WITNESS KILLER WAS A MARLBORO MAN

What makes a True Crime book so fascinating to read? Is it the twisted facts of the actual killing? Or is it the perverse killer’s cunningness attempting to get away with murder? Of course, many True Crime readers relish the courtroom drama in which a prosecutor battles a slick defense attorney who tries to use every trick in the book to get his or her client off. 

Often overlooked are the detectives who somehow take a totally perplexing investigation and solves what looks like an unsolvable case. During my 43 year career as a prosecutor, I have worked with many incredible homicide detectives. Granted these detectives don’t come from the same mold since every one of them seem to possess a unique ‘Sixth Sense’ of spotting the cookie crumbs leading to the killer.

In talking to avid True Crime fans, I realized that you wanted to hear more about how the detectives were able to focus on the culprit and how they found relevant evidence to build a case that would convict the murderer. As a result, I started my Today’s Sherlock Holmes Series in which I write about homicide detectives from the moment they are assigned a crime scene until years later when they testify in court revealing the incriminating evidence against the defendant.

This book is about the LAPD homicide detectives assigned to the Devonshire Division in the San Fernando Valley. It all started one Saturday morning when the trunk of a Nissan revealed a bloody dead body of a young woman. When the detectives arrived at the crime scene all they had was a victim, who had no identification, in a car with no license plates. What was even worse was as the detectives were assessing the situation, it started raining and the detectives could see all the bloody evidence starting to run down the storm drain.

Days later when the detectives were conducting a search warrant, they noticed a pack of Marlboro cigarettes on a bedroom dresser. Should the detective pick up that pack of Marlboros and seize it as evidence? If you read this book, you will find the answer as to how this Marlboro pack would connect the killer to the victim.