True Crime Stories

This is a bit of a strange case, not just for myself, but for the authorities also.  Ray and Faye Copeland are largely recognized as the oldest serial killing couple in the United States.  They also became the the oldest couple sentenced to death at the ages of 76 and 69.  Neither survived long enough to be executed (Faye's sentence was commuted but it's unlikely she would have seen the electric chair). I will start with why this case was strange for the authorities.  When it comes to serial killers it is rare in which someone becomes such at an advanced age.  It is also the rare case in which there were few clues, criminally and behaviorally, that would have led authorities to the killer.  Ray Copeland, by all accounts had several run ins with the law and spent at least a few (some say several) short stints in jail but it appears that in retrospect they were really petty crimes.  Most his crimes involved him stealing and re-selling livestock for mon...

I have taken a break from posting here for a while, although admittedly not as long as I have in the past.  Part of this is that when I do these posts I have difficulty multi-tasking and use a lot of concentration to make sure I have the details correct (or as correct as I can determine).  I love the channel Investigation Discovery and I no longer have it in my cable package but was given a free month to which it feels as if I taped every show I could get my hands on. When I watch shows like that, or when I am reading my true crime books, I keep a list of cases that I want to search in the future and consider blogging about.  I am now working through that list.  The first name on my list was Russell Gilman.  I did a cursory search to refresh my memory of that case and it involved the murder/suicide of a man and his family in Scottsdale Arizona.  I was not really feeling it so I moved on to the next name on the list and it was Susan Mullaly. Here I had jus...

I have always found the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell and all that transpired after, very tragic and interesting.  I just finished reading Greg Oleson's book "If I Can't Have You" and it has rejuvenated those feelings. As I start writing this in fact, I have not finished my research into the case completely but I also have not decided how I want to title this blog. First off, you will always see me refer to Susan as simply Susan or as Susan Cox Powell.  You will not see me refer to her simply as Susan Powell.  In fact, the only reason I am even adding the Powell name at all in for respect for her children and the fact that she was known with that name widely in the media.  As I said, I have not completely finished my research as I start this, and I may find out later that my wishes are granted, but I hope that Susan's family is suing the pants off of anyone, and everyone that they can! The disappearance of Susan was tragic in its own right but facing al...

This is a case that I had heard a lot about.  Several television shows, including 48 Hours, have done shows based on this story.  I also recently read the book "The Prince of Paradise" by John Glatt and at the end of the month Lifetime is going to air the movie "Beautiful and Twisted" starring Rob Lowe as Ben Novack Jr.  These shows, and even the book, only scratch the surface of all the twists and turns in this case. In fact, officially it is not over nearly six years after the death of Ben Novack Jr.  This case would be interesting despite the people who were involved but it is the history of the people, and the money involved that makes it even more high profile and captured people like myself who are seemingly "obsessed" with true crimes. It is difficult to know where to start with this story but considering all that were involved I suppose we should start with Ben Novack Sr. Ben Novack Sr. was a well known man in his own right.  He became most fam...