Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale

In 2014, in Wisconsin, a young girl was nearly killed. There were a number of reasons this case was unusual, but among the top were that it was perpetrated by two 12-year old girls and that the apparent motive revolved around the fictional and internet-famous Slenderman.

While this sounds fascinating, it was less about Slenderman and more about the delusions kids can talk themselves into. What was more relevant is the fact that one of the two girls was experiencing undiagnosed schizophrenia at the time. It was a perfect storm of mental illness, impressionable underdeveloped brains, and a fascination for the macabre that culminated in the near death of 12-year old Peyton Lautner on her twelfth birthday.

This true-crime novel is told mostly from the perspective of one of the offenders, Morgan Geyser. This is due, in part, to the Geyser family's willingness to work with Kathleen Hale on the book. But Hale still does her research and provides an in-depth account of the events leading up to, during, and after the attack. But because of the fact that Lautner's family didn't work directly with Hale, her perspective and struggles through these events are not as prominent as the experience of the offenders. 

With that in mind, I found Hale's analysis of Geyser's experience in custody terrifying as a parent. The roadblocks Geyser faced in getting medical care were an additional tragedy that is probably all too common in any U.S. detention system. And depending on your personal beliefs, you may also find it tragic that two 12-year old girls were interrogated without legal counsel and found to be tried as adults for their crimes.

You may go into this one thinking you'll learn about a horrific crime, but you'll also come away with a horrifying look at our criminal justice system, especially for juveniles.

 

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Usually the research leading to a book is a means to an end. But with this one, I feel like the book is the means, and the real story lies in the lead up to the book.

We could talk about a man so evil he is believed to be responsible for more than 50 rapes and at least 12 homicides. A man who terrorized California for a decade...whose dauchebaggery was low enough to taunt a child, saying he was playing with mommy and daddy. A man who would call his victim's before and after his crimes. A man who enjoyed sitting in quiet to make his blindfolded victims think he had left, only to remind them of his presence once they gathered the courage to get up to get help.

Or we could talk about Michelle McNamara, the late true-crime writer who became obsessed with the East Area Rapist. Whose research into this man led her throughout California visiting crime-scenes and meeting investigators, criminalists, arm-chair detectives, and even a forensic geneologist. Her efforts even led to the Orange County Sheriff's Department releasing boxes, BOXES of case files to her in an effort to drum up leads in the case. Knowing first-hand the beauracracies that make up local law-enforcement agencies, my brain is boggled that she was able to so cleanly and easily cut through what could have amounted to miles of red tape.

This is a woman who searched the internet for trinkets stolen by the Golden State Killer, who coined this term for the man also known as the Visalia Ransacker and the Original Night Stalker. As her body of research grew, so did her manuscript for a book that was stopped short by her untimely death.

While some chapters are Michelle's voice entirely, some are edited and pieced together. Notes before many chapters tell us the source material for that chapter, whether a previous article she'd written, or notes found on her computer. It is in this way you are reminded of the woman who hunted the Golden State Killer until her death. I found myself more saddened by her inability to finish her work and not see, just months after the publication of this book, Joseph DeAngelo arrested on eight counts of first degree murder and believed responsible for countless other crimes of deeply disturbing violence.

I was more moved by her life and work, than by the account of destruction committed by the pure evil described in the pages of this book. While it isn't my favorite true-crime book I've ever read, the faults are understandable and forgivable.

You can thank her husband, Patton Oswalt, who saw that her book was published. Because he'd be damned if the Golden State Killer, who once threatened a victim, saying, "You'll be silent forever," was given one more opportunity to silence another voice.

Columbine by Dave Cullen

What is Columbine to you?  Before April 20th, 1999, Columbine was simply a school to most people, if not the flower for which it was named. After the devastating shooting that took 13 lives and terrorized hundreds more, Columbine was a symbol of mass murder and disaster. Maybe you have heard of Columbine, maybe you haven't. But whatever Columbine was to you before reading this book, will surely change.

Columbine is a media driven narrative. As the events of the Columbine shooting unfolded, that narrative wasn't completely wrong, but it was incomplete at best. Stories portrayed the shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as members of a group known as the Trench Coat Mafia (true). They were painted as bullied outcasts (true), out to get the jocks and preps who victimized them (not true). Cullen explores where these stories originated and their veracity. He gives an overarching perspective of Harris and Klebold that provides much needed context for the events that occurred on April 20th and helps correct the media narrative.

Columbine is a case study in sociopathy. Cullen meticulously deconstructs not only the events of April 20th, but the days, months, and even years leading to "judgement day," as the pair called it. In addition to using media coverage and police reports, because the boys wrote extensively in journals and left behind a trove of tape recorded material, Cullen is able to examine the boys' own words and actions. Drawing heavily from research by FBI Agent and clinical psychologist Dwayne Fuselier, Cullen shows that despite their penchant for violence, the boys were different psychologically. And it is this psychological perspective that is one of the most interesting things about this book. The discussion of sociopathy was intriguing and disturbing. To say Eric Harris is a psychopath because he meets a series of criteria is one thing, but to show how he bragged about manipulating others as a cover-up for his depravity was eye-opening.

