Update: Parole Denied

by Kathryn Casey

A while back, I posted on WCI asking everyone to send e-mails and letters to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) recommending that parole be denied for James Edward Bergstrom, the sexual predator/ psychopath in my first book, The Rapist's Wife, reissued in 2008 under a new title: Evil Beside Her. I'd like to extend my appreciation for all those who followed through.

I went to my post office box today and found a letter from TDCJ dated June 11. It informed me that Bergstrom, who is serving four 99-year sentences for sexual assault, was denied parole. For at least the next three years, we're all safe from Bergstrom, who was obsessed with the urge to stalk and assault women. His career as a sexual predator began as a teenager, when he molested a young girl, and continued on in Washington State, while he was in the navy. It was there that he committed his first rape. During his two years in Houston, Bergstrom, by his own estimation, attacked 35 women. He carried a gun and a knife, tied his victims down, and threatened to kill his last victim, a high school student.

While his parole denial is good news, it's not the end of our need for vigilance. Bergstrom will be eligible again much too soon, in June 2013. So in three more years, I'll ask for your help again, to keep this monster behind bars. But for now, let's all feel good about our success. And again, to all of you who wrote or emailed: Thank you, more than I can say!