True Crime Stories

I love the Investigation Discovery show Fear Thy Neighbor. But I do admit that I only use the show to hear about new cases to research because I have seen a lot of things that by all accounts are not correct. For example I was watching an episode last night in which one neighbor shot another. I often have my computer nearby, or at least my phone, and I will search the story before the end of the show. In the episode last night the neighbor that was shot was shot in the chest and was in critical condition. However, upon looking up the case everything I read indicated that the man was shot not in the chest but basically in his rear end. So, I do not like that they take liberties with facts but it does tell me stories that I know little or nothing about. The Fuller's and the Copeland's had an ongoing feud for several years. They lived next door to each other in Lovelady Texas, a very small town of about 600 people about a hundred miles north of Houston. Like most neig...

  I used to tease my husband all of the time that the reason I watch true crime shows is so I know how NOT to kill him, all of these people got caught. I have also often spoken here about the stupidity of perpetrators and the dumb stuff that they do that lead to their arrest but I almost think that this case takes the cake in that area. And, the most amazing thing about it was that the shooter had not just been a police officer, but he had been a police chief in a small town in Texas. I do not say this like it is unusual that police officers commit murders, but because you would think with his training he would have done a little better at concealing his involvement. Josh Niles and Charlene Childers were childhood sweethearts. They never married but were together for several years and had two children before the relationship went south in 2013. They had both lived in Sodus New York which is about half way between Rochester and Syracuse. When they split Charlene moved to T...

  Lets just say that I am a middle aged woman and leave it at that. I have been reading true crime books since I was in high school. In the 1980's and 90's television was all about movies based on true crimes. It was also an era of television where there were “mini-series'” on quite often. Many of the true story ones were two night movies. For the last decade or more I have watched almost exclusively shows that revolve around true crime. To add to that this blog alone has over 700 cases that I have researched as much as possible and published. I say all of this to explain why I find it funny that I can still be surprised that perpetrators can be so careless and stupid. On August 8, 2012 Susan Walls made a 9-1-1 call from her Unionville Tennessee home. She would report that she had returned home and it looked like there had been a burglary. It was unclear whether the dispatcher could not understand what Susan was trying to say because she appeared upset or for ano...

  This is a story I heard on the Investigation Discovery show “Evil Lives Here.” I was a bit disappointed in my research that I did not find anything about Kevin Duck's childhood. His brother, John, was interviewed for the television show and spoke of their life growing up. By the sound of things they lived basically on a religious commune and their dad was the leader. I was left to wonder how much that upbringing had molded Kevin Duck. John kept insisting in the interview that Kevin was born evil but I am not sure I subscribe to that theory completely. I think who we are and everything we become are neither solely nurture or nature. I believe it is all a combination. John Duck told the story of how early on Kevin was showing basically psychopathic signs. It was described that at about ten years old he had “faked” his suicide. I do not think I find that an accurate description of what happened necessarily. He had ran into his room and locked the door while his broth...

  My goal today is to get several blogs put together and published. May the Force be with me (yes, along with many of my passions is a love for Star Wars) as I attempt to make that happen. I have several already researched and I have attempted to do this one more than once but I'm like the dog who sees the squirrel (yep, animated movies too) and loses my attention span! I blog about more cases that go to trial than those that end in plea deals or any other way mainly because those are the better cases to research. There is always more information out there in cases that go to trial as there are more articles about information and those that end in convictions generally have appeals filed which also gives a lot of information. That being said, taking a case to trial is not always the smart thing to do for a defendant. It is said, and has often been proven, that prosecutors and judges prefer plea deals. It saves time and money for the county or state for one. Often prosecut...

  This is another case that I saw profiled on the Showtime series “Wrong Man.” The interesting thing about this case when it comes to that show is that out of the two seasons that I watched (and at this time has been released) it was the only case in which the investigators were not convinced of her complete innocence in the end. While they, as well as most people, do not believe that Vonda Smith could have murdered Jessica Morrison without help, they also know that Vonda's story does not add up. They were also able to determine that much of what she has told has either been proven to be a lie, or cannot be collaborated. Some believe that Vonda was not involved in the murder at all and is simply covering up for someone else, likely her son. In fact, as the television show was nearing its end one of the investigators visited Vonda in prison and pushed her on the issue. Vonda blurted out that she was covering for her son, William. It is not hard for people to believe this to ...

In 1992 the state of Virginia executed Roger Keith Coleman. Coleman had proclaimed his innocence right up to the end and there were many who believed after his execution that an innocent man had been killed by the state. There had been DNA testing done prior to his execution but through his defense attorney's Coleman had fought the results. Now of course at the time of his execution DNA was not what it is today so the results were not as conclusive as they could have been many years later. There was a push by those who believed he was innocent to have more modern DNA testing done after his execution, mainly to show the flaws in the death penalty. A decade later the Governor of Virginia allowed those tests to be done and it left absolutely no question that Coleman was guilty. There were many in high places left to “eat crow.” Coleman's case proved that no matter how staunchly someone claims their innocence it proves nothing. While the case of Wayne Kubsch is not as drama...

  Normally I probably would not put this blog together after doing my research but this case just seems too interesting not to tell even with all of the questions left. The problem with this case is that while there were several different appeals filed not all of them gave details of the crime itself that included the evidence against the defendant but most revolved around misconduct by the judge. At some point the Indiana Supreme Court threw out James Harrison's conviction and sentence. If there was a re-trial or a plea made it is unclear. What I can say is that in December of 1991 Harrison was sentenced to die and while some reports say he was later given a life sentence, according to the Indiana Department of Corrections he was given a sentence of ninety years and another sentence of sixty years. The Department of Corrections also states that James Harrison is now deceased. They list his “projected” release date as May 12, 2017. I have seen this before and this is genera...