Murder In Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer - Hardcover

Fuhrman, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060194375 ISBN 13: 9780060194376

Publisher: Cliff Street Books/HarperCollins, 2001

Synopsis

A gripping investigation of a serial killer's spree by the author of the New York Times bestsellers Murder in Brentwood and Murder in Greenwich.

On August 26, 1997, the bodies of Jennifer Joseph and Heather Hernandez were found dumped in separate places in Spokane, Washington. In the following months, another eight bodies were discovered, all of them those of drug addicts and prostitutes who had worked Spokane's red-light district.

The police wouldn't even use the term "serial killer." The local media and town leaders also stayed quiet. As long as the victims came from the wrong side of town, "respectable" Spokane didn't seem too worried that a brutal psychopath was in their midst and that as many as eighteen women were dead by his hand.

Enter Mark Fuhrman.

A brilliant investigator, Fuhrman helped authorities bring charges against a well-connected suspect when his bestselling book Murder in Greenwich spawned a Connecticut grand jury investigation of the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley. After moving to Idaho, he began appearing as a guest host on a Spokane radio talk show and quickly found himself at the center of another high-profile murder case.

Written in the same fast-paced style as Murder in Brentwood and Murder in Greenwich, this is a shocking account of Fuhrman's investigation of the prostitutes' deaths as he worked alongside the Spokane Task Force.

The serial killer preyed on prostitutes with drug problems. He intentionally selected street people, who would not be missed right away, often women who were new to town. The police seemingly put these murders on the back burner because the victims did not stir up public sentiment. Only after the serial killer began to play with the police -- planting bodies for attention and escalating the murders -- did intense effort go into the case.

Though the understaffed police force did catch the killer, Fuhrman shows that their reliance on computers and on DNA test results from everyone they interviewed was slower than doing old-fashioned gumshoe detective work. With the clues they had, Fuhrman writes, the police could have made the arrest two years earlier -- saving the lives of at least nine women.

With the expertise of a seasoned investigator and an exceptional writer, Fuhrman takes you inside the mind of a detective pursuing the most dangerous criminal on the streetsa serial killer.

About this title

Review:

A serial killer is the most elusive prey a homicide detective ever tries to catch. Cunning and obsessed, the serial killer is a psychopath who gets better at what he does each time he kills and learns how to dominate and control not only his victims, but the police, the media, and the public. But in the city of Spokane, Washington, as many as 10 prostitutes had been murdered and dumped in public places over the course of a decade without the public, the local media, or the police force even raising an eyebrow. Then, in August of 1997, two bodies were discovered in separate locations on the same day, and finally the city--with the coaxing of detective turned radio talk-show host Mark Fuhrman--had to take notice.

Fuhrman, whose name became infamous during the trial of O.J. Simpson, is a man who cannot leave detective work behind despite having left the police force. The Spokane murders took place a mere 90 miles from his home, and soon he was a regular on a local talk show, analyzing the police task force, the evidence, and the killer, and working the case as if it were his own. Fuhrman takes the reader into the mind of a serial killer as he mulls over the meaning of the bodies found the day after Christmas, the plastic bags over the victims' heads, their missing socks and shoes. Meanwhile, the insular and tight-lipped police task force ignores important clues while more women disappear and then turn up brutally murdered. While there is no secret to how this story turns out, Fuhrman's take on the investigation is hard-hitting, and his portrayal of serial killers destroys any mystique they may have. With this third book, Fuhrman firmly establishes himself as both a sharp detective and a very capable crime writer, with the ability to shed light on the dark world of murder and the law, and a commitment to tell the truth whatever the consequences. --Lesley Reed

About the Author:

Retired LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman is the New York Times bestselling author of Murder in Brentwood, Murder in Greenwich, Murder in Spokane, and Death and Justice. He lives in Idaho.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cliff Street Books/HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060194375
• ISBN 13: 9780060194376
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304