, but because of his lifestyle. He was, according to friends and family, a generous, caring human. Ana on the other hand was portrayed by her friends and family as manipulative and always twisting events in her life to portray herself as the wronged party, as the victim.
A fair portion of the book is dedicated to Ana's murder trial, where she did not testify on her behalf, but rather her attorneys played the police interview from the night of the murder. The rambling interview and history given by Ana Trujillo's friends and family seemed to seal her fate. After only a few hours deliberation, the jury reached a decision of Ana being guilty of Stefan's murder. On 11 April 1994, Ana Trujillo was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Stefan Andersson.
Possessed is a solid book, and it's very clear that Mx. Casey was an ardent fan of Ann Rule, as her books are written in much the same style. Clear, filled with enough detail to describe events, but not over filled as to bog down the book. I'd recommend Possessed to fans of true crime, of murders, of Ann Rule, or of biographies/memoirs. Solid book, and well worth the time to read it.
Possessed, the Infamous Texas Stiletto Murder Kathryn Casey Mass Market Paperback: 368 pagesPublisher: William Morrow (September 27, 2016)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0062300512ISBN-13: 978-0062300515
In the interest of disclosure, I was given a copy of this book by the publisher.
In the end, this is a sad book about two people; one who was a master manipulator and one who could not say no. At the beginning of the case, Ana was seen as the one who had been abused, but when everything came to light, it was actually Stefan who was the psychologically and literally battered victim. It was painful to read about the disintegration of Ana's mental state, but she really made life miserable for a lot of the people around her. This is a well-written book, but it's not a typical true-crime thriller. You really feel for all the parties involved. The editing could have been a bit better, it's Hotel ZaZa, not Hotel Zsa Zsa. There was no Gabor involved. (I live in Houston.)
This is a well-written, well-researched account of the gruesome murder of Dr. Stefan Andersson by Ana Trujillo on June 9, 2013. In parts, the reading is slow going as the author meticulously covers every relevant aspect of the lives of Andersson and Trujillo.
The trial is most interesting. A highly respected attorney defended Trujillo pro bono because he truly believed in her innocence. However, the life Trujillo led put paid to all of his efforts. The first rule is to always tell your lawyer the truth, but Trujillo's life was so embroiled in lies that she actually believed them.
This book was sad for Stefan and all the people who loved him. I am sorry for their loss. The author has taken this case and really wrote a concise and interesting book. She writes clearly, giving us a full look at the people she talked to. The bad parts of this book were tastefully handled, even tho what happened to him was so horrible. She also painted a clear picture of Stefan and his life as well as his murderer Ana. What's makes people do such things? Looking forward to reading another book from this author.
What a sad, sad story :( Stefan seemed like such a "good ole boy", and to be taken down by such a vindictive person... sad. I will say it was absolutely wild to read a book where the person who commit the crime was an active user of that chemical smoke shop potpourri K2 that overtook in the early / mid 2000s. Knowing someone who was a user of that stuff in the past, and seeing the similarities between them and Ana was a little unnerving, as I had feelings of my own towards that person in my life- wasn't expecting that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I listened to the audio version of this book and both the narration and writing were engaging and well done. I thought the author did a particularly good job of telling the story with just the right amount of background, detail and emotion without trying to sensationalize an already bizarre story. In fact, the book read like an interesting novel, and for me, that is a winning formula with true crime books. I will read others books by this author!
Very interesting book about an "infamous" (as the title says) 2013 Houston, TX murder. Lots of info on both the victim and the perpetrator. I found this to be one of those books you just can't put down -- reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I read when I get into bed at night, so it took me a full week to finish. Some books, not quite as suspenseful, might take me 2 or 3 weeks to finish, reading only 10 to 20 pages each night.
I deliberately avoided all the news on this case when I heard Mrs. Casey was covering it for a book, and it was totally worth the wait. The case of Ana Trujillo, who is a sort of Texas-style Jodi Arias, is engrossing and Possessed recounts it thoroughly and astutely. Couldn't put it down -- a must-read for any true crime fan.
A well-written book about an interesting case. I also appreciated the way the photos appeared in a timely manner throughout the text; I didn't have to flip past a photo section in the middle and risk hitting a spoiler before finishing.
Carefully researched and reported. At times a little slow. Some material is used over, verbatim, to, perhaps, pad the narrative. Still, a good read for true crime junkies.
The book was very very good. Unfortunately, the audiobook narrator wasn’t anywhere near a Susan Martin, which was such a buzzkill. It felt like being read to by a stern librarian. Sigh.
This was a great true crime read! There’s nothing in this story that keeps you wondering or questioning. A scientist meets a horrific death at the hands of a woman he loved and helped out.
Good and thorough history and context to the victim, Stefan. In photos, as well.
This is ultimately so very sad since rape victims, and self defense in myriads of ways are often set into court and context testimony etc. which distorts the rape victim's true "guilt" for those reactive crimes of aftermath. Only my opinion, but never more true when rapists are presently released with no bail over and over again. That is NOT justice or any portion of future safety for MORE woman victims. One of the present day injustices which are so disgusting. Such as letting out 14 times repeat assault perpetrator who then becomes a repeat violent murderer proceeding to assassinate a complete stranger days or weeks later. (Just happened in Charlotte this last week on public transit.) Few tears and almost no news for the murdered victims (innocents too) over and over and over again, is the "empathy" I see.
The book was way too long but I did speed read through quite a few redundancies. Ana and women with her temperament are still not evaluated fairly re planned and/or as opposed to reactive actions of such violence, even now, IMHO.
No one in this related association or any of the primes were likeable to me. Also the culture clashes often distorted the scenario, even to each other in numerous cases. I would not recommend this book. With the urban losening of all protective layers presently in the USA, this one also is EXTREMELY dated, IMHO. Now the court outcome would probably not be the same either. People DO get away with murder frequently in this decade and in the large urban USA.
This is one of the saddest true crime stories I have read lately. Don’t get me wrong, they are all sad. Domestic abuse and violence happens in the reverse too. Usually it is the woman who is being abused; however, men are abused by women too. She beat him to death with her 5” stiletto and he didn’t fight back. I don’t think anyone will know what snapped in Ana those years before that led to her slowly declining personality but something happened to the very capable woman who decided to leave her children and her comfortable lifestyle. Stefan was warned, told, and talked with by many of his friends and, believe it or not, strangers too to get Ana out of his life. He was the type of person to buy food for the homeless. Deliver it to them or take them with him into the restaurant and sit, talk with them, get to know them. Stefan had finally decided on the action to remove Ana from his life but just a bit late though and the world lost a brilliant mind.
This book is available through the Audible Plus catalog.
I think this book was very well written -- and it is interesting that as Ana went into her 40s and drank etc she became more aggressive and unstable -- today a doctor might look at one's hormone levels for perimenopause.... I would think that one doesn`t change so drastically except around that age -women even develop what`s now called Preimeopause rage - though other women do not murder someone -- of course none of that excuses what she did and I feel that the sentencing is accurate -- but I am curious -- if understanding women's hormone changes and how it affects their mental health would have gotten her help? -- so many women complain that they feel they are becoming another person through perimenopause and menopause ---or maybe she is crazy but I am so curious about what caused the change in her scientifically from who she was before the end of her second marriage to Fox. Food for thought.