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Blood Bath
They Knew He Was Out There
He took his time. He watched his victims and chose carefully. Then he struck—each attack more brutal than the last. By the time detectives arrived, all they found were gruesome crime scenes of bloodied, brutalized bodies.
They Knew He Would Strike Again
For more than ten years in south Louisiana the killings went on. Task forces were formed. The killer even spent time in jail. But that wouldn't stop the bloodshed. One victim was stabbed with a screwdriver 83 times.
But They Couldn't Stop Him—Until Was Too Late
He was a father. A husband. A co-worker. And a killer. Derrick Todd Lee was ultimately convicted of two savage murders and tied to at least seven more. From the slender trace of DNA that finally nabbed him to the courageous prosecutors who took him down in court, this is the shocking story of a homicidal maniac hiding in plain sight—and an evil that could never be washed away.
Includes 16 pages of shocking photographs. Previously published as I've Been Watching You.
He took his time. He watched his victims and chose carefully. Then he struck—each attack more brutal than the last. By the time detectives arrived, all they found were gruesome crime scenes of bloodied, brutalized bodies.
They Knew He Would Strike Again
For more than ten years in south Louisiana the killings went on. Task forces were formed. The killer even spent time in jail. But that wouldn't stop the bloodshed. One victim was stabbed with a screwdriver 83 times.
But They Couldn't Stop Him—Until Was Too Late
He was a father. A husband. A co-worker. And a killer. Derrick Todd Lee was ultimately convicted of two savage murders and tied to at least seven more. From the slender trace of DNA that finally nabbed him to the courageous prosecutors who took him down in court, this is the shocking story of a homicidal maniac hiding in plain sight—and an evil that could never be washed away.
Includes 16 pages of shocking photographs. Previously published as I've Been Watching You.
346 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 23, 2005
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703 people want to read
About the author
Susan D. Mustafa
9 books32 followersSusan D. Mustafa is the executive editor of Southeast News in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is the award-winning co-author of No Such Thing as Impossible: From Adversity to Triumph, written with Jairo Álvarez Botero, and a freelance journalist for a variety of magazines throughout the South.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 26, 2022
3.5-3.75 stars
This is about one of the famous Louisiana serial killers, Derrick Todd Lee, who attacked and killed quite a few women in Louisiana. I find it amazing how this man was able to get away with murder for so many years because of the Baton Rouge Police Department focusing on white men as their main suspects. If it wasn't for a brave woman named Dianne Alexander and her son for enlightening the police on which direction to go in this man might not have ever been caught. The police were looking for a white man but Mr. Lee is black. It’s very depressing and scary to think about this man still being around Louisiana or anywhere else in society. Although for "The Other Baton Rouge Killer," aka Sean Vincent Gillis, they were not wrong that there was indeed a white serial killer out and about at the same time and area that Mr. Lee was killing. What a scary time to be a woman living in the Baton Rouge area! Definitely don’t think I would have been able to sleep or go anywhere without being anxious. Thankfully the trial went a lot faster than apprehending did.
I liked how this book has individual chapters for each victim as it helps the flow of the book smooth. The authors did a very good job organizing this book. The writing was a mixed bag for me as there were weak points but you could tell what point the writers were trying to get across.
This is about one of the famous Louisiana serial killers, Derrick Todd Lee, who attacked and killed quite a few women in Louisiana. I find it amazing how this man was able to get away with murder for so many years because of the Baton Rouge Police Department focusing on white men as their main suspects. If it wasn't for a brave woman named Dianne Alexander and her son for enlightening the police on which direction to go in this man might not have ever been caught. The police were looking for a white man but Mr. Lee is black. It’s very depressing and scary to think about this man still being around Louisiana or anywhere else in society. Although for "The Other Baton Rouge Killer," aka Sean Vincent Gillis, they were not wrong that there was indeed a white serial killer out and about at the same time and area that Mr. Lee was killing. What a scary time to be a woman living in the Baton Rouge area! Definitely don’t think I would have been able to sleep or go anywhere without being anxious. Thankfully the trial went a lot faster than apprehending did.
