True Crime Serial Murders

A chilling genre-busting memoir by a major American essayist. Late in 2004, Maggie Nelson was looking forward to the publication of her book, Jane: A Murder, a narrative in verse about the life and death of her aunt, who had been murdered 35 years before. The case remained unsolved, but Jane was assumed to have been the victim of an infamous serial killer in Michigan in 1969.

Famous Crimes the World Forgot Volume II uncovers more amazing true crimes that exploded into the national news, shocking Americans from coast to coast - crimes that were eventually forgotten - until now. Each one of these stories transports you back to the time they happened, propels you through all the suspense-filled developments, and explores each one with an in-depth look into the actions of humans so evil, it's hard to believe they were real.

H. H. Holmes’ story has become one of legend. Holmes committed his crimes during a time in history where the idea of murdering on a mass scale was being introduced to the world through the actions of Jack the Ripper. Unlike Jack the Ripper, Holmes’ motives were clear; he killed out of greed, convenience, and curiosity.

If you’re familiar with the previous books in the True Crime Case Histories series, you already know that I start each book with a brief warning. Real true crime is not for everyone. The stories in this book represent humanity at its absolute worst. Pure evil. Television crime shows and news articles often skip the gruesome parts of true crime stories. The real details are just too grisly for the average viewer or reader.

Between December 1968 and October 1969, a hooded serial killer called Zodiac terrorized San Francisco. Claiming responsibility for 37 murders, he manipulated the media with warnings, dares, and bizarre cryptograms that baffled FBI code-breakers. Then, as suddenly as the murders began, Zodiac disappeared into the Bay Area fog. After painstaking investigation and more than 30 years of research, Robert Graysmith finally exposes Zodiac's true identity.

In an area of Houston known as the Heights, boys had been going missing for years, but it was the peace-and-love 1970s, so police just called them runaways. When the truth was uncovered, and police - and the rest of Houston - realized the boys had become victims of notorious American serial killer Dean Corll, Houston recoiled in horrified shock. Residents realized that they had not only become the site of the most grisly mass murder in Texas history, but the worst mass murder in all of US history.

In the shadows of America's heartland, a nightmare took root behind the white fences of La Porte, Indiana. Belle Gunness, the "Black Widow of La Porte," appeared to be a grieving widow and loving mother—but behind her mask lurked a predator without equal. With cold calculation, she lured dozens of men to her farm with promises of love and fortune, only to lead them to their gruesome deaths. When fire finally consumed her farmhouse, the horrifying truth was laid bare: mass graves, dismembered bodies, and a mystery that would haunt the nation for generations. Did Belle perish in the flames...

For years he'd stalked elementary schools and playground looking for young girls from low-income neighborhoods to abduct, rape and murder. He thought of them as "throwaway kids" - hardly missed, and soon forgotten, except by those who loved them. He was ever parent's worst nightmare. The bogeyman they warned their children about ... the fiend who lurked outside bedroom windows.

Eighty thousand words, 100 serial killers, 100 short stories - but thousands of victims. I've selected at random 100 from A to Z. For many beginner true-crime fans, this will give you just enough taste to each story that, if you want to find out more about a particular serial killer, you can search for related books.

During the Great Depression, some people just wanted to survive, but some people wanted to kill. Follow along with four Depression-era murderers and their twisted tales of depravity and bloodlust. We recommend you leave the lights on while listening. These four tales of forgotten murderers are sure to live on in the darkest recesses of your mind long after you’ve heard the very end.

On June 14, 1962, twenty-five-year-old Juris Slesers arrived at his mother's apartment to drive her to church. But there was no answer at the door. When he pushed his way inside, Juris found Anna Slesers dead on the kitchen floor, the cord of her housecoat knotted tightly around her neck. Drawn from hundreds of hours of personal interviews, as well as police, medical, and court documentation, this is a grisly, horrifying, and meticulously researched account of Albert DeSalvo - an American serial killer on par with Jack the Ripper.

There was no pattern to the murders, no common thread other than the fact that the victims were all vacationers, robbed of their possessions, and slain in seemingly random crimes. Authorities across three continents and a dozen nations had no idea they were all looking for the same man: Charles Sobhraj, aka "The Serpent". A handsome Frenchman of Vietnamese and Indian origin, Sobhraj targeted backpackers on the "hippie trail" between Europe and South Asia. A master of deception, he used his powerful intellect and considerable sex appeal to lure naive travelers into a life of crime.

Was the Devil Telling Him to Pull the Trigger? On February 20, 2016, an ordinary Uber driver unleashed a night of unimaginable terror. Jason Dalton went on a killing spree across Kalamazoo, Michigan, selecting his victims seemingly at random and leaving a trail of death in his wake. By the time the night was over, eight people had been shot—six of them fatally. But were these killings truly random? Maybe not. Dalton claimed he was receiving messages from the Devil through his iPhone. Whenever an app that looked like a devil’s head or a horned cow head went from red to black, Jason ...

It started with a college course assignment, then escalated into a dangerous obsession. Eighteen-year-old honor student Jason Moss wrote to men whose body counts had made criminal history: men named Dahmer, Manson, Ramirez, and Gacy. Posing as their ideal victim, Jason seduced them with his words. One by one they wrote him back, showering him with their madness and violent fantasies. Then the game spun out of control. John Wayne Gacy revealed all to Jason - and invited his pen pal to visit him in prison.... It was an offer Jason couldn't turn down. Even if it made him....

**Australian Killers: 15 Shocking Cases from Down Under**In the land Down Under, a vast and sunburnt continent that harbors untold mysteries, a shadowy underbelly exists—a realm where the most sinister tales of human malevolence reside. "Australian Killers: 15 Shocking Cases from Down Under" beckons you to venture into this dark, gripping world, where reality eclipses the most chilling fiction. **A Dark Journey Across Australia's Criminal Landscape** This eBook is a portal into the annals of Australian criminal history, a compelling exploration of fifteen harrowing true crimes that have ...

12/14/2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Newtown, Connecticut We remember the numbers: 20 children and 6 adults, murdered in a place of nurture and trust. We remember the names: Teachers like Victoria Soto, who lost her life protecting her students. A shooter named Adam Lanza. And we remember the questions: Outraged conjecture instantly monopolized the worldwide response to the tragedy, while the truth went missing. Here is the definitive journalistic account of Newtown.

In 1819, a young man outwitted death at the hands of John and Lavinia Fisher and sparked the hunt for Charleston's most notorious serial killers. Former homicide investigator Bruce Orr follows the story of the Fishers, from the initial police raid on their Six Mile Inn with its reportedly grisly cellar to the murderous couple's incarceration and execution at the squalid Old City Jail. Yet there still may be more sinister deeds left unpunished, an overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials, and documents only recently discovered all suggest that there is more to the tale.

In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot. After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite.

Bloodstains is the startling tale of one man’s search for the truth after inheriting the personal diaries belonging to his great-great-grandfather who, he discovers, was America’s first and most notorious serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett. Better known by his alias H.H. Holmes, Mudgett was the mass murderer who struck terror in the nation by being the proprietor of the infamous Murder Castle and stalking the streets of Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair.

After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder.