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Blood Echoes: The Infamous Alday Mass Murder and Its Aftermath
A true-crime account of a vicious massacre and the legal battles that followed
It was not a clever killing. On May 5, 1973, three men escaped from a Maryland prison and disappeared. Joined by a fifteen-year-old brother, they surfaced in Georgia, where they were spotted joyriding in a stolen car. Within a week, the four young men were arrested on suspicion of committing one of the most horrific murders in American history.
Jerry Alday and his family were eating Sunday dinner when death burst through the door of their cozy little trailer. Their six bodies are only the beginning of Thomas H. Cook’s retelling of this gruesome story; the horrors continued in the courtroom. Based on court documents, police records, and interviews with the surviving family members, this is a chilling look at the evil that can lurk just around the corner.
It was not a clever killing. On May 5, 1973, three men escaped from a Maryland prison and disappeared. Joined by a fifteen-year-old brother, they surfaced in Georgia, where they were spotted joyriding in a stolen car. Within a week, the four young men were arrested on suspicion of committing one of the most horrific murders in American history.
Jerry Alday and his family were eating Sunday dinner when death burst through the door of their cozy little trailer. Their six bodies are only the beginning of Thomas H. Cook’s retelling of this gruesome story; the horrors continued in the courtroom. Based on court documents, police records, and interviews with the surviving family members, this is a chilling look at the evil that can lurk just around the corner.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 1992
266 people are currently reading
479 people want to read
About the author
Thomas H. Cook
96 books355 followersThere is more than one author with this name on Goodreads.
Thomas H. Cook has been praised by critics for his attention to psychology and the lyrical nature of his prose. He is the author of more than 30 critically-acclaimed fiction books, including works of true crime. Cook published his first novel, Blood Innocents, in 1980. Cook published steadily through the 1980s, penning such works as the Frank Clemons trilogy, a series of mysteries starring a jaded cop.
He found breakout success with The Chatham School Affair (1996), which won an Edgar Award for best novel. Besides mysteries, Cook has written two true-crime books including the Edgar-nominated Blood Echoes (1993). He lives and works in New York City.
Awards
Edgar Allan Poe – Best Novel – The Chatham School Affair
Barry Award – Best Novel – Red Leaves
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – The Chatham School Affair
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – Red Leaves
Herodotus Prize – Fatherhood
Thomas H. Cook has been praised by critics for his attention to psychology and the lyrical nature of his prose. He is the author of more than 30 critically-acclaimed fiction books, including works of true crime. Cook published his first novel, Blood Innocents, in 1980. Cook published steadily through the 1980s, penning such works as the Frank Clemons trilogy, a series of mysteries starring a jaded cop.
He found breakout success with The Chatham School Affair (1996), which won an Edgar Award for best novel. Besides mysteries, Cook has written two true-crime books including the Edgar-nominated Blood Echoes (1993). He lives and works in New York City.
Awards
Edgar Allan Poe – Best Novel – The Chatham School Affair
Barry Award – Best Novel – Red Leaves
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – The Chatham School Affair
Martin Beck Award of the Swedish Academy of Detection – Red Leaves
Herodotus Prize – Fatherhood
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 7, 2017
True crime is a very fraught literary genre. At its best, it can be a poignant, often heartbreaking exploration of human frailties. It teaches us uncomfortable truths: That the world is filled with darkness and inhumanity; that fate is cruel and capricious and indifferent to our best laid plants; that good does not always triumph over bad, and that evil often wins out. Authors as varied as Norman Mailer and Ăsne Seierstad, as Truman Capote and Janet Malcolm, have lifted true crime from the gutter of tabloid exploitation and imbued it with real meaning, while at the same time, delivering compelling and unforgettable dramas.
At its worst, true crime is a pointless regurgitation of violence and pain.
Thomas Cook’s Blood Echoes tends towards the bad end of true crime. It isn’t quite mass market garbage, but it’s awfully close. The problem isn’t gratuitousness; it’s wrongheadedness.
Blood Echoes tells the story of a 1973 murder in rural Georgia that took the lives of 6 members of the Alday family. The killers were three escaped inmates – ringleader Carl Junior Isaacs, his half-brother Wayne Coleman, and a third prisoner named George Dungee – who absconded from the Maryland State Prison. After picking up another Isaacs brother, fifteen year-old Billy, the four men embarked on a relatively low-key and aimless crime spree, breaking into houses and stealing cars.
Things took a violent turn when they reached the Alday farm near Donalsonville. The four murderers broke into the empty trailer of Jerry and Mary Alday. As they searched for valuables, the Alday family began trickling in after a day working the fields. Jerry and his father Ned were first to arrive. They were shot and killed in separate bedrooms. Jerry’s brother Jimmy showed up next, and was killed in turn. Mary Alday followed. She was sexually assaulted, but initially kept alive, forced to witness the destruction of her family. The last two victims were Chester and Aubrey Alday. They walked into an ambush like the rest. Mary was taken from the trailer, assaulted again, and murdered in a wooded area.
