M. William Phelps

From one of America's most celebrated true crime authorities, an investigation into the mysterious, sudden death of Mary Yoder in Upstate New York and the law enforcement efforts that eventually led to her killer's conviction for murder. Sixty-year-old Mary Yoder and her husband of 40 years, 72-year-old Bill Yoder, owned and operated a successful chiropractic center in Whitesboro, a quaint suburb of Utica, New York. In July 2015, without warning, Mary suddenly became violently ill with vomiting, weakness, and sweating. Doctors in the ER and ICU were perplexed as to the cause of her suffering. Within days she died at the hospital, surrounded by her loved ones. The medical examiner, after consulting with the Poison Control Center, determined that she had been fatally poisoned with colchicine, a chemical given to patients with gout--but extremely toxic when not taken as prescribed. Mary did not have gout. As authorities investigated, both Mary's husband and her son were considered suspects. Suspicion ultimately focused on Kaitlyn Conley, the attractive ex-girlfriend of the Yoders' 24-year-old son, Adam. Conley, who worked as an office manager in the Yoders' chiropractic clinic, had set up an ingenious and heartless plan to frame Adam for murder as a way to get back at him for breaking up with her. Many in the community rallied to Conley's defense, proclaiming her "the real victim" of mistreatment by Adam. Her first murder trial in May 2017 ended in a hung jury. A second jury heard the case later in 2017. After jurors come back saying they too could not reach a verdict, the judge instructed them to continue deliberating, and a guilty verdict was reached hours later. In January 2018 Katlyn Conley was sentenced to serve 23 years in state prison for first-degree manslaughter.

A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder

We Thought We Knew You

Debra Newell

"Dirty John is a story of love, deceit, denial, revenge and ruin that ultimately leads to a story of survival that chronicled a time in Newell's life between October 2014 and August 2016. Due to her staggering real-life experiences, Newell now spends much of her time as an advocate for change and awareness helping women caught up in coercive controlling relationships. She is currently working to criminalize coercive control, a form of abuse that often goes unpunished because of the lack of awareness and existing legal ramifications"--

My True Story of Love, Lies, and Murder

Surviving Dirty John

Acclaimed crime writer M. William Phelps tells the true story of a turn-of-the-century, Bible-thumping caretaker and entrepreneur of the nursing home industry who became one of history's most evil female serial killers.

The True Story of America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer

The Devil's Rooming House

Anyone can become a killer under the right circumstances even you. For the first time, award-winning investigative journalist M. William Phelps reveals the identity of Raven, the serial killer who co-starred with him on Dark Minds and tells the story of his intriguing bond with one of America s most disturbing killers. In September 2011, M. William Phelps made a bold decision that would change the landscape of reality-based television and his own life. He asked a convicted serial killer to act as a consultant for his TV series. Under the code name Raven, the murderer shared his insights into the minds of other killers and helped analyze their crimes. As the series became an international sensation, Raven became Phelps s unlikely confidante, ally and friend. I m not making excuses for the eight murders I committed. In this deeply personal account, Phelps traces his own family s dark history, and takes us into the heart and soul of a serial murderer. He also chronicles the complex relationship he developed with Raven. From questions about morality to Raven s thoughts on the still-unsolved, brutal murder of Phelps s sister-in-law, the author found himself grappling with an unwanted, unexpected, unsettling connection with a cold-blooded killer. It made me feel warm inside to know that I was responsible for that pain . . . Drawing on over 7,000 pages of letters, dozens of hours of recorded conversations, personal and Skype visits, and a friendship five years in the making, Phelps sheds new light on Raven s bloody history, including details of an unknown victim, the location of a still-buried body and a jaw-dropping admission. Eye-opening and provocative, Dangerous Ground is an unforgettable journey into the mind of a charming, manipulative psychopath that few would dare to know and the determined journalist who did just that."

