Absence of Evidence : An Examination of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Absence of Evidence
Author: Lynne Blanchard
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 1, 2016
Page Count: 213
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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Having recently finished Steven B. Epstein's excellent Murder on Birchfield Drive, I came upon this book and felt compelled to get a counterview of the case.

Blanchard was approached by members of Jason Young's family and therefore her book provides information that was not revealed in the court proceedings.  On the other hand, it also clearly has a bias toward Jason Young.

Blanchard reveals that initially the police suspected that Michelle's sister, Meredith, was not truthful about her actions the night of Michelle's death and may have been involved. She also relates that the family hired a private investigator to go through the house and found several things the police had missed. Blanchard also brought to light several oddities about Casssidy and the family dog that were never addressed.

Where Blanchard falters, in my humble opinion, is her slant that everything is a possible conspiracy or a result of a police blunder.  Although upon finishing the book, I was left with the feeling there is a slight chance that maybe, just maybe, the police were too myopic in their quest and too focused on making all the oddities of this case fit into proving that Jason Young killed his wife.

If you read both books, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts about this case.  Thanks!

Murder on Birchleaf Drive: The True Story of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Murder on Birchleaf Drive
Author: Steven B. Epstein
Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing
Release Date: June 1, 2019
Page Count: 272
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Steven B. Epstein is a welcome addition to the world of true crime literature.  Epstein brings 30 years of experience as an attorney as well as a crisp writing style that clearly presents the case, the personalities and the legal strategies.

Jason and Michelle Young had just recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary and appeared to live a charmed life. With a 2-1/2 year old daughter, Cassidy, and a son on the way, the young couple had a solid core of friends, a lovely home and good jobs. Michelle's brutal murder on November 3, 2006 is shocking, but no less disturbing is that Cassidy was in the house during the murder and there are tiny bloody prints throughout the crime scene.

But as gruesome as the scene is, there is no bloody fingerprints (other than Cassidy's in the bathroom and her bedroom) and no sign of a break-in. Jason, immediately a suspect, was 3 hours away in a Best Western and if he did kill Michelle, it was a very tight timeframe for him to kill her and get back to the hotel by morning.  But what about Cassidy, who despite the footprints, was free of blood from head to toe.  Who took the time to clean her up?

This is a fascinating case because, IMHO, it hinges on a series of assumptions based on circumstantial evidence with little in the way of direct evidence.  The prosecution does an exceptional job of weaving all the circumstantial evidence into a strong argument that ultimately convicts Jason.

Unfortunately, Epstein had no access to the families or attorneys and as thorough as his research of the court documents and trial recordings was, getting insight from detectives, attorneys, and the families may have given some other theories of the crime as well as perspectives and insight.  But overall, this is an excellent book about the Jason and Michelle Young case. 4.5 stars.

Poisoned Love

Title: Poisoned Love
Author: Caitlin Rother
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Release Date: July 1, 2005
Page Count: 480
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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A true crime story of a toxicologist with the San Diego ME's office who murdered her husband with fentanyl.

Because Kristin was blonde, brainy and beautiful, she thought no one would doubt her claim that her husband Greg had committed suicide, but she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Turns out Kristin was also a long-time meth addict and having an affair with her boss. Some think that the boss-boyfriend helped Kristin in killing Greg, but he was never brought to trial.

The author does a good job of showing the evidence, but we never really get a sense of the personalities of any of the major players. And the truly forgotten person is all of this is Greg. We never really get a sense of him as a person, other than all agreed he was a nice guy who loved his wife, and was basically "put down" like a dog.

3 stars.

After reading John Glatt's book about the same case - Deadly American Beauty - I am finding that Rother's book either left out some details, or didn't provide a full account. What seemed needlessly convoluted in Rother's book is crystal clear in Deadly American Beauty.

I'll take Care of You

Title: I'll Take Care of You
Author: Caitlin Rother
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Release Date: January 7, 2004
Page Count: 432
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Nanette Johnson managed to convince a lot of men that she was their dream come true - blonde and busty was her stock-in-trade - and she caught a big fish in Bill McLaughlin, Newport Beach millionaire.

But she and her lover Eric Naposki conspired to murder Bill and were finally brought to justice 17 years after the fact. The author covers the trial very thoroughly, but I wish she had turned her focus on Nanette, who remains very much a mystery throughout. We know virtually nothing about this woman (although we do get a pretty complete picture of Eric Naposki) and I felt the book suffered for it. 3 stars.

