I first heard about the people living in the Las Vegas storm drains last summer, when I was researching for INTO THE DARK. A Google search led me to several newspaper articles profiling Matthew O’Brien’s book, Beneath The Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas. O’Brien spent a summer exploring the many flood channels that run underneath the city and getting to know some of the residents who call the tunnels home.

In the summer of 2002, Matt O’Brien, then editor of Las Vegas CityLife, explored the storm drains with reporter Josh Ellis. In 2004, Matt took a sabbatical from CityLife and set out to explore more of the drains on his own. Those stories became Beneath the Neon.

The book is heartbreaking, humorous, informative, and at times, scary. It also gave me a whole new world to explore in Light and Dark, so I nervously contacted Matt about an interview.

He was nice enough to talk with me about Beneath the Neon, and I’m really excited to share the interview with you.

Hi Matt! How are you?

I’m good. How are you doing? Thanks for reaching out to me. I enjoyed reading over your blog.

(I’m happy we aren’t Skyping because I’m blushing to my hair).

Thank you. I’m just plugging away.

Well, it looks good. Reads well.

Thank you. I have to tell you, I found out about Beneath the Neon by accident. I Googled Las Vegas tunnels, thinking there would be historical references for the mobs. I was blown away.

A lot of people locally still don’t know about them even though the book received so much attention. But now that it’s become a little more common knowledge, I get the occasional email from people wanting to know what they can do to help. Seems like people are a little more sympathetic toward the cause. Just not a lot of people understand this is going on in Vegas.

I know the Vegas housing market has gone down in recent years. How has it affected the homeless?

The people who live in the tunnels live off the excess of the city. When the city is doing well, they dumpster dive, panhandle, credit hustle. With more tourists, they seem to do better, and they seem to be suffering in this economy.

You interviewed some really interesting people in Beneath the Neon. Have you been able to keep track of them? (I asked about a man called Lawrence, a talented writer trapped in the tunnels by his own demons.)

I only saw him once, when I was working at CityLife, probably a year or two after the interview. He came by the newsroom to say hello. I’ve been by his camp, and it’s obvious he’s not living there. Lawrence, like a lot of people you meet in the tunnels, you just have no idea what’s become of them. Some are dead, some are in prison, some have moved to a different place in the drains, some are on the streets, and then hopefully a few have fought their way out and are living in an apartment or at least in a weekly motel above ground.

Two of my favorite interviews in Beneath the Neon were Harold and Gary. Have you seen them recently?

I saw Harold maybe a year or two after our interview. He’s still living in the same area of the tunnel system. Gary—one of the best things to come out of the book was that I started a community project called Shine a Light. It’s a collaboration between myself and HELP of Southern Nevada. I take their social workers into the tunnels, and they offer housing, drug counseling, and medical attention to the people down there.

Gary was in prison for a little bit. He got out about year ago and had a heart attack. He went into the big public hospital here. I picked him up and we were able to get him into HELP of Southern Nevada’s program. He’s been housed for about a year. He’s got a cell phone and stays in touch.

That’s awesome! It’s got to be a good feeling. And Shine a Light – when did you start that?

Part of the reason I wrote Beneath the Neon was to call attention to the fact that people were living down there and hoped that something would be done about it. So in the spring of 2009 I reached out to HELP of Southern of Nevada and we started collaborating then.

You spent hours exploring the drains. I can’t imagine going through all that information to create such a cohesive book. Can you tell me about your process?

So it is cohesive? That’s good to know. (laughs)

One of the best things about the book is that Matt’s voice comes through loud and clear. I feel like I’m sitting next to him while he’s telling the story rather than reading another nonfiction book. He’s happy to hear this.

It’s challenging. I’d have two to three hour-long conversations with people, and then I’d go home and have to transcribe them. I’d go through the tapes, figure out the best stuff and polish to where I thought it would work.

How long did the whole process take, from research to having it ready for your publisher?

It was a bit of a strange process. I took a sabbatical from CityLife in summer of 2004. I just explored, and when I found really good stuff in a tunnel, I’d work on the rough draft before going back out. I spent that whole summer exploring and working on the rough draft. Sent it the editor, he gave me some feedback. I reworked a second draft, and then tried for final draft form with the third one. Took about two-and-a-half years to get into form.

