Reading or hearing about true crime can be chilling, disturbing even. However, it’s always had its charm. In the strangest 3 true crime books, we’re going to address, there is something about how a person can commit such crimes that makes it unfathomable, and trying to learn and comprehend the psychology of criminals and their crimes is like diving into a deep ocean with no end, and you might never get a solid answer, which adds even more to the allure as you want to uncover more.
Here, you will find strange, maybe even shocking details in these books that you don’t want to miss out on.
The Strangest 3 True Crime Books
3. Black Widow by Marion Collins
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The book, which is one of the strangest 3 true crime books, talks about Lynn Turner, also known as “The Anti-freeze Killer” who ended up killing both of her lovers, Glenn Turner whom she married, and Randy Thompson, for money. That’s not what’s strange. What’s strange is that her murders went undiscovered for so long because the medical examiners ruled out that the cause of death was because of natural causes since there were signs of heart failure. Glenn died first in 1995, then Randy in 2001.
It wasn’t until Glenn’s friend coincidentally heard about Randy’s death and his relationship with Lynn that the wheels started rolling. In one of the strangest 3 true crime books, word came out to Kathy Turner, Glenn’s mother, and she reached out to the Thompsons and they discussed the similarities between the deaths of Glenn and Randy, which pushed them both to go to the medical examiner.
The medical examiner did not like Glenn’s report, so, they reopened Randy’s investigation as his death was more recent, and after redoing some tests, it turns out that whoever checked the ethylene glycol levels in his system, placed the decimal point in the wrong place. What was thought to be some trace amounts of it turned out to be a vast amount, enough to kill him. The examiner ruled that Randy was murdered by ethylene glycol-based anti-freeze.
The authorities ordered the exhumation of Glenn’s body, which was heart-wrenching for the family, and the medical examiner found calcium oxalate crystals, one of the byproducts of ethylene glycol, that the body can only produce while it is still alive. So, there was enough to convict Lynn Turner and she was sentenced to life in prison.
What makes this book one of the strangest 3 true crime books is that, firstly, no one ever heard of anti-freeze as a murder weapon. Secondly, she put it in Jell-O, where its taste couldn’t be detected. Finally, the medical examiners’ mishaps were drastic. No need to imagine the impact of something as small as misplacing a decimal point as the Thompsons have lived its consequences and they were drastic, especially for a grieving family.
2. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
Ted Bundy and his crimes are no strangers to us. Countless books, documentaries, and movies have been made about him. What makes this book stand out as one of the strangest 3 true crime books, however, is how the infamous true crime author, Ann Rule, was a friend of Ted Bundy’s, how the man who murdered countless women ruthlessly used to save lives with Ann Rule through the Crisis Center calls.
The fact that she knows Ted Bundy gave her a unique privilege. It showed the moral conflict she had as she couldn’t fathom that the same man she befriended and knew as the life-saver was the same brutal murderer the news was talking about. Even when he was in prison, she’d send him money. It wasn’t until he was convicted of kidnapping and murder that she started believing that he was guilty.
She even addresses in one of her strangest 3 true crime books the fact that Ted Bundy’s victims were brunettes with their hair parted in the middle, as they resemble his first love, Diane Edwards, who ended up breaking up with him. This breakup left him devastated to the point that he sought revenge. Ann Rule claimed that what made her safe from his deadly grasp was the fact that she was blonde, if she were a brunette, who knows? Her fate might have been fatally different.
1. Deadly Charm: The Story of a Deaf Serial Killer by McCay and Marie Vernon
Yes, you read right, a deaf serial killer, and that’s what makes it on top of the strangest 3 true crime books. Patrick Colin McCullough was born in Alaska in 1960 to a military family that was always on the move. He became deaf at age 3 after a severe fever, but he could read lips and could speak a little bit. As a child, he was misunderstood due to his deafness, which led him to throw aggressive tantrums and grow to be aggressive.
He committed 3 murders, the first was that of his boss, Clinton Riley, in 1980. Riley disappeared under weird circumstances, leaving no trace except a bloodstained carpet in his van. After two years, his remains were found, and in 1983, police arrested McCullough and charged him with first-degree murder after his girlfriend let the authorities know that he had told her that he killed Riley. He was charged with first-degree murder but then pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The second murder in one of the strangest 3 true crime books was that of John Meyer in 1982. He was a night manager of a parking garage where McCullough had applied for a job. Again, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1985 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be served concurrently with his seven-year term.
The final one was that of Randi Lawrence, his lover. They were both each other’s salvation but McCullough was too much to handle and she broke up with him. He couldn’t handle the breakup so, he fatally shot Lawrence as Lawrence’s 7-year-old son listened from his bedroom upstairs. Then, he shot himself to death, maybe to escape the aftermath of his actions, maybe he couldn’t bear the burden of what he’s done, the only one that has the answer is him.
The Strangest 3 True Crime Books: Afterthought
These books are strikingly mind-blowing with the facts they bring to the table, and they are worthy of being deemed the strangest 3 true crime books to be read. They are very interesting and intriguing reads that I highly recommend especially for true crime fanatics like yours truly.
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