I liked how this book has individual chapters for each victim as it helps the flow of the book smooth. The authors did a very good job organizing this book. The writing was a mixed bag for me as there were weak points but you could tell what point the writers were trying to get across.
February 29, 2016
In my review of
Dismembered
I wrote that there were three serial killers in Baton Rouge at one time. One was Sean Vincent Gillis, another one was Derrick Todd Lee; A.K.A.: "The Baton Rouge Serial Killer"; A.K.A.: "The South Louisiana Serial Killer", the third was nicknamed the "Prostitute Killer". I don't think he was ever caught.
Sean Vincent Gillis mainly preyed on women that he thought would be missed, women that 'were already dead', at least to him. Lee targeted the woman he believed he could never get. Attractive, intelligent, accomplished, successful. He also was a black serial killer killing white women, he just went after women he could only get by force. Then he killed them.
I wrote, rather tongue in cheek, that this book could also be titled, "How Not to Catch a Serial Killer". The task force had no experience in serial killers, and rejected suggestion from 3 people 'you should really look a this guy'. Not flighty people, two of them were experienced investigators. In the end, these investigators were not even mentioned in the press conference authorities gave after Lee was caught.
This book does not flinch in it's writing, the good, the bad and the ugly. The trial coverage is extensive and detailed. But it wasn't just a rehash of what you had already read. It really conveyed all that is involved in the prosecution of a murdered.
Derrick Todd Lee was tried and convicted of two murders, but he has been linked to at least seven more. There are more murders that authorities think he was involved in. He never confessed nor offered to reveal where he disposed of bodies. There are families out there in pain, on January 21, 2016 Lee died in prison, taking his secrets to the grave.
I recommend this book to true crime fans.
Sean Vincent Gillis mainly preyed on women that he thought would be missed, women that 'were already dead', at least to him. Lee targeted the woman he believed he could never get. Attractive, intelligent, accomplished, successful. He also was a black serial killer killing white women, he just went after women he could only get by force. Then he killed them.
I wrote, rather tongue in cheek, that this book could also be titled, "How Not to Catch a Serial Killer". The task force had no experience in serial killers, and rejected suggestion from 3 people 'you should really look a this guy'. Not flighty people, two of them were experienced investigators. In the end, these investigators were not even mentioned in the press conference authorities gave after Lee was caught.
This book does not flinch in it's writing, the good, the bad and the ugly. The trial coverage is extensive and detailed. But it wasn't just a rehash of what you had already read. It really conveyed all that is involved in the prosecution of a murdered.
Derrick Todd Lee was tried and convicted of two murders, but he has been linked to at least seven more. There are more murders that authorities think he was involved in. He never confessed nor offered to reveal where he disposed of bodies. There are families out there in pain, on January 21, 2016 Lee died in prison, taking his secrets to the grave.
I recommend this book to true crime fans.
February 1, 2016
I'm very torn about the review I want to give this book. On one hand, I can't stand it. On the other, I couldn't put it down. I think I will have to accept that my feelings are a combination of the two.
I grew up in south Louisiana, just 35 minutes from Baton Rouge, during the reigns of Derrick Todd Lee, Sean Vincent Gillis, "The Jennings Killer", Jeffrey Lee Guillory, and Ronald Domingue. I don't remember much about the early years of the hunt for the serial killer who would turn out to be Derrick Todd Lee. I was only 10 at the time. I was in my senior year of high school when DTL was convicted of two of the 7+ murders he committed. I was less than a year away from starting my college career at LSU. It was a huge relief. But, unfortunately, there are some things you never forget, and the fear that crippled south Louisiana for nearly a decade did not simply disappear when he was sentenced to death.
I first came to learn of this book soon after it was published. I was home from LSU and my mom was reading it. Later, I saw my dad reading it. At the time, I said that I wanted to read it, but it was misplaced for several years and I forgot about it. I found the book a couple months ago. When DTL died last week, I decided to finally read it. I have a few personal ties to the law enforcement individuals mentioned in the book which gives the book a slightly more personal feel. I have nothing but respect for Tony Clayton having grown up down the lake from him.
