MetaFilter posts tagged with truecrime and crime

More of the Best

dances_with_sneetches — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:39:46 -0800

Having previously put together a post with links to stories from the 2009 edition of Best of American Crime Reporting, I decided to go to earlier editions to gather together what is available on the web. Starting in 2007 with The Tainted Kidney: Charles Graeber, New York. A serial killer who chooses to donate his kidney has his motives questioned. Continuing in 2007 with The Inside Job: Neil Swidey, Boston Globe A trusted employee pilfers millions. Double Blind: Matthew Teague, The Atlantic An undercover agent helps take down the IRA. A Kiss Before Dying: Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly A legendary haunting inspires a reporter to dust off a 45 year old killing. The Devil in David Berkowitz: Steve Fishman, New York Born again, David Berkowitz now has Christian advocates. The Man Who Loves Books Too Much: Allison Hoover Bartlett, San Francisco A book collector doesn't want to pay. Dirty Old Women: Ariel Levy, New York Teachers who seduce their students. Who Killed Ellen Andros? / Dan P. Lee, Philadelphia The prosecution of a police officer plays out between competing Medical Examiners. Fatal Connection: David Bernstein, Chicago Magazine The murder of a high class prostitute. Last Seen September 10th: Mark Fass, New York A doctor disappears the day the towers fall. Previously discussed. My Roommate, The Diamond Thief: Brian Boucher. New York Magazine. An aspiring writer lucks out by stumbling into a good story. The Monster of Florence: Douglas Preston, The Atlantic A journalist and a crime novelist investigate a series of murders near Florence, Italy and become part of the story. Also, previously discussed. The Loved Ones: Tom Junod, Esquire. A riveting account of a New Orleans couple scapegoated for the sins of those who did not adequately respond to Katrina. Also previously linked. The School: C.J. Chivers, Esquire Over a thousand students, parents and teachers are taken hostage in a Russian school. A couple more in the collection were not available online. The Talented Dr. Krist: Steve Fennessy, Atlanta Magazine The perpetrator of a notorious kidnapping appears to be trying to go straight after prison. not available. The Case of the Killer Priest: Sean Flynn, GQ Magazine After a quarter century, a priest is brought to trial for the murder of a nun. Not available. 2008 The Story of a Snitch: Jeremy Kahn, The Atlantic. A police witness gets careless. A Season in Hell: Dean LaTourrette, Men's Journal A surfer in Nicaragua is accused of murder. I'm with the Steelers: Justin Heckert, ESPN Magazine A con man convinces local women he's a pro football player. The Caged Life: Alan Prendergast, New West A white supremacist spends decades in solitary confinement. Badges of Dishonor: Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly Two border patrol agents shoot an illegal alien and become heroes to some. The Ploy: Mark Bowden, The Atlantic Mark Bowden revisits the subject of interrogation and how it was used to find Al-Zarqawi. Day of the Dead: D.T. Max, New Yorker The life and death of Malcolm Lowery. Just a Random Female: Nick Schou, Orange County Weekly A student's murder appears to be the first of a serial killer. The Serial Killer's Disciple: James Renner, The Cleveland Free Times A man is executed for three murders. But was he the one? Mercenary: Tom Junod, Esquire A self-proclaimed government assassin is hired as head of security at a nuclear plant. Murder at 19,000 Feet: Jonathan Green, Men's Journal (pdf file) Mountain climbers witness an execution and face a moral dilemma. Dangerous Minds: Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker A deconstruction of criminal profilers. (previously discussed) And again a couple in the anthology that are not available online. The House Across the Way: Calvin Trillin, New Yorker In an isolated town in Northern Canada, townsfolk go to war with an alleged drug dealer. Dean of Death Row: Tad Friend, New Yorker CO Vernell Crittendon becomes the public face of California's death row.