When you first go into the tunnels, you’re nervous, and I don’t blame you. Is it scary every time you go in?

When Josh Ellis and I first went down into the drains, it was horrifying. I was paranoid. We’d seen some pretty crazy stuff in broad daylight here in Vegas. We had no idea what went on in a darkened tunnel. We were heavily armed. Every little noise was horrifying. Now, I’m more calm and controlled but there’s always tension. Going into a storm drain, you never know what to expect.

Were most of the people you spoke with willing to talk, or did you have a lot of resistance?

I talked to about fifty, sixty people, and there’s about seven or eight interviews in the book, so a lot were left out. People would tell me “you’re in the wrong place, get out of here.” One guy said, “I have a gun, I’ll shoot you. You don’t know who I am.”

Wow! (I don’t tell Matt this, but I would have wet my pants at that point.)

No one physically attacked me, but my worst fear was to be in the tunnels and a mad man come charging out of the dark and I’d have to defend myself on his turf. Nothing like that happened. Most people were really respectful and kind. They don’t want to do anything to get kicked out of one of their few options for a home.

Your second book is My Week at the Blue Angel. Can you talk a little bit about it?

The Blue Angel is a collection of creative nonfiction stories set in off the beaten path Las Vegas. Weekly motels, trailer parks, low rent apartments. Two stories take place in the flood channels. They’re the original pieces Josh Ellis and I wrote that served as background for Beneath the Neon, but they’ve been reworked a bit.

The title refers to one of the stories in the book. I checked into one of the seedier, more poetic weekly motels and stayed a week.

What are you doing right now? Are you still at CityLife?

No. I left about three and a half years ago to be an independent author and journalist. I live off my book royalties, freelance writing, consulting work and the occasional drug deal. Just kidding, mostly, about that last thing.

I’m working on a novel. It’s urban/alt lit. Set in off the beaten path Vegas, has national and international themes. Sort of my take on the recession. It’s a bit of a hybrid between journalism, memoir and fiction.

Do you have any advice to writers just starting out?

Make sure you’re into it for the right reasons—you love writing and the researching process. Make sure it’s something you feel you really need to do. It’s a commitment. A lot of times you’re not going to make much money and might not get published. It can be a challenging profession but a rewarding one if it’s something you’re passionate about.

Last question. What’s your dream exploration?

During my research for Beneath the Neon, I’ve been very curious about the quarries of Paris where there’s a lot of artwork and underground raves, films shown down there. If I ever make it to Paris, one of the things I would want to do is go into the quarries and check them out.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.

Thanks for the call and the interest in my work.

To buy a copy of Beneath the Neon, My Week at the Blue Angel, or to donate to Shine a Light, click here.

To check out my novel Into The Dark, which drew a lot of inspiration from the tunnels, visit Amazon or MuseItUp Publishing.

Enter the INTO THE DARK Charity Raffle!

The homeless living in the storm drains of Las Vegas played a vital part in INTO THE DARK, and I want to give back. From November 1^st until February 28^th, participants will have several options to enter the raffle, including donating to HELP of Southern Nevada. The grand prize will be a $100 donation from me in the winner’s name to the homeless shelter of their choice.

Hi Stacy, and thank you so much for welcoming me to your blog!

Predators

Creeps that prowl on the fringes of society even…

There’s the garage guy, the man who works in an office, the boss, the laborer… There are mothers and fathers, the brother who’s out of work, the waitress who doesn’t earn enough, and that strange woman who doesn’t drive a car. There are neighbors, family and friends, and there’s a rumor.

In my new novel, Divide by Zero, the rumor says there might be a predator in Paradise Park. But it could be any place near you. The predator could be anyone you know, someone who lives in the light of everyday society but prowls on the fringes again when nobody’s looking.

When I read the heading to Stacy’s blog—I write about the creeps that prowl on the fringes of society—I  knew what I wanted to write about in my guest post: The predator. The dangerous stranger. The person we tell all our children to avoid. And the rumor we always hope won’t be true.

But what if this predator’s not a stranger? Statistics suggest more children are preyed on by family members or close friends than by people they don’t know. They’re preyed on not by prowlers on society’s dark fringes but by upright citizens dwelling in the light. So perhaps instead of teaching our children to be afraid of strangers, we need to teach them not to be afraid of themselves.

