Writer Karen Scioscia Discusses Her Book 'Kidnapped by the Cartel'

In our ongoing series of WCI interviews, we're talking today with Karen Scioscia, novelist, columnist and freelance writer. Her debut novel, Kidnapped by the Cartel: A Novel Inspired by a True Story, was released earlier this year. She also has a passion for acting and is a card-carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Women In Crime Ink: Welcome, Karen. First of all, when did you begin writing, and what inspired you?

Karen D. Scioscia: My father was a college professor who taught English and speech until he was 83 years old. He also wrote and directed many plays. My maternal grandmother wrote a weekly column in a newspaper in Florida until her death at age 96. Writing is in my genes.

WCI: How often do you write? And how do you manage to fit in writing amidst all your other commitments? 

KS: I write whenever I can. The best times for me creatively are first thing in the morning and later in the evening. The mid-day hours are filled with so many of my other endeavors. I am also out conducting interviews during the day for my newspaper column.

WCI: In what genre do you most enjoy writing?

KS: True stories, or “based on” true stories, are my favorite. My novel, Kidnapped by the Cartel, released this year, was inspired by a true story.

WCI: You wrote the book after a family member was kidnapped and missing for 11 days. How difficult was that on your family and, eventually, for you to do research write about it?

KS: The goal was to find her and get her back. It was a harrowing experience for everyone. I was involved in the search for several days. My heart went out, after this experience, to everyone who's ever had a family member abducted. Family members encouraged me to write about this.

I found out that this was not an isolated incident. In my research, the things I was hearing were even more harrowing than what we had gone through. So, I created a character, Amanda, in my book. It's a compilation of all the different things I learned and the research I did.

WCI: What else draws you to that genre?

KS: I find people so interesting and everyone’s life is some kind of story. Some folks are just more fascinating -- good or evil -- to read about than others.

WCI: What are your current projects?

KS: I am currently writing two articles for the November edition of Mob Candy Magazine. It's a special issue focusing on women involved with the Mafia. My stories are on Mob girlfriend and courier, Virginia Hill, and Marion "Kiki" Roberts, a dancer who got herself tangled up with the wrong people.

I'm also in the beginning stages of an exciting novel about terrorism and the container shipping industry. The research part is fun and challenging. I also write a weekly column for the Charlotte Observer and I'm a contributor to Yahoo.com. I'm working on budgeting my time!

WCI: What has been the reaction to your book from readers?

KS: I’ve had a very favorable response. The book was on Amazon’s “Hot List of New Books” the first week it came out. Readers have said things like, “I couldn’t help but feel the pain and horror the parents felt when searching for their daughter,” “great attention to detail,” and “I highly recommend this book.”

WCI: What are two of your favorite books, and why?

KS: Tough question to answer since I have so many books I like a lot, but I’d have to say Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is one of my all-time favorites. So interesting and thought provoking, it was difficult for me to put down. I like almost anything by the late, great Nora Ephron. She had the ability to make you laugh and think at the same time.

WCI: What are your writing plans for the future?

KS: I enjoy writing books, so I’ll be working on another one. I intend to keep up my newspaper column, plus Yahoo.com, and I’m thinking of taking a screenwriting class.

You can learn more about Karen Scioscia on her website by clicking here. Her book, Kidnapped by the Cartel, can be ordered here.

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'How to get Away With the Ultimate Murder,' Author Unknown

by Susan Murphy Milano

Late last week, a Michigan jury found Doug Stewart guilty of the murder of his wife, Venus Stewart, who was abducted from just outside her parents' home in Michigan April 26, 2010. The relationship had a documented history of violence. Venus Stewart filed for divorce and moved out of the marital home. Doug Stewart, according to police reports, was furious with her sending text messages and emails, demanding she return with the kids or “you know what will happen if you don’t.” Once she was finally able to leave the toxic and dangerous environment, as in all intimate partner violence relationships, the abuser went into action plan mode. 

The victim files numerous police reports and has court orders of protection; she tells friends and family she is in fear for her life. Why? Because he lost ownership, power and control over the person with whom they married. In the inner workings of an abuser’s mind, “till death do us part” is now their goal.

As an angry abuser, not wanting the person with whom I am in a relationship to leave, I am going to boil over like hot liquid on a stove. And, as an abuser, I have a lot of time to think out a plan of action. In the beginning, after the victim leaves, I am going to threaten the person where no one else can hear me. I will make a victim's life unbearable during the divorce process, especially in court mandated mediation meetings with mental health evaluators, while sitting dressed neatly and showing the world what a wonderful person I am. The moment the session is over I will shoot those looks of "now you did it" and "you are going to pay for this if you do not return to me." Next, as custody of the kids is being determined, as an abuser, I am outraged and think about how "she is not getting away with this alive."

