Detroit, Michigan – Every day and every month, headlines announce another American murdered by someone they knew well. Intimacy and trust go hand-in-hand, but what happens when that trust is misplaced? What happens when insurance payouts become too enticing? Or when desperation and poverty become too much? Or when resentment over a childhood trauma overwhelms?
Discover the dark secrets behind closed doors in Family, Friends, and Neighbors: Stories of Murder and Betrayal by Richard Estep (Visible Ink Press /January 2, 2024 / $19.95). This gripping true-crime collection delves into thirty-four shocking tales of financial, romantic, and intimate betrayals, the motives and actions of the ruthless killers, and the devastating toll on those who mistakenly trusted them, including…
- The captivating downfall of prestigious attorney and community figure, Alex Murdaugh, whose addiction spiraled into a web of deceit, fraud, and murder.
- The troubled existence of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was dominated by her mother’s twisted obsession with illness, and the drastic measures taken to reclaim her life.
- The heartbreaking story of Michael and Robert Bever, brothers driven to commit unspeakable acts due to a lifetime of torment inflicted by their own parents.
- The romance author Nancy Crampton Brophy, whose own life becomes a macabre plot line.
- The gruesome case of Heather Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, who were entangled in a web of greed and trust funds that led to a grisly discovery inside a suitcase.
- The shocking crimes committed by Lyle and Erik Menendez, whose privileged lives culminated in the massacre of their own parents, forever shocking the nation.
- The infamous ax-wielding figure, Lizzie Borden, whose father and stepmother conveniently died, leaving her their inheritance.
- The troubled Florida teen Tyler Hadley and his wild house party that went on while his parents’ bodies bled in the master bedroom.
- The bank vice-president-turned-embezzler Steven Sueppel, whose mounting debts compelled him to commit a desperate act of murder.
- And dozens of other intimate murders and webs of deceit! An unflinching look into humanity’s darker side, Family, Friends, and Neighbors delves into the chillingly true world of murder and deceit. This unnerving read explores the twisted paths of those driven by dark motives of control, money, social status, and revenge that culminate in devastating consequences to those who misplaced their trust in them.
About the Author
Richard Estep is the author of 20 books, most of them in the field of paranormal nonfiction, including Serial Killers: The Minds, Methods, and Mayhem of History’s Most Notorious Murderers and The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers. He is a regular columnist for Haunted Magazine and has also written for the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. Richard appears regularly on the TV shows Haunted Case Files, Haunted Hospitals, Paranormal 911, and Paranormal Night Shift. British by birth, Richard now makes his home a few miles north of Denver, Colorado, where he serves as a paramedic and lives with his wife and a menagerie of adopted animals.
Family, Friends and Neighbors: Stories of Murder and Betrayals
By Richard Estep
Published by Visible Ink Press
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Price: $19.95
288 pages, 110 B/W Photos and Illustrations, Bibliography, Index
6′′ × 9′′ Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-57859-844-1
Library Hardback ISBN: 978-1-57859-853-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-57859-8