Off the Beaten Path: Brandon Mendelson Guest Posts on WCI

Once in awhile we like to go “off the beaten path,” and lighten things up here at Women in Crime Ink. Our contributors occasionally suffer the extreme doldrums of writing about human misery, innocent victims, and societal garbage to the point that we desperately search somewhere for a laugh—anywhere. This is when we like to bring in a guest poster to take us away from the world of crime and focus our attention on something that doesn’t require a legal document or a courtroom.

Monday, guest posting for Women in Crime Ink will be humorist, author, and social critic Brandon Mendelson. Brandon (pictured above) has contributed to sites such as The Huffington Post, CNN, Forbes, Mashable, and countless others. He was previously a new media director for a syndicated ABC television show and a syndicated college survival columnist with CBS. Brandon has been quoted and featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Psychology Today, Smart Money Magazine, and other national outlets.

Brandon will give us a break down on the pros and cons of social media, but in his usual humorous, sarcastic, and blunt style. His Twitter page puts the famed, “S!*t My Dad Says,” to shame. You might consider him somewhat of a pro in dealing with social media. With previously one million followers on Twitter, he’ll explain how he got there, why he’s dropped to the dismal number of 800,000, and what is really the true benefit of social media.

He should know; his quest and adventure through Twitter landed him a book deal through St. Martin’s Press. His book, Social Media is Bullshit, debuts April 2012. His Twitter page simply can’t be ignored. But, if you missed his past hilarious Tweets, don’t fret. In June 2011, the e-book, “Poorly Thought Out Grammatical Holocausts, Volume I,” will be available, promising to contain many “never-before read Tweets” from Brandon’s two accounts.

Whether you’re a blogger, blog reader, social media addict, or just looking to put a smile on your face, make sure you come back tomorrow. Most importantly, bring your sense of humor. And don’t worry; we’ll be back to the doldrums on Tuesday.

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Mommy's Little Girl

by Diane Fanning

More than a year ago, I agreed to write a book about a story that dominated the national media. I finished my manuscript in mid-May this year, and it seems like that day was long, long ago. Today, at last, St, Martin's Press releases MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL: Casey Anthony and Her Daughter Caylee's Tragic Fate.

I kept photos of Caylee in front of me as I wrote. As a mother, I could not comprehend how any woman could carry a baby in her body for nine long months and then, two to three years later, look at the innocent, trusting face and even think of harming her toddler. I thought of my own daughter often as I researched and dug into the facts of this incomprehensible crime.

I really did not want to believe that Casey Anthony -- or any mother -- could murder her own daughter. But after months of immersion in the available evidence and in interviews with people close to the case, I could reach no other conclusion.

So I was gratified by the reviews the book already received, making months of slogging through the muck worthwhile.

Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel wrote of MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL: "Author Diane Fanning tirelessly recounts the young woman's lying ways, theorizes how Anthony might have disposed of her daughter and concludes that Anthony is 'an individual whose self-absorption and insensitivity to others is a destructive force.'"

Mike DeForest of WKMG-Channel 6 News said in a television book review: "At least for a little while, for people following the Casey Anthony saga, this is basically going to be like a bible for them."

Want additional reading material before picking up the book? See my post, Is Malignant Narcissism the Answer? here at Women in Crime Ink -- or read the first chapter of the book on my website. You can also view video clips of my interview with 48 Hours.

You'll find MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL in bookstores everywhere today. If you pick up a copy, I'd love to hear your feedback (write diane@dianefanning.com) after you read the book. But whether you read it or not, I am sure you will join me in demanding nothing less than justice for little Caylee.

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Love Turned Toxic

by Women in Crime Ink

Announcing today’s release of Women In Crime Ink author Diane Fanning’s ninth true crime book, A POISONED PASSION: The True Story of a Young Mother, Her War Hero Husband and the Marriage that Ended in Murder, from St. Martin’s Press.

Michael Severance was a 24-year-old native of Maine, stationed in Abilene, Texas, where he served in the Air Force as a C-130 crew chief. He survived five tours of duty in the Middle East and then he married Wendi Davidson.