The four men were soon caught. Billy Isaacs turned State’s evidence and testified against the other three men, all of whom were convicted and sentenced to death following rather hasty trials. Years of legal appeals followed. Eventually, the convictions were overturned due to improper pretrial publicity. All three were retried and re-convicted. Only Carl was sentenced to death the second time around.
This grim tale is told in a restrained and pedestrian manner. Many talented wordsmiths have worked true crime; Cook is not among them. Aside from the first couple chapters, which are needlessly presented in media res, Cook takes a chronological approach. He shifts points of view between killers, victims, and law enforcement. Cook takes pains to present Blood Echoes mainly from the victims’ perspective, rather than focusing on the perpetrators. Accordingly, he tries to flesh out the lives of the lost Alday family members, and to paint a picture of their lives before the dreadful moment that would be their legacy. Despite his effort, he is mostly unsuccessful at doing much more than collecting platitudes. We learn that the Aldays were hardworking and decent, but not much more.
Almost against his own will, Cook is forced to construct the narrative around the criminals. This, after all, is the more natural storytelling path. Time and again, Cook returns to the exploits of Carl and his penny-ante gang. The tension between Cook’s moral qualms about focusing on the murderers, and his authorial instincts which see them as the driving force of the story, make for an uncomfortable, disjointed book. The writing is almost schizophrenic at times. On one page, Cook will profess his disdain for Carl Isaacs as a dull, violent, two-bit psychopath. Then, on the next page, he’ll feed into Carl’s own conception of himself as a latter-day Dillinger, able to break out of any prison to kill again.
This is a book in search of an identity.
There are many ways that true crime books can justify their existences. Some are great whodunits, embarking on the search for answers in an unsolved crime. Some are books of important advocacy, helping to release the unjustly and wrongly convicted. Some attempt to explain how a person, once an infant, could turn into a killer.
Blood Echoes never really discovers its usefulness. It doesn’t do a great job of exploring the killers. It doesn’t do a great job of humanizing the victims. It certainly isn’t solving any mystery, because there is no doubt that the men convicted of killing the Aldays were the men who killed the Aldays. The middling prose, and the lack of depth or insight, make for an average, uninspired read.
Eventually, Cook’s writing does coalesce around a purpose of sorts. This amounts to an unsystematic and unfocused attack on the American criminal justice system. But not in the way you might think. This isn’t about the erosion of constitutional rights, prosecutorial misconduct, or draconian sentencing laws. Quite the opposite. To Cook, American defendants are given too many rights.
This, in other words, is a book that is contemptuous of those trifling documents known as the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is a book that is furious that men who were accused of crimes were not instantly strapped into the electric chair and zapped with energy until their flesh burned. Cook delivers a rather mindless argument that we should substitute Due Process, the Rules of Evidence, and Trial by Jury with some other mechanism more streamlined and efficient. A system that gives fuller vent to our impulse for hasty revenge. I can only assume that mechanism is Thomas Cook deciding the guilt or innocence of all criminal defendants charged with crimes in the United States.
Cook demonstrates his contempt in ways large and small. He does a terrible job at presenting the trial. He barely stops to offer any constructive critiques, though he acknowledges at various points that the defendants’ reluctant attorneys barely put up a fight. The State’s star witness, Billy Isaacs, gave inconsistent testimony that reads – in the partial transcripts that are excerpted – as having been heavily coached. Yet, he was hardly cross examined at all. The attorney for George Dungee, who was black, referred to his client, during the sentencing phase, as “a little ole ni**er man”, yet Cook is not interested in exploring the role of potential racial prejudice in a southern courtroom. Cook is utterly flabbergasted that men who are sentenced to death are given a number of appellate reviews. He does not seem to understand why that might be the case.
Most emblematic of my irritation is Cook’s constant complaints (returned to time and again) that the trial judge would not allow the surviving Alday family members to weep in court. To Cook, this is a grave injustice, a clear example of how defendants have all the rights, while victims have none. To say that Cook misapprehends the purpose of the criminal justice system, or the meaning of “rights,” is to put things mildly. He is either utterly ignorant of high school civics, or is mendaciously misleading his readers so that they will join in his unfettered and self-righteous fury. At the risk of being hopelessly pedantic, I will simply point out to Cook – and to anyone else who doesn’t understand the genesis of this rather simple rule – that the point of a criminal trial is to determine, through the admission of qualified evidence, whether an accused citizen (sheathed in the mantle of presumed innocence) actually committed the crime of which they are charged. The trial is not a rubberstamp of the Government. It is certainly far too serious a matter to hinge on non-evidentiary emotional appeals.
