The Woodchipper Murder


Book Description

Even though the Newtown, Connecticut, police listed Helle Crafts' disappearance as a routine missing person case, Keith Mayo, a private investigator, knew the Danish-born mother of three hadn't skipped town nine days before Thanksgiving.. Rita Buonanno remembers the words exactly: "If anything happens to me don't think it was an accident." Helle Crafts was last seen on November 18, 1986. In the style of a brilliant detective novel, Arthur Herzog skillfully re-creates the hour-by-hour circumstantial details that inform this grisly true-crime narrative. We observe dispassionate Richard Crafts as he buys a truck with a pintle hook for towing heavy equipment, promised for delivery before November 18. A day later he reserves a Badger Brush Bandit woodchipper.




Cracking Cases


Book Description

Looks at the investigative process of five murder cases, including the O.J. Simpson case and the Woodchipper case, detailing how the forensic evidence was used at trial, and how it was used to exonerate or convict the killers.




The Woodchipper Murder


Book Description

Helle Crafts worked as a flight attendant while married to pilot Richard Crafts...The two were happily married for six years, raising three children, until Helle learned of her husband's affairs. She hired a defense attorney as well as a private investigator who photographed Richard making out with another stewardess. On November 18th, 1986, a group of friends dropped Helle off at her home....She was never seen or heard from again. Aided by a massive snowstorm, her husband Richard was able to evade questions on his wife's whereabouts from family and friends for several weeks. But those close to her became almost immediately concerned. Helle had warned them "if something happens to me, don't think it was an accident."What happened to Helle Crafts on that fateful night in November?




Darker than Night


Book Description

In the bitter cold of 1985, two buddies embark on a hunting trip from suburban Detroit to rural Michigan, unaware they would soon become the hunted. Darker than Night tells the chilling true story of the mystery that haunted a community and baffled the police for two decades. The eerie silence surrounding their sudden disappearance is broken after nearly two decades when a relentless investigator inspires a terrified witness to break her silence. The witness narrates a haunting scene that had unfolded years back, pointing fingers at the prime suspects–the Duvall brothers. With no bodies unearthed, the justice system is riveted by the startling revelations during an electrifying trial in 2003. The brothers, Raymond and Donald Duvall, had bragged about the murders, evocatively explaining how they dismembered their victims and fed them to pigs. Despite the shocking confession, the case holds its ground purely on a single witness's account, taking the courtroom through a labyrinth of dark secrets and sinister acts. This gripping thriller presents a vivid tale of crime that reveals the devastating power of evil.




Forensic Files Now


Book Description

Perhaps no other television show captures our innate fascination with crime and criminals better than the original Forensic Files. Including murders, insurance fraud, hit-and-runs, and kidnappings, all cases featured on the show are solved in large part with the help of forensic science like DNA evidence. In Forensic Files Now: Inside 40 Unforgettable Cases, author Rebecca Reisner shares her own gripping retellings — adapted from her popular blog, ForensicFilesNow.com — of 40 favorite cases profiled on the show along with fascinating updates and personal interviews with those directly involved. Featuring classic cases like the Tennessee brothers who terrorized locals for years until the feds rode into town, the Texas lovebirds who robbed a grave in an insurance fraud plot that made international headlines, the Ivy League-educated physician who attempted a fresh start by burying his wife in the basement, and some cases so captivating that they have sparked spinoff miniseries or documentaries of their own, this book will enthrall readers with its vivid recaps and detailed updates. Also featuring an in-depth interview with Forensic Files creator Paul Dowling and a profile on the show’s beloved narrator, Peter Thomas, Forensic Files Now is a must-read for diehard Forensic Files fans and a welcome find for true crime readers looking for more riveting and well-told stories.




The Woodchipper Murder


Book Description

Helle Crafts worked as a flight attendant while married to pilot Richard Crafts...The two were happily married for six years, raising three children, until Helle learned of her husband's affairs. She hired a defense attorney as well as a private investigator who photographed Richard making out with another stewardess. On November 18th, 1986, a group of friends dropped Helle off at her home....She was never seen or heard from again....Aided by a massive snowstorm, her husband Richard was able to evade questions on his wife's whereabouts from family and friends for several weeks. But those close to her became almost immediately concerned. Helle had warned them "if something happens to me, don't think it was an accident." What happened to Helle Crafts on that fateful night in November?




True Crime: Connecticut


Book Description

The mention of Connecticut summons charming images of seaports and peaceful rural areas, but this densely populated state has its share of landmark crimes.




Dial M


Book Description

A haunting recreation of the brutal death of an American housewife, the conviction of her husband, and the family trial at which their children determined for themselves how their father should be charged.




Blood Frenzy


Book Description

He Used A Claw Hammer. . . Frankie Cochran knew her boyfriend, David Gerard, was possessive, controlling, and prone to violent rages. When she tried to break up with him, Gerard threatened her with a hammer. One week later, he used it to club her in the head. Again. And again. Then he stabbed her in the throat--and left her for dead. . . And A Sharp Knife. . . Miraculously, Frankie survived--but cops began to suspect Gerard of other vicious crimes. One of his previous girlfriends had died in a house fire, along with her children and her mother. A local prostitute's brutalized body was found in a pool of blood. But it was the unsolved murder of another woman--repeatedly run over on a country road--that finally exposed Gerard as a rage-driven monster out of control. . . To Unleash His Rage Justice finally caught up with Gerard. Hounded by the tireless efforts of detectives and incriminated by DNA evidence as well as up-to-date forensics that matched the tire marks at a crime scene to Gerard's car, one of the Pacific Northwest's most dangerous killers was finally locked behind bars. With 16 pages of shocking photos!