Okay...enough of my rambling. My main problem with this book is that the writing is not the best. Susan Mustafa and Sue Israel were writers for a small Baton Rouge serial. I contribute this to some of my perceived failings. This is not the type of thing they were used to writing. I felt there were a few issues with the flow of things. Each chapter seemed to be more of a standalone. Also, the story of DTL, his victims, and the investigation was not told in chronological order. I felt like things jumped around. I know this was done so that each chapter could focus on one thing and then be done with it and move on, but that made reading difficult, in my opinion. By the end, I just wanted to sit down at my computer and re-work the entire book in chronological order.
With this type of thing, it is very hard to determine what really happened and how it happened, but there are some things that are indisputable. I read the chapter on Eugenie Boisfontaine and then began watching 'Killing Fields' on the Discovery Channel which is all about solving her murder. The facts in the show and the facts in the book do not line up. This makes me wonder if the research for this book wasn't as intense as it could have been, which then brings all the other chapters into question. I choose to hope that this story is as true as it can possibly be.
I grew up in south Louisiana, just 35 minutes from Baton Rouge, during the reigns of Derrick Todd Lee, Sean Vincent Gillis, "The Jennings Killer", Jeffrey Lee Guillory, and Ronald Domingue. I don't remember much about the early years of the hunt for the serial killer who would turn out to be Derrick Todd Lee. I was only 10 at the time. I was in my senior year of high school when DTL was convicted of two of the 7+ murders he committed. I was less than a year away from starting my college career at LSU. It was a huge relief. But, unfortunately, there are some things you never forget, and the fear that crippled south Louisiana for nearly a decade did not simply disappear when he was sentenced to death.
I first came to learn of this book soon after it was published. I was home from LSU and my mom was reading it. Later, I saw my dad reading it. At the time, I said that I wanted to read it, but it was misplaced for several years and I forgot about it. I found the book a couple months ago. When DTL died last week, I decided to finally read it. I have a few personal ties to the law enforcement individuals mentioned in the book which gives the book a slightly more personal feel. I have nothing but respect for Tony Clayton having grown up down the lake from him.
Okay...enough of my rambling. My main problem with this book is that the writing is not the best. Susan Mustafa and Sue Israel were writers for a small Baton Rouge serial. I contribute this to some of my perceived failings. This is not the type of thing they were used to writing. I felt there were a few issues with the flow of things. Each chapter seemed to be more of a standalone. Also, the story of DTL, his victims, and the investigation was not told in chronological order. I felt like things jumped around. I know this was done so that each chapter could focus on one thing and then be done with it and move on, but that made reading difficult, in my opinion. By the end, I just wanted to sit down at my computer and re-work the entire book in chronological order.
With this type of thing, it is very hard to determine what really happened and how it happened, but there are some things that are indisputable. I read the chapter on Eugenie Boisfontaine and then began watching 'Killing Fields' on the Discovery Channel which is all about solving her murder. The facts in the show and the facts in the book do not line up. This makes me wonder if the research for this book wasn't as intense as it could have been, which then brings all the other chapters into question. I choose to hope that this story is as true as it can possibly be.
February 20, 2016
It was really weird, extra eerie, reading this...local places, people I know....a terror I watched envelop our community.... and an investigation I followed with frustration.... I didn't totally like the writing style..too much of what they were thinking? and who really knows??? decided to finally read it after Derrick Todd Lee died...
August 26, 2016
This is about a serial killer, Derrick Todd Lee, who killed quite a few women in Louisiana. I like how this book is laid out, with individual chapters for each victim. Very well written and organized. There is some interesting trivia here. I did skim the trial a bit but otherwise an interesting true story.
August 14, 2017
I did like that they seemed devoted to expressing the story of the victims - giving them a voice that had been stolen from them. Overall, though, this book fell flat for me. I think there was a bit of a disconnect for me due to it coming from multiple authors - some chapters felt like a completely different writing style, that didn't always jive well or make sense together. It was a very simple chronological layout of events, and while it at times expressed things from the perspective of Lee, and what the killer might have been thinking as he stalked, raped and murdered these women.
