Authors: Ann Rule

If You Really Loved Me (64 page)

M
ore than most authors, true crime writers are dependent upon the memories, perceptions, insights, and knowledge of those who have lived through the real story. More than most authors, true crime writers also seem to need buffering and kind words while we are immersed in the black intricacies of the sociopathic mind. I am grateful for those who knew the truth and shared it with me, and for those who helped me deal with those realities. My appreciation goes to the scores of Orange County, California, residents who graciously gave me their time and shared their personal impressions. And as always, I thank my own motley support system, which saw me through the unraveling of a tragic and shocking story. Thank you to:

Garden Grove Police Department: Chief John Robertson, Detective Fred McLean, Detective William Morrissey, Detective Ron Shave, Forensic Specialist Marsha MacWillie.

Orange County deputy coroner Bernice Mazuca.

Orange County District Attorney's Office: District Attorney Michael Capizzi, Deputy District Attorney Jeoffrey Robinson, Senior Attorney's Investigator Jay Newell, Deputy District Attorney Tom Borris (now in private practice), Chief, District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation, Loren "Duke" DuChesne, Assistant Chief, District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation, Vince Vasil and his wife, Lou Vasil, Supervising Attorney's Investigator Jim Aumond, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jim Enright, Assistant District Attorney Ed Freeman, Technical Service Adviser Greg Gulen, Support staff: Annabelle Roberts, Anne Leonard, Debbie Jackson, Karen Keyes, LaVonne Campbell, Edna Selleck, and Roxanne McDonald.

Orange County Superior Court, Department 30: Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin, Court Clerk Gail Carpenter, Court Reporter Sandra Wingerd, Bailiff "Mitch" Miller, Deputy Marshal Glenn "Hoop" Hoopingarner.

Defense attorneys: Gary M, Pohlson, Richard Schwartzberg

Eric Lichtblau and Jerry Hicks.
Los Angeles Times;
Jeff Collins,
Orange County Register;
Dave Lopez, CBS-Channel 2, Los Angeles; Barney Morris, ABC, Channel 7, Los Angeles.

With special thanks to: Brenda Sands, Doris Smith, Janell Wheeler, Anita Sands, Gary Miller, Otis and Cecil Fox, Betty Jo Newell, Rita and Mark Robinson, Sr., Derek Johnson, Sandy and Gene Walsh, Katie, Brad, Torrie and Chrissie Walsh, Cheryl Goodman, Teri Blanchard, Rita Nugent, Fred Land, Don Lasseter, Courtney Michelle, Jan E. Elinsky, Larry T. Nakashima, Meghann Shane, Deborah Duke, Virginia Newell, Beatrice Munoz, Ebba "Sunny" Cole, Joey Moscatiello and all the family at Pepino's Restaurant in E1 Toro, Jimmy Buffett, Stephen M. Lopez, Rick Watkins, Pamela Starns, David Miller, Donna Nichol, Mary Bailey, Rick Bailey, Alan Bailey, Valerie Bailey, Ethel Bailey, Child Help of Orange County.

My reconstruction of the ambiance, detail, and testimony in the long trial in Department 30 was helped immeasurably by the efforts of my trial assistants, Donna Anders and Leslie Rule. Leslie also served as my photographer and took several hundred photographs, both during the trial and around Orange County.

Northwest support included: Marlene Price, Mike Rule, Jennifer A. Gladwell, Cheri Luxa, Gerry Brittingham, Mike Prezbindowski, Tina Abeel, Laura Harris, Becca Harris, Brian Halquist, David Coughlan, Luke and Nancy Fiorante, Mildred Yoacham, Eilene Schultz, Lars and Debb Larson, Maureen and Bill Woodcock, Ruth and Vernon Cornelius, Dr. Peter J. Modde, Austin and Charlotte Seth, Dr. Carl Berner and staff, Andy Rule, S. Bruce Sherles, Forrest Schultz, Anne and Chris Jaeger,
and
Ms. Haleigh Jean Jaeger, who was born the day this book was finished.