Columbine is not what it seemed to be. What didn't come out in the media (at least not during the initial media storm) was the full extent of what the boys planned. They didn't see themselves as "just" school shooters. In fact, they made fun of school shooters. Their intentions were much more grandiose and included a plan that was formulated more than a year in advance. The bulk of the bloodshed would actually be achieved through the use of bombs, in an event that they hoped would surpass Timothy McVeigh's body count from the Oklahoma City bombing. They placed bombs on school grounds, but they didn't detonate as planned.

Columbine is healing. Cullen doesn't just focus on the shooters. He also talks about the victims and how they deal with the aftermath, both physically and mentally. While he only focuses on a few victims, he gives a range of reactions and perspectives, ultimately ending with the school itself. Particularly how each year's students have reacted and evolved to the events of 1999.

So whatever Columbine means to you, this thorough, well-researched narrative gives understanding to the misunderstood. It sheds light on the darkness created by an event that changed a suburban school from just another school to a symbol of terror. You'll learn Columbine is many things at once; a school, a flower, a book, a nightmare, a memory, and so much more than what you thought it was.

NOTE: One perspective that is missing from the book is that of the Harris and Klebold parents. They didn't give interviews and pretty much stayed out of the media for years. Here is an interview I found from Dylan Klebold's mother, Sue.

Dead Reckoning by Caitlin Rother

Tom and Jackie Hawkes, both divorced, met and married. With a happy family life and a love for boating, the southern Californian couple had nothing but the rest of their lives to look forward to...until they ended up tied to their own boat's anchor and thrown overboard alive.

This is the true story of how this loving couple's lives tragically intersected with those of Skylar and Jennifer Deleon's. Skylar, a former child star, was charismatic and charming. He doted on his pregnant wife who, along with her family, seemed to return the sentiment. Jennifer, raised as a "good Christian girl" was excited to begin a family with her husband. They seemed like a young couple with nothing but the rest of their lives to look forward to...until they met the Hawkes'.

It's not really how these two couples meet and interact that is the crux of this book. It's more a story of deception, double lives, and the power of denial. It's the story of how one man can manipulate those around him to see what he wants them to see.

But Jennifer isn't a complete victim in Skylar's deceit. Although an unlikely accomplice, Jennifer is more complicit in the Hawkes' deaths than many people might believe. Was she also deceived by Skylar? Or was she just a depraved as he?

Rother explores Skylar and Jennifer's chemistry and how two people with very different upbringings can come together in a toxic way. She also delves into Skylar's past, his family, and the fringe activities he kept secret so well, until the Hawkes' death started unraveling it all.

If you're a true-crime fan, this is a solid read. It's fascinating to learn how truly depraved people can be. And knowing these events occurred in my neck of the woods made the events even more surreal. A solid recommend.

Lost Girls by Caitlin Rother

San Diego is truly a wonderful city to live in. But if you've been here the past 5 years, then you know that San Diego was faced with a tragedy we as a city didn't want to admit could happen. Over the course of a year, two young, beautiful high schoolers went missing. And when one was later found murdered, it appeared there might be a serial killer stalking our most innocent and vulnerable citizens, our children.

Amber Dubios was a ninth grader at Escondido high school. Eager to get to school with a check in hand to buy a lamb through the school's FFA program, Amber set off to school but never made it. Her disappearance became a mystery that the city of Escondido couldn't get past.

Almost one year later, Poway high student Chelsea King went missing during her after school run at Lake Hodges. Her parents immediately reported her missing and an intensive search for Chelsea began. Although it was a missing person's case, the FBI and SD Sheriff's homicide became involved.

The search for Chelsea led to clues being unearthed that pointed the finger at one individual. Within months of Chelsea's disappearance, two of San Diego's most troubling cases were laid bare for not just the city, but the nation to see. Although things happened at lightning speed in those months (in terms of legal proceedings), understanding what really happened started decades before, with the birth of a single man, John Gardner.

This book was a hard one for me. It literally hit close to home for many reasons. I know exactly where these girls went to school and lived. I know many of the people involved in the investigation, particularly that of Chelsea King. In casual conversations with neighbors, someone might mention the King family. Although we are a city of over 1 million, sometimes it can feel like a small town. I also know that one of the last things Amber and Chelsea's parents probably want is for John Gardner to get any type of additional press. And this book is mostly about him. So there's a part of me that feels disloyal to these beautiful girls for reading Lost Girls. But what Rother brings to the table is something that you won't get from all the media and news reports. John's backstory is not well-known. And perhaps something can be learned from it.

Although a fascinating story for anyone to read, Lost Girls is a tough pill to swallow for many San Diegans. This book may or may not help you understand Gardner's actions. But Rother's careful, thorough retelling just might be the most comprehensive look at a side of this story that some people would rather ignore.

Mama's Boy: The True Story of A Serial Killer and His Mother by Richard Penciak

This is a book from my guilty pleasure genre: true crime.  It was a random pick from my work library (as it usually is).  While there are many things unique to the case of Eric Napoletano, I'm not sure it's the most interesting True Crime I've ever read.

