to see his fiancée, Aleen, made the deadly mistake of picking up Aileen Wuornos, who was working the interstates as a prostitute. Men on the road, Aileen knew, generally had a good stash of cash. Antonio wore a diamond and gold nugget ring--a special gift from his fiancée.
ear “not guilty.” She was outraged by her conviction. She’d imagined herself being viewed as a hero. What was this serial killer stuff? Knowing how sure she had been that she’d be set free, when Judge Uriel Blount sentenced her to death the next day, my legs felt a little wobbly. She has been gone eight years, but it’s a moment I’ll always remember.
“Cirque Du Salahi: Be Careful Who You Trust tells the INSIDE STORY of Michaele and Tareq Salahi—the never before revealed details of what happened before, during, and after their November 2009 appearance at the Obama administration' first state dinner. This journalistic autopsy reveals how one event can capture a ravenous media's attention, become the fodder for bogus political drama, and with razor-sharp and misplaced attention, ruin the reputation of a politically connected couple who did little more than attend a White House function for which they believed they had an invitation. Make no mistake. The copycat journalism surrounding the Salahis, which resulted in headlines like, "White House Gate-Crashers Investigated, Likely to be Indicted," could happen to any citizen who stumbles into the eye of a media storm.Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Salahis won’t be going away anytime soon. Most recently, the Salahis’ attorney, Lisa Bloom, fired off a letter to media outlets threatening to sue anyone who referred to her clients as “White House Gate Crashers.” This sparked Michaele’s fellow “Real Housewives” cast mates to ridicule her using the defamatory term, but with air quotes and the word “allegedly” before it.
“But this book is about more than what happens when the unsuspecting find themselves in the crosshairs of the national media. It reveals the truth about Michaele and Tareq Salahi: where they came from; what shaped their personalities; what obstacles they overcame; and what motivates them to do what they do. It is quite simply the background of the story heard 'round the world and how this couple, from the tiny town of Hume, Virginia, was able to survive the onslaught. What happened to the Salahis is much more than any reality television show can capture. The true story about this couple should serve as a mirror held up to the media to point out the disturbing trend of trimmed-to-the-bone newsrooms overreacting and exploiting certain stories. It also offers a wake-up call to Americans who believe that their news sources of choice are still trustworthy, when in reality they are often simply parroting the poorly researched work of others. The reader will be left wondering what ever happened to good journalism but not wondering what really happened that night at the White House.”
by Andrea Campbell
I am happy to share this interview with my friend and Women in Crime Ink colleague Kathryn Casey about the release of her new true crime book: Shattered
Q: Kathryn, for WCI readers who don’t know you that well, can you tell us a little about your background?
KC: I began as a magazine writer in the mid-eighties, and wrote for a lot of the national magazines, Reader’s Digest, TV Guide, Ladies Home Journal, MORE, Seventeen, and Rolling Stone. As a reporter, I profiled celebrities, wrote about all kinds of subjects, including lifestyles and health. But from the beginning, I had a knack for investigating and writing about criminal cases. In the mid-nineties, I began writing true crime books, and I’ve done that ever since, adding crime fiction two years ago with the debut of Singularity, the first in my Sarah Armstrong mystery series.
Q: Since today we're talking about Shattered, would you give us the set-up or a brief synopsis?
KC: The murder took place in 1999. David Temple was a former Texas football star, high school and college, working as a teacher and coach in a Houston suburb. He and his wife, Belinda Lucas Temple, were college sweethearts. She was bright, beautiful, and a beloved teacher, and they had one child, a toddler named Evan. To those on the outside, they appeared the perfect, happy family. But behind the scenes, that was far from reality. Belinda was eight months pregnant with a baby girl, Erin, on that January morning David called 911, claiming he’d discovered her shot through the head in the master bedroom closet. From the beginning, the investigators suspected David was the killer. There were too many signs at the home that the scene had been staged. Then, they focused even more tightly on him after discovering that he was carrying on an affair with a beautiful young English teacher. But this was a complicated and frustrating case. In the end, it would take 
nine years to bring David Temple into a courtroom.
Q: Kind of a two-part question here: How do you choose your projects, and what elements do you look for? Also, have you started working on a book project that fell through for any reason?
KC: When it comes to true crime, I look for cases with lots of twists and turns, ones that will resonate with my readers. I spend a year on each book, often conducting a hundred or more interviews, so it’s a long road. With that in mind, I look for a case that will hold my interest, one I care about, and one, I hope, that will explore something about our society or the human condition. I strive to see the big picture through the lens of the case I’m studying. The Temple case, for instance, sheds a light on intimate partner homicide, particularly involving pregnant women. This is a horrendous problem, one virtually ignored until this past decade, with the sensational Scott Peterson trial. I can’t say that I’ve had a book fall through. I guess I’ve been pretty lucky.
Q: What type of background work do you do to begin, and how do you find your interview subjects?
KC: It’s a big commitment, but I go to the trials. Sometimes this can translate to six weeks or more living in a hotel room and long days in the courtroom, but for me, it’s necessary. I want to be there, with the families and jurors and the defendant, listening to the evidence. Once the trial is over, I use what I’ve learned as the foundation to begin my own investigation, seeking more evidence from those who’ve taken the stand. These people, connected with the case, often suggest others, and I fan out, talking to everyone willing to talk to me, finding out all I can about those involved and the events that fell into place leading up to and following the murder.
Q: Obviously you are digging into the lives of victims and those accused, their families, and the criminal justice professionals involved. How do you get cooperation? Also, do you let their emotions change your point of view or the way the story is told?