Cook doesn’t get this. His writing is infused with anger, and anger is a terrible state in which to make reasoned judgments.
This was first published in 1992, meaning that Blood Echoes is denied any meaningful resolution. After some diligent searching, I was able to tie up some loose ends.
In the years since publication, George Dungee died in prison. He was never executed because of his low IQ. Billy Isaacs was eventually paroled and died in 2009. Wayne Coleman still rots in prison.
In 2003, after some thirty years on death row, Carl Junior Isaacs went to the death chamber. According to some sources, his last meal was pork and macaroni, but he refused to touch it. Maybe the bluster left him at last, and he was too scared eat. Some reports are that he was suffering from cancer, and went to his death with a colostomy bag. His execution, as far as I know, did not miraculously set the world back on its axis. In any event, I’m sure Cook would say it is justice. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make us feel better or worse.
At its worst, true crime is a pointless regurgitation of violence and pain.
Thomas Cook’s Blood Echoes tends towards the bad end of true crime. It isn’t quite mass market garbage, but it’s awfully close. The problem isn’t gratuitousness; it’s wrongheadedness.
Blood Echoes tells the story of a 1973 murder in rural Georgia that took the lives of 6 members of the Alday family. The killers were three escaped inmates – ringleader Carl Junior Isaacs, his half-brother Wayne Coleman, and a third prisoner named George Dungee – who absconded from the Maryland State Prison. After picking up another Isaacs brother, fifteen year-old Billy, the four men embarked on a relatively low-key and aimless crime spree, breaking into houses and stealing cars.
Things took a violent turn when they reached the Alday farm near Donalsonville. The four murderers broke into the empty trailer of Jerry and Mary Alday. As they searched for valuables, the Alday family began trickling in after a day working the fields. Jerry and his father Ned were first to arrive. They were shot and killed in separate bedrooms. Jerry’s brother Jimmy showed up next, and was killed in turn. Mary Alday followed. She was sexually assaulted, but initially kept alive, forced to witness the destruction of her family. The last two victims were Chester and Aubrey Alday. They walked into an ambush like the rest. Mary was taken from the trailer, assaulted again, and murdered in a wooded area.
The four men were soon caught. Billy Isaacs turned State’s evidence and testified against the other three men, all of whom were convicted and sentenced to death following rather hasty trials. Years of legal appeals followed. Eventually, the convictions were overturned due to improper pretrial publicity. All three were retried and re-convicted. Only Carl was sentenced to death the second time around.
This grim tale is told in a restrained and pedestrian manner. Many talented wordsmiths have worked true crime; Cook is not among them. Aside from the first couple chapters, which are needlessly presented in media res, Cook takes a chronological approach. He shifts points of view between killers, victims, and law enforcement. Cook takes pains to present Blood Echoes mainly from the victims’ perspective, rather than focusing on the perpetrators. Accordingly, he tries to flesh out the lives of the lost Alday family members, and to paint a picture of their lives before the dreadful moment that would be their legacy. Despite his effort, he is mostly unsuccessful at doing much more than collecting platitudes. We learn that the Aldays were hardworking and decent, but not much more.
Almost against his own will, Cook is forced to construct the narrative around the criminals. This, after all, is the more natural storytelling path. Time and again, Cook returns to the exploits of Carl and his penny-ante gang. The tension between Cook’s moral qualms about focusing on the murderers, and his authorial instincts which see them as the driving force of the story, make for an uncomfortable, disjointed book. The writing is almost schizophrenic at times. On one page, Cook will profess his disdain for Carl Isaacs as a dull, violent, two-bit psychopath. Then, on the next page, he’ll feed into Carl’s own conception of himself as a latter-day Dillinger, able to break out of any prison to kill again.
This is a book in search of an identity.
There are many ways that true crime books can justify their existences. Some are great whodunits, embarking on the search for answers in an unsolved crime. Some are books of important advocacy, helping to release the unjustly and wrongly convicted. Some attempt to explain how a person, once an infant, could turn into a killer.
Blood Echoes never really discovers its usefulness. It doesn’t do a great job of exploring the killers. It doesn’t do a great job of humanizing the victims. It certainly isn’t solving any mystery, because there is no doubt that the men convicted of killing the Aldays were the men who killed the Aldays. The middling prose, and the lack of depth or insight, make for an average, uninspired read.
Eventually, Cook’s writing does coalesce around a purpose of sorts. This amounts to an unsystematic and unfocused attack on the American criminal justice system. But not in the way you might think. This isn’t about the erosion of constitutional rights, prosecutorial misconduct, or draconian sentencing laws. Quite the opposite. To Cook, American defendants are given too many rights.
