Erased: Missing Women, Murdered Wives - Softcover

Strong, Marilee; Powelson, Mark

3.7

553 ratings by Goodreads

9780470442524: Erased: Missing Women, Murdered Wives

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470442522 ISBN 13: 9780470442524

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2009

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Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents 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 novel An American Tragedy to Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, Jeffrey MacDonald, Ira Einhorn, Charles Stuart, Robert Durst, Michael White, Barton Corbin, and many others. Erased also 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.

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From the Inside Flap:

Erased

We've heard their stories but haven't understood them until now. We haven't even had the vocabulary to make sense of such a terrible crime. They are women who have been "erased." Some have simply vanished, never to be seen again. Others have been found dead under mysterious but seemingly explainable circumstances—their deaths attributed to a "tragic" fall, an apparent drowning, suicide, or some senseless street crime. In fact, they were murdered by a husband or boyfriend, then either made to disappear (their whereabouts left an open-ended mystery) or the crime scene rearranged to point police away from their true killer.

Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents 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 novel An American Tragedy to Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, Jeffrey MacDonald, Ira Einhorn, Charles Stuart, Robert Durst, Michael White, Barton Corbin, and many others. Erased also 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.

From the Back Cover:

"Erased defines a new kind of crime and a new, chilling, and very dangerous kind of criminal."
—Marc Klaas, crime victims' advocate and founder of Beyond Missing

Based on five years of investigative reporting and research into forensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents 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.

Praise for Marilee Strong's Erased

"Compelling. . . . With its blend of novelistic journalism and concise psychiatric research, Strong's expos� will appeal to more than just true crime fans."
—Publishers Weekly

"Finally! An exceptional writer brings a new perspective to the ancient crime of domestic homicide. Once many years ago, Jeffrey MacDonald, a highly intelligent and physically attractive physician, was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two small children. When asked why he committed such a heinous crime, I answered, 'Because he didn't need them anymore.' This is a very powerful book, and Ms. Strong deserves high praise indeed!"
—Roy Hazelwood, former FBI profiler and author, The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams

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