Infamous Crime · Corrections & Capital Punishment · Experts & Reference True Crime Bookshelf: Infamous CrimeIn 1987 I was sitting in the Johns Hopkins bookstore, eating lunch and reading John Waters' Shock Value. One of his chapters is devoted to his love of true crime, and it was this very endorsement that enabled me to shuck off years of conditioning to explore the far realms of the criminal melange. My mother and adopted father had been jail guards for all the years of my growing up - - not only did I hear the first hand horror stories of how frightening these criminals could be, (and trust me, a 12 year old only needs to hear once about how inmates will toss fecal matter and urine on you just for walking past their cell to be suitably anxious for a parent's safety) but it was driven into me that crime was not a good place for a good boy to turn his curiosity. Thank heavens for Mr. Waters! The list below consists of true crime books that I have read, and most of which I own. Infamous Crime Infamous CrimeOrganized by last name of the person most commonly associated with the crime — in almost all cases this is the name of the criminal. Where possible, a nickname or event name has been supplied when a case is commonly identified by that, such as The Hillside Stranglers. However, the entry is still listed by the name of the person involved, thus the Hillside Stranglers are found under 'B' for the last names Buono &/or Bianchi, not under 'H' for 'Hillside'. A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I - J · K · L · M · N · O · P-Q · R · S · T · U - V · W · X - Z BGertrude Baniszewski and others On Oct. 26, 1965, Indianapolis police were called to a rundown house on East New York Street where they found the body of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens on a bare mattress in an upstairs bedroom. The only adult resident of the house, Gertrude Baniszewski, told investigators she had been caring for Sylvia while her parents were out of town -- and that the teenager had been attacked by a gang of boys. But a coroner's examination would show that Sylvia had been systematically beaten and malnourished for weeks. Her body was covered with sores, burns and bruises. She had been branded, and the words "I am a prostitute" were etched on her stomach. Although Sylvia's injuries were horrific, the most shocking fact about the case was that the torture had gone on so long and had involved so many neighborhood children, who had joined in on the "punishing" of Sylvia.
Herb Baumeister
Robert Berdella
Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka
Jerry Brudos
Ted Bundy
Judias "Judi" Goodyear Buenoano
Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi
^__ top of page CHarvey Louis Carignan
Richard Trenton Chase
Andrei Chikatilo
Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy
John Reginald Halliday Christie
Fred Coe
Carroll Edward Eddie Cole
Ray and Faye Copeland
Dean Allen Corll, Elmer Wayne Henley, David Owen Brooks
^__ top of page DClaude Layfayette Dallas, Jr.
Jeffrey Dahmer
Laurie Dann
Michael DeBardeleben
Roy DeMeo
Albert DeSalvo
Carl Drew, and others
^__ top of page FLeonard Fagot
Albert Fish
^__ top of page GGerald Gallego and Charlene Williams
Robin Gecht, Eddie Spreitzer, Tommy & Andy Kokoraleis
Ed Gein
Harvey Glatman
Ricky Lee & Sharon Green
The Green River Killer
^__ top of page HRobert Hansen
H.H. Holmes
^__ top of page I - JMel Ignatow
Jack the Ripper
Genene Jones
^__ top of page KTheodore J. Kaczynski
^__ top of page LLeonard Lake and Charles Ng
John List
Bobby Joe Long
Melinda Loveless & others
Jeffrey Lundgren
^__ top of page NEric Napoletano
Earle Leonard Nelson
Dennis Nilsen
^__ top of page P - QRobert Peernock
^__ top of page RJoel Rifkin
Dayton Leroy Rogers
Danny Rolling
Randy Roth The story of the Pacific Northwest's own Bluebeard begins in 1986 with the killing of Randy's wife Jan in a climbing accident. Ten years later, it is the almost cavalier drowning of his wife Cindy at the popular Seattle leisure spot of Lake Sammamish that spells the end for this serial wife slayer who loved only the money he could make from his dead wives' life insurance settlements.
Ruby Ridge A missed court date and a barking dog combine to create an explosive situation that spirals horribly out of control for a family living in the near wilderness of upstate Utah. When law enforcement responds from fear and confusion, innocents die and a cover-up is born that leads to million dollar settlements against the U.S. government, and a rise in anti-government sentiment and retaliation resulting in the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal building.
George Russell
^__ top of page SEddie Lee Sexton
Arthur Shawcross
Mac Smith
Joel Steinberg & Hedda Nussbaum
Dr. John Story
^__ top of page TMarybeth Tinning
Gary Tison
^__ top of page WJoseph Wesbecker
Frederick West
The Westies
Catherine May Wood & Gwendolyn Gail Graham
Randall Woodfield
Aileen Wuornos
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