This, in other words, is a book that is contemptuous of those trifling documents known as the Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is a book that is furious that men who were accused of crimes were not instantly strapped into the electric chair and zapped with energy until their flesh burned. Cook delivers a rather mindless argument that we should substitute Due Process, the Rules of Evidence, and Trial by Jury with some other mechanism more streamlined and efficient. A system that gives fuller vent to our impulse for hasty revenge. I can only assume that mechanism is Thomas Cook deciding the guilt or innocence of all criminal defendants charged with crimes in the United States.
Cook demonstrates his contempt in ways large and small. He does a terrible job at presenting the trial. He barely stops to offer any constructive critiques, though he acknowledges at various points that the defendants’ reluctant attorneys barely put up a fight. The State’s star witness, Billy Isaacs, gave inconsistent testimony that reads – in the partial transcripts that are excerpted – as having been heavily coached. Yet, he was hardly cross examined at all. The attorney for George Dungee, who was black, referred to his client, during the sentencing phase, as “a little ole ni**er man”, yet Cook is not interested in exploring the role of potential racial prejudice in a southern courtroom. Cook is utterly flabbergasted that men who are sentenced to death are given a number of appellate reviews. He does not seem to understand why that might be the case.
Most emblematic of my irritation is Cook’s constant complaints (returned to time and again) that the trial judge would not allow the surviving Alday family members to weep in court. To Cook, this is a grave injustice, a clear example of how defendants have all the rights, while victims have none. To say that Cook misapprehends the purpose of the criminal justice system, or the meaning of “rights,” is to put things mildly. He is either utterly ignorant of high school civics, or is mendaciously misleading his readers so that they will join in his unfettered and self-righteous fury. At the risk of being hopelessly pedantic, I will simply point out to Cook – and to anyone else who doesn’t understand the genesis of this rather simple rule – that the point of a criminal trial is to determine, through the admission of qualified evidence, whether an accused citizen (sheathed in the mantle of presumed innocence) actually committed the crime of which they are charged. The trial is not a rubberstamp of the Government. It is certainly far too serious a matter to hinge on non-evidentiary emotional appeals.
Cook doesn’t get this. His writing is infused with anger, and anger is a terrible state in which to make reasoned judgments.
This was first published in 1992, meaning that Blood Echoes is denied any meaningful resolution. After some diligent searching, I was able to tie up some loose ends.
In the years since publication, George Dungee died in prison. He was never executed because of his low IQ. Billy Isaacs was eventually paroled and died in 2009. Wayne Coleman still rots in prison.
In 2003, after some thirty years on death row, Carl Junior Isaacs went to the death chamber. According to some sources, his last meal was pork and macaroni, but he refused to touch it. Maybe the bluster left him at last, and he was too scared eat. Some reports are that he was suffering from cancer, and went to his death with a colostomy bag. His execution, as far as I know, did not miraculously set the world back on its axis. In any event, I’m sure Cook would say it is justice. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to make us feel better or worse.
November 2, 2021
I've read about eight books by Thomas H. Cook in the last five years...he's a great writer and has become one of my all-time favorite authors...I plan on reading all his books, fiction & non-fiction. Blood Echoes is his fair and unbiased look at the Alday Mass Murder Case in the State of Georgia, 1973. Cook doesn't waste anytime and gets into the specifics of the actual murders right off the bat as well as getting deep into the perps lives so you really know who committed these horrendous crimes. There's quite a detailed chase scene across a number of states and it is very exciting. The second half of the book details the trials, sentencing, appeals process, AND, the most heartbreaking portion, how the crimes affected the Alday family emotionaly & financially, the local community and the State of Georgia. A Great True-Crime read...I give it 4.5...I take a small point off due to there has been follow-up to the case that needs documentation and an updated Edition...4.5 outta 5.o....
April 23, 2015
Finished this book yesterday April 21 2015 and yes I liked it.
Good writing and an interesting story.
Oh my so sad. How terrible that the perpetrators of crimes are still even more than back then protected while their victims loved ones cannot protect themselves.
For instance they are not allowed to show pain in the courtroom because o no it would be bad for the defense. I am so disgusted by this especially because it seems this is not going to change.
Look in the papers you see the names of the victims but the killers are protected and their names are just initials if at all.
I very much appreciate this author writing this book and I hope the Alday family were and are still there to enjoy that finally their is a bit of human pity for them instead of all the attention to that freak.
Good writing and an interesting story.
Oh my so sad. How terrible that the perpetrators of crimes are still even more than back then protected while their victims loved ones cannot protect themselves.
For instance they are not allowed to show pain in the courtroom because o no it would be bad for the defense. I am so disgusted by this especially because it seems this is not going to change.
Look in the papers you see the names of the victims but the killers are protected and their names are just initials if at all.
I very much appreciate this author writing this book and I hope the Alday family were and are still there to enjoy that finally their is a bit of human pity for them instead of all the attention to that freak.
