Lethal Guardian [Paperback]

M. William Phelps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

A real estate lawyer in Connecticut's moneyed seaside communities, Beth Carpenter, 31, had beauty, brains and success. But she wanted more - namely guardianship of her two-year-old niece, Rebecca, daughter of Beth's estranged sister, Kim. When Kim married Anson 'Buzz' Clinton, 28, a former male exotic dancer deemed an unsuitable guardian by the Carpenter family, Beth became obsessed with the idea that only his death could ensure that she and her parents would get custody of the child. On March 10, 1994, on a lonely stretch of road, Clinton was shot five times.Behind Clinton's death lay a bizarre murder-for-hire conspiracy that found privileged professionals and local misfits joined in a cold-blooded plot against an innocent man. This homicidal group included attorney Haiman Clein, 53. A husband, father, and successful businessman, Clein was Beth Carpenter's boss - and also her sexually obsessed, cocaine-snorting, murderously obedient lover. The paid killers were two buddies, organizer Joe Fremut and triggerman Mark Despres, who brought his 15-year-old son Christopher along for the hit. The aftermath of this brutal crime would set investigators and prosecutors on a long and twisted path strewn with lies, treachery, and deceit that would cross the Atlantic Ocean before finally bringing justice home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A compelling narrative . . . entertaining and instructive." -- Columbia Daily Tribune

"Phelps is a first-rate investigator." -- Dr. Michael Baden, forensic pathologist and author of Dead Reckoning

"Phelps is the future of true crime writing . . . the best new crime author to come along in years." -- Gregg Olsen, New York Times best-selling author of Abandoned Prayers

"Phelps's writing [is] rare in today's true crime genre . . . [he] unmasks the psychopath with facts, insight and journalistic leg work." -- Lowell Cauffiell, New York Times best-selling author of House of Secrets, and Eye of the Beholder

From the Author

"The female murderer, from a literary standpoint, has always interested me," says M. William Phelps. "She is a rare breed. Beth Ann Carpenter—young, beautiful, professional—presented me with several intriguing and complicated issues to deal with: She was a woman who, from the outside, one would never suspect of being involved in such a heinous crime. She had everything going for her. Underneath the façade, however, I found a sullen, yet sobering portrait of a manipulative woman who lied to everyone around her . . . a woman who used her charm and obvious sexual appeal to convince men to do whatever she wanted. . . . I wrote this book like an episode of CBS’s "CSI" with this dynamic in mind. I wanted readers to walk with law enforcement on their six-year journey and find the truth through the evidence—just as I did."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078601587X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786015870
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,176,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Crime expert, lecturer, TV personality and acclaimed investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the national bestselling, award-winning author of nineteen nonfiction books. Winner of 2008 New England Book Festival Award for I'll Be Watching You, Phelps has made close to 100 television appearances, including CBS's "Early Show," Court TV/truTV, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, ABC's "Good Morning America," Learning Channel, Biography Channel, History Channel, Montel Williams, Investigation Discovery, Oxygen's "Snapped" and "Captured;" he's been on USA Radio Network, Catholic Radio, Ava Maria Radio, ABC News Radio and Radio America, who calls him "the nation's leading authority on the mind of the female murderer." He's written for the Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, New London Day, and consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series "Dexter."

Profiled in such noted publications as Connecticut Magazine, Writer's Digest, NY Daily News, Newsday, Albany Times-Union, Hartford Courant, Advance for Nurses Magazine, Forensic Nursing, and NY Post, Phelps lives in a small Connecticut farming community. Beyond his true-crime books, in 2008, Phelps published a highly acclaimed narrative nonfiction biography of Revolutionary War patriot Nathan Hale, NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (Thomas Dunne Books).

I have been busy! This December, THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND will publish. It is a book about Sam and John Colt, and how one brother invented the revolving firearm and the other murdered someone with a hatchet, culminating in the tragedies that took place afterward and how they juxtapose against the epic story of the Colt family legacy.

I have five more "Deadly Women" episodes in the can for Beyond Productions to air soon on Investigation Discovery channel. Don't miss the latest season--the best yet! Thank you everyone who has written in to say how much you like the shows.

My first TV series, DARK MINDS, is in post-production and will air in early 2012 on Investigation Discovery (ID). The concept of the show is unique and fresh. I have one of the preeminent serial killer profilers working today, John Kelly, ECD (a National Board Certified Addiction Specialist, Board Certified Social Worker, Certified Forensic Examiner and Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Examiners, president of S.T.A.L.K., Inc.), starring with me in the show--and one VERY special guest star each week--a bona fide serial killer in prison we are calling "13".

My thriller series, introducing Boston PD Detective Jake Sundance Cooper, is in the pipeline, and closer to publication.

When time permits, I continue to work on a Christmas story/literary murder-mystery, featuring an old curmudgeon and WW II survivor who, through a little girl, learns a great lesson in redemption and accountability.