Yes child, you can say no, and you should if something seems wrong. Don’t be afraid you’re just being silly. You’re not silly, child. You’re wise.

Yes, you can change your mind, even after you’ve said something’s okay. That doesn’t mean you’re foolish. It means you’re clever enough to learn.

Yes, you can tell, and you’re big enough and strong enough to live with the consequences.

Yes, you can cope, and you don’t need to let somebody else give you a ride, take you to their home, or offer to look after you.

Yes, you can run fast and you can run away if you need to.

Yes, you can shout as loud as a thunderstorm and we won’t always tell you to be quiet.

Yes, what you think, what you feel, what you imagine, who you are really matters. And we, the grownups, the ones who despite our best intentions can’t always protect you, will listen and will care.

Don’t be afraid to hurt someone’s feelings, Little Child. You’re important. Your feelings matter too.

The predator might be the garage guy, the man who works in an office, the boss, the waitress… or just someone you know and trust. But every child is precious.

Divide by Zero by Sheila Deeth

It takes a subdivision to raise a child, and a wealth of threads to weave a tapestry, until one breaks. Troy, the garage mechanic’s son, loves Lydia, the rich man’s daughter. Amethyst has a remarkable cat and Andrea a curious accent. Old Abigail knows more than anyone else but doesn’t speak. And in Paradise Park a middle aged man keeps watch while autistic Amelia keeps getting lost. Pastor Bill, at the church of Paradise, tries to mend people. Peter mends cars. But when that fraying thread gives way it might take a child to raise the subdivision…or to mend it.

Buy it here!

Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now living in the States near Portland Oregon, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, telling stories and meeting her neighbors’ dogs on the green.

Thank you so much to Sheila for visiting and sharing her thoughts with us. The idea of someone preying on our kids is terrifying, and telling them about the bad people in the world can be just a scary. What did you think of Sheila’s advice? What do you tell your kids about strangers?

Obsessive October is flying by, and today we’re talking about the superstars of the stalking world: celebrity stalkers. Being in the public makes celebrities ripe for obsessed fans, and the power of the Internet makes it that much easier for the savvy stalker.

The list of celebrities who have been stalked over the years is long: Madonna, Mila Kunis, Janet Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Halle Berry, Uma Thurman, Shawn Johnson, Britney Spears–the list goes on. There are a few, however, that stand out as the creepiest of all.

John Hinckley Jr.

Hinckley Jr. pulled double stalking duty, going after both Jodie Foster and Ronald Reagan. In 1980, when Jodie Foster enrolled at Yale University, John Hinckley followed. He left love notes and poems, including a poem that detailed his plans to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.

Over the past seven months I’ve left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. […] the reason I’m going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you. –John Hinckley, JR.

On the same day he left Jodie the cryptic note, Hinckley went to Washington, D.C. and shot President Reagan, who survived. His press secretary, James Brady, was paralyzed by the bullet that struck him.

Hinckley was charged with 13 accounts of attempted murder but found not guilty by reason of insanity–a rare feat despite what popular television shows depict. He was diagnosed with narcissistic and schizoid personality disorders, dysthymia and borderline passive-aggressive features. He remains hospitalized.

Anthony Gary Silvestri

Anthony Gary Silvestri spent months stalking television reporter Kathryn Dettman in Waco, Texas. In January 1998, he broke into Dettman’s home and attacked her with a knife, stabbing her more than a dozen times.

Dettman had been living her last days in the small Texas town and was preparing to move to a much larger station in Dallas.

“It was an extremely violent attack. She had 15-16 stab wounds.” –Temple Police Sgt. Keith Reed.

Dettman’s friends admitted she knew the 21-year-old had been stalking her. She’d said he was sweet and flattering, and he’d been spotted outside her apartment more than once. Kathryn didn’t consider him a threat.

“Most station managers don’t even give the news anchors all their mail or their email,” says Dietz. “Very few stations have adequate screening of who gets on the premises or do the things for their talent that can help protect them.”
–Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz

Anthony Silvestri received 40 years in prison.

Robert John Bardo

Robert John Bardo cut his stalking teeth on child peace activist Samantha Smith. When she died in a plane crash in 1985, Bardo found Rebecca Schaeffer.

