Lethal Marriage

One of Canada’s finest crime reporters tells the whole story of the infamous Bernardo-Homolka case. NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTER The sensational trials of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka for abduction, rape, manslaughter and murder caused widespread controversy that continues to this day. The public was particularly outraged by the so-called “sweetheart deal” — the twelve-year sentence Homolka received as part of an agreement with government lawyers. Journalist Nick Pron gives us a comprehensive account of previously banned information about Bernardo and Homolka; about Homolka’s role in the death of her sister Tammy; of slip-shod police work and lack of communication that allowed Bernardo and Homolka the opportunity to murder schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy; of the host of disturbing facts that were ruled inadmissable at the trial. A new chapter details the most recent, shocking facts of Homolka’s life in prison, including her alleged “special treatment,” such as private access to the prison’s beauty salon and gym, and rumoured liaisons in Kingston’s Prison for Women. Also detailed are her startling plans for the future. As Karla Homolka’s release date nears, many will reflect on her place in history, and on the Canadian legal system.

Karla and Paul seemed like the picture-perfect newlyweds, but were really a pair of vicious killers who abducted, sexually tortured and murdered innocent schoolgirls, videotaping their evil acts in suburban Niagara Falls. Billed as the crime of the century in Canada, this case has received a great deal of media coverage on both sides of the border. Includes eight pages of photos.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Princess was the most beautiful girl in the class. She was always drawing houses. Renya was fascinated by her intensity as she busied herself on her houses, never taking her eyes off her drawings. One day, Renya complimented her on her work, and the Princess accepted it. But she never asked Renya what she was doing that weekend. #2 Karla was a very different girl from Renya, who preferred to spend her time playing with cars rather than playing with dolls. But they became friends anyway. #3 Karla and Renya’s friendship continued to grow, though Karla’s parents were always very careful when they dropped her off at the Hills’ house. Karla had a secret she wanted to share with her friend: she loved to swear. #4 The two girls were always scheming to get each other to do what they wanted. One day, they decided to throw a hamster out the window. Renya was against it, but Homolka was excited about her plan. She threw the hamster out the window, and it fell to the ground.

Perfect for fans of Making a Murderer and The People v. O. J. Simpson, Invisible Darkness is the story of one of the more bizarre cases in recent memory—killings so sensational that they prompted the Canadian government, in the interests of justice, to silence its national press and to lock foreign journalists out of the courts. To all appearances, Paul and Karla Bernardo had a fairytale marriage: beautiful working-class girl weds bright upper-middle-class guy and they buy a fashionable dream house in the suburbs. But, bored with his straight, prestigious accounting job, Paul soon went freelance as an international smuggler. He also revealed his boredom with conventional sex—enough so that, one Christmas Eve, he persuaded his wife to drug her own sister and engage in a menage a trois, during which the sister died (a bungling coroner ruled her death accidental). The couple then upped the ante, kidnapping and imprisoning several high school girls for sexual marathons, which they videotaped before savagely murdering their captives. When the girls’ bodies were found, the police were stymied (although Paul had been accused of rape and given a DNA test that vanished for two years and only recently was linked to some fifty sexual-assault cases) until Karla tried to have her husband arrested for wife beating. During questioning, she confessed to the crimes and is now serving two concurrent twelve-year sentences for manslaughter in exchange for testifying against her husband, who was jailed for life.

Marc and Debra seemed to have it all—a lovely home in the Prairie town of Medicine Hat, fulfilling careers, a supportive marriage, and two beautiful children: eight-year-old Jacob and twelve-year-old JR. After years of struggle to reach this point, they finally felt their future held promise. But on April 23, 2006, their bodies were discovered in their basement, covered in savage stab wounds. Upstairs, Jacob lay dead on his bed, his toys spattered with blood. Investigators worried for JR’s safety, but unknown to them, the pretty honour roll student had been developing a disturbing alter ego online. Runaway Devil professed a fondness for a darker world of death metal music, the goth subculture, and a love for Jeremy Steinke, a twenty-three-year-old high-school dropout who lived in a rundown trailer park. Soon, shocking evidence in JR’s school locker—printed here for the first time—led police to believe the girl was a suspect in her family’s murders. The case horrified parents everywhere. Journalists Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose have been covering it from the beginning, and in Runaway Devil, they reveal what really happened: the unlikely young love, the teenage rebellion, a troubling world of adolescent drifters, and a small community torn apart by an unthinkable crime. A modern cautionary tale, Runaway Devil is also a chilling portrait of an approval-seeking man smitten with a manipulative young girl—who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

A Murder Plot. . . Single mother Lee Ann Armanini worked as a bartender in a strip joint in Long Island's South Shore when she got pregnant by Paul Riedel, owner of a health club in Amityville, Long Island. In 1998, Paul did the right thing and married her. The marriage was not a happy one, and Lee Ann left Riedel in 2000. She moved to Florida and took up with a mob-connected hood named Ralph "Rocco" Salierno. Together, they plotted Riedel's murder in order to get his money and ownership of the health club... A Case Of Mistaken Identity. . . But Salierno murdered the wrong man--Alexander Algeri, Riedel's lifelong friend and business partner who bore an uncanny resemblance to Riedel and even drove the same kind of vehicle, a Ford Explorer. A Stunning Trial. . . In a notorious trial that was filled with sensational revelations about drug abuse, illicit sex, and wrong way murder, Lee Ann Riedel and Rocco Salierno were convicted of first-degree murder. Salierno was sentenced to life in prison without parole; Lee Ann Riedel was sentenced to 25-years-to-life. Includes 16 Pages of Shocking Photos. Robert Mladinich is the author of From the Mouth of the Monster: The Joel Rifkin Story. He is a retired New York Police Department second grade detective who has investigated numerous homicides and was named NYPD Cop of the Year in 1985 for his work as a patrol officer in the South Bronx.

To save my father’s life and our family’s legacy, I have to marry a cruel man who wants me only as a trophy. I thought Franklin Parks was a bad man before, but now I know he’s a monster. To survive, I will have to beat him at his own game. But then Henry Asher, my one and only love, comes back into my life and things get a lot more complicated. Franklin is not only my fiancé but also Henry’s boss, and he will stop at nothing to get everything he wants… HENRY ASHER I was a fool to let her go. Now, I’ll have to do everything to get her back… Aurora never thought I could be a rich dirtbag who would do anything to get what he wants but I am proving her wrong. To help her, I had to teach myself a few things. To protect her, I had to become my worst enemy. To save her, I will have to do the unthinkable. The problem is that she doesn’t want saving. She has her own plans. But the wedding is approaching and time is running out… What readers are saying about Charlotte Byrd's Books: “This book/series is addictive! Super hot and steamy, intense with twists and turns in the plot that you just won't see coming…” ★★★★★ “One-sitting read!” ★★★★★ “How on earth did I survive that? My mind is blown, my hearts beating out of my chest and I'm on this cliff, shaking like a leaf in a windstorm waiting to do that all over again with the conclusion to one of the best reasons to get out of work and get lost for a while.” ★★★★★ “This series is just so intense and delicious. The stunning twists, raw emotions and nerve wracking tension just keep increasing as each book in this enticing series unfolds. I am so invested in Nicholas and Olivia. These characters really worm their way into your heart, while also totally consuming your mind. The gripping story quickly captivates and pulls you back into this couple's world.” ★★★★★

Fifty stories of marriages brought back from the brink of disaster. Fifteen more stories of heroic spouses standing for their marriages after spousal abandonment.