Read
June 30, 2016This was a vivid recreation of the most gruesome and terrifying tragedy I have read. Most certainly, it is a chilling portrait of true evil that annihilated a hard working family of farmers and rendered more then half of their family members to the grave. The media frenzy was upon them which interfered with this grieving family but so much attention was focused on the killers it took years of trials, appeals an delays.
This book was very well written and this author shone the light on the flawed justice system. I highly
recommend this book.
5 Stars
2 Hearts
This book was very well written and this author shone the light on the flawed justice system. I highly
recommend this book.
5 Stars
2 Hearts
January 4, 2015
This book was quite sympathetic to members of the victim's family, and gave a sense of the loss they felt. Almost as harrowing as the murders themselves was the aftermath, where despite conviction and incarceration, one of the killers was able to continue inflicting pain on the family for years afterwards.
July 13, 2023
On May 14, 1973, three men escaped from the Maryland State Prison. Carl Isaacs, Wayne Coleman, and George Dungee picked up Billy Isaacs, the 15 year old brother of Carl, and took off to Florida. The group were travelling to Florida, when they came upon the Alday farm, located in Donalsonville, Georgia. The escapees were looking for gas and valuables to aid them in their escape. The farm was owned by Jerry Alday, who happened to come home to find his home being ransacked. The escapees ordered Jerry and his father, Ned, who was with him into the home. Both were murdered. Jerry's other family members showed up at the property and were also murdered. His wife Mary, his brother Jimmy, his brother Chester, and his Uncle Aubrey were also victims. There are a lot of other details in this book about the crime, as well as the capture and court case.
This book is currently available to listen to on Audible Plus if you are interested in that. I thought this book was well researched and went over the escape of these inmates and their murders while on the run. The book does have some pretty grim details in it, so if rape/murder is a trigger for you...skip this one. Otherwise, if you are into true crime, this was a pretty decent read.
This book is currently available to listen to on Audible Plus if you are interested in that. I thought this book was well researched and went over the escape of these inmates and their murders while on the run. The book does have some pretty grim details in it, so if rape/murder is a trigger for you...skip this one. Otherwise, if you are into true crime, this was a pretty decent read.
August 21, 2017
This was a good book about a terrible, terrible series of crimes and all the craziness that followed in the wake of the prison escape of a pair of morally questionable brothers and their 2 vulnerable sidekicks. The author manages to compress years and years of legal wrangling very well; he's never repetitive or sleep-inducing. He focuses on contrasting the attitudes of the criminals against the effects on the victims. I have to say I feel especially bad for Richard Miller and his family because they appeared to get totally lost in the sauce. I came away knowing nothing about the trial for that murder or why they chose to prosecute it the way they did. I don't even really know what happened to Richard.
August 8, 2020
It's sad that this case too so long for closure
I was shocked by the sudden ending of the book. Being from Georgia, I had heard about this case off and on for years. However, being younger at that time and having my own busy life the overall impact of this heinous crime didn't stick in my mind. After reading the book, it really makes me sad to know what the Alday's have had to suffer through for so many years and will of course suffer for the remainder of their lives. Those men should have been put to death, in my opinion, instead of being a continuing financial burden for the people in that area.
I was shocked by the sudden ending of the book. Being from Georgia, I had heard about this case off and on for years. However, being younger at that time and having my own busy life the overall impact of this heinous crime didn't stick in my mind. After reading the book, it really makes me sad to know what the Alday's have had to suffer through for so many years and will of course suffer for the remainder of their lives. Those men should have been put to death, in my opinion, instead of being a continuing financial burden for the people in that area.
February 15, 2016
Brilliant,this book is very interesting and the author,has put you there it's so sad that the Alday family had to endure all the details for such scrum of the earth. These killers should have been taken outback of the courthouses and hung!! . These murders deserve nothing but a slow death.
Our justice system is truly screwed up on trials like this. This book is written well . You cannot read this book without getting angry. And have Feelings for the Victims and this survivor s.
Our justice system is truly screwed up on trials like this. This book is written well . You cannot read this book without getting angry. And have Feelings for the Victims and this survivor s.
February 26, 2021
Horrible what happened to these innocent, hardworking people on their own property. Also horrible is the fact that Seminole County GA (a poor rural county) was forced to pay for all the trials, multiple retrials, appeals, etc. for four people clearly guilty people. The county had to take out a loan to pay. We all pay for crime and the criminals have way too many rights they should have lost when they take lives.
August 17, 2021
South Georgia Massacre
This is a TRUE, TRAGIC story of a murder of an honest, hardworking Godly family. I was born in Donalsonville, GA and Navy many relatives who still live here. It is difficult to wrap your head around that there is such pyre evil in this world. I remember my daddy and other family members who lived nearby. But for the Grace of God, that could have been my family or yours.