In the late 80s, Rebecca Schaeffer was on her way to making it big in Hollywood, staring in My Sister Sam and several movies. With virtually no stalking laws in place at the time, Bardo got Shaeffer’s home address from a detective agency, who’d obtained the information from the California DMV. He tracked her down at home and confronted her for the sex scene in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, accusing her of losing her innocence. He told her he was a big fan, and she asked him to leave. Shortly after, he returned and shot her. Rebecca died on the scene.

As a result of the shady way Bardo found Rebecca’s address and her ultimate murder, the US government passed the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act which prohibits state Departments of Motor Vehicles from releasing the home addresses of state residents.

Social media is an awesome tool. It’s not only a key for an authors brand, but a new way to make true friends. The world has changed with the advent of programs like Twitter and Facebook, but for all their wonderful benefits, the social networking sites have a negative side. They are wonderful tools for stalkers.

Ashleigh Hall and Peter Chapman

In October of 2009, the body of seventeen-year-old Ashleigh Hall was found in a ditch in close to a restaurant on the outskirts of Durham County, England.

A loving older sister, well-liked by her peers and looking forward to a career as a child care professional, Ashleigh was active online. Like most teenagers (and plenty of adults), her smart phone and Internet relationships were an important part of her life.

According to prosecutors, Ashleigh suffered from low self-esteem and was an easy victim for someone like Chapman.

According to her mother, on the night of her murder, Ashleigh had spent the evening chatting via MSN.

She asked if she could sleep at a friend’s house. It was a bit last-minute but I said ‘Yes, okay, as long as you are home by 10.30 the next morning. She threw some clothes in a bag and went downstairs. I was upstairs putting the young ones to bed. Ashleigh opened the door and shouted: ‘See you tomorrow mum’. I shouted to her to make sure she was home by 10.30. She said ‘I will’ and that was it. I never saw her again.
–Andrea Hall (source)

Chapman sent Ashleigh a text message saying his father would pick her up, and then again when he’d arrived.

Once he got her in the car, he attacked. He bound her and taped her mouth shut, and then raped her. Ashleigh suffocated to death.

When she didn’t come home the next day, Ashleigh’s mother began questioning friends and found out a boy she’d been talking to on Facebook.

Andrea Hall said her daughter was brought up never to talk to strangers and that included the Internet. Ashleigh had about 400 friends on Facebook, but her mother insisted she knew every one and couldn’t understand how she got to be friends with someone she didn’t know. Over 30 phone calls to her daughter went unanswered until Ashleigh’s phone was answered by a police officer around 8p.m. Her daughter’s body had been found.

Chapman was a registered sex offender and arrested by chance when an alert for his car was issued after he’d failed to comply with requirements of his sex registration. He eventually confessed to the murder.

I killed someone last night. I need to tell somebody from CID where the body is. It hasn’t been reported yet. –Peter Chapman

A history of sexual abuse

Peter Chapman was brought up by his grandparents. His history of sex offenses started when he was fifteen. Four years later, in 1996, Chapman was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping two prostitues at knifepoint. He was released in 2001.

In 2002, he was questioned over the rape and kidnapping of another prostitute, but the case was eventually dropped.

Chapman’s meek and mild manner were a mask for an extremely cunning individual.

The truth is he is anything but meek and mild. He is a devious and dangerous individual and could well be responsible for other, similar offenses.
–Detective Inspector Mick Callan, Durham Major Crime Squad

In the fall of 2009, Chapman used a picture of a bare-chested teenaged boy to create the Facebook identity of Peter Cartwright. He soon had nearly 3,000 friends, and most were females between the ages of 13 and 31. According to investigators, Chapman then attempted to redirect the female friends to private chatrooms. He also created a questionnaire to eek the more intimate details from his new friends. Sixteen girls replied and some even sent him provocative photographs.

When he was arrested for Ashleigh’s murder, Chapman had profiles on at least nine different sites and two other identities: a fifteen-year-old student from Liverpool and a nineteen-year-old. He trolled for sex on all the sites and had many girls expressing interest and sending pictures and suggestive messages. He described himself as tall, slim, and physically fit.

In reality, Peter Chapman was skinny, had a shaved head, and was missing several teeth.

He was sentenced to life for the rape and murder of Ashleigh Hall and must serve a minimum of 35 years before he’s considered for early release.

