When Innocence Is Not Enough

Julie and Joel

by Diane Fanning

If your child were murdered and you were charged with committing that homicide but you knew you were not the perpetrator, how do you cope with knowing that your innocence simply was not enough to pull you out of the vortex of a criminal justice system operating in an alternative reality?

Can you imagine anything worse ever happening to a parent?  I can't.

It is what happened to Julie Rea after the murder of her ten-year-old son Joel Kirkpatrick.  She described the intruder in her home.  She suffered injuries that the emergency room doctor said could not have been self-inflicted.  She passed lie detector test.  Law enforcement did not believe her. 

Represented by an inexperienced, court-appointed attorney, she was convicted and sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Initially, I did not believe her, either.  I did not place any credibility in what was said by Julie, her friends, her family or her attorneys.   Then, I heard the prosecutor speak.  He said that there were no stranger fingerprints in the house; that no stranger would come into the house to kill a child; that the violence of the crime proved the perpetrator was someone very close to the child; and that a person does not come into someone's home without a weapon and pull a knife out of the kitchen drawer and use it to kill.

That's when I knew Julie Rea might not be guilty because I'd been interviewing serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells for my book Through the Window.  He did all those things at crime scenes.  I didn't suspect him then but thought someone just like him could have committed the crime. 

When I wrote to Sells about what the ridiculous things the prosecutor said, without any details of names, places or dates, he wrote back asking if the crime was committed a couple days before his murder of Stephanie Mahaney in Springfield, Missouri--maybe on the 13th.  That was how his confession began.  Still, I was skeptical until Bill Clutter, investigator for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project, found corroborating testimony in the town of Lawrenceville, Illinois.



Julie Rea and Diane Fanning

From that moment on, I was convinced and was determined to do what I could to help find justice for Julie Rea.  The Center for Wrongful Convictions and an extraordinary Chicago defense attorney, Ron Safer, became involved.  Julie got a new trial and was acquitted of the crime.  Just last month, she received a Certificate of Actual Innocence from the State of Illinois. Julie handed me the Defender of the Innocent Award from the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project--definitely the highlight of my career as a crime writer.

Whenever anyone maligns the True Crime genre or is dismissive of my writing, I will always think of Julie and the role my book played in her tragic story.  It is just one example of why I think the genre makes a significant contribution and why I feel compelled to keep writing it.

But still something was missing and that was Justice for Joel.  After his murder, if the sheriff's office would have paid any attention to reports of a suspicious stranger in town, maybe deputies could have found Tommy Lynn Sells before he killed again.  But, instead, they myopically focused on proving Julie's guilt, hid some evidence from the defense and ignored anything that did not fit their theory of the case.

Today, even though the state has completely exonerated Julie Rea, the State's Attorney's Office refuses to investigate further--refuses to find Justice for Joel.

This Sunday night, on the Investigation Discovery channel, at 10 pm Eastern, On the Case with Paula Zahn presents A Mother's Nightmare, the story of Julie Rea, her son Joel and the many people including me, who stood up to find Justice for Julie and Joel.

Throughout the trial of Casey Anthony, Diane Fanning, author of Mommy's Little Girl, writes daily about the the pursuit of Justice for Caylee Anthony on her blog, Writing Is a Crime.

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Interview with Diane Fanning, Author of Casey Anthony Book

As the jury selection in the Casey Anthony trial came to a screeching halt this week, WCI's own Diane Fanning sat down with us for a question-and-answer session. Diane authored Mommy's Little Girl, a critically acclaimed, serious look into the disappearance of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony. When court adjourned May 18 in the midst of jury selection, Diane shared her insights about the murder that grabbed the nation's attention as Caylee's mother Casey was charged with the death of her little girl.

Q: Diane, what's your take on the difficulty in seating jurors in this case?

DF: The latest is that Judge Belvin Perry suspended jury selection at lunch time on Wednesday, May 18. Many in the jury pool say she's guilty. One potential juror was released because he posted on Facebook that he was writing a book; another, because she admitted watching Nancy Grace's daily TV [case] coverage. 

The Casey Anthony case has received more pre-trial publicity than any case, including the O.J. Simpson trial. Surprisingly, though, Mommy's Little Girl has been the only book published on this case. This widespread publicity has made it difficult to find jurors who have not already reached a conclusion in this case. I think the judge would have had a bit easier time if he had paid attention to the media survey that showed the least media coverage in the state was in the Pensacola area. I think he made a mistake going just 100 miles away in Clearwater for the jury panel.

Q: Do you think the media attention in this case has tainted potential jurors?
 