This is a TRUE, TRAGIC story of a murder of an honest, hardworking Godly family. I was born in Donalsonville, GA and Navy many relatives who still live here. It is difficult to wrap your head around that there is such pyre evil in this world. I remember my daddy and other family members who lived nearby. But for the Grace of God, that could have been my family or yours.
February 26, 2018
This is the first time I have ever heard about this particular homicide case which occurred in May 1973 in Seminole County, Georgia. Jimmy Carter was the governor of the state at that time. What makes this case so very heinous and ugly include these facts: 1) three escapees from a prison in Baltimore - minimum security at that - committed murder and other felonies 2) one of the escapees was a man who was to be paroled the following week. His only crime at the time was failure to pay child support 3) the 'ringleader' of the escapees and the younger half brother he invited along for the crime spree, Carl Isaacs, never once expressed any remorse for any of his crimes; in fact, he saw himself as a modern-day Jesse James or other infamous criminal. The three escaped felons stole two or three vehicles; one of the vehicles being a Chevrolet model belonging to a missing college student, Richard Miller. Miller was also murdered by this group. In the stolen car, Carl told the others that to keep traveling, hoping maybe to go to Canada, they needed to steal some gas from a farm tank or something similar. This is how they ended up at the small Alday trailer, where Jerry and Mary Alday lived. Jerry had two sisters and five brothers, and his parents also lived close by. During the time that the criminals were at the residence, they let themselves into the house, and since it was the end of the workday, vehicles started pulling into the driveway: Jerry Alday, Chester and Jimmy Alday (Jerry's siblings), Aubrey Alday, Jerry's uncle, and Jerry's father, Ned. The men inside used the Alday's guns to control them; during this time, Jerry's wife Mary drove up last. What happened: Carl Isaacs and brother Wayne Coleman each shot each one of the men one by one, and then Mary was brutally raped by Carl and Wayne; later also by George Dungee, before she herself was shot to death about six miles from the trailer. Four days later, the four offenders (Billy the half-brother never killed or raped anyone; in fact he wanted the others to take him back home) were caught in West Virginia. The first trial was held late in 1973 and early 1974. All of the accused except Billy Isaacs were found guilty of six counts of first degree murder and their other offenses, and all three received the death penalty. In exchange for Billy's testimony against the others, he was not tried for these crimes, but for the murder of Richard Miller, and he received life in prison without parole. This was the worst mass murder Georgia had ever had. The victimized survivors of the Alday family were traumatized beyond belief, especially since some of the media sensationalized the whole story. And then ten years later, the three defendants had to be re-tried due to a decision made in an appellate court that the three men did not get a fair trial due to pre-trial publicity, especially in such a sparsely populated area. This time they tried them in Houston County, Georgia, and Carl Isaacs was again found guilty of all six counts of first degree murder and George Dungee received a lesser sentence because a new law made it illegal to execute a mentally challenged person, and George's IQ was about 69, but the jury deadlocked on the fate of Wayne Coleman and in Georgia that automatically commutes a death sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole. It says a lot about our society that Billy Isaacs was only 16 and Carl Isaacs was only 20 when this crime spree occurred. The boys' mother was a lifelong alcoholic and told the school it was their job to take care of her kids; because of this most of her 14 or 15 kids were in and out of foster care for most of their childhood years. I see this as a crime which never should have happened; these were prisoners held at a minimum security facility, and none of them had ever done violence to another person before this time.
October 30, 2025
The conservative bent was, unfortunately, clear throughout this book. The victims were not described beyond the surface. The one assailant who was black? We were told he was black numerous times, but there was no mention of anyone else's color. Twice the comment was made that the victims were good people (I do not doubt this) and part of the proof was that they were never on welfare; this implies anyone who has ever been on welfare is not good. There was also mention of homosexuality at the start that was so vague and yet also disparaging that I could not figure out what had happened.
Racism and classism were mentioned towards the end--mostly how Georgia had a history of putting to death poor and black inmates at a much higher rate than the wealthy and whites, but this wasn't gone into. The fact that the one female victim endured sexual violence and psychological torture was not explored in terms of sexism, and yet in 1973 we were still at a point where rape was viewed very differently than it is today. Also, the "main" criminal blames his mother for his woes, and there was no pushback for this type of thinking.
The end of the book--after the trails--was very interesting, although I wish it had gone into all 4 of the murderers, and not just the one. I was glad to see comments from the victim's family. I also wish there had been interviews between this author and those who knew the victims and the killers--it seems as if only secondary sources were used.
This was a horrible crime, and so senseless. What Mary Alday went through is unimaginable and beyond comprehension. The Alday family lost 6 family members and afterwards, others things. I am glad this crime was taken up as a book project, but I wish it were a stronger book.
