"Rigor mortis had set in by the time police arrived," Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton told the jury, watching their eyes as they viewed the photograph of the bloodied arm of Geralyn Barr DeSoto. Geralyn's clenched fist, frozen in death away from her body, held her secret. "Geralyn was trying to tell us something. She was telling us how hard she fought. She was telling us who her killer is. 'Right here,' she said. 'Right here I have the killer. Just open my hand. Just open my hand, and you'll know who did it to me.'" Two months later: "Charlotte Murray Pace fought from one room of that apartment to the other," Prosecutor John Sinquefield told jurors as they blinked tears away. "She clawed, she hit, she fought. As her young, strong heart pumped its last blood out of the holes he cut out of her, she fought. And in the fight, he took her life, her body. But he could not take her honor. She preserved her honor by the way she lived and the way she died. That fight is not over, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Charlotte Murray Pace has brought her fight to you." These crimes are vividly depicted in this first comprehensive book about Derrick Todd Lee. I've Been Watching You-The South Louisiana Serial Killer dramatically tells the story of Lee's life and follows the timeline of his reign of terror over South Louisiana. Readers will become intimately acquainted with the seven victims who have been linked to Lee by DNA, along with the frustrated investigators who could not catch this diabolical killer. This recounting also details the murders of ten other women who were not connected by DNA, but whom these authors believe should be included on the list of Lee's victims due to strong circumstantial evidence.There are many unanswered questions regarding these series of killings. How did Lee find his victims, and why did he choose them? Why didn't the Multi-Agency Homicide Task Force believe he was the killer when his name was brought repeatedly to its attention? What evil p
Susan D. Mustafa is an award-winning freelance journalist, author and editor whose articles are published monthly in a variety of magazines and newspapers in Louisiana and beyond.
She is the co-author of "Dismembered," written with Sue Israel, which is the story of serial killer Sean Vincent Gillis, a Louisiana killer who confessed to the brutal murders and mutilations of eight women. This book is so gruesome at times, the publisher has placed a warning label on it.
She is also the co-author of "Blood Bath," a book about the life and crimes of serial killer Derrick Todd Lee, written with Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton and Sue Israel. "Blood Bath" was published by Kensington Books in August 2009 under the Pinnacle True Crime line and chronicles the heartbreaking murders of seven women who have been linked by DNA to Derrick Todd Lee. This book was originally published under the title "I've Been Watching You."
She is also the co-author of "No Such Thing as Impossible," the inspirational biography of Philanthropist Jairo Alvarez Botero, which epitomizes the American Dream. This book has garnered 11 national and international awards and recently won the 2009 Golden Plume Award from the Association of Spanish Writers and Poets.
