Innocent Victims - The True Story of the Eastburn Family Murders

Scott Whisnant

Summary

The riveting true account of a grisly crime and the unprecedented three murder trials faced by Fort Bragg soldier Tim Hennis. On Mother’s Day, 1985, the bodies of Kathryn Eastburn and her two young daughters were found in their Fayetteville, North Carolina, home. Katie, an air force captain’s wife, had been raped and stabbed to death. Kara and Erin’s throats had been slit. Their toddler sister, Jana, was the only survivor of a bloody killing spree that terrified a community still reeling from the conviction, six years prior, of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald for the savage slayings of his pregnant wife and two daughters. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department soon focused its investigation on US Army soldier Tim Hennis. Detectives and local prosecutors built their case on circumstantial evidence and a jury convicted Hennis and sentenced him to death. But his defense team refused to give up. Piece by piece, they discredited the state’s case, exposing false testimony, concealed evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct. At a second trial, Hennis was found not guilty and released from death row. But an even more stunning turn of events was yet to come. Twenty-five years after the murders, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation tested a crucial piece of DNA evidence from the crime scene. The shocking results led to an unprecedented third trial to determine Tim Hennis’s guilt or innocence. From the initial discovery of the horrifying scene at 367 Summer Hill Road to the controversial change of jurisdiction that allowed Hennis to be prosecuted for an astonishing third time, author Scott Whisnant chronicles every development in this intricate, disturbing, and still-evolving case. Has the mystery of who killed Katie, Kara, and Erin Eastburn been solved beyond a reasonable doubt? Read Innocent Victims and decide for yourself.

Available since: 02/21/2017.

Other books that might interest you

I'm The Yorkshire Ripper -...

Alfie James, Robin Perrie

“It's me, love … I'm The Yorkshire Ripper.” With new material from personal interviews with Peter Sutcliffe – I'm the Yorkshire Ripper offers a completely new insight into the shocking life and times of one of Britain's most notorious serial killers. When Peter Sutcliffe spoke those words to his wife Sonia following his arrest in 1981, it marked the end of a killing spree which had terrorised northern England for five years. The nation had been appalled yet gripped by the Ripper and was now fascinated by the man behind the headlines. But despite millions of words being written about the case since his arrest 40 years ago, the full Peter Sutcliffe story has never been told – until now. Based on a vast quantity of raw material collected from Sutcliffe himself over a period of 16 years, ‘I'm the Yorkshire Ripper' is the compelling account of the most terrifying series of murders in British history – much of it in the killer's own words.

Show book

A Family Business - A Chilling...

Ken Englade

They were the owners of funeral home—and organ harvesters. An unsettling look at the Sconce family from the acclaimed true crime author of Deadly Lessons.    For sixty years, families in Southern California trusted the Sconce-owned Lamb Funeral Home with their loved ones’ remains. That trust was betrayed in an extraordinary, horrifying fashion, as it was discovered that the family, seeing an opportunity, had been stealing gold fillings and harvesting the organs of the newly deceased, hiding the evidence by burning the bodies in their crematorium.   When the shocking acts came to light, a trial brought every gruesome detail to the forefront, and Ken Englade has—with even-handed, clear-eyed reporting—chronicled every chilling detail.

Show book

Snowblind - A Brief Career in...

Robert Sabbag

A look at the supercharged life of American drug smuggler Zachary Swan. “An extremely rare cut of dry wit, poetry, rock-hard fact and relentless insight” (Rolling Stone).   Robbert Sabbag’s Snowblind, the true story of an American smuggler whose intricate, ingenious scams made him a legendary figure in the cocaine world of the late sixties and early seventies, is a modern classic. In this “witty, intelligent, fiercely stylish, drug-induced exemplary tale” (Los Angeles Times), Sabbag masterfully traces Zachary Swan’s Roman-candle career, from his first forays into smuggling marijuana to his jaunts to Colombia to buy pure cocaine, and his ever more elaborate plans to outwit the police and customs officials. Updated by the author, this captivating portrait of a dashing antihero and enthralling look at a turbulent age is sure to reach a new generation of readers.   “A flat-out ball buster. It moves like a threshing machine with a fuel tank of ether.” —Hunter S. Thompson

Show book

What Lies Beneath - My Life as a...