Wendi, a native of San Angelo, Texas, was a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M, setting up a new practice in her hometown.

Wendi and Michael exchanged vows the same month that their son was born. But till death do us part had a very short shelf life. In less than five months, Michael was missing under very suspicious circumstances. It took nearly two months to find his body in pond in the middle of an isolated ranch.

A POISONED PASSION goes beyond the crime itself, exploring the people and events that transformed an excellent student raised in a rural environment into an inmate serving twenty-five years in a Texas prison for the murder of her husband.

Did Wendi’s controlling mother, who despised her new son-in-law, influence the tragic events? Did the location of the area have an impact on Wendi’s actions? And how did her profession create the groundwork for murder?

In her review, domestic violence expert, Susan Murphy-Milano wrote: "In my 20-plus years working with crimes of passion, I am always interested in the mind of the person behind the crime. For me, it is a learning tool to save lives. Very few writers have the insight and gift to take a true story and make it one hell of a page turner. In my opinion, Diane Fanning does just that in A POISONED PASSION."

Fanning followed the investigation from its beginnings as a deserter investigation by Air Force personnel to its evolution into a full scale murder investigation by several law enforcement agencies including the Texas Rangers. The story culminates with Wendi’s collapse in the courtroom and an ugly child custody battle where local sensibilities appeared to have a greater influence on the outcome than the best interests of a child.

While Fanning was writing the book, Wendi’s father, Lloyd Davidson urged the author: “Do your best to sift lies from the truth.” Fanning worked to honor that request, looking at every facet of the story from the forensics of the case to the lives of all those impacted by this senseless crime.

The two people who stirred her heart the most were the two youngest harmed by the murder—Tristan Davidson and Shane Severance. Tristan, Wendi’s oldest son, had never had a father in his life until Michael Severance walked into his life. Tristan was only three years old when he lost Michael to death and his mother first went to jail on charges related to Michael’s murder. Shane, Michael and Wendi’s son, was only five months old when his life was turned upside down.

No matter the forces that conspired to create this situation, the end result is the same. Michael Severance, a young man who served his country well and grabbed life with both hands is dead. A family in Maine staggers under the loss. Tristan, a sweet little boy, lost the only father he had ever known and now has to grow up without a mother. And Shane, the most innocent victim of them all, will never clutch his father’s hand in his own, will never hear his words of encouragement and praise, and will never grow and mature in the light of his guidance. Instead, he is spending much of his life in the home of people who despise his father and make excuses for his father’s killer.

That, by any measure, is not justice.

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One Small FBI Secret Uncovered

by Diane Fanning

A few months ago, I posted a blog entitled What is the FBI Hiding? It was more about the murder of Julie and Lollie in the Shenandoah National Park and the Route 29 killings but it tied back to Into the Water, a book I'd written about serial killer Richard Marc Evonitz.

The investigation into the deaths of three girls in Spotsylvania, Virginia, in 1996 and 1997 had a lot of ups and downs before Evonitz was identified as the perpetrator in 2002. A few months after Sofia's murder, another man was arrested and charged with her homicide in 1996. But that charge was based on faulty forensics by a woman in the lab who was determined to set aside scientific honesty to make a ruling to support law enforcement's suspicions. She lost her job.

But I knew all along there something else that the FBI was hiding. And I recently found out about one of the problems in the investigation that also involved bad forensic analysis. The forensic pathologist who performed Sofia's autopsy had been negligent. He did not clean up carefully after the previous autopsy. As a result, a hair was taken into evidence in her case as the hair of a suspect, that, in fact, was a hair belonging to the man who'd been autopsied on the table immediately before her.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn of more information that the FBI is hiding is hiding about the investigations of the killing of young girls in Spotsylania, the route 29 homicides and the double murder in Shenandoah National Park. I only hope one day, all the truth is revealed.

A week ago, St. Martin's Press re-released Into the Water as a True Crime Classic, a select line of their previous successful books in that genre. It was the third of my books to be re-issued in that line.

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