Napoletano had a close relationship with his mother, Carolyn.  By close, I mean strangely close.  Eric and Carolyn spoke several times a day and argued like brother and sister.  When Eric was only 11, he met a 48-year-old man whom Carolyn was content to let Eric visit and eventually live with.  Although Carolyn didn't care for "Uncle Al," they had their unique devotion to Eric in common.

Carolyn never felt any of the women in his life were worthy of him.  Eric had a penchant for women of color, whom Carolyn despised and referred to with racial slurs.  She even refused to attend his weddings.  Eric's pattern with women would begin with infatuation and doting, and progress to isolation, abuse, and even death.  Because of Eric's close but antagonistic relationship with his mother, it's difficult to imagine she had no idea of the toxicity of his relationships.

In 1984, Eric's girlfriend Marilyn Coludro was found dead, having been stabbed several times.  About a year later, Eric had moved on and gotten married.  When things went sour in the marriage and his wife left him, his mother-in-law, Gladys Matos, was shot dead on a street corner.  And in 1990, when police came to Eric looking for his missing wife, Eric and his mother went to the station only to complain about the police harassing him.  Myra Acevedo was later found dead by strangulation.

It wasn't until Acevedo's murder, which fell under the jurisdiction of a New Jersey Detective, that Eric's past began to be scrutinized.  Although Eric lived in New York, which had previously investigated him, those efforts were hindered, in part by Carolyn, who worked for the New York City Police Department.  Her position enabled her access to Eric's investigation in which she abused her position.  Her questionable actions while working were either ignored or avoided by transferring Carolyn to other positions, still within the department.  Carolyn also provided alibis for Eric and even filed a complaint against a detective investigating the Matos murder.

Although seemingly cooperative at times, "Uncle Al" appeared to know more about Eric's relationships than he let on.  FBI wiretaps into Al's, Carolyn's, and Eric's phones was the first federal wiretap used in a serial homicide case.  The wiretaps were crucial in showing that not only was Eric a participant in these crimes, but so were his mother and "Uncle Al."  Although the degree of their involvement was never really made clear.

To make things more complicated, Eric had two sons.  One of whom, Eric Jr., was struggling with behavioral problems.  It seemed the parent-child cycle of dysfunctional behavior was repeating itself.  And based on the circumstances of Acevedo's murder, it was possible Eric's sons were potential witnesses to the events surrounding Myra's disappearance.

The story is interesting, but I think one of the most compelling aspects, Eric's relationship with his mother, wasn't fully realized.  Penciak used excerpts from interviews with Carolyn throughout the book which provided her chilling and infuriating perspective on Eric and his crimes.  But I wanted to know more about their dynamic, perhaps more anecdotes from when he was younger.  The narrative in general was also a bit bland.  But the story itself was interesting enough to keep me reading, although I'm ready to move on to another book.

Gangbusters: How a Street Tough Homicide Unit Took Down New York's Most Dangerous Gang by Michael Stone

For some reason, I love reading about drug gangs. Not sure if it's the drugs, the gangs, the violence, or what...I'm addicted to these stories. Better than the alternative, right?

This book is the true story of a Dominican gang, known as the Wild Cowboys, that operated in upper Manhattan and the south Bronx in the 90's. Responsible for over 60 murders, a unit of detectives and DA's from Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx spent years painstakingly investigating this organization.

Stone begins with the murder of Andrew Carmichel, who was killed for apparently no reason while driving on the freeway. He then describes a seemingly unrelated quadruple homicide in the Bronx, at a busy crack hole. Victims were randomly gunned down, some still clutching crack vials in their hands.

In a neighborhood where gangbangers would boldly brandish weapons to cops driving by, a change for the better seemed impossible. But to the investigators and attorneys who worked the Wild Cowboys' case, impossible slowly turned into achievable.

Stories like this are interesting on so many levels. I like learning the ins and outs of how the gang operated - bringing in more money a year than many major corporations. I also find it interesting to see how the case came together over the years. This book is a definite recommend if you are into the true crime genre.

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

This is my all-time favorite book. I've read it four times. I know that's probably pathetic to a lot of people, especially Stephen King who said he doesn't reread many books because life's too short. Yet he'd reread The Story of Edgar Sawtelle which I haven't been able to get into after 179 pages (about 79 pages longer than I give most books). Of course, this is the man who goes on chapter long digressions in his own books, whereas I only digress for a sentence or two...

Anywho, this book is written by the man who prosecuted Manson and his co-defendants so there is a lot of detail and background information about the legalities of the case and how it was prosecuted. I recommended this book to a friend and she thought there was too much detail to hold her interest so I guess it just depends.

But the book has it all, drugs, sex, serial killers, creepy-crawling, cults, swastikas, Hollywood, and even The Beatles. I don't know how anyone couldn't love this book but if you read it based on this review and don't like it, don't worry, I'll finish it for you.

Video Clip of Most Evil - The Manson Murders

Reviewed by Cathy