Just felt like it was overly simplistic in its approach. Focus was given to the victims, and what we as society lost when we lost each and every one of them, which is definitely important, but the draw of these books, at least for me, is often the chance to take a glimpse into the mind of a killer, and to try and understand how people like that exist. Also, the vengeance and desire for retribution is sated in reading of his prosecution and successful conviction and sentencing to death row.
If you're looking for a good true crime novel, I would look for it elsewhere. Even this specific story is probably covered in as much detail somewhere else.
Just felt like it was overly simplistic in its approach. Focus was given to the victims, and what we as society lost when we lost each and every one of them, which is definitely important, but the draw of these books, at least for me, is often the chance to take a glimpse into the mind of a killer, and to try and understand how people like that exist. Also, the vengeance and desire for retribution is sated in reading of his prosecution and successful conviction and sentencing to death row.
If you're looking for a good true crime novel, I would look for it elsewhere. Even this specific story is probably covered in as much detail somewhere else.
May 15, 2016
Also known as BLOOD BATH; this is about an interesting case (a serial killer in the Baton Rouge area), though the book seems aimless at times as if trying to find its' voice (too many cooks in the kitchen perhaps?). I DO appreciate the focus on the victims and their families, even though their journal entries are often tough to read.
January 15, 2012
Derrick Todd Lee is a monster. For years he terrifying the women of South Louisiana. And he didn't fit the invesitgator's profile so he kept killing. But one man wouldn't give up until he was in jail. An excellent and horrifying read.
January 12, 2013
I only have it 3 stars because its about a serial killer. It really is a good book. I read it on the daily commute to and from the prison that I worked at where DTL is locked up. Very interesting read especially when you know the person.
July 27, 2015
A very good true story though disturbing and scary to think serial killers are just among the regular people in life
nobody suspects them. It is amazing hoe long it takes for them to be caught. They blend in like ordinary people...
nobody suspects them. It is amazing hoe long it takes for them to be caught. They blend in like ordinary people...
March 2, 2015
Must read for non fiction lovers
The writers put the reader at the scene of the crime. After viewing the pictures of the homes of the victims they were just as visualized and eerily similar to what was portrayed.
The writers put the reader at the scene of the crime. After viewing the pictures of the homes of the victims they were just as visualized and eerily similar to what was portrayed.
April 17, 2010
Derrick Todd Lee's rampage may have gone on for two decades. Bumbling police work likely resulted in at least two victims demise; had leads been followed, he would have been caught sooner.
September 1, 2013
Pure savagery!
September 14, 2014
This was an awesome book. I highly recommend it. Loved the way it was written.
July 22, 2017
Well written. It flows easily, and the authors do a wonderful job at laying out the sequence is the murders. Very interesting and a good read.
January 26, 2016
This book is a very riveting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
A MUST READ true crime story.
A MUST READ true crime story.
May 18, 2020
I grew up in this monster's hunting ground while he was still at large, but I was surprised to learn a lot from this book. Mustafa made a good effort in paying respect to the lives of the victims. I'm also glad how she expressed his destruction went further than the victims, their families, and his family. He terrorized a community and destroyed a way of life. I still sleep with a gun in my bedside table and a knife under my pillow. I don't answer the door for anyone, ups, usps, friendly looking neighbors etc. I treat parking lots and sidewalks as no man's land. The dangerous in between. I pull my keys out (with pepper spray key chain) and have my car unlocked and loaded in less than 10 seconds. God forbid some nice citizen try to talk to me in no man's land. When I hang out with friends, I don't just think "how nice, I love friends," I think "Oh, good. Witnesses." and their presence is sort of a shield, because I'm not a lone easy target. My child hood ended at 10 years old, when I watched my dad instruct my sisters (one an LSU student) how to use pepper spray. I didn't fully comprehend rape or murder, what I did understand was that I was afraid that something monstrous would happen to my sister and she would be gone from our lives forever. I grew up understanding that I am never safe, even in my own home and no one... not my dad, not my mom, not the police, can protect me.
Fear is a way of life for me and all the women who lived through this rein of terror. Gone is our trust in strangers, good will towards unknown men, and our innocence.
