An Almanac of Infamy

ICYMI Vulture has published some great pieces this week highlighting the true crime wave that is currently sweeping the nation. One that I found particularly interesting takes a look at how true crime networks choose which cases to cover. Television producers and audiences alike favor cases that have several twists and turns and personal betrayals. Well-known cases like that of Ted Bundy tend to pay off as well because documentarians are always finding new perspectives from which to tell the story. Fun fact: The 2012 Lifetime movie Drew Peterson: Untouchable starring Rob Lowe as the titular killer is still the network's highest-rated film. If you want to turn off the tube and pick up a book, who better to recommend a true crime read than a true crime author? I've added several books from this article to my reading list. Two books mentioned that I highly recommend are Strange Piece of Paradise and The People Who Eat Darkness . And speaking of books, I'm sure you...

Even if you're not a gamer, I think you true crime fans will enjoy Body of Evidence . The new game, which comes out this winter, makes players race against the clock to clean up crime scenes and hide dead bodies. Kotaku writer and fellow murderino, Keoni Nguyen, has played a preview build of the game and says she's already hooked. If you're in search of something new to watch, check out the documentary Killing For Love . In the crowded genre of true crime docs, this one stands out. Released in 2016, it explores the double murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom and the doomed romance between their daughter Elizabeth and her fellow student Jen Söring. Decider calls it the best true crime doc you've never seen. Another must-watch for true crime fans is the "Buzzfeed Unsolved" series, which just started its new season on July 13. The series covers a variety of unsolved cases ranging from true crime to the supernatural, and whether you're a skeptic or a believ...

Big true crime news from Netflix! The streaming service recently announced that Ava DuVernay is set to write and direct a new narrative series about the Central Park Five case. The series's opening episode will take place in the spring of 1989 when five teenagers of color were coerced into confessing to the rape of a Central Park jogger and will cover the events that led to their conviction and eventual exoneration in 2014. Michael K. Williams (from The Wire ), Vera Farmiga (star of Bates Motel and The Conjuring ) and John Leguizamo are lined up to star in the series, which unfortunately we'll have to wait until next year to watch. Something we don't have to wait that long for is Investigation Discovery's new summer lineup. New shows include Dark Waters: Murder In The Deep , which will explore maritime crimes and Someone You Thought You Knew , which will explore murders committed by the people you'd least suspect. Fan favorites like Fatal Vows and Homicide Hun...

Most true crime fans are familiar with the case of infamous female serial killer Rose West and many consider her to one of the worst serial killers in the U.K. However, according to criminologist Christopher Berry-Dee , one woman stands above West and other female killers in terms of cruelty and brutality. In his new book, Love of Blood , Berry-Dee claims that Joanna Dennehy, who he exchanged several letters with, is the worst female serial killer in Great Britain because she murdered three men on her own, while other female killers usually work with a (usually male) partner. And unlike West, she had a solid middle-class upbringing with nothing in her past to indicate that she would eventually stab three men to death and attempt to murder two more. Berry-Dee says, “I have interviewed many one-off female killers and even the notorious American serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, and none of them hold a candle to the fiend that still exists in Joanna Dennehy. In my opinion, she will kill agai...

If you've finished reading Michelle McNamara's amazing book I'll Be Gone In The Dark and are hungry for more, then I have good news for you. McNamara's writing partner Billy Jensen is now working on a memoir, Chase Darkness With Me that will also serve as a companion piece to the book he co-authored with McNamara. The book will detail Jensen's relentless work with homicide departments across the country to bring closure to cold cases. Another memoir in the works is that of child abduction survivor Shasta Groene . Readers may remember in 2005 when the entire nation was both captivated and horrified by the murder of Groene's mother, stepfather, and older brother. The perpetrator, Joseph Duncan, then kidnapped Shasta and her brother Dylan. Duncan later murdered Dylan while on the run. Groene says she is writing her story in an attempt to gain some peace in life, which she certainly deserves. She also hopes to produce a documentary. If you're a true crime ...

Dr. Donald Grant , a former government psychiatrist turned true crime writer, has been referred to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission by Queensland Health. The hospital has concerns about possible patient confidentiality breaches in Grant's newly published book Killer Instinct . In the book, Grant recounts the murderers he examined in a professional capacity. One such murderer was Rhys Austin. In 2010, Austin throttled his girlfriend Bianca Girven and left her for dead in a van. She died of her injuries the next day in the hospital. Austin was sent to a psychiatric hospital after being found by the courts to be of unsound mind and that's where he came in contact with Dr. Grant. He revealed to Grant several intimate details of Girven's last moments, including her last words. These details ended up in Grant's book and he was recently confronted by Bianca Girven's mother Sonia Anderson at a book reading. She expressed her outrage over the fact that she neve...

