Search results for ""Author Silvia Pettem""

The stories in this book focus on the victims –– some who are missing, some who have lost their identities, and some who have suffered from violent crimes. Even though these cases are considered “cold,” we learn from the evidence, and we need to listen to what the victims can tell us. Read on about cold cases that once made headlines including a man and his wife murdered in Victorian-era New England to an unidentified child found dead in a cardboard box in 1950s Philadelphia. Some have simply slipped into folklore and legend, while others have transcended evolutions of forensic science and still have a chance of being solved.

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Beginning in 1933, Eleanor Jarman was sensationalized by the press as the "blonde tigress" and "the most dangerous woman alive." But a closer look at her life shows that she was an otherwise-ordinary woman who got caught up in a Chicago crime spree, then was convicted as an accomplice to murder and sent to prison. In 1940, Eleanor escaped and managed to live out her life as America's longest-running female fugitive. Follow along with the factors that led up to the murder of an elderly shopkeeper, then take a front-row seat for Eleanor's arrest, trial, conviction, and sentencing. With recently unearthed primary-source documents that include police records, court transcripts and prison files, readers will then follow Eleanor through her prison years. Woven in are comparisons and contrasts between Eleanor's and her escape partner's criminal histories, as well as speculation on their lives on the lam. Whether Eleanor deserved her sentence, or if it was too harsh, is left for the reader to decide. The Legend of the Blonde Tigress also includes Eleanor's grandson's unsuccessful plea, in 1993, in which he publicly advertised for Eleanor to come forward and apply for clemency. Most revealing at the time was Eleanor's alias. With that information (and given the fact that Eleanor, born in 1901, is obviously deceased) the author documents her search for Eleanor's remains –– right up to a visit to her likely grave under the name of Marie Millman..

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