Deadly American Beauty

Title: Deadly American Beauty
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: March 13, 2004
Page Count: 304
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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A true crime story of Kristin Rossum, a toxicologist with the San Diego ME's office, who murdered her husband Greg DeVillers with fentanyl, and then placed red rose petals on his bed,

Rossum had a lovely childhood and wanted to be a ballerina, but ended up addicted to meth, had an affair with her immediate boss in the toxicology department, lied to almost everyone she met, stole drugs from the ME's office and murdered her husband by drugging him with a massive dose of fentanyl and vainly attempted to cover up her crime.

 In comparing and contrasting John Glatt's Deadly American Beauty and Caitlin Rother's Poisoned Love, I would say Glatt's book is the clear winner. He gives a much clearer overview of the criminal case and the trial and provides more details about Greg's personality and family life. I found his writing interesting and engaging and liked how he had a good balance between providing the overview of the case, and well as providing smaller telling details. 4 stars.

Evil Beside Her

Title: Evil Beside Her
Author: Kathryn Casey
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: October 28, 2008 (originally published 1995)
Page Count: 384
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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A sobering tale of a woman married to a serial rapist. Linda Bergstrom tried for YEARS to get someone to listen to her about her husband James' violent nature. James was a weird kid with rape fantasies who turned into a controlling husband who beat his wife and made her life a living hell. James is a psychopath with no empathy and thought of his history of ever escalating rapes as his little "problem" and when he's finally caught - after YEARS of police officers not listening to Linda or following up on her calls and pleas - he's sentenced to four 99-year-sentences in a Texas prison.

It's a fascinating story, but the author seems to muddle her way through the telling, going into exhaustive detail about some elements, and then completely grossing over other more important parts of the case. For example, James' family sounds absolutely crazy - in denial big-time with an alcoholic father and an enabling mother, and an older brother that sounds just as creepy as James. But we learn very little about them and given that the brother apparently helped destroy evidence of James' earlier crimes, it seems pretty relevant.

I understand this was Kathryn Casey's first book, but the pacing was very slow and the storytelling was very (very) repetitive.  3 stars.

A Tangled Web

Title: A Tangled Web
Author: Leslie Rule
Publisher: Citadel Press
Release Date: April 28, 2020
Page Count: 304
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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"A Tangled Web" gives us the true-crime story of Dave Kroupa, a regular guy and two women, Cari Lea Farver and Shanna “Liz” Golyar, drawn together into incredibly devious murder and its bizarre aftermath. You've probably heard of this case (it was highlighted in a Dateline episode) but Rule's book really gives you the ins and outs of the murderers' catfishing over many years, and the numerous ways Liz used technology to track and intimidate her victims.

Rule points out that most women were very suspicious of Liz, while men just didn't pick up on her insanity. And honestly, Dave is perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but then again who could have imagined the insanity Liz unleashed and the extent to which she was willing to go. Unfortunately, the people called to investigate the cases (arson, missing person, identity theft, etc.) seemed to have totally missed or completely misread the manipulations until it was finally taken seriously and solved in a very definitive manner.


Rule is very thorough in her unraveling of the tangled web of data, but at times I wished for a much clearer focus on the murderer. However, her family did not cooperate in any way to provide background so after all the details about the case, the murderer still remains elusive in a sense.

Leslie Rule does a good job of coordinating all the information and presented it in a clear fashion but at times I wished for the deeply personal way her mother, Ann Rule, framed and enriched the bare details. Ann had a way of digging into a murder that made it heartwrenchingly personal and close to home. Leslie is not quite there yet, but then again few crime writers are at the level of Ann Rule at her finest (which I would suggest is "Small Sacrifices") 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for "A Tangled Web."

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Father : The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder

Title: The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: July 21, 2020
Page Count: 304
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was familiar with the Chris and Shanann Watts' murder case prior to reading John Glatt's book "The Perfect Father," and had read another book on the subject. I give Glatt top marks for pulling together all the information into a very readable, cohesive book that does an excellent job of presenting the case without a lot of editorializing.

Some people may have the impression of Shanann as a great mother with a boatload of less-than-desirable traits and qualities, but Glatt gives us a full range of perceptions from family, friends, coworkers and lets us draw our own conclusions. And he gives Chris the same treatment. He also offers up Nichol Kessinger's actions in a similar manner without making any judgment.

