Synopses & Reviews
From crime scene to morgue to courtroom, and finally the court of public opinion, this riveting narrative is essential reading for true-crime enthusiasts.If you think the media has told you everything there is to know about Michael Jackson and Casey Anthony, think again! This engrossing, almost cinematic page-turner, offers never-before-published information on the mysterious deaths of Michael Jackson and Caylee Anthony, plus five other ripped-from-the-headlines criminal cases. Based on the authors' long investigative experience, these two insiders offer revealing insights into the following high-profile cases:
-Casey Anthony: An assessment of the Trial of this Century, during which a Florida mother stood accused of killing her young daughter, Caylee. At stake were issues that included accuracy of air sampling and cadaver dogs, post-mortem hair banding, chloroform, duct tape identification, computer clues, and deep family secrets.
-Michael Jackson: The authors provide never-disclosed data on the autopsies of Jackson’s body and a microscopic view of the singer’s life and career, plus analysis of the cardiologist charged with his death: Was Dr. Conrad Murphy recklessly negligent or a fall guy for a hopelessly addicted celebrity?
-Drew Peterson: Heroic Illinois SWAT team cop or wife killer? Did his third wife slip and fall in the bathtub, or was she beaten and drowned? The controversy over her death led to an exhumation and the filing of homicide charges against him, but can prosecutors prove their case? And what happened to his fourth wife, who remains missing?
-Rolling Stone Brian Jones: Was the rock musician’s death an accident or something more sinister? And was he impaired by drugs or alcohol when he died? After more than forty years, there is finally an answer.
In addition, the authors examine the tragic death of twelve-year-old Gabrielle Bechen, whose rape-murder changed her community; Col. Philip Shue, whose demise was a battle of suicide versus homicide until Dr. Wecht solved the case; and Carol Ann Gotbaum, a respected Manhattan mother who died in police custody in Phoenix.
Synopsis
In this almost cinematic page-turner, a famed forensic pathologist and a veteran true-crime journalist offer never-before-published information on the deaths of Michael Jackson and Caylee Anthony, plus six other ripped-from-the-headlines criminal cases.
About the Author
Cyril H. Wecht, MD, JD, one of the world’s leading forensic pathologists/lawyers, is the author or co-author of
A Question of Murder, Tales from the Morgue, Mortal Evidence, Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?, Grave Secrets, Cause of Death, and hundreds of professional publications. He has served as president of both the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has appeared on numerous nationally syndicated television programs, including
Dateline NBC, 48 Hours Mystery, 20/20, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Geraldo at Large, Issues with Jane Velez- Mitchell, and many others.
Dawna Kaufmann is an accomplished true-crime journalist whose work has been heralded by law enforcement and the media. The co-author with Dr. Wecht of A Question of Murder, she has covered hundreds of high-profile homicide and missing-person cases for national magazines, including the National Enquirer, Star, and Globe, as well as countless other publications, and has contributed material to Criminalists: An Introduction to Forensic Science, the leading textbook on the subject for high schools and universities. In addition, she is an award-winning producer and writer, with a multitude of credits in television, including late-night and variety programming.