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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
HUSBAND, FATHER, SON, SERIAL KILLER..., August 22, 2004
This review is from: Dying For Daddy: A True Story of Family Killer Jack Barron (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a pretty straightforward telling of a true crime story that involved Jack Barron, a man whose wife, son, and daughter all seemed to have died in that order in their sleep in Sacramento California within two years of each other. Thanks to a bumbling, seemingly incompetent, Coroner's Office and a fairly uninterested Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, what should have been obvious after his wife's death, went unnoticed by those who should have known. One cannot help but speculate what might have been had the authorities acted with some semblance of competence. Perhaps, there might not have been three more needless deaths.
Consequently, Jack Barron went on to ensure that his little son and young daughter met the same fate as their mother. Still, no one in Sacramento law enforcement made a move to stop Jack Barron after each death, and the Coroner's Office still dithered in terms of its medical findings and conclusions. It was not until Barron moved to another jurisdiction, Benicia, California, and his own mother met the same fate as her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, did the Sacramento authorities really sit up and take notice, as law enforcement in Benicia was immediately suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his mother's death, especially when they discovered what had happened to the rest of Barron's family in Sacramento. The Coroner's Office for Benicia had no problem determining the cause of death for Barron's mother, given the medical findings. They were the same findings that had existed for Barron's wife. The only difference in the determination of the cause of death was the competence of the Coroner for the corresponding jurisdiction.
While the story is told in a fairly straightforward fashion, it is a story that is somewhat premature in the telling, as the book ends with Jack Barron awaiting trial for murder in Sacramento, California for the deaths of his wife, son, and daughter. His trial for his mother's murder would follow the one in Sacramento. So, there is no trial information or resolution in this book. One has to go on the internet to discover the eventual result of the trial. The lack of this information in the book is disappointing, as it leaves the reader hanging. Those readers who enjoy the true crime genre will still get a modicum of enjoyment from reading this book but will be brought up short by the obvious drawback in the story.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much more than "entertainment" value, February 25, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Dying For Daddy: A True Story of Family Killer Jack Barron (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
As a private investigator, formerly operating in Sacramento, I'd recommend reading this book with an eye for its insight into various social and professional values, and human dynamics. I was crying for this family before halfway through the book. Having dealt with many of the officials and agencies involved in the case, I can say that Mr. Smith showed more than good research in his treatment. He poses a poignant question of social importance, to which, unfortunately, I know the answer. He does so tactfully, accurately and constructively. Wherever you live, his question is relevant. If you live in Sacramento County, this book should begin to open your eyes to an all-too-common failure of the one agency you may someday need most desperately to trust. (They still think it's "unprofessional" to cry for the victims they leave in their wake. - When you call them, I hope you can change that view.)
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Continuation of previous review, August 20, 2000
This review is from: Dying For Daddy: A True Story of Family Killer Jack Barron (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
To be added to my previous review. Jack Barron was convicted of 1st Degree murders of Irene Barron, Jeremy Barron, and Roberta Butler, in April 2000, and was sentenced to 3 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. He was acquitted, unthinkably, as being responsible for his daughter's death, Ashley. He is now in the Corcoran Penal Institution located in California.
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