My Daddy is a Hero : How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer

Title: My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts Went from Family Man to Family Killer
Author: Lena Derhally
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 9, 2019
Page Count: 376
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here 

If you aren't familiar with the Chris Watts case in Colorado, mild-mannered, quiet. helpful Chris strangled his pregnant wife and smothered their two daughters (ages 2 and 4) to be with his new love, Nicole.

Chris really was the guy that everyone liked and no one saw this coming. The author details the crime and with her background as a psychologist, she tries to determine if Chris is a sociopath, a malignant narcissist, etc. It really is chilling because Chris - up to until 5-6 weeks before the murder - had never exhibited any signs and his wife truly felt they had a great marriage and were in love. But Chris only mimicked emotions and could callously kill his wife, toss her facedown in a shallow grave and stuff his daughters into a remote oil tank. He stated "I felt nothing for my family."

I liked the book but felt there was a lot of repitition in establishing the pyschological explanation for Chris' acts and the author heavily depends on a book called Letters from Christopher: The Tragic Confessions of the Watts Family Murders that, unfortunately, has since been plagued with charges of plagarism from another true crime author. 3 stars.

And Every Word is True

Title: And Every Word is True
Author: Gary McAvoy
Publisher: Literati Books
Release Date: March 4, 2019
Page Count: 310
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Buy It on Amazon

I read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood far too young and am still haunted by Nancy Clutter, helping a friend bake an apple pie her last day of life and writing in her journal nightly, every year in a different ink color.

We all know who killed the Clutter family ... but this book asks WHY were they killed? The book repeats things over and over quite a few times, and the overall organization is somewhat strange, but here is what really struck me: After the news spread about the murder, most of the local law men (including Alvin Dewey who was a friend of Herb Clutter) felt the answer lay close to home.

Herb Clutter was not the provincial wheat farmer Capote portrays - he was the founder of the Kansas Wheat Association, had served on national agricultural boards, even had ties to the White House. And Clutter had made enemies along the way. Richard Hickok wrote of being paid $5,000 to murder Clutter, and that after the murder they only had an hour before having to meet "Roberts." And indeed, an hour after the murders, two men who fit the descriptions of Perry Smith and Hickok were seen meeting an unknown man in a diner 30 miles or so away from Garden City. Supposedly Frank Miles in prison told Hickok about the Clutter home and the safe full of money. Miles drew a map for Hickok detailing where each family member slept .... except the house the Clutters were currently living in wasn't BUILT when Miles worked on the Clutter farm.

Death in a Hansom Cab

Title: Death in a Hansom Cab
Author: Kerry Segrave
Publisher: Historical Press
Release Date: April 22, 2020
Page Count: 150
Rating: 2 stars out of 5

 Read book blurb here

In 1904, horsing racing entreprenaur Caesar Young was shot during a hansom cab ride. The other only occupant was Nan Patterson, a chorus girl who had been involved with the married Young for a few years. After three trials, no criminal crimes were leveled against Patterson and there was no answer to what happened in that hansom cab.

On the surface, this true crime story captured my interest ..... but I quickly grew frustrated by the author's writing style of presenting newspaper reports without any intrepretation or context. We get the same details over and over again (and are often told the accounts are not accurate) but there is little in the way of background on Young or Patterson, or the nature of their relationship. There are bits of information scattered throughout but nothing developed out of the unclear facts of the case.

If the author's intent is to comment on how journalists portrayed Nan Patterson - as a homewrecker, as a sly seductress, as an unintelligent untalented actress - again, there is no intrepretation of the various accounts and no overlying theory of the crime or of Patterson's character.

This book was very frustrating to me, and I cannot personally recommend it. 2 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Cold Vanish

Title: The Cold Vanish
Author: Jon Billman
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: July 7, 2020
Genre(s): Non-Fiction
Page Count: 368
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

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Buy it on Amazon

Jon Billman has written an exceptional book about people who simply vanish in the wild, often without a trace (a "cold vanish"), from around the world, from Olympic National Park in Washington state to Israel. Pauline Boss, researcher and family therapist claims that "a family member missing to the unknown is the hardest thing a human being ever has to face" - she has coined the term "frozen grief." I just cannot imagine the sheer terror of never knowing what happened, or wondering if the missing person is off living their life somewhere else in TROTW (the rest of the world).

