5 MOST MEMORABLE MURDERS

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to investigate a real murder case?

Bones 3You probably have. At least the popularity of TV shows like CSI, Bones & Hawaii 5-0 suggests that there’s a huge public interest in what goes on behind the homicide scenes.

I never kept track of how many homicides I was involved in. Lots.

There’s different degrees of murders. First degree is when it’s planned and deliberate. Second degree is deliberate, but spontaneous. Manslaughter is when it’s not intentional, but the actions are so reckless that it results in death. Then there’s the various angles of criminal negligence causing death, impaired driving causing death, and assisting suicide.

One thing I learned is that there’s never two cases the same. People find some vicious and creative ways to do others in. Here’s five cases that really stand out.

Pork chops5. The Pork-Chop Murder

There was this real low-life named Gerry who had a cult following that did all his dirty work – drug dealing, break-ins, strong-arming, and shoplifting. He thought one of his minions double-crossed him so he ordered the other drones to kidnap the young guy and bring him before a ‘tribunal’. They kicked the shit out of this youth who refused to confess (because he was actually innocent). Failing to get anywhere, he ordered them to finish the kid off. One of the disciples went to the freezer, got a bag of frozen pork chops, and proceeded to cave the youth’s head in with it, causing a massive subdural hematoma resulting in death. They took the body out, dumped it in an alley, then put the pork chops back in the freezer. It wasn’t difficult to solve. The trail of blood led back in the house and straight to the murder weapon in the freezer.

Winchester4. Bing

“Bing’ was a nasty bastard who’s pastime was beating his wife. One night Bing came home, pissed as usual, thumped her half-senseless in front of their kids, then passed out. The wife finally had enough so she took a .308 Winchester, put a round it, and shot Bing in the head. Problem was that she only blew his jaw off and woke him up. Terrified, she scrambled for more ammo while Bing was ki-yiing around. Her son came up with some 30/30 shells so she switched guns and finished Bing off. The jury acquitted her on the grounds of provocation and self-defense.

Roto tiller3. Wolfgang’s Roto-Tiller

Wolfgang was a mailman with a bad temper. He got in a fight with his wife and she fell back against the fireplace, struck her head, and died. Panicking, Wolfgang took her outside and built a huge bonfire to dispose of the body. This caused his neighbors to call the fire department who came screaming in and hosed-down the flames. They warned Ol’ Wolfie not to burn without a permit and left him with a half-finished job. Panicking again, Wolfgang chopped-up the charred remains and roto-tilled them into his garden. After a few weeks, relatives became suspicious that the wife was missing and went to police. Eventually Wolfgang confessed. A forensic excavation found hundreds of bits of charred bone and she was identified by her wedding ring.

handgun2. The Gun Store

Mr. & Mrs. ‘L’ owned a mom & pop shooting-sports supply business. Michael Katz and Austin Peer escaped from jail and went on a bank robbery spree which required them to get more guns. They cased-out the store, then hit it right at closing time, forcing Mr. & Mrs. to lay on the floor, then executed them by shooting them in the back of the head. Katz & Peer loaded up dozens of handguns and assault rifles, along with hundreds of rounds of ammo, and fled back east where they were captured after a massive gunfight with Toronto PD. I never experienced such a cold-blooded, despicable act. The judge summed it up well at sentencing – “The law in Canada only allows me to give you life imprisonment with no parole for twenty-five years. If I had my way, I’d send you both out to the courtyard and hang you by the neck until dead.”

axe1. The Attic

Billy-Ray was a true psychopath who stalked his ex-girlfriend. He broke into her house and hid in the attic for two and a half days while she went about her business underneath. Sure enough, she came home with her new boyfriend. They made out, then went to sleep. Around 3 am, Billy-Ray climbed down with a brush-axe and chopped both their heads off. He then did some kinky things to her blood-bathed body and fled, leaving a trail of evidence behind that even a blind rookie could follow. The last I heard of Billy-Ray was that he’d raped his case-worker inside prison.

 

HOOKS – THE W-5 NOVEL WRITING FORMULA

A novel’s opening has to hook the reader to keep on reading.

Hook 2Most readers don’t realize the psychological impact of what the publishing industry calls ‘The Hook’.

But successful writers do.

It’s well known that the three selling points of a novel are cover, jacket blurb, and opening lines. The first sentences or, at most, the first few paragraphs, are critical.

The book’s cover and blurb are an art of their own, but how do you craft opening lines to cram in such a short space?

You need to steal the formula that successful investigators have known for centuries.

Hook W-5It’s called the W-5. That’s Who? What? When? Where? And Why?

All investigations use this nucleus and that’s exactly what your reader will be wondering about your story. You need to set the hook by introducing them to who’s the main character (protagonist), when and where it takes place (setting) and have them wondering what’s going to happen (plot and resolution) and why it’s taking place (central story question). That’s a lot to ask from so little words.

But if you don’t set the hook immediately, your reader will be off the line and looking for fresh bait.

So you need to spend a lot of time sharpening your hook.

Here’s the opening from my novel No Witnesses To Nothing. See how the W-5 formula works:

Monday, April 30th, 2012   5:52 am

Southern West Coast

British Columbia, Canada      

Sergeant Sharlene Bate of I-HIT, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, shifted foot to foot in a Vancouver Starbucks, elbow to elbow in the morning-rush lineup, awaiting her Grande, late for a briefing, and texting a scold to her daughter – oblivious to effects creeping out from the Gulf Islands death scene; effects causing grave repercussions for Bate’s soul. 

Who. What. When. Where. Why.

W-5.

