Erased: Missing Women, Murdered Wives

Praise for Marilee Strong's Erased

"Erased defines a new kind of crime and a new, chilling, and very dangerous kind of criminal."

—Marc Klaas, crime victims' advocate and founder of Beyond Missing

"Finally! An exceptional writer brings a new perspective to the ancient crime of domestic homicide. Once many years ago, Jeffrey MacDonald, a highly intelligent and physically attractive physician, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two small children. When asked why he committed such a heinous crime, I answered 'Because he didn't need them anymore.' This is a very powerful book, and Ms. Strong deserves high praise indeed!"

—Roy Hazelwood, former FBI profiler and author, The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams

"Erased is about psychopathic, intensely narcissistic men who not only get rid of their wives through murder (often to free the men up to be with a new lover) but who make them literally disappear. More than well written, it is a page-turner and should be required reading for police authorities all around the country. Strong's 'poster child' is Scott Peterson, but she offers plenty of other poignant examples of this all-too-common phenomenon. Strong's clinical description of these supremely egotistical 'wife-erasers' is so accurate that women around the country must certainly read her book."

—Michael H. Stone, M.D., professor of clinical psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons

"Erased asks the eternal question concerning the murder of a loved one: 'Who could do such a thing and how could they do it?' The answers are here and need to be read and understood by all."

—Clint Van Zandt, former FBI profiler; NBC TV crime analyst; and author, Facing Down Evil

"Erased combines the scholarly wisdom of The Mask of Sanity and the true-life horror of In Cold Blood. Marilee Strong has discovered—and understands—the most insidious and perhaps most evil form of spousal killing."

—J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., forensic psychologist and author, The Psychopathic Mind

In a brilliantly written, dramatic revelation of whats behind todays stories of "missing" and mysteriously murdered women, Strong brings years of experience probing the darker areas of human psychology to reveal what is really going on behind the endless stream of these cases.

"Erased defines a new kind of crime and a new, chilling, and very dangerous kind of criminal."

—Marc Klaas, crime victims' advocate and founder of Beyond Missing

Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents an original profile of a widespread and previously unrecognized type of murder: not a "hot-blooded," spur-of-the-moment crime of passion, as domestic homicide is commonly viewed, but a cold-blooded, carefully planned, and methodically executed form of "erasure." These crimes are often committed by men with no criminal record or history of violence whatsoever, men leading functional and often successful lives until the moment they kill the women, and sometimes children, they claimed to love. A surprising number go on to kill a second or even third wife or girlfriend, often in exactly the same way.

Praise for Marilee Strong's Erased

"Compelling. . . . With its blend of novelistic journalism and concise psychiatric research, Strong's exposé will appeal to more than just true crime fans."

—Publishers Weekly

"Finally! An exceptional writer brings a new perspective to the ancient crime of domestic homicide. Once many years ago, Jeffrey MacDonald, a highly intelligent and physically attractive physician, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two small children. When asked why he committed such a heinous crime, I answered, 'Because he didn't need them anymore.' This is a very powerful book, and Ms. Strong deserves high praise indeed!"

—Roy Hazelwood, former FBI profiler and author, The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams

Erased

We've heard their stories but haven't understood them until now. We haven't even had the vocabulary to make sense of such a terrible crime. They are women who have been "erased." Some have simply vanished, never to be seen again. Others have been found dead under mysterious but seemingly explainable circumstances—their deaths attributed to a "tragic" fall, an apparent drowning, suicide, or some senseless street crime. In fact, they were murdered by a husband or boyfriend, then either made to disappear (their whereabouts left an open-ended mystery) or the crime scene rearranged to point police away from their true killer.

Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents an original profile of a widespread and previously unrecognized type of murder: not a "hot-blooded," spur-of-the-moment crime of passion, as domestic homicide is commonly viewed, but a cold-blooded, carefully planned and methodically executed form of "erasure." These crimes are often committed by men with no criminal record or history of violence whatsoever, men leading functional and often successful lives until the moment they kill the women, and sometimes children, they claimed to love. A surprising number go on to kill a second or even third wife or girlfriend, often in exactly the same way.

In more than fifty chilling case studies, Marilee Strong examines the strange and complex psychology that drives these killers—from the murder a century ago that inspired the novel An American Tragedy to Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, Jeffrey MacDonald, Ira Einhorn, Charles Stuart, Robert Durst, Michael White, Barton Corbin, and many others. Erased also looks at how these men manipulate the legal system and exploit loopholes in missing persons procedures and death investigation, exposing how easy it can be to get away with murder.

Marilee Strong is an award-winning journalist who specializes in the coverage of psychological and social issues. She is the author of A Bright Red Scream, on the aftereffects of childhood abuse and trauma. She has also written widely for newspapers and magazines on such topics as child abduction, women in prison, gang violence, hate groups, and psychological treatment for sex offenders.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: A CrimeWithout a Name.

Part One: Eraser Killing: The History and Psychology of a New Criminal Profile.

1 Out of the Shadows.

2 The Dark Triad.

3 The Real American Tragedy.

Part Two: Getting Away with Murder.

4 The Lady-Killer.

5 Disappearing Acts.

6 Hiding in Plain Sight.

7 Pregnant and Vulnerable: When a Child Is Seen as a Threat.

Part Three: A Psychological Autopsy of a Classic Eraser Killing.

8 AWatery Grave.

9 Keeping Secrets.

10 Too Good to Be True.

11 Seeds of a Plan.

12 A Collision Course.

13 Sex, Lies, and Audiotape.

Conclusion: Fixing a Broken System.

Bibliographical Sources.

About the Authors.

Index.