KC: I’ve found over the years that most people involved in such tragedies want to tell their stories. I never assume that someone won’t talk to me. Many will still be trying to figure out why things happened, and talking to me, cooperating so that the book is accurate, is one way to make that possible. The only way I can depict a case fairly and accurately is to talk to everyone involved who is willing to talk to me, and I do that. I try to keep an open mind. People are sometimes falsely accused and even convicted, so it’s important not to presuppose that a guilty verdict means the person actually committed the crime.
It’s difficult not to identify with the families whose lives have been torn apart by these tragedies. I often ache for all they’ve been through. I see their suffering as part of the story, and I include it in the book. It’s important to understand how devastating murder is, what it does to all those involved. It’s the most horrendous of acts, the taking of a life, and to treat it without emotion is to become desensitized to the pain. That said, the evidence is the evidence, and the events that lead up to the murder aren’t written by me but by those involved. When I write a novel, I construct the plots. But when it comes to true crime, I’m a chronicler, who researches and pulls together the evidence to paint the picture, to explain what happened and why.
Q: Have you ever done a prison interview?
KC: Many times, for magazines and books. It can be a chilling experience. It’s more than unsettling to sit across from someone who describes in detail how he or she has committed a horrendous crime. I’m often amazed at how skimpy the motives are and how calm and collected the killer can be while describing a victim’s final moments. Yet most of those I’ve interviewed, even years after their convictions, maintain their innocence. Do I believe them? As I said before, I do my best to give them the benefit of the doubt. I listen to what they tell me, ask them for anything I can research to bolster their claims, and afterward I follow through, looking for evidence that contradicts the guilty verdict.
Q: What is on the horizon for Kathryn Casey?
KC: I have a third Sarah Armstrong novel, The Killing Storm, coming out on October 26th. I’m very excited about the book. I love this character. Sarah is a Texas Ranger/profiler, a single mom. Since inventing her, I’ve put that poor woman through hell. In the first book, Singularity, she tracked a serial killer. In the second, Blood Lines, she was charged with saving a teen pop star from a perverse and deadly stalker, and in The Killing Storm, Sarah will have to fight
her way through a hurricane to save the life of an innocent child.
Q: Do you have a blog?
KC: I have one associated with my Web site, www.kathryncasey.com, where I occasionally write about what I’m doing, a little bit about my personal life and writing. I’m also proud to say that I’m one of the founders of Women in Crime Ink.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell WCI readers?
KC: I’d like to thank everyone who reads my books, especially those who recommend them to others. Word of mouth is truly the best way to spread the word. Thanks all of you! Please keep reading: I really do enjoy the writing!
One thing, though, is obvious throughout: Pendergast is a formidable prosecutor. The Detroit Free Press ran a profile of her with the headline: "Born to Prosecute," noting that her father was a 40-year veteran police officer. In the article, Swickard wrote: "Defendants can hear a cell door's cold clank when she enters the courtroom."
When I hear those criticisms, I admit that I sometimes get a bit tongue-tied trying to explain why I write true crime. So I was particularly pleased when a reader sent me a recent e-mail. Her name is Meredith Appel, and she contacted me about my first book, The Rapist's Wife, now published under the title: Evil Beside Her. The book explores the case of Linda Bergstrom, a Houston woman who married a shy factory worker with a terrible secret. That's Linda's photo on the right. Lower left is her now ex-husband, James, holding their daughter, Ashley. What you'll note is what a great guy James appears to be in the photo. He's not. James Bergstrom is a very dangerous man.
...I'd written to you once before... when I was reading Evil Beside Her in college. I wanted to let you know more about that... I majored in criminal justice at a small private college, Saint Martin's University, in Washington State. The criminal justice department is expanding to include new types of courses that explore different angles on criminology, and every other semester a course in victimology is offered. The class turned out to be more of a psychology class than anything and even more than that the class was centered on victim impact. More than learning victim statistics, we listened to speakers who had personally survived a crime or were family members of someone who had been victimized.
by Stacy Dittrich
an up close and personal view; look deep into the facts of these cases with true-crime books like “Mommy’s Little Girl,” by WCI’s Diane Fanning and “Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case,” by Diane Dimond. Kathryn Casey’s, “A Descent Into Hell,” and Lisa Cohen’s “After Etan,” are favorites.
members that rarely keep up with crime. If your teen is a die-hard rap-music fan, Cathy Scott’s “The Killing of Tupac Shakur” would be a different twist to an ear-busting CD. If the perpetual macho-man in your household scoffs at girly crimes, my book, “Murder Behind the Badge: True Stories of Cops Who Kill,” would make a great stocking stuffer. A history buff in the family? Laura James' theory that Jesse James' son was a cold blooded killer in "The Love Pirate and the Bandit's Son," will keep them occupied for hours.
Aspiring law students could probably use Andrea Campbell’s “Legal Ease,” and Robin Sax’s “It Happens Every Day: Inside the Life of a Sex Crime DA” and keep them on a shelf close to the computer. Trying to figure out how to help a friend or relative who's suffering her domestic life with a dangerous boyfriend or spouse, or is enduring an abusive relationship? Susan Murphy-Milano’s “Defending Our Lives” or “Moving Out, Moving On” can help. Just make sure you give this gift discretely, where the abuser can't see!
MURDER PROSECUTOR
FORENSICS SPECIALIST
WELCOME TO THE INK WELL: Women in Crime Ink's reservoir for story ideas and general commentary.
Keep this space filled with your thoughts so contributors can dip their cyber quills into whatever crime or media issues interest you.
The Ink Well will on occasion host live chats with crime authors promoting their books.