Everybody's favorite thriller subscription service, Hunt A Killer, is teaming up with the Cold Case Foundation in hopes of solving real cases. For each box purchased, HAK will provide the foundation with the means to facilitate expert consultation, forensic assistance, officer training, funding and victim support. HAK is encouraging its members to spread the word about the Foundation and its mission. When you're not immersed in catching a fictional killer, try out these true crime podcasts from across the pond. I've listened to All Killa No Filla and highly recommend it. I'm eager to check out the others on the list. For you true crime bookworms out there, Dead Girls by Alice Bolin comes out on June 26. It's a collection of essays about our obsession with various dead girls both in fiction and in reality. Over at the Phoenix New Times , Bolin discusses her own obsessions that led her to write the book. And finally, if you haven't heard, the director o...

It's that time of year again when we have a little more time for reading, whether it's riding on a plane to some exotic locale or lounging by the pool once we get there. So today we take a look at some must-reads for true crime fans, each taking place in a different era in American history. We start in 1894 with “The Infamous Harry Hayward: A True Account of Murder and Mesmerism in Gilded Age Minneapolis" . Hayward, a real Gilded Age dandy, was described by detective William Pinkerton as “one of the greatest criminals the world has ever seen,” as well as a “Svengali,” “a lunatic” and “a man without a soul.” Not someone I'd like to run into in a dark alley, but I'm looking forward to reading Shawn Francis Peters's account of him. While we enjoy reading about sensational true crimes I don't think many of us would care to live through one, but that's exactly what Pamela Everett found out happened to her father when he was 13 years old. Everett shares her...

True crime fans in Sacramento are in for a very special treat next week as Patton Oswalt is set to visit a Citrus Heights Barnes and Noble to discuss "I'll Be Gone In The Dark", written by his late wife Michelle McNamara. Oswalt has mentioned that he would love to sit down with Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, and ask him all of the questions that McNamara will never have the chance to ask. I think that would be amazing. If you're in the Toronto area, mark your calendars for the Toronto True Crime Film Festival on June 8th and June 9th. Five movies based on true crimes (including one of my favorites, Monster, starring Charlize Theron) will be screened and there will be three symposiums for discussion of the true crime genre. Sounds like a blast! If you'd prefer to Netflix and chill, the streaming service has got you covered in terms of true crime. These eight true crime shows are worthy of a rewatch if you've already seen them. ...

Elizabeth Vargas , who recently stepped down from her post at 20/20, is kicking off her new gig at A&E by examining some pretty high-profile cases. On May 28, the network is set to air her two-hour interview with Casey Anthony's parents, Cindy and George. For the first time ever, the couple will reveal how their differing opinions about Casey have affected their relationship. It's interesting that they agreed to do this interview, since they refused to participate in Marcia Clark's examination of the case, which aired on the same network. Vargas is also debuting her new A&E series "Cults and Extreme Belief". If you're looking for yet another true crime podcast to listen to and haven't checked out Hollywood & Crime , it's one I highly recommend. It combines two of my favorite subjects, true crime and Old Hollywood. Their first season examined the Black Dahlia Murder and the similar murders that occurred around the time of Elizabeth Short...

It looks like Joseph James DeAngelo, better known as the Golden State Killer, is expected to appear in court today as his defense attorneys file a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search warrant. And speaking of evidence, several privacy and civil rights experts have shown concern over the methods used to catch the GSK. Some of those concerns may be legit as it turns out that police were originally focused on the wrong man after issuing a subpoena to the genealogy website Gene-To-Gene, Ltd. While there's a lot of hype around the killer's capture, it's important to not forget his victims. For living victims and the families of those he murdered, the GSK's capture has brought back a lot of painful memories to the forefront but also, thankfully, some hope for the future . And there may even be more victims than originally suspected. Detectives hope that GSK's arrest leads to clues in other cold cases . They also admit that they can't be sure that h...

“One day soon, you’ll hear a car pull up to your curb, an engine cut out. You’ll hear footsteps coming up your front walk. Like they did for Edward Wayne Edwards, twenty-nine years after he killed Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew, in Sullivan, Wisconsin. Like they did for Kenneth Lee Hicks, thirty years after he killed Lori Billingsley, in Aloha, Oregon. The doorbell rings. No side gates are left open. You’re long past leaping over a fence. Take one of your hyper, gulping breaths. Clench your teeth. Inch timidly toward the insistent bell. This is how it ends for you. “You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark,” you threatened a victim once. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light.” ― Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer