Erased : Missing Women, Murdered Wives

by Marilee Strong; Mark Powelson

• ISBN13: 9780470894002
• ISBN10: 0470894008
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology,Erasedpresents an original profile of a widespread and previously unrecognized type of murder: not a "hot-blooded," spur-of-the-moment crime of passion, as domestic homicide is commonly viewed, but a cold-blooded, carefully planned and methodically executed form of "erasure." These crimes are often committed by men with no criminal record or history of violence whatsoever, men leading functional and often successful lives until the moment they kill the women, and sometimes children, they claimed to love. A surprising number go on to kill a second or even third wife or girlfriend, often in exactly the same way. In more than fifty chilling case studies, Marilee Strong examines the strange and complex psychology that drives these killers-from the murder a century ago that inspired the novelAn American Tragedyto Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, Jeffrey MacDonald, Ira Einhorn, Charles Stuart, Robert Durst, Michael White, Barton Corbin, and many others.Erasedalso looks at how these men manipulate the legal system and exploit loopholes in missing persons procedures and death investigation, exposing how easy it can be to get away with murder.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A CrimeWithout a Name

Eraser Killing: The History and Psychology of a New Criminal Profile

Out of the Shadows

The Dark Triad

The Real American Tragedy

Getting Away with Murder

The Lady-Killer

Disappearing Acts

Hiding in Plain Sight

Pregnant and Vulnerable: When a Child Is Seen as a Threat

A Psychological Autopsy of a Classic Eraser Killing

AWatery Grave

Keeping Secrets

Too Good to Be True

Seeds of a Plan

A Collision Course

Sex, Lies, and Audiotape

Conclusion: Fixing a Broken System

Bibliographical Sources

About the Authors

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.