JFK ASSASSINATION – STRANDS OF FATE

The 50th anniversary of the JFK Assassination is Friday, November 22nd.

JFKThere have been a lot of new books, documentaries, and movies released to coincide with this historical moment. I’ve seen and read some of them. Thankfully most seem to avoid the whacko conspiracy theories.

I’ve decided to postpone the publication of my book “Lone Nuts – A No BS Guide to the JFK Assassination” until around Christmas.

One reason is that I don’t want to be seen as trying to cash in on all the hype surrounding the anniversary. I’ve put a lot of research into this project and want it to stand the test of time as a simple guide to the facts and the science behind the murders. (I say murder’s’. Not only was JFK cut down, Officer JD Tippit and Lee Harvey Oswald were also shot and killed.)

JFK Limo 2Secondly, I’ve been sidetracked on another project and haven’t been able to dedicate sufficient time to polish the manuscript. Again, I want this to be a timeless resource which anyone can pick up and pull out information. As far as I can see, no one else has taken this approach. It’s sort of a ‘JFK Assassination For Dummies’. There’s a real need to help future researchers cut through the bullshit as well as giving the general public a snapshot of what really happened in Dallas.

Third, I want to see what’s coming out over the next week as the 50th approaches. I don’t expect any shocking revelations but I’ve already seen some innovative computer reconstructions. Part of the value in “Lone Nuts” is that I’ve hyperlinked a number of internet sites into the text which are accurate and helpful. Already I’ve found some well-done new documentaries and expect there are more to come.

Part of my presentation is the strands of fate that caused the assassination. Here’s a preview of a few strange things that went down. Without them, the assassination event might never have occurred.

The PT109 came back to kill Kennedy.

JFK Back braceJFK was the skipper of a Navy Patrol boat during WWII. On the night of August 2nd, 1943, JFK’s vessel got rammed and cut in half by a Japanese destroyer. Two men died and three were injured, including JFK who suffered a serious spinal injury. By the time of his death in 1963 JFK was in continual pain from a degenerating backbone and he was forced to wear an elaborate and stiff back-brace or corset. The first bullet that hit JFK passed clean through his neck with little damage and knocked him unconscious. He would have survived that gunshot wound, but the stiff back-brace prevented him from instantly collapsing and kept him propped up. He stayed within Oswald’s sight picture, allowing time to get off the fatal head shot.

Nixon JFK DebateRichard Nixon didn’t shave and wear makeup.

The Nixon – Kennedy faceoff in 1960 was the first time that live TV was used in a Presidential election debate. Up to this point all debates had been either been on stage or by radio. Kennedy appreciated the power of television and prepared for the meeting by looking fresh and using theatrical makeup. Nixon arrived with a heavy 5 o’clock shadow and refused makeup. Although Nixon was probably better informed of the issues and was already ahead in the polls, he came off appearing unprepared and nervous; sweating under the hot TV lights. Historians consider this the turning point and allowed Kennedy to squeak by and get elected with a margin of 0.17%. If Nixon had been better looking, JFK would never been elected.

A tour guide saved Lee Harvey Oswald’s life in 1959.

Oswald young photoBy any measure Oswald was unstable. He defected from the US Marines to Russia and was thought by the KGB to be such a head-case that the Soviets refused to have anything to do with him. In despair from rejection Oswald slit his wrist and lay in his hotel bathtub. A tour guide who was curious about this strange young American arrived at his room unannounced, found him bleeding out, and called for help.

Childish Democrats sealed JFK’s fate.

Dealey_3D_MapOne of the reasons Kennedy went to Dallas was to patch-up a squabble between power brokers in the Texas Democratic party. One leader wanted the lunch-time meeting at the Texas Fairgrounds. Another leader threw a tantrum and demanded it be held at the Trade Mart. The Trade Mart guy won out which changed the motorcade route, bringing JFK right underneath Oswald’s window.

A devout Quaker deceived Oswald.

Ruth PaineRuth Paine was responsible for getting Oswald his job at the Texas School Book Depository. This was six weeks before the Assassination and well before the motorcade route was planned. Paine had been helping Oswald’s wife and children, but had no use for Lee Oswald. To keep Oswald away, she found him a job. The day Oswald interviewed for the Depository, another employer who Oswald had applied with, called Paine whose phone number Oswald used as a contact. This guy offered a better paying job which Oswald surely would have accepted. To get Oswald out of her hair, Paine never told Oswald about the better offer. He went to work at the Depository and the rest is history.

A broke stripper killed Oswald.

Ruby Little LynnJack Ruby actually shot Oswald, but if it weren’t for an exotic dancer by the name of Little Lynn, he’d never been in right place at the right time. Ruby was also a nut-case who owned the Carousel Club. When JFK was killed at noon on Friday, Ruby spiraled down into a bizarre fit of grief and rage. He closed his strip club for two days in ‘respect’ of JFK which put his dancers out of work. Little Lynn was already behind in rent and about to get evicted. She couldn’t absorb the loss of two day’s pay and called Ruby to loan her some money. Rather than lose her as a dancer, Ruby went to the Western Union office on the Sunday morning to wire her twenty-five bucks. This put him beside the Dallas Police Headquarters right at the time Oswald was being transferred to the county jail. Ruby saw all the media attention and wandered over to check things out. He was already carrying a handgun which he always did when carrying money. Ruby simply walked into the crowd, right into Lee Oswald, flipped out, and shot him.

Lone Nuts – A No BS Guide to the JFK Assassination brings out more strands of fate in this fascinating case. It gives a clear explanation of the direct and circumstantial evidence, as well as explaining the science behind it.

Let me know if you’d like a free Kindle copy or a signed print version.