This book kept me at the end of my seat because I just couldn't believe half of it was real. Particularly how time and time again, this piece of shit career criminal slipped through the cracks. He beat his wife and girlfriends, stalked women, was a peeping tom, he tried to run over a police officer, and his DNA was at the crime scene of a murder in the 90s... not tested until the 2000s because the department thought $5000 for a DNA test was too expensive. My jaw dropped with how many times this guy slipped through the cracks. It was almost supernatural. Was Satan protecting this guy from arrest? No, it appears it was just total incompetence and disorganization on the part of investigators. Fragile male egos and politics allowed this man to continue to terrorize and destroy lives.
Fear is a way of life for me and all the women who lived through this rein of terror. Gone is our trust in strangers, good will towards unknown men, and our innocence.
This book kept me at the end of my seat because I just couldn't believe half of it was real. Particularly how time and time again, this piece of shit career criminal slipped through the cracks. He beat his wife and girlfriends, stalked women, was a peeping tom, he tried to run over a police officer, and his DNA was at the crime scene of a murder in the 90s... not tested until the 2000s because the department thought $5000 for a DNA test was too expensive. My jaw dropped with how many times this guy slipped through the cracks. It was almost supernatural. Was Satan protecting this guy from arrest? No, it appears it was just total incompetence and disorganization on the part of investigators. Fragile male egos and politics allowed this man to continue to terrorize and destroy lives.
August 26, 2018
Frustrating book in terms of the broken investigation, missed opportunities to keep him in prison and the lives lost due to no communication between the task force and outside agencies and investigators. If it didn't fit in the task Force's box it wasn't worth following up on.
September 13, 2018
This is the true story of Derrick Todd Lee who was the Louisiana serial killer. How he was able to escape law enforcement is beyond my understanding. The subject matter is hard to read, so don't read the book if you plan on sleeping.
June 1, 2023
True crime books always show the ugly side of humanity. Derrick Todd Lee was an evil man, and this book captures the dark, heinous acts he committed. I'm usually a fast reader, but I had to read this book in chunks. Sue digs deep, and she is one of the best in this genre.
September 18, 2021
Hard book to read, especially since I lived in the area when this was going on. I'd interacted with several of the victims, though I knew none of them well. Very sad it wasn't solved sooner.
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October 22, 2025Crazy to think this happened so close
July 11, 2016
Mustafa's account of the life and crimes of Derrick Todd Lee is interesting not because it's particularly well-written--the two lead authors' writing backgrounds consist largely of working for a local magazine for a number of years--but because it places a strong emphasis on telling the stories of Lee's victims as people, explaining who these women were before Lee reduced them to statistics who will live on only in the memories of their families. While the book does discuss Lee's upbringing and family life, it maintains a focus on the women he brutalized and murdered. For this reason alone, it is worth reading, despite the florid language that often smacks a bit too much of a feature article or a newspaper column. It is ironic that Lee's death from heart failure at the age of 47, 12 years after his incarceration and the failure of what would likely have been his final appeal, robs the book's denouement of much of its meaning. While the book paints Angola and its erstwhile and longtime warden Burl Cain in an undeservedly-flattering light, the thorough discussion of the details of Lee's supposed impending execution are rendered moot by Lee's early demise; the saddest part of this is that some of his alleged victims' families will never be certain about the fates of their loved ones, because Lee maintained his innocence until the end.
March 8, 2016
Living in Baton Rouge at the time these murders took place, I witnessed and experienced the terror that seized the city. Most of us were afraid to venture out and refused to open our doors to strangers. It was disturbing to read the details of this monster's killing spree, knowing the city so well and picturing the streets and areas where he did his hunting, kills, and body dumps. Informative in the sense that Ms. Mustafa provided details not made public during the investigation or Lee's trials.
That said, she is not what one would consider a good novelist by any means. Her wording was weak and amateurish, but the story itself kept this reader engaged. "I've Been Watching You" was a shocking, eye-opening account... the glimpse into the mind of a madman, but not legally insane and certainly not "retarded" as he tries to pretend to be to get off death row. Let's face it--anyone can act stupid. It's not so easy to fool people into thinking you're smart.