Racism and classism were mentioned towards the end--mostly how Georgia had a history of putting to death poor and black inmates at a much higher rate than the wealthy and whites, but this wasn't gone into. The fact that the one female victim endured sexual violence and psychological torture was not explored in terms of sexism, and yet in 1973 we were still at a point where rape was viewed very differently than it is today. Also, the "main" criminal blames his mother for his woes, and there was no pushback for this type of thinking.
The end of the book--after the trails--was very interesting, although I wish it had gone into all 4 of the murderers, and not just the one. I was glad to see comments from the victim's family. I also wish there had been interviews between this author and those who knew the victims and the killers--it seems as if only secondary sources were used.
This was a horrible crime, and so senseless. What Mary Alday went through is unimaginable and beyond comprehension. The Alday family lost 6 family members and afterwards, others things. I am glad this crime was taken up as a book project, but I wish it were a stronger book.
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November 6, 2021⚠️TW: Murder + SA
I wouldn’t call this a review because when it comes to true crime and life stories I don’t think “review” is an appropriate word — I will also not be rating this since they are real life events. This was a buddy read with my friends Lindsay + Erin.
Lindsay put this on our radar when she brought up the Alday family and their murders the other day. This is the second worst mass murder in Georgia state history, taking place on May 14, 1973. In the weeks leading to the vicious crimes, three men escaped prison with the dreams of fleeing to Mexico or Florida and living out the rest of their lives as free men surrounded by drugs and crime. On their way south the men picked up one of their little brothers and proceeded south, leaving a trail of mayhem behind them on their journey.
The killers were almost always tight on cash and gas and had stopped at the Alday farm after seeing they had a gas tank on the property. One by one, members of the Alday family came home throughout the day to refill their gas tanks or check on one another, and the four men took them into their home and murdered them in cold blood. Mary Alday, the wife of one of the victims, returned home with groceries that day and was sexually assaulted multiple times before being taken off the property and murdered. Six members of the Alday family lost their lives that day. The events of that day shook the small town of Donalsonville to its core and is still remembered by members of the community today.
January 5, 2020
In Baltimore, three men fled prison: Carl Junior Isaacs; his half-brother Wayne Carl Coleman; and George Elder Dungee. They picked up the youngest brother, Billy, who joined the gang. They stole cars and burglarized homes to get money. Desperate for money to buy gasoline, they ended up in Seminole County, Georgia, in a trailer. Unfortunately, the owners arrived, whom they shot to death. Mary, the only woman, was brutally raped, and taken with them, having in the end the same fate. Six members of the Alder family were slaughtered. They were hard-working farmers, law-abiding and religious people, who enjoyed their spare time with the family. They were cherished by the entire community and had never hurt anybody. In this true story, the author describes in a clear and thorough way one of the most brutal murders in the U.S. history, providing us with the view of the surviving family members, members of the community, the criminal's mother, the press, and the legal system. He takes us through the trials and we get a clear idea of how the legal system works.
July 3, 2018
It’s hard to understand how after all the appeals & legal wrangling that these men were given a retrial?
Why put the surviving family through it all again when the result was pretty much the same?
Did the prisoners ever show remorse?
Why put the surviving family through it all again when the result was pretty much the same?
Did the prisoners ever show remorse?
August 2, 2017
True Crime
Good book about the most horrific murder in Georgia. If you like true crime told well, then this book is for you.
Good book about the most horrific murder in Georgia. If you like true crime told well, then this book is for you.
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December 19, 2019Very good book
July 3, 2020
Heartbreaking story told so very well and respectfully
March 24, 2021
Chilling!
A family at their daily tasks. Murdered one by one as they came in from chores. The heartless killers, motley group and the path over decades toward justice
A family at their daily tasks. Murdered one by one as they came in from chores. The heartless killers, motley group and the path over decades toward justice
September 2, 2021
Horrible story fantastically told
The author did a great job. The poor family had to endure so much!! The killer was ridiculously horrific! Loved the book.
The author did a great job. The poor family had to endure so much!! The killer was ridiculously horrific! Loved the book.
February 13, 2022
Although its great that the Aldays got thier side told this book drug on for me like on repeat.
April 18, 2022
I have read this book numerous times. It is well-written and follows the storyline well. To me, this is the best book written on the Alday massacre. I will read it again.
October 15, 2024
Damned heartbreaking. Hard to say if I enjoyed the book because the case was so awful. But I mean, I got what I came for, so.....
December 29, 2025
Horrible story
This is one of the most senseless massacre I never heard abt. This was far worst than Charles Manson murders
This is one of the most senseless massacre I never heard abt. This was far worst than Charles Manson murders
December 11, 2024
Blood Echoes: The Infamous Alday Mass Murder and Its Aftermath presents a detailed account of a tragic event in American history—the Alday family massacre in Georgia in 1973. The book delves into the lives of the perpetrators, the brutal crime, and the ensuing legal battles, offering a comprehensive look at both the human and systemic failures surrounding the case.
