Category crime and punishment
Arrest in the Stockton Serial Killer Case
Stockton Police made a dramatic arrest in the case that plagued the city in recent weeks. On October 15th, Wesley Brownlee was taken into custody while authorities believe he was out hunting for another victim in the central California city. The city of Stockton is not unfamiliar with gun crime and homicide. The city of […]
The Lockdown Continues : Lessons From Behind the Wall
Extended lockdowns like the six-month slog we’re going through can take a toll if you’re not prepared. As we talked about in March when the COVID lockdown orders were popping off across the country, a little prison wisdom can help ease the pain of long-term confinement. In prison, when the place comes off lockdown, it’s […]
Surviving the Virus Lockdown: Lessons From Behind the Wall
So, here we are, a month into our shelter-at-home exile from society. The virus, or more accurately, the response to it, has been difficult for some folks to wrap their heads around. One particular group seems to have coped exceptionally well during this isolation and quarantine — the convict. Shelter-in-place orders and doing time have […]
California’s Recently Uncovered Serial Killer
Serial killers are creatures of habit. It’s part of what often keeps them undetected for years. That same habit, often turns into a pattern, and patterns are a serial killer hunter’s best friend. Patterns helped to unmask the Golden State KiIler, Joseph DeAngelo, Jr, and the Toolbox Killers, Bittiker and Norris. These killers sought specific […]
Serial Killer Pair–Bittaker and Norris
On December 16, 2019, an inmate housed on condemned row at San Quentin State Prison died while awaiting execution. Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, known as one of the “Tool Box Killers” was sentenced to death in March of 1981 the kidnapping, murder and sexual assault of five young women. Bittaker and his crime partner, Roy Norris […]
Sacramento Serial Killer — Profile of a Second Chance
Digging around in Sacramento’s history isn’t for the faint of heart. The Gold Rush town was lawless and bloody with a reputation for quick frontier justice. Yet on a few occasions, the hand of mercy reached out and offered a second chance to a killer. Ida Brewer was a sex worker in the 1850’s who […]
Sacramento Serial Killer – Ted Kaczynksi
Depending on the definition used, a serial killer is one who murders two or more victims, in separate instances (FBI Serial Murder Symposium – 2005). Theodore “Ted” Kaczynksi meets this standard as a serial killer in the classic sense–three victims were killed during his sixteen bomb, seventeen-year long domestic terror campaign as the Unabomber. One […]
Killer Mom
Sacramento has experienced more than its share of notorious murders and serial killers. This one often slips under the radar, but is one of the most brutal cases I’ve come across. I’m always amazed by the media interviews after a murderer is discovered living next door. It’s always some form of, “He was such a […]
Sacramento Unsolved
Another year gone and another silent anniversary without answers. Twenty-eight years have passed since the 1991 slaying of an entire family in the upscale Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento. On January 15, 1991, Marcy Jacobs didn’t show up to work as a data processing technician at the Department of Justice. A concerned co-worker called the […]
SHU Basics for the Crime Writer
Recently, I attended ThrillerFest in New York and the Public Safety Writers Association Conference in Las Vegas. Both great venues for talking the craft of writing and picking up a few tips on making your crime fiction true to life. During conversations at both of these very different gatherings, the topic of solitary confinement and […]
James L'Etoile
James L'Etoile 