In "Corroborating Evidence II," William Rasmussen, author of two previous true-crime books, continues his investigation into famous, unsolved criminal cases by focusing on two separate, unrelated stories. The first zeroes in on the Cleveland Torso Murders committed between 1934 and 1938, where someone killed and expertly dismembered at least twelve victims in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1938, a letter by someone claiming to be the Torso Killer was mailed from Los Angeles to Cleveland's Chief of Police Matowitz. Approximately eight years later on January 7, 1946, six-year-old Suzanne Degnan was killed and expertly dismembered in Chicago. A seventeen-year-old by the name of William Heirens eventually pled guilty to the Degnan murder and two other murders. In July, 1946, Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) was in Chicago "terribly preoccupied with the details of the Degnan murder." Less than six months later the Black Dahlia was killed and expertly severed in Los Angeles. Was the Cleveland Torso Killer also responsible for the murders of Suzanne Degnan and the Black Dahlia? "If so, then is William Heirens wrongly incarcerated for crimes he did not commit?" the author asks. "I think he was." The second investigation turns the spotlight on the Zodiac Killer, who was responsible for at least six murders in California between 1966 and 1969. On October 30, 1966, eighteen-year-old Cheri Jo Bates was brutally murdered in Riverside, California. On December 20, 1968, sixteen-year-old Betty Lou Jensen and seventeen-year-old David Arthur Faraday were killed near Vallejo, north of San Francisco. Someone who identified himself as the "Zodiac" claimed to be the killer. He sent taunting letters, notes, greeting cards, codes, secret messages and hidden clues to newspapers and the police, and the killings continued. To this day the identity and location of the Zodiac remain unknown. The author says, "I think there is a high probability that the Zodiac is still alive and currently incarcerated for some other crime." The fascinating and highly documented information contained in this new illustrated book could well be a significant development in the Torso Murders of the 1930s, the murder of Suzanne Degnan, the murder of the Black Dahlia, the Phanom Murders of Texarkana and the Zodiac Murders.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Uncorroborated Evidence" would make a better title.,
By Mr. Colorful "Horror Junkie" (Denver, CO.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Corroborating Evidence II (Paperback)
Despite its oversized format and glossy cover, William T. Rasmussen's "Greatly Expanded" book could certainly use a lot of refining. Perhaps the best place to start, given the book's title, after all, would be with the evidence itself. Unfortunately, the sources into the Zodiac case that Rasmussen relies upon for his research are the book of an easily discredited author and a website comprised of amateur investigators whose theories range from 'my father did it' to 'the Manson Family did it.' Normally I wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of peripheral study being written by someone with little to no knowledge of the subject matter, but I honestly expected something far more probing and in keeping with the facts given that it was written by an author with a juris doctorate. Apparently I was allowing my interest in the subject matter to determine my purchase instead giving in to my gut instincts that told me this book would be a waste of far too many trees. Nevertheless, I purchased it, and can now say without equivocation that not only is Rasmussen demonstrating his lack of knowledge in the subject/s and therefore is forming conclusions that should be taken with a serious dosage of salt, but also that I'm so diametrically opposed to his investigative techniques given the chapters on a supposed Zodiac/Phantom Killer of Texarkana connection that I realize any time spent wading through his Torso/Lipstick/Black Dahlia connection can only be time wasted in which I could have been doing something more productive, such as watering my plants. I'll give it 1 star because it has that lurid appeal that we true crime readers seem to crave, but if you are interested in a serious expose into the true nature of these tragically unsolved crimes based on a wholehearted study of the facts, then plowing through Rasmussen's uninformed ramblings isn't the solution.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
what a joke!,
By
This review is from: Corroborating Evidence II (Paperback)
I was so looking forward to this book, as it purports to offer new information about some of my favorite cases...well, the information is new, but only because it largely consists of wild conjecture & speculation, not fact. Why not just come out & say that aliens were responsible (& while you're at it, they probably killed JFK, as well)? The book does contain photos & material not seen elsewhere, but the fantastic stretches it goes to trying to establish a link between some of these crimes are laughable. In the Notes (there are no references, which should have warned me about the quality of scholarship), it becomes apparent that the author has drawn primarily on popular books, newspaper accounts, & Internet sites to formulate his theories, not police reports or any official documents, running the risk of perpetrating errors & myths. Terribly shoddy work & a total disappointment!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Second time around,
By
This review is from: Corroborating Evidence II (Paperback)
I read Rasmussen's first book several months ago and liked it and decided to give the seond book a try. In the first book Rasmussen names Jack Anderson Wilson as the main suspect in the Cleveland Torso Murders, as well as, the Black Dahlia. He points out that in 1937 a lady in the Cleveland Workhouse told Detective Orley May that the person who was committing the Cleveland Torso Murders was a former butcher and sodomist by the name of Jack Wilson. Several years later in Los Angeles one of the suspects in the Black Dahlia case is named Jack Anderson Wilson and he is also a former butcher and sodomist. It seems very strange that this person is named in two separate cases several states away but not impossible. Afterall the cases are separated by 20 years and a serial killer does not stop killing just because he re-located. Apparently this man moved from on place to another because he was originally from Canton Ohio.
In the second book Rasmussen finds connections between the Zodiac Killer and the Phantom Killer of Texarkana. When the Phantom Murders were being committed a letter was sent to the step-father of one of the victims. The letter was typed in all capital letters as if to signify an urgent situtation. It seems that all of the Phantom Killer's letters were typed this way and mention "there will be more." In the Zodiac case there was letter sent to the victim father typed in all capital letters and included the phrase "there will be more." It seems to me that this was the first time anyone mentioned the similar letter styles and content connecting the two cases. There are other similarities in the book connecting the two cases like show size, cloth-hood over the head, etc... Rasmussen does not come out and say that only one person committed the crimes he describes but he does present new information that may be beneficial in solving these murders. For example, Rasmussen compares the "bus bomb" drawing the Zodiac drew to a sewing machine. This seemed a little far fetched to me until I read the reasoning behind it. If this intrigues you pick up a copy of the book for yourself or a loved one.
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