The narrative begins with a gripping recounting of the murders, which sets a dark tone for the rest of the book. Cook's approach to storytelling is somewhat restrained and lacks the dramatic flair often found in true crime literature. While some readers may appreciate this straightforward style, others might find it pedestrian and lacking in emotional depth. The writing oscillates between moments of tension and disjointed exposition, which could leave readers feeling unsettled about the author's focus on the criminals rather than the victims.
Critics have noted that Cook struggles with the moral implications of his subject matter. He frequently expresses disdain for Carl Isaacs, one of the murderers, yet paradoxically allows Isaacs' self-aggrandizing narrative to seep into the text. This inconsistency can create a confusing reading experience, as it undermines Cook's attempts to critique the justice system while simultaneously portraying its most notorious figures as central characters.
The legal proceedings following the murders are another focal point of Cook's investigation. However, his treatment of these events has been criticized for lacking depth. The author touches on issues such as racial prejudice and inadequate legal representation but fails to explore these themes fully. This oversight detracts from a more nuanced understanding of how systemic flaws contributed to the case's protracted aftermath.
Despite these shortcomings, Blood Echoes does succeed in highlighting significant flaws within the judicial process. Cook’s meticulous recounting of trial details and appellate reviews serves as an indictment of a system that often prioritizes expediency over justice. His exploration of how these events impacted the Alday family and their community adds a layer of emotional resonance that is both necessary and poignant.
In summary, Blood Echoes is a mixed bag—offering valuable insights into a harrowing true crime story while grappling with its own narrative identity. Readers looking for a straightforward account may find satisfaction in its detail, but those seeking a more engaging or emotionally charged exploration might be left wanting.
The narrative begins with a gripping recounting of the murders, which sets a dark tone for the rest of the book. Cook's approach to storytelling is somewhat restrained and lacks the dramatic flair often found in true crime literature. While some readers may appreciate this straightforward style, others might find it pedestrian and lacking in emotional depth. The writing oscillates between moments of tension and disjointed exposition, which could leave readers feeling unsettled about the author's focus on the criminals rather than the victims.
Critics have noted that Cook struggles with the moral implications of his subject matter. He frequently expresses disdain for Carl Isaacs, one of the murderers, yet paradoxically allows Isaacs' self-aggrandizing narrative to seep into the text. This inconsistency can create a confusing reading experience, as it undermines Cook's attempts to critique the justice system while simultaneously portraying its most notorious figures as central characters.
The legal proceedings following the murders are another focal point of Cook's investigation. However, his treatment of these events has been criticized for lacking depth. The author touches on issues such as racial prejudice and inadequate legal representation but fails to explore these themes fully. This oversight detracts from a more nuanced understanding of how systemic flaws contributed to the case's protracted aftermath.
Despite these shortcomings, Blood Echoes does succeed in highlighting significant flaws within the judicial process. Cook’s meticulous recounting of trial details and appellate reviews serves as an indictment of a system that often prioritizes expediency over justice. His exploration of how these events impacted the Alday family and their community adds a layer of emotional resonance that is both necessary and poignant.
In summary, Blood Echoes is a mixed bag—offering valuable insights into a harrowing true crime story while grappling with its own narrative identity. Readers looking for a straightforward account may find satisfaction in its detail, but those seeking a more engaging or emotionally charged exploration might be left wanting.
January 24, 2018
Average true crime story. The term "dime store novel" fits well too, as this is typical of a genre of "here is a gruesome crime and the 20 years that followed" format, told in any number of related stores. Nothing stands out here;
January 26, 2014
A thorough narration of everything surrounding the infamous Alday murders that took place in Georgia in 1973.
I found the book really interesting during its first half and a little slower during the second one as it includes intricate descriptions of both trials and the appeals process that took place over the span of 15 years or so.
First published in 1993, I had to do a little google search to find out what the final fate of one of the killers came to be.
I found the book really interesting during its first half and a little slower during the second one as it includes intricate descriptions of both trials and the appeals process that took place over the span of 15 years or so.
First published in 1993, I had to do a little google search to find out what the final fate of one of the killers came to be.
Read
November 30, 2015The story line is okay I guess but there is an unbelievable amount of spelling errors and content errors: "...got of the trailer (should be tractor) and entered the trailer". In one case a word is spelled two different ways in one paragraph. I'm assuming that whoever proof read this is now in another line of work.
January 2, 2015
This is the tragic story of the Alday murders just over the Georgia line. This happened when I was around 10-11. I do remember adults talking about it and being afraid. It could just as easily happened in Florida.
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