True Cases

[Janet , Moderator]

In the books that we read we come across the most heinous crimes imaginable, but what's the worst true crime/case you've ever heard about, whether it be past/present?

[Lori]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_o...

On the afternoon of January 21, 2005, Sarah invited Adrianne to join her, Cory, and Sean for lunch at Taco Bell; on the way there, Sarah and Adrianne reportedly began fighting in the parking lot, Cory held down Adrianne while Sarah strangled her with a belt and beat her with a wooden handle.

After the murder, Sarah and Cory took Adrianne's body to Sarah's grandparents' farm in Aledo, Illinois, where they tried to burn it with gasoline. When it failed to burn after several hours, they recruited Nathan Gaudet, a 16-year-old boy from Moline, to help dismember the body. Nathan used his grandfather's handsaw to remove Adrianne's head and arms and placed them in a garbage bag. The three teenagers ate lunch at McDonald's, then later disposed of the garbage bag at the Black Hawk State Park.

Adrianne's parents reported her missing after she failed to show up to work at Checkers restaurant. Authorities discovered Adrianne's remains a few days later on January 26, 2005.

[Marian]

David Russell Williams[1] (born March 7, 1963) is a Canadian convicted murderer, rapist, and former Colonel in the Canadian Forces. From July 2009 to his arrest in February 2010, he commanded CFB Trenton, a hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad and the country's largest and busiest military airbase. Williams was also a decorated military pilot who had flown Canadian Forces VIP aircraft for dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and the Governor General and Prime Minister of Canada

On February 8, 2010, he was relieved as the base commander at CFB Trenton due to criminal charges. He was formally charged by the Ontario Provincial Police, pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada, with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of breaking and entering, and sexual assault;[3] another 82 charges relating to breaking and entering were later added.[4] On October 21, 2010, Williams was sentenced to two life sentences for first-degree murder, two 10-year sentences for other sexual assaults, two 10-year sentences for forcible confinement, and 82 one-year sentences for breaking and entering, all to be served concurrently. The life sentences mean Williams will serve a minimum of 25 years before parole eligibility. Since he has been convicted of multiple murders, Williams is not eligible for early parole under the "faint hope clause" of the Canadian Criminal Code.

On October 22, 2010, Williams was stripped of his commission, ranks, and awards by the Governor General of Canada on the recommendation of the Chief of the Defence Staff. His severance pay was terminated and the salary he received following his arrest was seized, although he is still entitled to a pension. Subsequent to his conviction, his uniform was burned, his medals were destroyed and his vehicle crushed and scrapped.

[Janet , Moderator]

Lori, that's a shocking crime and by teenagers too. :-(

[Kirsten]

Christian Longo killed his entire family:

http://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/longo...

[Janet , Moderator]

Marian, oddly it was the end that stood out for me, what they did with his possessions.

[Marian]

Janet wrote: "Marian, oddly it was the end that stood out for me, what they did with his possessions."

I know Janet..I felt the same way.You just never know somebody..I mean,really know them,and how he fooled everybody..I cant imagine what his wife is going through with all this.

[L.E.]

Marian wrote: "David Russell Williams[1] (born March 7, 1963) is a Canadian convicted murderer, rapist, and former Colonel in the Canadian Forces. From July 2009 to his arrest in February 2010, he commanded CFB T..."

I was raised on military bases. David Russell Williams' case was shocking. Significant Incident by David Bercuson is another true horror about the Canadian Airborne and the murder in Somalia. 1993, a 16 year-old prisoner was tortured and beaten to death. Worse, the crime was aided, abetted and tolerated by others. By a quirk of fate, I worked for a short time for a lawyer who had defended one of the accused (not the murderer). I quit when I found out... couldn't look at the guy without feeling ill. How can there be any defence for knowing that a child was being tortured and doing nothing to stop it?

[Patricia]

True case - in the movie "Silence of the Lambs" - which I think is the book "Red Dragon", the man who abducted women and kept them in a pit to have them lose weight to skin them and make a suit of clothes was a true case in Philadelphia, PA.

[Susan]

Hi Pat, Red Dragon was a different book by the same author. But yes, Silence of the Lambs was based on an actual killer, Ed Gein, I think his name was. There are books about him, I believe. Couldn't find it on Goodreads, but it's on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Deviant-Shockin...

[Sean, Moderator]

The Iceman is the best true life book I have read.

The most shocking is about Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.. The Lethal Marriage.

[Tom]

Susan wrote: "Hi Pat, Red Dragon was a different book by the same author. But yes, Silence of the Lambs was based on an actual killer, Ed Gein, I think his name was. There are books about him, I believe."