Crime Time

dances_with_sneetches — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:28:03 -0800

The 2009 anthology of The Best American Crime Reporting is out. Each year this series collects examples of exceptional and diverse true crime journalism. Many of the entries are available in their online magazines. Starting with "Dan P. Lee, Body Snatchers - Philadelphia magazine" (part of the story previously discussed here), a ghoulish tale of stolen corpses and the market behind him. Continuing with the sad life of a spree killer: Mark Boal, Everyone Will Remember Me as Some Sort of Monster - Rolling Stone A pathological spree of consumerism is recounted in Sabrina Rubin Erdely's, The Fabulous Fraudulent Life of Jocelyn and Ed - Rolling Stone. A surgeon recalls The Day Kennedy Died - Michael J. Mooney, D Magazine. Charles Bowden writes about drug wars in Mexico's Red Days - GQ magazine A hate crime or not a hate crime? R. Scott Moxley, Hate and Death - OC Weekly. A hedge fund trader is found floating face down in his swimming pool in Stephen Rodrick, Dead Man's Float - New York magazine. Hanna Rosin's, American Murder Mystery previously discussed here - The Atlantic. Not generally available, but in The New Yorker archives for subscribers, Calvin Trillin, The Color of Blood - The New Yorker John Colapinto, Stop, Thief! - The New Yorker David Grann, True Crime - New Yorker (recommended) Alec Wilkinson, Non-Lethal Force - The New Yorker And finally, only available in the book: Matt McAllester, Tribal Wars - Details Mark Arax, The Zankou Chicken Murders - Los Angeles magazine L. Jon Wertheim, Breaking the Bank - Sports Illustrated Enjoy.

On the Trail of a Serial Killer in Macedonia

Kattullus — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:29:26 -0800

Then, in November 2007, exactly three years after the disappearance of Simjanoska, another woman from Kičevo went missing. Fifty-six-year-old Lubica Ličoska was, like Simjanoska, a custodian, and she also lived in the same section of town. When the similarities were noted, locals suddenly remembered Gorica Pavelska. She was seventy-three, a retired custodian who went missing in May 2003. No one had thought much of it at the time. She might have suffered a stroke in some remote place, they had speculated, or gone to work in Skopje. No trace of her was ever found and the whole business had been forgotten. But now it appeared that little Kičevo was home to a serial killer, and Vlado Taneski’s editors smelled a big story.

- The Mask of Sanity: On the Trail of a Serial Killer in Macedonia by Dimiter Kenarov. An account of the Kičevo Monster and the killer's surprising identity. [Warning: Descriptions of the murders include graphic details]

Even The Good Old Days Had Bad News

jonp72 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:06:17 -0800

The Hope Chest: Bad News from the Past is a new blog of old newspaper clippings, mostly from Detroit and Chicago in the 1930s, with true crime and other bizarre stories. Examples include Tries To Shoot A Cat And Hits Automobilist, Driver Loses His Arm Giving Traffic Signal, and Pastor Writes Spicy Book. Other highlights are a phony cop attacking a pornographer with acid and the teenage girl who became a tattooed atheist bandit.

The Old Ball and Chain

Bookhouse — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:14 -0800

"The best man was Kirk "Spanky" Smyth, who had recently been caught passing through the metal detectors with Buck knives in his rectum. Today he was loaded on smack and rubbing his face red." A Los Angeles Times series examines a woman's quarter-century of marrige to a man behind bars. Part Two. Part Three.

To Snitch or Not To Snitch: That Is The Question

jonp72 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:16:46 -0800

Stop Snitchin' may be the hidden link between hip hop and the 1980s alternative rock group, House of Freaks. According to the New York Post, journalist Ethan Brown has accomplished "making the Stop Snitching movement seem reasonable" in his new book Snitch: Informants, Cooperators, and the Corruption of Justice. Brown argues that harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses have created a "cottage industry of cooperators" and informants who fabricate evidence, because Provision 5K1.1 of federal sentencing guidelines gives leniency in exchange for "substantial assistance to authorities." According to Brown, two of these criminal cooperators included Ray Dandridge and Ricky Gray, the perpetrators of the Richmond spree murders that ended the life of Brian Harvey of House of Freaks, his wife, and his two children. On the other hand, Mark Kleiman argues that the Stop Snitchin' movement has driven homicide clearance rates so low that, in some cities, "you have a better than even chance of literally getting away with murder." Wikipedia on Stop Snitchin' Popmatters on the Stop Snitchin' phenomenon Rapper Cam'Ron: Snitching Hurts His Business The Snitching Project Snitching: The Institutional and Communal Consequences "Tell, Tell, Tell (Stop Snitchin')" by Project Pat

The Trial of John Dicks, and other True Stories

anastasiav — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 15:45:39 -0800

Homosexuality in 18th Century England :: an amazing compilation of primary source material from newspaper reports and other sources.