That said, she is not what one would consider a good novelist by any means. Her wording was weak and amateurish, but the story itself kept this reader engaged. "I've Been Watching You" was a shocking, eye-opening account... the glimpse into the mind of a madman, but not legally insane and certainly not "retarded" as he tries to pretend to be to get off death row. Let's face it--anyone can act stupid. It's not so easy to fool people into thinking you're smart.
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June 23, 2011This book is about a serial killer who murdered for years before getting caught. One of his many victims, a little boy, was killed and the boy's mother was arrested for his murder. Once the serial killer was caught, he described the boy's murder and the location, but the local police would not listen and would not let his poor mother out of jail. This "side story" has haunted me and I constantly think about this mother who not only lost her child, but was also jailed and looked upon as a monster. Well, I have been watching the Discovery ID channel on cable that runs all true crime shows, such as "Dateline" and "49 Hours Mystery." There is also a show hosted by Paula Zahn and last Sunday she covered the story of this mother. I taped it, but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I hope she has been released, but even if she hasn't, at least it's getting some national attention and maybe it will help her.
June 12, 2011
first of all i know this was a true serial killer story and i picked it up randomly in the library.
Maybe it was because it was a true story it didn't please me. It was soo boring.. too many details and its not exciting. It is just frustrating and hurted my head reading
i personally think what Todd Lee did was jacked up to the extreme.. how can any human kill the way he does? He is a father,a husband, and a working person! i feel sorry for his kids having to have a father like him. He was very cruel to his wife or ex- wife.. anyway 1 star for sure.. no wonder this guy got sentenced to death.. the stuff he was doing was no joke. All of the woman he killed were working and had a good life and he had no right to take that away from that
Maybe it was because it was a true story it didn't please me. It was soo boring.. too many details and its not exciting. It is just frustrating and hurted my head reading
i personally think what Todd Lee did was jacked up to the extreme.. how can any human kill the way he does? He is a father,a husband, and a working person! i feel sorry for his kids having to have a father like him. He was very cruel to his wife or ex- wife.. anyway 1 star for sure.. no wonder this guy got sentenced to death.. the stuff he was doing was no joke. All of the woman he killed were working and had a good life and he had no right to take that away from that
July 31, 2011
This booked brought back memories for me. It seemed that every time something new was released about the serial killer, there was a connection for me. I had to stop jogging around the lakes because of the killings. I also jogged around the oak-lined street where Lee waited on his paycheck before killing Gerilyn DeSoto. I had no idea! Mike Mebruer was a friend of mine who vehemently denied anything to do with his former wife's death. When I learned the serial killer murdered her, too, I was stunned. I may need to get another can of mace for my runs.
January 18, 2013
Blood Bath was good. Kind of your basic true-crime book, and that's what I liked about it most. Being from south Baton Rouge, I recognized a few mistakes throughout the book that probably wouldn't bother other readers (like the fact that the Winn Dixie isn't, and never has been, on Highland Road.) I suggest every young woman read this as a warning/reminder of the sickos that are out there, and take away from it that you can never be too careful and must always stay aware of your surroundings.
July 10, 2017
Hard Reading if You Are a Woman
True story of the brutal murders of young women in a region of south Louisiana several years ago that will haunt you for weeks after you have finished reading it. I normally don't read this type of non-fiction, but having known one of the victims, I thought enough time had passed that I could finally try to find out a bit more about her killer. Big mistake. This is a well-written book but I couldn't get certain images out of my mind. Guess this is not my kind of book.
True story of the brutal murders of young women in a region of south Louisiana several years ago that will haunt you for weeks after you have finished reading it. I normally don't read this type of non-fiction, but having known one of the victims, I thought enough time had passed that I could finally try to find out a bit more about her killer. Big mistake. This is a well-written book but I couldn't get certain images out of my mind. Guess this is not my kind of book.
November 30, 2009
Schlocky and pulpy true crime smut about Derrick Todd Lee's rampage. There are a ton of artistic liberties taken and most of them made me cringe. Even so, parts of this book were incredibly moving, especially when recounting the senseless brutality of the murders and the impact it had on the victims' families. The authors also successfully describes the paralyzing fear and anger that gripped Baton Rouge from summer 2002 until Lee's apprehension on Memorial Day weekend in 2003.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews