Lethal Ladies:
True Stories of Women Who Kill
"Are You There Alone?": The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates, by Suzanne O'Malley. Simon & Schuster, 2004.
In June, 2001, Andrea Yates drowned all five of her children in her suburban Houston home. The prosecution insisted that it was premediated murder. The Defense argued (unsuccessfully) that Yates was mentally ill at the time. Investigative journalist Suzanne O'Malley, who followed the case from beginning to end and interviewed all of the participants, concludes that had Yates received a proper diagnosis and appropriate medical treatment, the tragedy might have been avoided, and that her conivction for murder was a gross miscarriage of justice.
[364.1523 O'MALLEY]
Bitter Harvest: a Woman’s Fury, a Mother’s Sacrifice, by Ann Rule. Simon & Schuster, c.1997.
The true story of Dr. Debora Green, a woman who seemed to have it all with a marriage to a successful physician, three beautiful children, and a lavish house in a Kansas City suburb. But when a deadly fire claims the life of two of their children, investigators begin to unveil a deadly tale of deception and desperation.
[364.1523 RULE]
The Confessions of an American Black Widow: a True Story of Greed, Lust, and a Murderous Wife, by Gregg Olsen. St. Martin’s Paperbacks, c1998.
Sharon Nelson had her boyfriend Gary Adams murder two of her three husbands, one in 1983 and another time in 1988. Nelson is portrayed as a brash, trash, manipulative sexpot who believed she was entitled to anything she wanted , right down to her anything but contrite confession to police.
[364.1523 OLSEN]
Dead End: The Crime Story of the Decade--Murder, Incest & High-Tech Thievery. M. Evans, 2002.
The story of the mother and son grifters, Sante and Kenneth Kimes, whose long crime spree finally came to an end when they were convicted of killing New York socialite Irene Silverman.
[364.1523 Kimes K]
Deadly White Female, by Clifford L. Linedecker. St. Martin’s Paperbacks, c1994.
When beautiful blonde Johnnie Miller answers Roger Paulsen’s personal ad, he can not believe his luck. His luck changes, however, when he realizes his new love is a hardened criminal and promptly turns her in to the authorities. When Johnnie is freed on bail, she exacts her deadly revenge on Roger.
[364.1523 LINEDECKER]
Death Benefit: a Lawyer Uncovers a Twenty-year Pattern of Seduction, Arson, And Murder, by David Heilbroner and Steven Keeney. Harmony Books, c1993.
When Deanna Roberts falls to her death along the Big Sur coast of California, her mother Bobbie Jo enlists the advice of a corporate lawyer to help uncover why her insurance company would not pay the proceeds of her daughter’s life insurance policy. A scandal is soon uncovered involving Deanna’s traveling companion, Virginia McGinnis, and how this woman has avoided suspicion for more than 30 years for crimes from shoplifting and forgery, to the murder of her own mother and three year old daughter.
[364.1523 HEILBRONER]
Death Sentence: the True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life,
Crimes and Execution, by Jerry Bledsoe. Dutton, c1998.
The story of Velma Barfield, who was convicted of fatally poisoning her fiancé and later admitting to the deaths of three others, including her own mother. Also narrates her circuitous path to execution, including various appeals, a grassroots movement to prevent her death, and recollections of childhood abuse that she claimed drove her to perform murderous crimes.
[364.1523 BLEDSOE]
Early Graves: The Shocking True-Crime Story of the Youngest Woman Ever Sentenced to Death Row, by Thomas H. Cook. Dutton, c1990.
Narrates the true crime account of eighteen year old convicted killer Judith Neelley and her twenty nine year old husband Alvin Neelley. While on their travels through the Alabama region, Judith and Alvin kidnapped and tortured at least two young girls. After being convicted, Judith became the youngest female to be sentenced to death in this country.
[364.1523 COOK]
Goodbye, My Little Ones: The True Story of a Murderous Mother and Five Innocent Victims, by Charles Hickey, Todd Lighty, and John O’Brien. Onyx, c1996.
The story of Waneta Hoyt, the object of heartfelt sympathy from her husband, her family, and her friends, for the loss of her five children, who a famed medical expert declared had all died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It isn’t until years later that Waneta confesses that she herself killed all five of her infant children, after District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick sets out to convict Waneta Hoyt and to disprove the doctor who insisted the babies died of SIDS.
[ 364.1523 HICKEY]
Heart Full of Lies: a True Story of Desire and Death, by Ann
Rule. Free Press, c2003.
The true story of Liysa and Chris Northon, a couple who seems to have the perfect marriage but slowly deteriorates into tragedy when Chris is found dead at a deserted campsite. Questions quickly arise to make detectives suspicious of Liysa; however it will take months to find out what truly takes place on that tragic night.
[364.1523 RULE]
Murder Most Rare: The Female Serial Killer, by Michael D. Kelleher and C.L. Kelleher. Praeger, c1998.
Profiles the cases of nearly 100 killer females since the year 1900 and also divides these female mass murderers into eight departments, including Black Widows, Angels of Death, and Team Killers. Focuses on fact-telling rather than sensationalizing violent crime.
[364.1523 KELLEHER]
Small Sacrifices: a True Story of Passion and Murder, by Ann Rule. New American Library, c1987.
The true story of Diane Downs, an Oregon woman convicted of shooting her three children in cold blood. Author and ex-policewoman Ann Rule delves into the aberrant personality and past of Downs, which includes an abusive childhood with a cold, domineering father, a rape by a former boss, and a failed marriage.
[364.1523 RULE]
The Trials of Maria Barbella: The True Story of a 19th Century Crime of Passion, by Idanna Pucci: translated by Stefania Fumo. Four Walls Eight Windows, c1996.
In 1895, Marie Barbella was convicted of killing her abusive lover because he refused to marry her and became the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair.
[364.1523 PUCCI]
When she Was Bad: Violent Women and the Myth of Innocence, by
Patricia Pearson. Viking, c1997.
Using true-life examples and court proceedings, female journalist Patricia Pearson points out that women commit the majority of crimes involving child abuse and that there has been a 200 percent increase in crimes committed by women at a time when most crime statistics are dropping. This book explodes the myth that women are only involved in violence as victims.
[303.6082 PEARSON]
Women Who Kill: Profiles of Female Serial Killers, by Carol Anne Davis. Allison & Busby, Ltd., c2001.
Author Carol Anne Davis profiles fourteen women serial killers, including Aileen Wuornos, Karla Homolka, Carol Bundy, and Judith Neelley. Each killer is the subject of a different chapter and explores and analyzes the childhood, lifestyle, and subsequent trials and imprisonment of each.
[364.1523 DAVIS]
Bibliography by Donna Mazovec
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