Andrea Hall implored for stronger regulations on social networking sites like Facebook.

After Chapman’s sentencing, Facebook issued a statement urging users not to meet anyone they’d been communicating with online unless they knew who they were, “as there are unscrupulous people in the world with malevolent agendas”. (source)

Shortly after her daughter’s murder in 2009, Andrea Hall issued the following statement:

Pictures and Source
Source

Into The Dark
(available in ebook and paperback November 30, 2012).
Exclusive Cover Reveal with Night Owl Reviews on October 29th!

— Katherine Ramsland, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers

Serial September is rolling full steam ahead (cliché alert), and this week, we’re talking about team killers.

Two men are responsible for making true crime into a genre of its own: Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Truman Capote told their story when he wrote In Cold Blood. If you’ve read it (and if you haven’t, then you need to put it at the top of your TBR list), then you know Perry Smith had limited intelligence and physical disabilities while Dick Hickock was a clear psychopath who called the shots.

According to psychologist and writer Katherine Ramsland, research shows that team killers are usually guided by a central figure who is able to use his charm and magnetism to manipulate others.

Would Bonnie have gone a spree without Clyde? What about Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, better know as the Hillside Stranglers? Would they have been such prolific killers on their own?

The couple we’re discussing today may not have as many victims as some of the more famous team killers, but they are every bit as frightening.

Fred and Rosemary West and the horror of 23 Cromwell Street.

British serial killer Frederick West started killing in 1967, and between 1973 and 1987, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped, and murdered at least 11 young women and girls.

Most of the West murders took place at the couples home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. One of the rooms, known as “Rose’s Room,” was used by Rosemary for prostitution and had peepholes for Fred. Both Fred and Rosemary came from sexually perverse families, and Rosemary’s father often came to the house to have sex with his daughter–with Fred’s approval. Rosemary conceived eight children. Five were fathered by Fred West and the rest by clients.

Caroline Roberts 

17-year-old Caroline Roberts fell into the West’s clutches in 1972. Hired as the nanny, Caroline was led to believe Rosemary was a masseuse. Caroline quickly rejected Fred and Rosemary’s sexual favors and moved out. The Wests convinced her to accept their apology over a cup of tea. Back in the couple’s home on Cromwell street, Caroline was bound and raped by both Fred and Rosemary. Fred bragged they had killed hundreds of young girls and knew how to fool the police, so Caroline didn’t fight. She was allowed to leave the next day after promising she would return as the couple’s nanny. Caroline reported the attack but later withdrew the case. The Wests pleaded guilty to indecent assault and were fined.

More Victims

Carol Anne Cooper was sexually tormented for approximately a week and then strangled, dismembered, and buried at 25 Cromwell Street amid Fred’s many construction projects.

Lucy Partington disappeared shortly after Christmas in 1973 and met a similar fate as Carol Anne.

Between April 1974 and April 1975, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, and Juanita Mott, (all aged 21 or younger) were tortured and buried on the West’s premises.

In 1976 Fred and Rosemary snared a young girl known only as Miss A from a home for girls. She witnessed the torture of two girls and was then raped by Fred and assaulted by Rosemary.

18-year-old Shirley Robinson was a bisexual former prostitute who cultivated a relationship with both Fred and Rosemary. She became pregnant with Fred’s child, and although Rosemary herself was pregnant with another man’s baby, she didn’t like Shirley’s new position of power. Shirley was killed, and Fred is said to have dismembered Shirley and their unborn child.

In 1979, the Wests murdered Alison Chambers after their usual methods of rape and torture. She was buried in the rear garden.

Oldest daughter Anne-Marie, a long-time victim of the Wests’s sexual sadism, became pregnant and then left after an abortion. Heather West became Fred’s favorite target after her older sister left, and she would also become one of the West’s murder victims.

Their sexual debauchery continued over the next decade-plus, but it’s unclear if there are later murder victims.

Getting Caught

Fred West’s gluttony proved to be his demise. In May 1992, he filmed himself raping yet another daughter. She told friends at school, and one informed her mother. Fred was charged with rape and Rosemary as an accomplice. She was also charged with child cruelty. The remaining children were moved to foster care, but the rape case fell apart when the two key witnesses refused to testify.

