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9.
AOTW: How helpful (or hurtful) to your work have you found the law enforcement personnel who actually worked on the case? What about families of both the criminal and the victim?
Susan Kelly: When I researched the Strangler book the law enforcement people I spoke to --- and there were many --- were enormously helpful, mostly because none of them thought Albert DeSalvo was the Strangler. A lot of them told me they were eager to see the truth come to light. I can say the same of Albert DeSalvo's family, who were always convinced of his innocence.
Gretchen Brinck: I approached the victims’ families before going forward with The Boy Next Door. I made it clear that I intended to focus as much on their experiences as on portraying the murderer and the investigators. None of the families was hostile, though I needed to tread softly with one mother whose grief remained acute. Several family members of victims later told me my interviews were like free therapy.
Once I had demonstrated to the police commander that I knew a lot about police methods, criminal profiling and violent crime and that I felt the department ultimately did an amazing job on this very difficult case, the police were great. They gave me a desk where I was allowed to read the many volumes of records, helped me obtain photos of the criminal and gave me many hours of interviews. The same happened with the District Attorney. I did have to defuse one investigator who accused me of “trying to make money out of the victims.” He eased up when I let him know that a percentage of the profits was for missing children's causes.
Michael Fleeman: I've found law enforcement tremendously helpful. As long as you treat them with the respect you'd want in return, and as long as you don't act like they're there for you, rather than the other way around, it isn't usually a problem. Also, it's easier when you get out of the big cities. Las Vegas cops are much easier to deal with than LA cops.
Brian J. Karem: The best experiences I've had working with law enforcement are those investigators who actually work the case. The worst experience I've had working with law enforcement is anyone else. I've had few problems with families as long as you earn and keep their trust.
Burl Barer: Law enforcement personnel have been wonderful, and most helpful. Mike Grimes, former head of the Homicide Response Team in Anchorage was spectacular, as were the other detectives who worked the Anthoney case --- the same goes for Det. Yerbury of the Tacoma Police Department. Now, it may come as a surprise that sometimes the author, by the time he sits down to talk to the detective who worked a case in 1984, knows more about the case than the detective remembers. You cannot, however, write a true crime book from only the perspective of the police and prosecution. The police are the good guys, the only bad guys are the killers but, once the suspect has been arrested, even though we KNOW he or she is going to be found guilty --- this isn’t a mystery, it’s true crime, we know the ending from the get-go --- it is imperative that the focus shift from the investigation to the process of justice.
In America, you are presumed innocent. This is so important! We must assume that the person charged is innocent. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. So, I give us much coverage to the defense as I do the prosecution and this is vital because in Head Shot, two men are convicted of aggravated murder in the first degree in two homicides. One of them, who’s defense was diminished capacity, kills himself by shoving toilet paper down his own throat while alone in his cell following conviction, and the other one, his brother, has his conviction in the second homicide overturned by the State Supreme Court because the conviction hinged upon a rather blatant violation of the United States Constitution besides, he honestly did not participate in the 2nd murder.
The families of the perpetrators have been far more cooperative than the families of the victims --- of course, in Murder in the Family, it was all the same family. So no one was cooperative! In Head Shot, the perpetrators’ families were wonderful. The victims’ families wanted nothing to do with the project as it stirred up too many bad memories.
Don Lasseter: I've had terrific cooperation from law enforcement personnel. In my next book, Body Double, Pinnacle, June 2002, law officers horribly bungled the investigation. Yet, the officers I interviewed were frank, helpful, and friendly. And I've felt quite close to victims' families, sometimes socializing with them. I usually don't have much contact with families of killers, unless, when they learn I'm writing a book about the case, they volunteer to be interviewed. That seldom happens.
Irene Pence: I have seen the full spectrum of responses from the law enforcement community. The PR people are very helpful, but some of the investigators are reluctant to cooperate, being hesitant to talk with someone they perceive as the media. Then others have called me back when they thought of additional information I might want to know. Overall, I've found them cooperative and most have posed for photos for the book. The criminal's families are most difficult to talk with. For the most part, they don't want a book to be written.
Sue Russell: After the fact, law enforcement is generally very helpful and open to talking about the work. During an active case, the reactions to interview requests are more mixed. That's understandable. With family members, it's always delicate. You need to establish a rapport and sense of trust. Sometimes you hit a brick wall but often the players have a real need to be heard. Obviously, that's what you hope for. Afterwards, some interviewees say that they feel as if they've been in therapy. It can be cathartic.
Robert Scott: I've had better luck with friends and family of the perpetrators than with those of the victims. Mainly because I don't want to pry too deeply into what is for them a wound that will never heal. A couple of ex-wives of killers have been very forthcoming. And most law enforcement agencies I've worked with have been very helpful. I'm straight with them about what kind of story I will tell.
One of the most unusual interviews I ever conducted was with Monsignor Edward Kavanagh concerning kidnaper and alleged murderer, Michelle Michaud. I knew about her depredations, but here was a man who told me about her love for her son and her volunteering spirit. The same woman who would kidnap and molest children, had once helped them. He showed me the dichotomy of this woman who was a prostitute and an altar girl.
Carlton Smith: It varies. Some law enforcement personnel recognize that their job is to help explain what has happened to the public at large. Others are afraid to expose their own efforts to the light of outside criticism. Again, it depends on the character of the individual. Some families find relief in talking about the traumatic events, others do not. Some wish to explain things, others want to try to forget. I make it a practice to invite the accused to answer questions, but in most cases their lawyers advise against consenting to interviews. I have had contact, however, with a variety of imprisoned perpetrators after publication, most of whom are complimentary on my treatment of their case.
Dina Temple-Raston: I didn't get much help from the Byrd family. They wanted full editorial review of whatever I wrote in return for their help and I wasn't willing to provide that. They also insisted on some portion of my profits, I didn't think that was a good idea either. So I worked around them. Ronald King, Bill King's dad, was a little reticent, particularly as more journalists came to interview him, but he was fairly helpful to me. Sheriff Billy Rowles, District Attorney Guy James Gray, Defense Attorney Sonny Cribbs and Police Chief Harlon Alexander were all very, very generous with their time.
Carlton Stowers: I've been quite fortunate in the cooperation of law enforcement as well as family members and friends as I've researched my books.
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