I then, as the abuser, figure out where to get that special "handbook" available to members only in an eBook format that the recently formed "secret society of abusers" are all reading, titled How to Get Away With the Ultimate Murder, author unknown.

For some abusers, in my expert opinion, the handbook has worked in cases where the victim has vanished without a trace. There must be a chapter in the "handbook" on how to correctly lawyer up, as you will notice with each person of interest in cases where the wife is reported missing, the last person to see them no longer cooperates with authorities. In the blink of an eye, most persons of interest hire a fairly skilled defense attorney in the early stages. The legal hired armor acts as the shield or the mouth piece for the only person, once again in my expert opinion, behind the vanishing act of their loved one. Perfect example is the upcoming trial for the murder of missing mother Renee Pernice. Her husband, Shon Pernice, who is awaiting trial, secured an attorney immediately.

Isn't it rather strange that the victim is often the mother of their children, estranged wife or girlfriend? And, more often than not, they are going through a divorce or custody battle. And, yes, I need to mention that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

All of these cases have a common theme: The person has been erased from the planet, never to be seen or heard from again. A common theme does not make one guilty of the crime, but it is highly unusual that the person with whom the relationship has ended, in cases of intimate partner violence, does not have a motive. The facts, although circumstantial, do carry a lot of weight but is often not enough for a grand jury indictment, unless you have a body.

The prosecutor, John McDonough, went ahead and tried the Stewart case without a body. Not an easy task. But, he had enough circumstantial evidence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Douglas Stewart was found guilty by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder. Stewart is scheduled for sentencing sometime next month. The remains of Venus Stewart have yet to be found.

Venus Stewart is still missing. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Michigan State Police White Pigeon Post at 269-483-7611 or Rockford Regional Dispatch Center at 616-866-6666.

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Profile of 'The Profiler'

by Cathy Scott

The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths, by criminal profiler and WCI contributor Pat Brown, with co-author Bob Andelman, hits book shelves tomorrow (May 18).

Waiting for police to act on the 1990 murder of Anne Kelley, Pat Brown couldn't understand what was taking so long to bring the case to a close. Brown had long suspected a possible connection to the odd man who'd briefly rented a room in her home. At the time unfamiliar with the criminal investigative process, Brown believed the Kelley case was unusual. But as she began exploring unsolved murders in her area, she soon realized the case, unfortunately, was not all that rare.

For example, in Washington, D.C. alone, Brown learned  that the murders of more than 120 women remained unsolved. "Who killed Nia Owens, Dana Chisholm, and Ann Bourghesani?" Brown asks in her latest book, The Profiler.

Who, indeed?

Brown vowed to do something. It was a move that would define her ensuing career as a criminal profiler. "Dead women were turning up everywhere," she writes in The Profiler. "It's like when you're pregnant and suddenly you notice how many other women are pregnant." It was a seminal moment. While she might not have been able to bring the Kelley case to an immediate close, she could help investigators and families figure out who might have killed other women, plus help determine if any of those cases were related, suggesting a serial killer might be on the loose.

She printed photos of 15 murder victims -- all women -- from across the country. She laminated the photos and placed each above the word "unsolved," written in large letters. Next, she hung the photos in a booth she rented at an outdoor festival. Festival-goers were stunned at the display. They'd assumed cases they'd read about in newspapers and seen on TV news reports had been solved. "They never caught that killer either," one person commented, pointing to the photo of a woman in the display.

Eventually, Brown launched a nonprofit group and web site. She took every training course available and read some 400 books on the subject and subtopics. Then she began profiling criminals. When the D.C. sniper in 2002 shot at people and their vehicles, the news media found Brown through her site. The attention catapulted her into the public eye and onto the airwaves, and one mystery case led to another. Today, she travels across the country consulting, criminal profiling and commenting on cases.

The Profiler is the result of that work, looking at individual cases, the evidence and circumstances surrounding them, any similarities to other cases, as well as peculiarities of certain murders. With this book, which Brown calls purposeful, she not only wants to pass on what she's learned and details of the cases she's worked on; she's hoping to see national changes in use of profilers. Her concept would have police departments use criminal profilers as standard tools, either inside the departments or outside, for the homicides they investigate.

In addition, she wants to to see profilers involved early on in a homicide investigation, within the first 48 hours. "What I've learned over a decade and a half of profiling cases is that you cannot bring a criminal profiler in late in the game. The evidence is long gone.

"We have far too many unsolved crimes, we have too little justice, and we have too many killers on the streets repeating those crimes," says Brown, who also received a master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University in 2007. Her aim is for "criminal profilers to be trained, including police investigators. There are thousands and thousands of unsolved homicides across the country."

But with law enforcement funding tight, Brown is realistic and understands fulfillment of her goal will take time. Eventually, she believes, it will happen. "In the long run," Brown says, "It could help save a lot of lives."

The Profiler is available wherever books are sold. Or order it on Amazon.com

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