St. Martin's True Crime Library

When eighteen-year-old Jennifer Wendorf returned home one evening, she was witness to the most horrific scene she would ever set eyes upon: her own parents' brutally bludgeoned bodies. It was later discovered that both Richard and Naoma Wendorf each received over twenty ferocious blows to the head. As this atrocious crime came to light, so too did many troubling questions: Who, in a quiet Florida town, could harbor such hatred toward the genial couple? Where was the Wendorfs' troubled fifteen-year-old daughter, Heather? And could this ungodly murder be connected to Heather's friends, a bizarre group of teens who were obsessed with blood drinking and other vampire rituals? Read with fascination as police track down the renegade teens, extract their startling confessions, and watch as bestselling author Clifford Linedecker uncovers the twisted tale in a true-crime case as shocking as any fiction...

THE SPREE KILLINGS THAT TERRORIZED THE NATION April 29, 1997-The body of 28-year-old Jeffrey Trail found wrapped in a rug in a Minneapolis apartment. May 3-Fishermen find the body of 33-year-old architect David Madson in Minnesota's East Rush lake. May 4-The tortured body of wealthy 72-year-old real estate investor Lee Miglin found in his garage. May 9-45-year-old caretaker William Reese found in a New Jersey cemetery with a bullet in his head. July 15-World-renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace shot twice in the back of the head and left to die in front of his South Beach mansion. THE CAT AND MOUSE CHASE THAT GRIPPED THE COUNTRY The man responsible for these horrific slayings was Andrew Cunanan, a cunning, cold-blooded killer who eluded police for three months until July 23rd, 1997, when, after a harrowing standoff on a Miami houseboat, police found Cunanan inside the boat-dead by his own hand. But as the tragic crime spree comes to an end, the mystery is just beginning-who was Andrew Cunanan and what led him to savagely murder five men? What was his relationship to the victims? And how did a handsome, privileged young man venture so far into the dark side? THE FINAL ENDING THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD Described as everything from a flamboyant playboy to a transvestite prostitute to a gold-digging "kept man," Andrew Cunanan has remained an enigma-even in death. Now, in this searing expose, author Wensley Clarkson examines Cunanan from the inside out, revealing never-before-told facts about his life, including: - The truth about the wife and child he claimed to have had - A scandalous affair Cunanan claimed to have had with an older TV star - The tragic childhood that sparked his fury - How Cunanan starred in gay porno videos - Cunanan's deadly obsession with Tom Cruise - And much, much, more!

ON A COLD, SNOWY NIGHT IN 1985, TWO MEN BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES. In 1985, two 27-year-old friends left their suburban Detroit homes for a hunting trip in rural Michigan. When they did not return, their families and police suspected foul play. For 18 years, no one could prove a thing. Then, a relentless investigator got a witness to talk, and a horrifying story emerged. FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, THEIR KILLERS WENT FREE. In 2003, this bizarre case hit the glare of the criminal justice system, as prosecutors charged two brothers, Raymond and Donald Duvall, with murder. With no bodies ever found, the case hinged on the testimony of one terrified witness who saw a bloody scene unfold-and who was still nearly too frightened to talk. THEN A WITNESS TOLD HER CHILLING STORY Now, the truth behind an 18-year-old mystery is revealed against the backdrop of an unusual, electrifyingly dramatic trial. Raymond and Donald Duvall bragged to friends that they killed their victims, chopped up their bodies and fed them to pigs. A Michigan jury soon had evidence of this brutally methodical execution-evidence that would lead a shocked courtroom through the heart of evil and beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Greg DeVillers was a top biotech executive, and Kristen Rossum was embarking on a career in toxicology at the San Diego Medical Examiner's office. They seemed to be happily married, living the American dream. But only months shy of their second anniversary, Kristen found her handsome husband dead from a drug overdose-his corpse sprinkled with rose petals. By his side was their wedding photo. The scene was reminiscent of American Beauty, one of Kristen's favorite movies. Authorities deemed it a suicide. Until they discovered that the rare poison found in Greg's body was the same poison missing from Kristen's office. Until they discovered the truth about Kristen's lurid affair, about her own long-time drug addiction, and about the personal and professional secrets she would kill to keep hidden-secrets that would ultimately expose the beautiful blonde as the deadly beauty she really was...a Deadly American Beauty