Musings from a Crime Writer

Crime Writers Consultations is holding another Homicide School, this time in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 27-29, 2012.

The CRIME WRITER’S HOMICIDE SCHOOL brings you real details from actual homicides. In this dynamic, three-day lecture series, you’ll learn what happens in a murder investigation from the moment police are called all the way to the end with police interrogation techniques. You will know how the cops get confessions without the rubber hose and hot lights. You’ll learn about response procedures, evidence collection, autopsy protocols and much more, taught by an experienced homicide detective.

For more information visit the web site here. This is a valuable class for crime and mystery writers.

It’s been two long years since a devastating earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing 316,000 people. Two years later and the people of Haiti are still need our help. Only about half of the earthquake rubble has been removed and many Haitians have said they see little rebuilding as reconstruction efforts get stalled by political disputes and a lack of aid coordination. Over half a million Haitians are still living in nearly 800 tent camps amid a cholera epidemic that began in 2010 after the earthquake and has killed roughly 7,000 people and sickened a half-million more. Haiti has a long recovery ahead of them. Let’s not forget them.

Haiti still needs our help. To donate, visit the RedCross or AidStillRequired. http://www.aidstillrequired.org/donate.

The inventor of the detective fiction genre was born on this date in 1809. Since then, readers from around the world have feasted on works of the macabre. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television, including a movie to come out later this year entitled, THE RAVEN.

I leave you with some of his famous quotes:

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.

Stupidity is a talent for misconception.

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.

On Friday, John Berry, a Vietnam Veteran had spoken to the media about his safety concerns while a serial killer preyed on the homeless. That night he was brutally stabbed to death behind a Carl’s Jr restaurant in Anaheim.

The killer, Itzcoatl Ocampo, a 23 year-old veteran of the Iraq war, was chased by witnesses and arrested. When Orange County sheriff’s deputies caught up with him, he not only still had the knife, but other items linked to the killings, including gloves and a black hoodie.  Soon after, police announced he was also suspected of the three previous attacks on homeless men in Orange County.

James McGillivray was stabbed more than 40 times—before, during and after the time he was rustled awake—at a Placentia retail center Dec. 20. Lloyd “Jimmy” Middaugh was stabbed more than 50 times on the Santa Ana River Trail under the 91 Freeway underpass in Anaheim on Dec. 27. Paulus Cornelius “Dutch” Smit was stabbed more than 60 times at the Yorba Linda Public Library on Dec. 30.

A Multi-Agency Task Force had been created and set up road blocks and checkpoints as well as a massive publicity campaign to alert the homeless of the threat. The Sheriff’s Crime Lab “made this case a top priority and analyzed the key physical evidence in this case.”

Today, Ocampo, a former marine, appeared in court. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he sat quietly during the hearing. Itzcoatl Ocampo did not enter a plea to the four murder charges he faces and his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 17.

Benjamin Franklin was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, newspaper editor, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.

Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20.

1. “Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
2. “Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
3. “Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
4. “Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
5. “Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”
6. “Industry. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. “Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
8. “Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
9. “Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
10. “Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.”
11. “Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
12. “Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
13. “Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

While Franklin did not live completely by his virtues, he believed the attempt made him a better man contributing greatly to his success and happiness.

May we all learn from his attempt.

Martin Luther King, Jr would have celebrated his 83rd birthday yesterday. Today we celebrate the iconic figure who was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolent means in 1964. By the time of his assassination in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

Below are some of my favorite quotes. His words continue to touch and inspire me.

The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.

A right delayed is a right denied.

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

The time is always right to do what is right.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

Homicide is no longer one of the 15 leading causes of death in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated in a report on the analysis of deaths in 2010 that homicide is on a steep decline.

Of the 2.4 million total deaths in 2010 there were 16,065. Heart disease and cancer are the most common causes of death accounting for 47% of all deaths last year. There are more suicides in the US than homicides.

I listed the top 15 below:

1. Heart Disease

2. Cancer

3. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disesases

4. Stroke

5. Accidents

6. Alzheimers

7. Diabetes

8. Kidney Disease

9. Influenza/Pneumonia

10. Suicide

11. Blood Poisoning

12. Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis

13. Hypertension

14. Parkinsons

15. Inflammation of the Lungs

For those waiting patiently for an update on my latest crime novel, I am currently on my second round of editing. CHASING DEMONS is the sequel to FALLING ANGELS and will feature Luc Actar, Mattie Hardwin and many of their friends and enemies from FALLING ANGELS.

I am hoping to have a synopsis for you in the next month or so. I should have cover design shortly after. My goal is still to have the manuscript to the publisher by summer and have it available to all of you by this Fall.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Southern California has a new serial killer targeting the homeless in Orange County. According to police, in a span of 10 days last month, three transient men were killed in Anaheim, Brea, and Placentia. Each victim was stabbed multiple times. Two of the killings took place at night and one in the late afternoon. All the victims were alone when the attacks happened.

The first victim, a 53-year-old male, was stabbed on December 20 in Placentia. Eight days later, a 42-year-old was found fatally stabbed on a riverbed trail in Anaheim. A third victim, a 57-year-old, was found on December 30 in Yorba Linda.

Investigators urged the homeless to stay in groups, and avoid sleeping in dark and secluded areas. The Orange County Rescue Mission handed out flashlights and whistles in an effort to help homeless people protect themselves.

An image of a suspect from a video surveillance camera in the area where the first victim was killed shows what appears to be a thin man dressed in a dark hoodie or sweater lying in wait for his victim.

Authorities have asked for the public’s help as a special task force that includes the FBI searches for the killer.

Ray Frank Gricar was the district attorney of Centre County, Pennsylvania until April 2005, when he mysteriously disappeared. After six years, he was declared dead, even though his body was never found. Now his name has resurfaced in the Penn State Scandal making his disappearance more intriguing.

In 1998, Gricar had refused to prosecute Penn State assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky when child sex abuse allegations were first raised. Then on April 15, 2005, Gricar disappeared. His car and his phone were found the following day in a parking lot. His laptop, wallet and keys were missing. Many suspected he had committed suicide.

Three months later, his laptop was found in the Susquehanna River, but the hard drive was missing. The search continued and two months later a hard drive was discovered, but no data was retrievable.

On July 25, 2011, Ray Gricar was declared dead. Many believe he is in hiding. But from what? Could his disappearance be the result of foul play? Until a body is found, the mystery will continue.

With a book in your hand, you can travel to far away lands, mystical and exotic places, past or present. All without leaving the warmth of your living room.

January is National Book Month! Time to select your reading for the month. Visit your local bookstore or library. Here are some great books recently released that might spark your interest:

Biographies:

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Jim DeFelice, Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen

Nixon’s Darkest Secrets: The Inside Story of America’s Most Troubled President by Don Fulsom

History:

December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World by Craig Shirley

Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil by Tom Mueller

Mystery/Suspense:

77 Shadow Street: A Novel by Dean Koontz

Taken  by Robert Crais

Science Fiction/Fantasy:

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno

Happy Reading!