After hearing about “Heather being buried under the patio,” police garnered a search warrant. Rosemary called Fred as soon as she received the warrant.

“You’d better get back home. They’re going to dig up the garden, looking for Heather.” -Rosemary West to Fred West the day she received the warrant.

Fred stopped by the police station on his way home from work and told them he and Rosemary had no idea where Heather was. He claimed Heather was a lesbian and had problems with drugs, and even suggested she’d probably gone into prostitution.

When the bones literally started piling up, Fred admitted to killing Heather but insisted no one else was buried in the garden. He claimed he’d been arguing with Heather and grabbed her throat to stop her from laughing at him. He grabbed too hard, and she stopped breathing. He couldn’t revive her. She wouldn’t fit in the garbage bin and dismembered her. He closed her eyes before doing so.

When more bodies were unearthed, both Fred and Rosemary were charged with murder. Fred did everything he could to protect his wife, and she tried to position herself as the victim, but her efforts were fruitless. When Fred attempted to console Rosemary at a hearing, she refused his touch and told police he made her sick.

On December 13, 1994, he was charged with murder. Rosemary again brushed him off. Fred hanged himself in his cell on New Year’s Day, 1995.

Rosemary’s End

Rosemary went to trial, and as her general nasty disposition worked hard against her, the most damning evidence was given by a voluntary worker appointed to sit-in on Fred West’s police interviews. Fred privately told the witness Rose was involved with the murders and that she had murdered two women without him. He’d made a deal with Rosemary to take the blame. The witness was so stressed with this information she suffered a stroke. She collapsed after her testimony.

Rosemary West was quickly convicted of ten counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison for each. Her subsequent appeals for a new trial were turned down.

In my opinion, Rosemary was the calculating manipulator and Fred the muscle. What do you think? Fred killed before her, but would he have continued without her? Was the depravity she suffered at the hands of her father as a child the driving factor of her sexual sadism?

Source and Images
Source and Images

Forensic psychologists aren’t profilers.

According to the forensic psychologist I recently interviewed, forensic psychologists as profilers is the biggest misconception the general public has of their profession.

These people are essential to our legal system. They make crucial decisions about offenders every day, but are usually grossly misrepresented in both fiction and television. I’ve spent several weeks researching forensic psychology for a trilogy I’m working on, and I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned with the readers of Crime Fiction Collective.

Hurry over to the blog to read the rest, and don’t forget to chime in on the discussion.

Today we’re talking about women predators. Aileen Warnous may be the most famous, but she’s certainly not the only female serial killer. In a study by Eric Hickey for Serial Murderers and their victims, female serial killers had between 400 and 600 victims! One of the worst is The Giggling Granny.

Nannie Doss – The Giggling Granny

Born in Blue Mountain, Alabama on Nov, 4, 1905, as Nancy Hazle, Doss spent much of her childhood years dealing with an abusive father. Education wasn’t a priority, and Nannie only completed the sixth grade. At the edge of seven, she suffered a head injury that caused her to suffer migraines, blackouts and depression for the rest of her life.

Her father prevented his daughters from social interaction, and Nannie didn’t get a taste of freedom until her first job at the age of 16. Her favorite pastime became romance magazines, and she loved the lonely hearts club section. She eventually married a coworker named Charley Braggs, and the two lived with his ailing mother, who was controlling and manipulative. Over the next four years, Nannie had four children and life became a prison of childcare and caring for her demanding mother-in-law. Charley was an abusive adulterer, and Nannie because drinking and barhopping to cope.

Nannie’s First Victims

In 1927, Nannie’s two middle children died from food poisoning. Her husband suspected Nannie and left with the oldest child but left Nannie alone with the newborn. His mother died soon after. Eventually the two divorced and Nannie and her children moved back in with her parents.

Nannie met her second husband through the lonely heart’s column. Robert Harrelson was yet another poorly chosen man. He was a drunk and loved bar fighting. Still, they remained married for 16 years until Harrelson’s death.

The Grandchildren

In 1943, Nannie’s oldest daughter had a son. Two years later, she gave birth to a healthy girl who died soon after birth. Her death was unexplained, but Nannie’s daughter said that while in and out of consciousness after a rough delivery, she saw her mother stick a hatpin into the infant’s head. No proof was ever found.