DF: I think it has had an impact on some, but it is still possible to find people who have not been as absorbed in this case and are still capable of making a decision based on the information presented in the courtroom. Personally, if I were on Casey's defense team, I would challenge strongly for cause against any juror who has read my book.

Q: A cottage industry -- mostly T-shirts with a variety of sayings, good and bad, key chains, coffee mugs -- has exploded. Have you seen anything like this before?

DF: Certainly not to this extent. The products started coming out within a month after Caylee was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony. Early products included voodoo dolls with Casey's face on them. Now they are everywhere. The two most common you see are ones that say "Justice for Caylee" and others with "Casey Did It." If I were Casey's parent, I would not be bothered by the former, but I would by the latter.  For some reason, though, it is the "Justice for Caylee" merchandise that has raised the Caseys' ire and legal action.

Q: Given your book, Mommy's Little Girl, and your probe, what is the most damning evidence against Casey?

DF: I do not think the jury can ignore Casey's lies or her behavior after Caylee's disappearance. She partied like a single 21-year-old without a care in the world. She never reported her child missing.  Forensically, I think the combination of the testing in the trunk of her car, the anecdotal remarks like the spontaneous utterance of Cindy Anthony ("It smells like a dead body in that car") and the response of the cadaver dogs definitely placed the blame for the death on Casey. The duct tape around Caylee's skull proves murder with malice. Casey's computer searches on ways to kill a child months before Caylee's death seal the premeditation.

Q: As Casey sits through the jury selection process each day, she fusses with her hair, flexes her hands, smiles and jokes with her team of attorneys. What do you make of her behavior?

DF: She is obsessed with herself and she is nervous. Can you imagine sitting in a courtroom looking into the faces of people who say to the court they are capable of sentencing you to death? Casey's stress must be over the top, as well it should be for any guilty person.

Q: Cindy and George lost their granddaughter, but, with the trial and a possible conviction, they face losing their only daughter, should the death penalty be handed down. Do you think that's why they're supporting Casey?
 

DF: They should not abandon their daughter no matter what she has done. But they have gone beyond that by proclaiming her innocence and even obstructing justice when you consider the hair brush incident.  Cindy intentionally gave law enforcement a hair brush that had been used by Caylee and others instead of giving them the one that was Caylee's alone. I think they have adopted the idea that they have lost a granddaughter and now do not want to lose their daughter, too.

Q: Casey refused to see her parents before the jury selection began. Why do you think that is?
 

DF: Only her mother asked for a visit and she did so on the day before Mother's Day.  I think it was heartless to deny that to any mother. But I think the reason Casey did it is because her legal team told her to do so. They knew Casey could not control her temper, could not control her mouth, and was incapable of doing anything during that visit that would not place her in a bad light.

Q: In your in-depth coverage of this case, what was your experience like when dealing with police, private investigators and contacting the family for interviews?

DF: I was knocked into a concrete wall by a member of Jose Baez's entourage. I was threatened by private investigator Dominic Casey. George and Cindy refused to speak to me. The State's Attorney Office was very helpful, and interviews with relatives outside of the immediate family and with friends and neighbors were very worthwhile.

Q: What was the family's response to your book?

A: The family has made no response to the book. I do know from someone who was close to them that they read the book, but I know nothing more. However, I am fairly certain that they did not like it at all.

Thanks, Diane!

Watch for updates about the Anthony case on Diane Fanning's blog, Writing is a Crime, as well as here on WCI.

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MISTAKEN IDENTITY Hits the Stores

by Kathryn Casey

You know Women In Crime Ink’s Diane Fanning best for her ten true crime books, but she also writes fiction novels that have been praised by Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Library Journal. Now, fresh from her overwhelming success with her latest true crime book, MOMMY’S LITTLE GIRL, Diane announces the release of a new novel, MISTAKEN IDENTITY. I wanted to know more about it, so I interviewed the author about her latest publication.

Kathryn Casey: Obviously, since MISTAKEN IDENTITY is the third book in the Lucinda Pierce mystery series, Detective Pierce is the main character of this novel. What other characters from the first two books appear again?

Diane Fanning: A number of them are back: FBI Special Agent Jake Lovett returns, and the attraction between him and Lucinda heats up. Charley Spencer, who is now ten years old, is back interacting with Lucinda, as well as helping out the newly orphaned Freddy Sterling. Lucinda’s siblings, Maggie and Ricky, have expanded roles in this book, revealing more details about their current relationships and their family’s past. Returning in less prominent roles are Charley’s father, Dr. Evan Spencer, Dr. Rambo Burns, Ted and Ellen Branson, Dr. Audrey Ringo, Officer Robin Colter, District Attorney Michael Reed, forensic specialist Marguerite Spellman, defense attorney Stephen Theismann and Lucinda’s supervisor Captain Holland.

