MURDER IN SPOKANE Catching a Serial Killer

Hardback. 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 8 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 18 women were dead by his hand. An investigator, the author 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 centre of another high-profile murder case. This is a shocking account of the author'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, the author shows that their reliance on computers and on DNA test results from everyone they interviewed was detective work. With the clues they had, the author writes, the police could have made the arrest 2yrs earlier - saving the lives of at least 9 women. Featuring Robert Yates. With Epilogue, Time Line and Index. 292pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Review copy with loosely inserted slip. F. in Nr. F. dw.