Hey Crime Lovers,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Shocking True Crime Stories and Crime Fiction Newsletter, straight from the twisted mind of yours truly, Rod Kackley. Buckle up because we're about to dive into the darkest corners of humanity, where reality is stranger (and often scarier) than fiction.
In this edition, I've rustled up three spine-chilling WTF! Shocking True Crime stories that'll make your hair stand on end. Prepare to be shocked, appalled, and maybe even a little bit intrigued.
But wait, there's more! Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in the mind of a crime fiction author?
Well, wonder no more because I'm dishing out an exclusive update on what I'm currently penning. Get ready to sneak a peek into the twisted labyrinth of my imagination as I spill the beans on my latest literary endeavors. Spoiler alert: things are about to get seriously twisted.
And because I'm feeling extra generous (or maybe just a tad bit reckless), I've got a special promotion cooked up just for you, my loyal readers. Trust me, you won't want to miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity. I was practically invented for this kind of madness, so you know it's going to be good.
So, whether you're a true crime aficionado or a die-hard fan of crime fiction, this newsletter has got something for everyone. Just remember to keep your doors locked and your lights on because once you start reading, there's no turning back.
Let’s get started! Here are some off the wildest WTF Shocking True Crime Stories of the week!
“Moving a body is much more difficult than it looks on TV.” That’s just one of her journal entries that led to the conviction of a former primary school teacher in Great Britain for the murder of her now-dead boyfriend.
Northampton police say Fiona Beal pleaded guilty to the murder of Nick Billingham, Friday, April 26, 2024. Fiona admitted she killed Nick and then she buried the poor guy in the couple’s garden.
This is really twisted! In that journal, Beal took on a new personality, identifying herself as “Tulip 22,” someone that was “capable of wholly different and darker conduct than her public persona of a committed teacher and parent,” according to the prosecutor.
Hugh Davies KC, prosecuting attorney, also told the jury in his opening statement that “ultimately and unambiguously the evidence establishes that she had thought about it before and planned it. This was a controlled exercise: not a spontaneous reaction but, rather, a chilling execution.”
So...how’d Fiona do it?
Well, not to put too fine a point on it, Davies also said, “...she had purchased a forged handled utility knife in the days before. She had a chisel and cable ties.
“Promising sex after a bath, she stabbed him in the neck when he was wearing a sleep mask and was probably cabled-tied on their bed.”
WTF!!!!
Sentencing is expected in May, and Fiona, under British law, is looking at no less than life in prison.
Ready for another WTF! Shocking True Crime Story?
A suspected serial killer, identified only as, “Miguel,” has been bound over for trial in Mexico City.
He may have killed at least six women over the past ten years.
Police said, on April 19, they found the remains of as many as six women in several hotel rooms Miguel rented such as skulls and blood, along with cell phones and ID cards, belonging to missing women. And, oh yeah, there was also a saw in one of the rooms.
WTF!!!
Okay. Here's one more!
And finally, we go to Duxbury, Massachusetts, where 22-year-old Jack Callahan is facing trial for allegedly drowning his father in a pond.
Why?
Well, Jack figured his dad, Scott, was possessed by something evil that went by the name of “Demon Dan,” and the only way to free his father from that terrible burden was to repeatedly dunk his head under water. WHAT ELSE WAS HE GOING TO DO!?!
So, Jack gets into an Uber car with his father and drives off to a pond.
Didn’t stop dunking his dad until Scott stopped struggling. No more Demon Dan...
WTF!!!
What’s new with me? Glad you asked!
My most recent Shocking True Crime Story is “The Murder of Vera Lotito.” It’s a case that enthralled New Yorkers in one of my favorite time periods in history, the late 1940s.
New York got into this story so much that newspaper headliner writers only had to use Vera’s first name. Kind of like Madonna or Cher in our time
Why the fascination with a woman New York had never heard of?
Imagine this: It’s March 1948, when, suddenly, the once-blissful marriage of Robert and Vera Lotito takes a nightmarish turn.
Robert’s been calling his wife, Vera, all day from his office. She never picks up.
Finally, he runs home A chilling discovery awaits Robert in the confines of their apartment – Vera, his bride of four months, lies lifeless on the floor, a tableau of horror painted in her own blood. Bound, gagged, and garroted with neckties, the brutality hints at a crime of passion, a murder driven by an unfathomable vendetta.
As the city's medical examiner deems it a crime born of deep-seated rage, the New York Police Department descends, eyes trained on Robert as the prime suspect. Did he, in a fit of fury, snuff out the life of the woman he vowed to cherish? Or did Vera's tangled web of secrets and debts lead her into a deadly confrontation?
What’s next?
Honestly, I sometimes tire of clouding the stories with facts, so, I shift my brain into a fiction mode. Right now, I am concentrating on the first draft of a crime novel with a working title of “The Murder of Marguerite.”
Here’s the idea: People are dropping like flies at a senior citizen retirement community, The Oakwood. Now, it’s not unusual for old people to die. Let's face it. We all have an expiration date.
But something is amiss at The Oakwood, and Scarlett Gauthier, the police detective who solved “The Murder of Emma Brown,” is called upon to find who is responsible for “The Murder of Marguerite” and the other oldsters who wind up lying on cold metal tables waiting to be sliced, sawed and diced.
When “The Murder of Marguerite” is finished, you’ll be the first to know. Promise.
Finally, there is this: I know you love true crime. You can never get enough of it, so I want to make sure you know about something special that is going to happen May 16.
Until next time, keeping reading, and never take care...go out and have an adventure!!! And don't forget the coffee!
As always...
Writing to live, and living to write in the one and only city of Kalamazoo, Michigan....
Rod