If the number of movies based on his crimes is any indication, Ed Gein should win this one hands down. Psycho, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs were all inspired by his crimes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein

Another is Herman Webster Mudgett whose crimes have been detailed in both Depraved: The Definitive True Story of H.H. Holmes, Whose Grotesque Crimes Shattered Turn-Of-The-Century Chicago and The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. During the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, he opened a hotel custom-designed for murder, allowing him to kill and dispose of an unknown number of women who came to Chicago to see the fair.

[Sean, Moderator]

Nice to know Tom, did not know this.

[Marian]

Tom wrote: "Susan wrote: "Hi Pat, Red Dragon was a different book by the same author. But yes, Silence of the Lambs was based on an actual killer, Ed Gein, I think his name was. There are books about him, I be..."

Tom..I have The Devil in the White City coming from the library:)I was curious by it.

[Tom]

Marian wrote: s"Tom..I have The Devil in the White City coming from the library:)I was curious by it. "

The Devil in the White City is one of my favorite non-fiction books. Erik Larson's style of alternating between two stories, one focusing on man's great achievements and another on its most depraved aspects, offers an intriguing juxtaposition of life in Chicago in the 1890s.

[Malina]

I still think Ted Bundy The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story was horrible

[Susan]

Tom wrote: "Marian wrote: s"Tom..I have The Devil in the White City coming from the library:)I was curious by it. "

The Devil in the White City is one of my favorite non-fiction books. [author:Er..."

Mine too. It's a terrific book, so many details about what was happening in Chicago at the time of the fair. And, of course, all too many details about HH Holmes, one of America's most depraved serial killers.

[Nora aka Diva]

Tom wrote: "But yes, Silence of the Lambs was based on an actual killer, Ed Gein, I think his name was. There are books about him, I be..."

Ed Gein actually only killed two people. He was indeed a grave robber and necropheliac and had some "interesting ideas" on arts and crafts. Sick twisted individual but not really much of a serial killer.

[Kirsten]

Something about the Hillside Stranglers courtesy of The Lineup:

http://www.the-line-up.com/media/the-...

[Kirsten]

The Leopold and Loeb case - one of the first "thrill kill" cases:

http://www.the-line-up.com/thrill-kil...

[Kirsten]

Cue the X-Files music...

3-YEAR-OLD BOY CORRECTLY POINTS TO WHERE HIS BODY WAS BURIED IN “LAST LIFE”

http://www.the-line-up.com/media/a-3-...

[Tom]

Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Cue the X-Files music...

3-YEAR-OLD BOY CORRECTLY POINTS TO WHERE HIS BODY WAS BURIED IN “LAST LIFE”

http://www.the-line-up.com/media/a-3-......"

That sounds like it would make a great episode of the new show Proof.

[Kirsten]

From "The Lineup":

7 DISTURBING BOOKS ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS

http://www.the-line-up.com/8-disturbi...

From Ted Bundy to the Genesse River Killer, get inside the heads of history's most notorious serial murderers.

The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule

Note: Ann Rule sadly died last night.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-n...

Body Dump: Kendall Francois, the Poughkeepsie Serial Killer by Fred Rosen

The Misbegotten Son by Jack Olsen

Love Me to Death: A Journalists Memoir of the Hunt for Her Friends Killer by Linda Wolfe

Silent Rage: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer by Michael Newton

Forever and Five Days: The Chilling True Story of Love, Betrayal, and Serial Murder in Grand Rapids, Michigan by Lowell Cauffiel

Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Next Door by Roy Wenzl

[Skye]

Thanks!!!!

[Karen]

I have not read the book, but have read about this crime and could not watch the movie based on it and I really never have trouble watching any crime movies from lifetime. I had to stop watching. Maybe it was because I had read a lot about the true happening. House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying

[Karen]

Susan wrote: "Tom wrote: "Marian wrote: s"Tom..I have The Devil in the White City coming from the library:)I was curious by it. "

The Devil in the White City is one of my favorite non-fiction books..."

I would say he is one of the worst I have read about also.

[Tom]

Karen wrote: "I would say he is one of the worst I have read about also. ."

H.H. Holmes, born Herman Webster Mudgett, was actually the great-great grandfather of my former roommate's boyfriend fortunately for his first wife, he abandoned here and her children fairly early in his career, if you can call it that.

[Daisy]

Another good book about H.H. Holmes is The Scarlet Mansion by Allan W. Eckert. I read this book when I was in high school and it has always stuck with me.

I read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America and was not that impressed with it. I was looking for more information about Holmes though.