Synopses & Reviews
A mild-mannered man who worked in a library.Forty-year-old William Coday lived the quiet life of a scholar. He spoke six languages and held degrees in history, literature, and library science. As a librarian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was known to be unfailingly kind and helpful. But you cant always judge a book by its cover…
The beautiful woman who broke his heart.
When Coday failed to show up for work one day, a concerned colleague looked for him at his apartment…only to discover the body of Gloria Gomez. Codays ex-girlfriend, Gomez had been bludgeoned to death with 144 blows by two hammers and a knife. Police at the scene had little doubt that Coday was the killer. But other, darker secrets from Codays past had yet to come to light…
A history of obsessive love and brutality…
In one of the most shocking crime cases and legal appeals in Florida history, an extraordinary courtroom battle began.What the jury did not know was that Coday, when he lived abroad, had beaten another ex-girlfriend to death; the courts there had deemed him insane. Who was William Coday: Mentally unstable? Or perfectly capable—and guilty—of murder in the first degree? Soon it would be up to prosecutors to prove who the real man was BEHIND THE MASK.
With 8 pages of graphic photos!
Synopsis
Sands recounts the case of William Coday, a mild-mannered Fort Lauderdale librarian who completely loses control when his girlfriend leaves him. He lures her to his home and murders her. Months later, authorities discover that Coday had stood trial for a similar murder in Germany. Original.
Synopsis
Forty-year-old William Coday lived the quiet life of a scholar. He spoke six languages and held degrees in history, literature, and library science. As a librarian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was known to be unfailingly kind and helpful. But you cant always judge a book by its cover…
When Coday failed to show up for work one day, a concerned colleague looked for him at his apartment…only to discover the body of Gloria Gomez. Codays ex-girlfriend, Gomez had been bludgeoned to death with 144 blows by two hammers and a knife. Police at the scene had little doubt that Coday was the killer. But other, darker secrets from Codays past had yet to come to light…
In one of the most shocking crime cases and legal appeals in Florida history, an extraordinary courtroom battle began.What the jury did not know was that Coday, when he lived abroad, had beaten another ex-girlfriend to death; the courts there had deemed him insane. Who was William Coday: Mentally unstable? Or perfectly capable—and guilty—of murder in the first degree? Soon it would be up to prosecutors to prove who the real man was BEHIND THE MASK.Behind the Mask is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
About the Author
Stella Sands is Executive Editor of Kids Discover, an award-winning magazine with over 400,000 subscribers geared to children 7 to 12 years old. She is author of the true-crime book Baby-faced Butchers, as well as other works including Odyssea and Natural Disasters. Her plays, Lou Passin Through, Black-eyed Peas, and E-me, have been produced in Off-Off Broadway theaters in New York City.