True Crime Stories

When I came across this name on my list I knew exactly who it was and I even triple checked to be sure I had not blogged about this case yet. It is one of those cases that have always stuck with me and I am surprised that in all this time I have failed to report on it. You may also notice that this is one of the cases where the name of the victim is in the title as opposed to the name of the perpetrator. It is not my intention to dismiss any victims when I am blogging but it is a sad reality that in most crimes it is the perpetrator that is more remembered, generally because of their court proceedings as well as the details of the crime. Then there are the cases where there are multiple perpetrators in which I will sometimes title the blog on the victim, but that is not the case here. This is one of those rare cases that as I said the crime and the events have stuck with me in a way that it almost seems wrong to give the perpetrator in this case one more ounce of recognition...

When a couple divorces the claws come out. So often it is only then that allegations of abuse arise and while this is sometimes the case, the courts have become leery of these allegations over the years because so many times it has been found to be false. Judges and courts are left to decide who to believe in cases. I had a personal experience in my own previous divorce that left me wondering if false allegations would land me in legal trouble and left my family fearing for my life. I was less concerned with the latter but looking back I have often wondered if I was not just too naive to believe things could have been worse after learning more things. The case involving Allen Blackthorne and his ex-wife Sheila Bellush was just as muddied. The couple had married in 1982 and had two daughters, Stevie and Daryl. While throughout my research I found instances where it stated they were divorced in either 1986, 1987, 1988 or 1989 (yes it was crazy how many different years I...