FAMILY BLOOD The True Story of the Yom Kippur Murders: One Family's Greed, Love, and Rage

Hardback. Gerald Woodman, an Englishman and an orthodox Jew, went to America penniless and hungry for the good life just before World War II. He soon married Vera Covel and, backed by her wealthy father, started a succession of businesses. By 1980 he had gained and lost two fortunes and had built his plastic business into an international cash cow that supported his large extended family in great luxury. But on Yom Kippur 1985, Gerald and Vera were brutally murdered. When police asked relatives if the Woodmans had any enemies, Vera's bereaved sister replied, "Yes, their sons." The authors follow the investigation of these murders and reveal a story of the American Dream gone wrong. Behind his charm and careful façade of religious piety and filial warmth, Gerald was a ruthless, amoral businessman, a philandering husband, a ferociously abusive father, and a compulsive gambler. His sons, Neil and Stewart, inherited both his charm and business principles. After Gerald suffered a heart attack, he turned day-to-day business matters over to Neil and Stewart, who quickly forced him out of the company, causing the family to split into bitter factions. When a series of greedy blunders led the brothers to the brink of financial ruin, they hired a gang of Las Vegas thugs to murder their parents, Vera for her insurance money and Gerald for a lifetime of abuse - and because they couldn't allow him to behold the failure he had so often predicted. This is the riveting story of the hidden dynamics of an outwardly successful American family that came to a shocking and violent end. Illus. + Map and Epilogue. 320pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Lightly browned pp. o/w Vg+ in Vg+ dw.