Thank you to my mother, Sophie Hansen Stackhouse, who always let me explore and "research" and never clipped my wings. And to the rest of the clan of Michigan Danes who helped to shape my life: the late Montcalm County, Michigan, sheriff Chris Hansen; the late Anna Hansen; the late Amelia Hansen Mills; the late Montcalm County, Michigan, sheriff Elton Sampson; Emma Hansen McKenney; Montcalm County coroner Dr. Carl M. Hansen; Freda Hansen Sampson Grunwald; Donna Hansen Basom; Montcalm County prosecuting attorney Bruce Basom; Jan Basom Schubert; Calhoun County, Michigan, judicial clerk Sara Jane Plushnik; Chris L. McKenney; Karen Hudson; Jim Sampson; Christa Hansen; Terry Hansen. The love of the law, and most of all, the search for justice, courses through all our veins.

In New York, I was fortunate indeed to have a brilliant, patient, and incisive editor, Frederic W. Hills; his cheerful and competent assistant, Daphne Bien; and a no-nonsense manuscript editor, Burton Beals. This book also marks two decades with the best agents an author ever had: Joan and Joe Foley.

Last of all, my deep gratitude goes to a very practical helper—Mathew Noel Harris—who single-handedly rescued Chapter 24 from my computer's secret vault.

Ann Rule and her daughter, author Leslie Rule.
(Photo by Glenn Scott)

Ann Rule Bio

Ann Rule is regarded by many as the foremost true crime writer in America, and the author responsible for the genre as it exists today. She came to her career with a solid background in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Both her grandfather and her uncle were Michigan sheriffs, her cousin was a Prosecuting Attorney, and another uncle was the Medical Examiner.

She is a former Seattle Policewoman, former caseworker for the Washington State Department of Public Assistance, and a former student intern at the Oregon State Training School for Girls.

Ann has been a full-time true crime writer since 1969. Over the past 30 years, she has published 33 books and 1400 articles, mostly on criminal cases. Ann has a BA from the University of Washington in Creative Writing, with minors in Psychology, Criminology and Penology. She has completed courses in Crime Scene Investigation, Police Administration, Crime Scene Photography and Arrest, Search, and Seizure, earning her an Associates Degree from Highline Community College. She also has a Master’s Degree in Compassionate Letters from Willamette University.

Ann has attended every seminar that police organizations invite her to, including those on organized crime, arson, bomb search, and DNA. She has 30 hours credit at the University of Washington Medical School earned by attending the National Medical Examiners’ Conference. She also attended the King County Police Basic Homicide School. Today, she teaches seminars to many law enforcement groups. She is a certified instructor in many states on subjects such as: Serial Murder, Sadistic Sociopaths, Women Who Kill, and High Profile Offenders. She was on the U.S. Justice Department Task Force that set up the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VI-CAP), now in place at FBI Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. VI-CAP is a computer tracking system to help identify and trap serial killers. She has testified twice before Senate Judiciary Sub-committees on victims’ rights and on the danger of serial killers.

When Ann spent her summer vacations with her grandparents in Stanton, Michigan, she helped her grandmother prepare meals for the prisoners in the jail. She used to wonder why such friendly, normal appearing, men were locked behind bars, and why the sweet woman in the cell upstairs (who taught Ann to crochet) was about to go on trial for murder. That was the beginning of her lifelong curiosity about the “Whys” behind criminal behavior. Her books all explore the reasons behind the front-page cases she covers.

Ann’s books deal with three areas: the victims’ stories; the detectives and prosecutors and how they solve their cases with old fashioned police work and modern forensic science; and the killers’ lives. She tries to go back to the killers’ early childhood, and even back into their family histories to find some of the genesis of their behavior. She spends many months researching her books, beginning with the trial and with many subsequent visits to the locale where the crimes occurred. Once she has finished her research, she returns to her office to write her books.

Eight of Ann’s books have been made into TV movies, and five more are in the works. She won the coveted Peabody Award for the miniseries based on her book,
Small Sacrifices
, and has two Anthony Awards from Bouchercon, the mystery fans’ organization. She has been nominated three times for Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded the Washington State Governor’s Award. Ann is active in support groups for victims of violent crimes and their families, in programs to help battered and abused women, and support groups for children caught in traumatic living situations.

Ann’s Newest Book!