My Friendship with a Serial Killer

Dangerous Ground

New York Times bestselling author, television personality, and podcast host M. William Phelps takes readers deep into the murder of Mary Yoder, a popular wife, mother, and healer in Upstate New York -- telling a gripping tale of a family drama, a determined investigation, and a killer with the face of an angel. In July 2015, Mary Yoder fell ill in the chiropractic center she operated with her husband, Bill. Doctors in the ER and ICU were baffled--and unable to save her life. Weeks later, her family received startling news from the medical examiner: Mary had been deliberately poisoned. Another shock followed when the local sheriff received a claim that Adam Yoder had poisoned his mother. But Adam was not the only person of interest . . . Kaitlyn Conley, Adam's ex-girlfriend, worked at the Yoders' clinic and was at Mary's bedside during her last hours. Still, some spoke of her history of rage-fueled behavior. Had Kaitlyn and Adam conspired to kill Mary? Yet another suspect emerged when accusations were hurled at grieving husband Bill Yoder. . . M. William Phelps unravels a twisting trail of evidence to reveal the heartless scheme that tore a family apart, divided a community, and culminated in two gripping, high-profile trials.

Details the case of Lisa Montgomery, who murdered eight-months-pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett and kidnapped her unborn baby, revealing a woman with a history of sexual abuse, abandonment, and desperation that molded her into a sociopath. Reprint.

Murder in the Heartland

An unexplained disappearance spirals into an unrelenting murder mystery. In October 2014, local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo faced a perplexing missing-person case. It was not like Chris Regan, a devoted father and dependable employee, to take off without explanation. When Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married co-worker, suspicion fell on Kelly’s hulking husband, Jason. Soon after that the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. Sixteen months later, Jason Cochran died from a drug overdose. Friends and family rallied around the grieving Kelly. But when the coroner ruled Jason’s death a homicide, no one reacted more bizarrely than his widow. Detectives tried to put Kelly’s past into focus. But the horrific truth was hidden under a near-perfect patchwork of lies. Veteran investigative journalist M. William Phelps expertly reveals Kelly Cochran’s staggering saga of murder, revenge, and payback. “Anything by Phelps is an eye-opening experience.” —Suspense Magazine “Phelps knows how to work it.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review “Master of true crime.” —Real Crime magazine

Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest

Where Monsters Hide

"Phelps is a true-crime veteran." --New York Post Cherry Walker was a devoted, trusting, uncommonly innocent young woman who loved caring for a neighbor's little boy. But when she was asked to testify in court against his abusive mother, Cherry never got the chance. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it--and it did. Cherry's body was found on the side of a Texas road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set aflame. Attractive, manipulative, and violent, mother of four Kim Cargill had a wealth of dirty secrets she'd do anything to keep hidden. This in-depth account by bestselling investigative journalist M. William Phelps takes you inside Cargill's shocking trial--and into the mind of one of the most conniving female psychopaths in recent history--and on death row. "Anything by Phelps is an eye-opening experience." --Suspense Magazine "Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer." --TV Rage "Phelps is the king of true crime." --Lynda Hirsch, Creators Syndicate columnist "One of our most engaging crime journalists." --Dr. Katherine Ramsland INCLUDES 16 PAGES OF DRAMATIC PHOTOS

Don't Tell a Soul

Drawing on exclusive interviews with the serial killer and a surviving victim, an investigative journalist furnishes a chilling odyssey into the twisted mind of all-American killer Edwin "Ned" Snelgrove, a Rutgers graduate with the numbing ambition to out-kill his idol, Ted Bundy, and a state attorney's efforts to lock him away forever. Original.

I Will be Watching You

Looks at the tragic tale of Sheila Davalloo, a jilted lover who turned a knife on anyone who crossed her. Original.

Obsessed

Describes how troubled sixteen-year-old Adrianne Reynolds became trapped in a web of jealousy and domination and was murdered and dismembered by her own supposed best friends.