KC: Aside from the characters, what are the similarities between MISTAKEN IDENTITY and the other two books in the series?

DF: Each of my books developed a focus on a particular problem in our society. THE TROPHY EXCHANGE explored the cost of domestic violence through the murder of Lucinda’s mother and the suicide of her father, as well as the ugly incidents that impacted her professional life. PUNISH THE DEED looked at people who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions and instead place the blame on others — the most striking example being the serial killer who hunted down the heads of non-profit organizations. MISTAKEN IDENTITY continues in this tradition by taking a look at the damage of childhood scars and the consequences of irresponsible parenting.

KC: Is there anything that makes MISTAKEN IDENTITY different from its predecessors?

DF: Most definitely. In the first two books, Lucinda tracked down serial killers — in each one, the offender had a different motivation and method of operation but still both were homicidal psychopaths with blood lust. In MISTAKEN IDENTITY, the homicides are far more personal. Instead of leaving a string of bodies for Lucinda to connect and follow, this perpetrator leaves a trail of contradictory clues.

KC: Your first two true crime books were about serial killers, too, weren’t they?

DF: You know, until this moment, I hadn’t thought about that, but you are right. I wrote about Tommy Lynn Sells and Richard Marc Evonitz and their strings of murders before turning to the far more personal homicide committed by Michael Peterson in WRITTEN IN BLOOD. I knew writing true crime had provided me with a lot of knowledge and information that helped add to the credibility of my fiction, but I guess writing about real crimes had more of an impact on my fiction than I knew.

KC: What are your plans for the future? Will you be writing true crime or fiction?

DF: Actually, I plan to do both. Fiction it very solitary work that makes me appreciate the places researching true crime takes me, as well as the interaction with people I get from doing interviews and visiting courtrooms. On the other hand, it is a nice escape from reality to write fiction, shape a story the way I want it to go and kill off whoever needs killing without causing any grief to real people.

KC: So what are you working on now?

DF: I have two books in progress. One is a true crime about Raynella Dossett Leath. Her first husband was thought to have died in a cattle stampede. She claimed her second husband’s death was suicide. Now, she has been convicted of the murder of her second husband and is facing trial for killing her first husband. I am also working on a fourth Lucinda Pierce novel. And I need to get both manuscripts completed this year.

KC: My friend, you are going to be busy!

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Diane Fanning and True Crime Facts

by Andrea Campbell

Sometimes the best things are right in front of us. Today I am sharing an interview with our own WCI writer, Diane Fanning. There are some forensic science details, but I thought you might be interested in how a true crime book is created (I know I have always been). Diane is a good friend of mine as well as an interesting writer and person.

Q.: Diane, for WCI readers who don’t know you, please tell us a little about your background.

A.: I’m the author of 10 true crime books and three mystery novels and the editor of an anthology of Texas women writers. One of my true crime books, Written in Blood, was a finalist for an Edgar Allen Poe Award.

I was born and raised in the Baltimore, Maryland, area, moving to Virginia for college. I never left that state until I moved to Texas. I now live in New Braunfels, situated in between Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

Q.: Is it unusual to go to press even if the case has not come to resolution? I thought publishers preferred to go to print after the sentencing phase of the trial.

 A.: It depends on the publisher. Some do, some don’t. Often the verdict or sentencing can be anti-climactic, causing a lower volume of sales. This happens often when the case actually does not go to trial because of a plea bargain. While the story is still on-going, it grabs far more media attention which churns up more interest in a case. But, essentially, it’s the publisher who calls the shots here, not the writer.

Q.: You’ve written quite a few true crime books now. How did you first find the genre as a viable category?

A.: Not until after I got my first contract. I didn’t go after the first true crime book thinking of it as viable or sensible or a good thing for my writing career. I went after that story because I was passionate about it. Ten-year-old Krystal Surles was my new hero, and I simply had to write her story of survival and courage. 
   
Q.: Does it take a lot of gumption to write about crimes that affect many people’s lives, especially the victim’s family? Do you ever get emotionally involved?

A.: Any time you write about real people, you are treading on potentially treacherous ground. I approach each member of a family with respect and assure them that, to me, the victim is the most important person in the story. I ask them to help me to allow my readers to understand the great loss suffered when this person’s life was stolen in an act of violence.

