DC True Crime and Mystery Club

Please join us to discuss the case of Marie (not her real name) who is a young woman in Seattle during the mid 2000's who reported her rape and was not believed. We will be using two sources. The book, A False Report, by the 2 reporters who originally covered the story and the Netflix mini-series, Unbelievable, based on the book. The mini-series is well done and very engaging. Feel free to use either or both.

This will be an online event and I will share the link as the date gets closer.

Here is the Amazon mini-series & book description:

Now the Netflix Limited Series Unbelievable, starring Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever • Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists tell the riveting true crime story of a teenager charged with lying about having been raped—and the detectives who followed a winding path to arrive at the truth.

On August 11, 2008, eighteen-year-old Marie reported that a masked man broke into her apartment near Seattle, Washington, and raped her. Within days police and even those closest to Marie became suspicious of her story. The police swiftly pivoted and began investigating Marie. Confronted with inconsistencies in her story and the doubts of others, Marie broke down and said her story was a lie—a bid for attention. Police charged Marie with false reporting, and she was branded a liar.

Catherine Crier covered the Scott Peterson trial extensively when it was happening. Join us to revisit the case since Scott Peterson has been in the news recently. This in an online event and I will share the Zoom link as the date gets closer.

Here is the Amazon.com book description:

In this #1 New York Times bestseller, Catherine Crier, a former judge and one of television's most popular legal analysts, offers a riveting and authoritative account of one of the most memorable crime dramas of our time: the murder of Laci Peterson at the hands of her husband, Scott, on Christmas Eve 2002. Drawing on extensive interviews with key witnesses and lead investigators, as well as secret evidence files that never made it to trial, Crier traces Scott's bizarre behavior; shares dozens of transcripts of Scott's chilling and incriminating phone conversations; offers accounts of Scott's womanizing from two former mistresses before Amber Frey; and includes scores of never-before-seen police photos, documents, and other evidence.

We will be reading the updated edition about Richard Ramirez' crimes, The Night Stalker.

Here is what one Amazon reviewer said about this book:

I got this book after watching the Netflix documentary and being completely astounded by this killer's brutality and wanting to know more about his spree and the background behind the killer and how he turned out to be this way. I was so happy to discover that Carlo's writing in this book is both factual but also reads like an actual fiction book. Very interesting all the way through, extremely informative, and well written. I will say that the trial portion of this book became a little TOO detailed and factual, but I understand the purpose behind it, as he's actually recounting the trial itself. I think this part is the only part that reminds you you're reading a nonfictional book.