Photo Credit: "Dark Minds"/Investigation Discovery

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable story A five star book, October 22, 2004

By 

S. G. Clinton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lethal Guardian (Paperback)

I am Dee the mother of the victim, Buzz. Mug shots on Court TV did a poor job at getting to the heart of this murder. A&E's City Confidential was terribly slanted. The prosecutors and detectives that viewed this program were horrified with the way the facts were completely twisted. A&E had the opportunity to film the "shed" while on my property. Instead they chose to use something they had to find in backwoods Appalachia; a building I wouldn't let my dog stay in.

[This author] took the time to really get to the TRUTH. I waited ten years, a decade, for the facts to be told, so when I finally get to see my grandchildren, it won't just be my word but that of an objective writer. As Buzz's Mom, if I told this story, as [the author] did, who would believe me?

You might want to review MURDER: A FAMILY AFFAIR by Ernie Dorling; also a book you can't put down once you pick it up. Ernie is an ex-FBI agent and his style of writing is different than [the author's]. All of the people who read one, told me they were compelled to read the other. You may want to offer them as a package. I am honored and proud of both writers and their work. They both took many hours to dig through the web of lies to expose the dark side within the Carpenter family. Beth used and abused strangers, acquaintances, as-well-as her own family members. What was done to Kim and Buzz is unforgivable.

These books bring to the reader how exhausting and labor intensive this case was for the Major Crime Squad. If it were not for these dedicated pit bulls, this case could have been closed and cold. Instead these dedicated and determined men untangled this web of deceit.

My family went through a decade of whispers behind our backs and to our faces; horrific insults. The Clinton family was especially exploited by the media. Both [this author] and Ernie Dorling exposed this unbelievable story and I will be eternally grateful to both of these fine men.

Sincerely,
Dee Clinton

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting tale of a foul femme fatale by a 1st rate writer!, July 14, 2004

By 

B.A.A. "A.H. Aficionado" (New Albany, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lethal Guardian (Paperback)

To Anson "Buzz" Clinton, wife Kim's family must have seemed more like "outlaws" than "in laws." Never allowing Kim and Buzz a moment's peace, Mr. & Mrs. Carpenter and eldest daughter Beth Ann were hell bent on gaining custody of Kim's daughter, Rebecca. They were equally obsessed in their desire to prevent Kim from marrying Buzz, a former exotic-dancer-turned-nurse's aide who was desperately trying to turn his life around and become a responsible man his family could be proud of.

Clinton's parents and siblings loved him dearly, and had no doubt Buzz would succeed in making something special of his life. Kim Carpenter's family, however, begged to disagree. Deeming Kim an unfit mother and Buzz an unsuitable mate, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter and daughter Beth Ann insisted to anyone who would listen that Rebecca would be far better off with them.

Manipulating circumstances, shamelessly using (and hurting!) people who might assist them in their cause, and very often turning the truth into "anything but," the Carpenter's plotted and schemed to no avail. Ultimately, the courts disagreed with attorney Beth Ann's arguments for custody, and sent Rebecca home to Kim and Buzz.

Unable to accept the thought of Rebecca living in a happy family unit that didn't include HER, Beth Ann took matters into her own hands. Utilizing her good looks, legal talents, and some positively lethal feminine wiles, Beth Ann coerced married-with-four-children lover/boss Haiman Clein into doing the unthinkable. Convincing Clein the only way Rebecca would be "safe" from "abusive" Buzz and "incompetent" Kim was Buzz's untimely death, Clein set out in search of a hit man to make this dream come true for the legal protege he had fallen head over heels for. The end result is a terrible tragedy for so many--all to ensure that Beth Ann and family met their selfish desires at others expense.

Phelps should be credited for digging far deeper into a complex story than many an author would have. It would have been only too easy for Phelps to brand "hitman" Mark Depres and his misfit coterie of friends, or attorney Haiman Clein, as the villains here and be done with it. Instead, Phelps painstakingly researched the intricacies of this case and discovered "wheels within wheels" to expose the true villain--Beth Ann herself (and more than likely her parents, though they have not been prosecuted to date).

I highly recommend this true crime tour de force--you will find that putting this book down will no doubt prove as much of a challenge as it had to have been to research it. Five stars to Phelps!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bold Reminder That ANYONE is Capable of Murder, July 27, 2006

By 

Kim Cantrell "Soap Box Bandit" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lethal Guardian (Paperback)

Author M. William Phelps writes the mouth-dropping, mind-boggling tale of the Carpenters and the Clintons, described perfectly within as modern "Hatfields and McCoys." This well written story is the twisted actions of two attorneys, most specifically Beth Ann Carpenter, who would do anything for love and custody of Beth Ann's niece, Rebecca, respectively. And to accomplish their goals, they seek out low life criminals who will do anything for money to fund their criminal lifestyles.

I found this book to be one of the best true crime stories I have read. It has everything an avid true crime reader loves including dirty little secrets, sordid affairs and kinky sex, devoted parents, and thrill of the chase.

Five stars to this top author and his exceptional true crime book!