Too Young to Kill

From the desk of one of the most acclaimed and prolific true crime authors comes a mystery thriller certain to captivate his fans. M. William Phelps’s THE DEAD SOUL takes you on a suspenseful journey through Boston's illicit past, where Detective Jake "Sundance" Cooper fights to redeem his crumbling career. At the same time, a sadistic serial killer known as "the Optimist"—a character based on the author’s 20 years of research and writing about real serial killers—terrorizes young female victims along the city's Freedom Trail. Cooper's investigation exposes a corrupt Boston PD. It puts him at the center of a choice between blue blood loyalty and the pursuit of truth as his mentor, Detective Mo Blackhall, faces an indictment for his involvement in a scandal. Originally published in 2014, this gritty thriller provides a fascinating look into the reality of Boston's mean streets. Driven by a cast of characters reminiscent of Dennis Lehane's finest fiction, THE DEAD SOUL offers a thrill ride of suspense, mystery, and police procedural drama.

The Dead Soul

Gregg Olsen

Katherine Ramsland

Kevin M. Sullivan

Ron Franscell

Rebecca Morris

Dangerous Dozen

Describes the murder of Florida suburban mother Heather Strong, by her husband, Joshua Fulgham, and his mistress, Emilia Carr.

To Love and to Kill

When the long-dead bodies of several infants are discovered in a self-storage facility and in the trunk of a car, the trail leads to Dianne Odell, a fifty-year-old mother of eight children who claimed that her late mother forced her into teen prostitution and murdered what she viewed as "bastard children." Original.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Details the true account of killer Kristen Gilbert, who, as a nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts, murdered many of the helpless patients in her care with a lethal drug that caused fatal heart attacks.

A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine

Perfect Poison

Murderers' Row Volume One

Steve Jackson

Burl Barer

Three true-crime books in one volume, featuring cases ranging from Texas to Georgia to Alaska, from New York Times–bestselling and award-winning authors. Included in this three-in-one volume are: Bogeyman by New York Times–bestselling author Steve Jackson For years he stalked elementary schools and playgrounds looking for young girls from low-income neighborhoods to abduct, rape and murder. They were “throwaway kids” to him, hardly missed, soon forgotten, except by those who loved them. He was every parent’s worst nightmare—and it took a decades-long fight by Texas lawmen to bring him to justice. “A fascinating, well-paced read about the lows and highs of cold case investigations.” —Katherine Ramsland, in Psychology Today Murder In The Familyby Edgar Award–winning author Burl Barer A New York Times Bestseller: In 1987, Anchorage police arrived at a horrific scene of carnage. In a downtown apartment, they found Nancy Newman’s brutally beaten corpse and the bodies of her two young daughters. After an intense investigation, they identified the principal suspect: Kirby Anthoney—a troubled drifter who’d turned to his uncle, Nancy’s husband, for help and a place to stay. Little did he know that the nephew he took in was a murderous sociopath . . . “Barer writes true crime at its best.” —Jack Olsen Targetedby New York Times–bestselling author M. William Phelps When her missing boyfriend is found dead, his body encased in cement inside a watering trough and dumped in a cattle field, a Georgia sheriff’s deputy is arrested and charged with his murder. But as an investigative journalist digs in, the truth leads to questions about her guilt . . . “Phelps is one of America’s finest true-crime writers.” —Vincent Bugliosi

Bogeyman, Murder in the Family, Targeted

Murderers' Row Volume Two

In this exploration of how the emotions of teenagers can sometimes lead to savage and senseless violence, an investigative journalist follows the case of Christine Paolilla, who brutally murdered four people with the help of her boyfriend, who later committed suicide.

Never See Them Again

Drawing from interviews and correspondence with the serial killer himself, the star of the Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds focuses on Danny Hembree, a trusted member of a tight-knit community in a North and South Carolina border town who brutally murdered two teenage girls.

M. William Phelps

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