I love it when they share their happy memories with me — the simple stories told with love. But this is the worst time in the life of this family and they cannot always be positive. At those times, I sometimes find myself crying with them.

Q.: How do you begin a true crime book? Please share some of your methodology.

A.: The first thing I do is scan through all the media I can find, looking for the names of the players in the case. Then I plan my approach based on the individual dynamics of each story.

Q.: Your book, Mommy’s Little Girl, is a true crime about what event?

A.: The book concerns the death of little Caylee Anthony shortly before her third birthday, and her mother, Casey Anthony, now charged with her murder.

Q.: In Mommy’s Little Girl, you didn't have access to the principle characters, Casey, Cindy, George or Lee Anthony, yet fully two-thirds of the book is dialogue between these people. Can you speak to that?

A.: The dialogue of these four people is taken directly from official documents or tape recordings or is a re-creation given to me by another person who was present during the conversation. None of it was a product of my imagination. Even when you read what one of them was thinking at a particular point in time, that information was provided by the subject to another person in the story.

 Q.: How did you find out about the forensic science evidence in Florida, and can you tell us what that is for this particular case?

A.: An extensive amount of documents have been released prior to trial because of the Sunshine Law in the state of Florida. More than 9,000 pages have been made public by the State Attorney.

There are items at the location where Caylee’s body was found that link to the Anthony home. Cadaver dogs hit on spots in the family’s back yard and in the car that Casey drove. Air analysis of the car indicated the presence of decomposition and chloroform. Coffin flies were found in the trunk of the car. A forensic analysis of Casey’s computer uncovered suspicious searches.

Q.: When you begin to examine a true crime, how do you approach the various people? Do you try to enter the case without any bias? Is that even possible?  

A.: Essentially, I approach them honestly, telling them upfront that I am writing a book about the case. The approach then differs depending on the individual. Victims’ family members, perpetrators’ family members, law enforcement, attorneys and others all require a different approach that reflects their reason for involvement in the case. I try to enter each and every case without bias because I know that what I read and what the general public believes is not always objective, evidence-based fact — sometimes even the jury can get it wrong.

I have started on some projects thinking the defendant was innocent and changing my mind mid-stream, as I did with the Michael Peterson case when I wrote Written in Blood. I have seen a crime as justifiable until I learned more. Mary Winkler, The Pastor’s Wife, was a case in point there. I thought that she was driven to her acts by brutal abuse by her husband. I came to the conclusion that the abuse was exaggerated and some fabricated after the fact. Matthew was a controlling spouse, but nothing he did was to an extreme that warranted the death penalty. 

Q.: If law enforcement has made mistakes, or even the prosecution for that matter, do you write about that as well? How do you feel about exposing that?

A.: Yes, if I am aware of errors in the investigation or the prosecution, I do point them out. No case is handled perfectly. Some are botched on the law enforcement or prosecution side resulting in an inadequate presentation leading to a lower sentence that is deserved; others result in wrongful convictions. Then there are some errors that are simply mistakes that are insignificant when you view the totality of the evidence.

Q.: Have the people involved ever harassed you? What about readers?

A.: It comes with the territory. Some people are not happy with the verdict in a case and take it out on me. Other readers feel I was too harsh in my portrayal of someone in the book—usually, but not always the perpetrator. But, this is offset by the thank-you notes and pleased e-mails I have received from many members of victims’ families. I also have a copy of one of my books, hand-delivered to me, that contains the signatures of every Texas Ranger in the state.

Q.: You have also written fictional mystery novels. How have you found crossing over genres? Please give a brief synopsis of the titles.

A.: Writing true crime has informed my fiction. Authoring fiction has improved my non-fiction writing. My current fiction focus is on the novels featuring Homicide Detective Lucinda Pierce and is based in Virginia. Pierce faces challenges in her professional and personal lives because of physical and emotional scars. She is tough and self-aware as she fights through the battles of her present and her past.

 Q.: What are your plans for the future?

A.: In general, I would like to continue writing both fiction and true crime. Both satisfy different needs for me. In particular, I am currently under contract to write a true crime book about Betty Neumar, the elderly woman arrested for the murder of the fourth of her five dead husbands. I also have a contract from my fiction publisher to write a fourth book in the Lucinda Pierce series.

Q.: Is there anything else you would like to tell WCI readers?

A.: On my web site, I have a page called the “Reading Room.” On it, there are links to a sample chapter from each one of my published books. It’s a great way to determine which one of them you would like to read. I just started a blog: Writing is a Crime, http://www.dianefanning.blogspot.com, and would love to read your comments.

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