In July, 1945, Nannie had a fight with her daughter about the girl’s new boyfriend. Her grandson Robert was in Nannie’s care, and that night he died of asphyxia from unknown causes. Nannie collected a $500 insurance policy on the child a few months later.

That fall, Frank Harrelson allegedly came home drunk and raped Nannie. The next day she poured rat poison into his corn whiskey and watched her husband die a miserable death.

More Husbands

Nannie snagged Arlie Lanning from the classifieds. After two and a half years of marriage, Lanning died. He had a history of drinking, and it was believed he died of a heart attack brought on by the flu. Lanning’s house was to be inherited by his sister, but it burned down before she could take possession. Nannie got the insurance money, but not before her mother-in-law (whom Nannie was staying with) died in her sleep. Nannie then moved in with her cancer-stricken sister, who also died in Nannie’s care.

Richard Morton met Nannie at the singles club. He wasn’t a drunk but an adulterer, and Nannie had her sights set on another man already. Her recently widowed mother came for a visit and within days, died after complaining of severe stomach cramps. Richard Morton was next.

Samuel Doss was Nannie’s last husband. Unlike her other men, Samuel was good man who fell in love with Nannie. But he was very frugal and boring, and that just didn’t sit well with Nannie. His life was militant–no romance novels or love stories on television and a strict 9:30 p.m. bedtime every night. He finally gave Nannie access to the money after she took off, and then she convinced him to take out two life insurance policies with herself as the benefactor.

Then came the stomach problems. Samuel spent two weeks in the hospital. His first night home, Nannie gave him a home-cooked meal, and he died soon after.

Doctors ordered an autopsy and found arsenic poisoning. Nannie was questioned and confessed to killing four husbands, her sister, her mother, her grandson, and one mother-in-law. Remorse wasn’t her style. She joked about her dead husbands and her killing methods, earning her the nicknames of The Giggling Granny and The Jolly Widow.

Sentenced to life for Samuel Doss’s  murder, Nannie Doss died in 1963 of leukemia.

What do you think?

What drove Nannie Doss to do such horrible things? Was she a psychopath or just a vicious, jealous individual? How did she manage to murder so many times without suspicion?

This is one of those cases with SO much more information than I could relay in a blog post. Visit Murderpedia for a Picture of Nannie Doss and source.
Source – Inside the Minds of Serial Killers by Katherine Ramsland

And thank you to all my friends who supported by sharing the links across social media. You guys made this a success!

Now, for the winners (Random.org)!

Winner of R.J. Ellory’s A Quiet Vendetta: Karen Rought, The Midnight Novelist.

Winner of Margie Lawsen’s awesome course packet: Vicki Batman
*This was announced on Margie’s post. Vicki, email Margie through her site if
you haven’t already, and let me know if you have questions!

Winner of Kathy Bennett’s A Deadly Blessing: C.K. Crouch

Winner of Allison Brennan’s Winner’s Choice: Donna Galanti:
*** You can pick either a signed, print copy of Silenced, the most recent Lucy Kincaid book (or the first book, Love Me to Death), or you can pick digital copies of Silenced AND my stand alone romantic suspense novella, Murder in the River City.

Winner of Vicki Hinze’s Winner’s Choice: Susie Lindau
***digital or print copy of SURVIVE THE NIGHT (inspirational romantic suspense) or NOT THIS TIME (faith-affirming thriller) or digital copy of DUPLICITY (military romantic thriller) or MIND READER (paranormal romantic suspense).

Donna and Susie, let me know which book you prefer, and I’ll pass the information on to Allison and Vicki.

Thriller Extravaganza GRAND PRIZE (Rafflecopter)

So who wins the awesome Silver Spot in Kristen Lamb’s WANA Blogging Class?
By virtue of her tweets and charm, it’s Natalie Hartford! Whoo-hoo!

Second place wins an Amazon gift card and a box of healthy goodies from August McLaughlin, and that winner is…Jenny Hansen!

Congrats, ladies! I’ll let Kristen know, and of course you both know where to contact me. Jenny, look for your gift card soon and please give August your mailing address for the yummies.

Thank you all so much for participating! This was so much fun, and I learned a lot. I hope you did too.

And don’t forget to mark your calendars, because Thriller Thursday returns this week with an all-new true crime post guaranteed to send chills down your spine.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!