Billman introduces us to Randy Gray as he searches for his son Jacob who simply disappeared near the Sol Duc River in the Olympic National Park, leaving his bike behind. Bilman befriends Randy and travels with him as Randy searches for his son, and along the way Billman shares other stories of the missing including Amy Bechtel, who disappeared while running through the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. Dale Stehling missing from Colorado's Petroglyph Point Trail about 1 mile away from the gift shop, 19-year-old Joe Keller who took a run one afternoon and never returned to his aunt's dude ranch in the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado, as well as cold vanishes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Until the Twelfth of Never : The Deadly Divorce of Dan and Betty Broderick

Title: Until the Twelfth of Never: The Deadly Divorce of Dan and Betty Broderick
Author: Bella Stumbo
Publisher: Taylor Street Publishing
Release Date: February 4, 2013 (originally published in 1993)
Page Count: 661
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

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If you watched Dirty John : The Betty Broderick Story on USA Network, I recommend you drive into this HUGE, very well-researched book about the case.  I've seen Bella Stumbo's book referenced in many places as the best book on the subject.

An amazing, gut-wrenching book about Betty Broderick, the La Jolla woman who killed her ex-husband Dan and his new wife Linda in 1989 after a 6-year divorce and property settlement battle. There's plenty of blame for everyone in this tawdry case - attorney Dan Broderick who used the courts to punish Betty, Linda who carried on an affair with Dan for years, and Betty who had no identity other than "wife of Dan, mother of their 4 children."

Written In Blood

Title: Written in Blood
Author: Diane Fanning
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 1, 2005
Page Count: 416
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Having just re-watched "The Staircase" on Netflix and done a bit of reading here and there on various forums about the Michael Peterson case, I was pleasantly surprised by all the additional information I learned from Diane Fanning's book about the Kathleen Peterson murder case.

Although Ms. Fanning is definitely very much on the side of the prosecution and very sympathetic to Kathleen's family, she presents a lot of details I have never read elsewhere. "The Staircase" focuses so much on the blood evidence and the blow poke to the exclusion of anything else. But Fanning gives us details about Michael Peterson's temper (it says somethng about character or lack thereof based on the horrible way he treats his dogs), his stealing and lying about his military service, how he forged documents to give himself the Ratliff estate, and the way he treated the Ratliff girls as cash cows.

I do believe Michael Peterson killed Kathleen, and left her to suffer a painful death. Fanning makes an interesting point that Peterson probably has Narcissistic personality disorder, which Wikipedia describes as a "personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."

In rewatching "The Staircase," you can't help but see Peterson's disregard for anyone but himself. 4 stars.

Ted and Ann : The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy

Title: Ted and Ann: The Mystery of A Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy
Author: Rebecca Morris
Publisher: Notorious USA
Release Date: April 18, 2014 (originally published September 16, 2011
Page Count: 301
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

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When I initially read this book in 2014, I gave it a 4 star rating Upon reading it last year, I upgraded my rating to 4.5 stars. I reread this, in light of all the Ted Bundy-related stuff lately like the Netflix series and the movie with Zac Efron playing Ted, based on his girlfriend's book.

The author contends that Bundy's first murder was when he was almost 15 and killed an 8-year-old girl in his neighborhood, Ann Burr. The book follows Ann's devastated family as they seek to find out what happened to their beloved child. Every other chapter details Bundy's family life and adulthood.

Evil at Lake Seminole : The Story Surrounding the Disappearance of Mike Williams

Title: Evil at Lake Seminole : The Shocking True Story Surrounding the Disappearance of Mike Williams

Author: Steven B. Epstein

Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing, LLC 

Release Date: June 15, 2020 

Genre(s): True Crime 

Page Count: 350 

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here 

I'd heard about this case often on shows like Dateline and 20/20 so I welcomed the opportunity for a deeper dive into the death of Mike Williams at Lake Seminole on that December morning in 2000. 

Epstein, in his second true crime book, carefully sets out the case over the 18 years from Mike's murder until the case comes to trial and Denise Williams is finally convinced. It's a long road for Mike's mother who never believed Mike died on Lake Seminole that day.  She wrote 2,600 letters to Florida Governor Rick Scott asking him to investigate the case without any success. She picketed on the streets, placed newspaper ads, bought billboards, and finally got justice for her son. Epstein does an excellent job of honoring her love for her son, and her commitment to the case.

It was an arduous process as well for law enforcement as they tried to put together the very slim trail of clues, with no body, and no cooperation from Denise Williams or Brian Winchester.  As the years went by, they waited and hoped for a break in the case, and when it finally came, they were ready to file charges against Denise.