Peter Faulding

'From cold cases and serial killers to the death of a spy, Peter's true life story is as gripping as the finest thriller' - Peter James, author of Picture You DeadDiscover the truth beyond the police tape in What Lies Beneath, the arresting memoir of murder, investigation and justice from Peter Faulding, a world-leading forensic search expert.Recovering bodies, finding discarded remains, identifying unmarked graves and saving people from locations and situations too dangerous for the normal emergency services - all in a day’s work for Peter Faulding.From removing protestors from inside dangerous tunnels to the scenes of some of the UK’s most notorious crimes, he describes how he has developed into a highly regarded and highly skilled search specialist, whose job is to assist investigators and police as they search crime scenes and bring serial killers to justice.Peter gives new details on some of the country’s most harrowing murder cases – including that of serial killer Peter Tobin, the Nicola Payne case and the Helen McCourt murder; sheds new light on mysterious deaths, including MI6 worker Gareth Williams; and details the incredible lengths he goes to when helping investigators.Get ready to join Britain’s most extraordinary forensic search expert on his journey through deadly booby-trapped tunnel systems and into dark waters that hold horrific secrets, then onwards through uninviting crime scenes and into the minds of killers.

Show book

Beyond Contempt - The Inside...

Peter Jukes

'A must read for anyone who wants to understand not only our media, but power in Britain' – OWEN JONES, author The Establishment
'Top court reporting' – NICK DAVIES, THE GUARDIAN
Go behind the doors of Court 12 of the Old Bailey for what was billed as 'the trial of the century' – the phone hacking trial of journalists from Rupert Murdoch's two biggest British tabloid newspapers.
Every twist and turn of the longest-running criminal trial in English legal history is covered by Peter Jukes in this edition, crowdfunded by members of the public.
Heard in London in 2013 and 2014, the phone hacking trial had a heady brew of criminal eavesdropping, media rights, political intrigue, and Hollywood stardust. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson were accused of phone hacking and corrupting public officials while editing the Sun and the News of the World newspapers respectively. Brooks and her husband Charlie and her former PA, Cheryl Carter, were also accused of perverting the course of justice in an attempt to thwart detectives investigating the hacking.
The trial took place after years of cover up of phone hacking at Britain's biggest newspaper group News International (now News UK), the country's biggest police force, the Metropolitan Police, and the Conservative government led by David Cameron, who employed Coulson as his director of communications. After they were sworn in, the judge, Justice Saunders, told the jury: "British justice is on trial".
The long-running trial laid bare the intense illegal surveillance of individuals carried out by the politically-connected News of the World. Employing an array of private detectives, pried deeply into the private lives of anyone who mattered to them at the time: a Hollywood actress, a missing schoolgirl, a Cabinet minister. Sometimes the surveillance was based on well-founded intelligence that revealed a legitimate story, sometimes it was on a whim or the result of a malicious tip-off.
The trial pitted London's most extravagantly paid barristers against each other. Rupert Murdoch's millions hired top Queens Counsel to represent the seven defendants. The £5,000-a-day barrister, Jonathan Laidlaw, for instance, represented Rebekah Brooks. The multi-million pound case tottered on the brink of collapse several times as a result media misbehaviour, illness and delay.
Drawing on verbatim court exchanges and exhibits, Jukes reveals the daily reality and grand strategies of this major criminal case. He reveals a secret about Rebekah Brooks' 14 days in the witness box. He explains why a defence lawyer gave him a wry smile during a cigarette break. And he discloses the failings of the Crown Prosecution Service which contribute to the verdicts.
Like Dial M for Murdoch by Tom Watson and Martin Hickman and Hack Attack by Nick Davies, this book will fascinate anyone wanting to know about the phone hacking scandal. It is also ideal for anyone who wants to know the twists and turns of a major criminal trial.
REVIEWS
'Remarkable. I feel I now know all the key players and why some defendants were found guilty and some not, despite never having spent a minute at the trial.'
– PROFESSOR STEWART PURVIS, FORMER ITN EDITOR
'Written in a chatty, gossipy style that brings the courtroom drama alive.'
– NIGEL PAULEY, DAILY STAR JOURNALIST

Show book

Evil Thoughts - Wicked Deeds

Dr. Kris Mohandie

Some of the scariest and most interesting criminals are broken down and analyzed by Dr. Kris Mohandie, an expert police and forensic psychologist who has met—and evaluated—some of the most dangerous people who have walked among us. This book has numerous first-hand accounts of his work, and interviews for cases like the Angel of Death serial killer, racist serial assassin Joseph Paul Franklin, and even the O.J. Simpson case.Detailed case information, including excerpts of interviews he’s conducted with these offenders, provides a platform to learn shocking new information about hostage-takers, serial killers, mass murderers, violent “true-believers,” terrorists, and some of the worst predators on the planet.

Show book