True Crime Stories

I recently read the book Dark and Bloody Ground by Darcy O'Brien. It was supposed to be the story of the 1985 Kentucky murder of twenty-three year old Tammy Acker. It was, to an extent. The bulk of the book though focused on the relationship between one of the perpetrators, Benny Hodge and a woman named Sherri Sheets. Another large portion of the book revolved around the actions of prominent defense attorney, Lester Burns. Of course, the Tammy Acker murder was addressed because you cannot tell the story of Hodge and Sheets, or Burns for that matter without discussing the murder. But, by and large the book almost made the murder seem like a footnote. In fairness, and while I cannot say with certainty that there have been other books on the case, it was a very prominent case in Eastern Kentucky and there were many things written about the case. It is possible that O'Brien was attempting to show a bit of a different take on the story. Dr. Roscoe “R.J” Acker wa...

I have vowed to try to get better about getting back into my blog so yesterday I researched a few cases so that I could sit down and put them together today. It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be. I went back to my list that I have made, as I always do, and started going through the cases until one “caught” me. It took me a while and in fact one of the cases that I researched was not on my list but from a book I recently read because I was frustrated that nothing was really grabbing my attention. I do not want to say that the murder of Franklin Bradshaw was one of the least shocking things about this case but I cannot say that it was the most shocking either. While of course I did find information about the murder, as well as personality traits associated with Franklin, the “sensational” part really lies with what happened after the murder. A question of law also comes into play. David Berkowitz is better known as The Son of Sam. Berkowitz...

I have debated on how and when I would tell my story... the story of my new life. In my last blog where I discussed the fact that prisons are breeding grounds for COVID-19 I mentioned that my life had taken a wild turn the last year. That is true, although the nightmare really started nearly four years ago. I should be really clear in the fact that my story is nothing as “exciting” as those that I have blogged about here that the majority of the time included a murder or two. But, going through what I have, and continue to go through, has given me new insight into the justice and prison system. I have also learned even more how every time someone commits a crime there is a ripple effect. At this point I have not decided if I will go into the details of the crime that has turned my life upside down but I want to be clear that it has absolutely nothing to do with feeling scared or ashamed for myself or my husband. While I discuss the issue in my private life, I hav...

I realize that it has been quite some time since I have updated this blog. My life has taken a wild turn that at some point I intend on writing about but until then I wanted to do something different so that maybe I can help address and let others understand while we go through this “global pandemic” of COVID-19 why there has been so much talk about prisons and inmates. While I cannot say what each Governor of each state has stated about the prisons in their area or what they are doing about the vast inmate population, I can state with almost certainty that every Governor has been posed with the question about how they intend to address this issue. I can also say that the Department of Justice has addressed the issue at the federal level. The Bureau of Prisons state that they have 119 prisons in their system. This does not count their residential re-entry homes, also known as half-way houses, which currently appears to be 22. To add to this you have to remember all o...

Catherine Mehaffey Shelton I am currently reading the book, Luggage By Kroger , written by Houston reporter, Gary Taylor. He had a very short lived but volatile relationship with then Houston attorney, Catherine Mehaffey. At the time he met Catherine she was involved in a civil suit. She was not the attorney, but the plaintiff against the estate of an ex-boyfriend who Catherine claimed as a common-law husband. The ex-boyfriend, George Tedesco had been found brutally murdered in the garage of his home in January of 1979. Catherine had been suing him for a divorce and they were due in court on the day he was found murdered. Catherine would lose her civil case against George Tedesco's family when there was no proof that the couple had ever portrayed themselves as a married couple, one of the main things in order to prove a common-law marriage. In fact, Tedesco's family could never even prove that the couple had lived together, even for the three short months ...

We all know that when someone disappears or is murdered the first suspects are those closest to the victim. It is not necessarily unusual for one spouse to kill another or to even pay someone else to do it for them. In fact, I have often said that sadly those sorts of cases are almost “run of the mill” cases. It is also not unusual for a convicted perpetrator to maintain their innocence for... well, forever. The latter is one of the main things that make this case a bit unique from other cases. Even still this case has a few twists and turns that you do not see often. Doug Stewart and his wife, Venus, had a very fast courtship. They were married four days after they had met each other. Doug's sister was friends with Venus and had introduced them. They both lived near the Colon Michigan area. After a few years they began to have some problems and for whatever reason they decided that moving to another area would give them a “do over” and would energize their ma...