In the Wake of the Butcher : Cleveland's Torso Murders (Ohio)
by James Jessen Badal
List Price:
Our Price: $12.01
You Save: $5.99 (33%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.42 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: James Jessen BadalEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-04-01
ISBN: 0873386892
Number of pages: 255
Publisher: Kent State University Press
Book Reviews of In the Wake of the Butcher : Cleveland's Torso Murders (Ohio)
Book Review: Excellent and Riveting! Not for the Squeamish!
Summary: 5 Stars
Look if you get easily squeamish or turned off by the horror of the torso murders in Cleveland also known as the Kingsbury Run Murders, don't read or look at this book. But if you are like me, I like reading true crime no matter how disgusting or shocking as it is. I'm glad the author does use real photos that are quite shocking to those who get squeamish. The writing is excellent because it's detailed and thorough. I like true crime writers who allow us to know everything that the police or authorities know of the crimes. These crimes not only were more similar to the Jack the Ripper case in London but they were far worse because they were more victims in this case that were not as desirable as the Black Dahlia or as interesting as Jack the Ripper. There were victims but they were likely poor, desperate, vagrants, transients, blue collar workers, people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. We still don't know who did these crimes and we'll never really know. DNA and forensics paled back then. I felt bad for Elliot Ness who took charge but never solved the crimes as did other police officers who fought to find this monster who enjoyed decaptitating his victims while they were still alive. It must have been a butcher obsessed with people as well as animals. This book is well-worth the purchase because of all the details. I'm sure there were a lot more but it would be too technical etc. This book by James Jessen Badal who I don't recall as being a true crime author has done a fantastic and brilliant job in his first true crime book about the Cleveland's Kingsbury Run murders. The pictures are spread out rather than in certain pages in the book. Anyway, I hope he writes about other true crime cases in the Cleveland area. Maybe the Sam Sheppard case. Just a suggestion!
Summary of In the Wake of the Butcher : Cleveland's Torso Murders (Ohio)
On September 5, 1934, Frank LaGassie made a gruesome discovery. Partially buried was the lower half of a woman's torso, legs amputated at the knees. This "Lady of the Lake," as she was dubbed by the police and the press, was the first in a terrifying series of decapitation murders that haunted Cleveland for the next few years.From 1934 to 1938, the "Torso Killer" left the corpses of a least twelve victims in and around the Kingsbury Run area of Cleveland. A frightened city turned to its safety director, the legendary Eliot Ness, who focused more energy and manpower on this investigation that any previous police action in Cleveland. But the killer was never arrested, or even officially identified.
In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders is the first detailed, book-length examination of these horrific crimes. This compelling account is based on police reports, autopsy protocols, personal interviews with the descendants of victims and investigators, and unpublished manuscripts.
Illustrated with maps, rare crime scene and morgue photographs, and newspaper photos, this carefully researched true crime study offers a detailed account of one of the most sensational unsolved murder cases in the nation's history.
Murder & Mayhem Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Murder & Mayhem Books
The Soul of a Copby Paul Ragonese, Berry Stainback
St Martins Mass Market Paper; Published: 1992-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.90
Who Named the Knife: A True Story of Murder and Memoryby Linda Spalding
Anchor; Published: 2008-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.83
Price in other shops:
Murder, Inc.: The Story Of The Syndicateby Burton B. Turkus, Sid Feder
Da Capo Press; Published: 2003-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.14
Price in other shops:
Protecting Your Life, Home, and Property: A Cop Shows You Howby Robert L. Snow
Plenum Pr; Published: 1995-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.47
Price in other shops:
Victims: THE LDS CHURCH AND THE MARK HOFMANN CASEby Richard E. Turley
University of Illinois Press; Published: 1992-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.58
Price in other shops:
The Serpent's Toothby Christopher P. Andersen
Harpercollins; Published: 1987-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.01
Price in other shops:
American Taboo: A Murder in the Peace Corpsby Philip Weiss
Harper; Published: 2004-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.39
Price in other shops:
The Invention of Murderby Judith Flanders
Harper; Published: 2011; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.85
The Enforcer: Johnny "Pops" Papalia: A Life and Death in the MafiaHarperCollins Publishers; Paperback; Book
Best price: $159.82
Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Executionby James L. Swanson, Daniel Weinberg
William Morrow; Published: 2006-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.13
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killerby Steven Nickel
John F Blair Pub; Published: 1989-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.96
Price in other shops:
Twilight of Innocence: The Disappearance of Beverly Potts (True Crime (Kent State University Press))by James Jessen Badal
Kent State University Press; Published: 2005-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Ohio & Its Peopleby George W. Knepper
Kent State University Press; Published: 1989-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $56.00
Though Murder Has No Tongue: The Lost Victim of Cleveland's Mad Butcher (True Crime History Series)by James Jessen Badal
Kent State University Press; Published: 2010-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
A Country Between: The Upper Ohio Valley and Its Peoples, 1724-1774by Michael N. McConnell
University of Nebraska Press; Published: 1992-07-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.00
Price in other shops:
Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbolby Nell Irvin Painter
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1997-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Ohio and Its Peopleby George W. Knepper
Kent State University Press; Published: 2003-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.19
Price in other shops:
Steeltown U.S.A.: Work and Memory in Youngstown (Culture America)by Sherry Lee Linkon, John Russo
University Press of Kansas; Published: 2003-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.23
Price in other shops:
The Fourteenth Victim - Eliot Ness and the Torso MurdersRelease date: 2006-03-01; DVD
Best price: $15.95
Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killerby Steven Nickel
John F. Blair Publisher; Published: 2001-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops: