Pure Murder (Pinnacle True Crime) (Paperback)

by Corey Mitchell (Author)
Key Phrases: Peter Cantu, Joe Medellin, Corey Mitchell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Two Innocent Teens

The crime was unspeakable. On a summer night in Houston, two bright, beautiful, success-bound teenage girls crossed paths with a group of young men fueled with alcohol and rage. Four days later, when searchers finally found Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena, their bodies were unrecognizable...

An Orgy Of Violence

At first, the teenage boys grabbed Elizabeth, while Jennifer escaped. But Elizabeth's desperate cries brought Jennifer back to help her best friend. Both girls were subjected to sexual assaults of every conceivable kind...and long, painful, drawn-out deaths...

No Mercy

For days afterward, the killers bragged openly about their crime. By the time prosecutors got the case, convictions for double murder looked like a "slam dunk." But the families of the victims were in for a horrible surprise. In this terrifying case, justice would be a torturous journey...

Includes 16 Pages Of Shocking Photos

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786018518
• ISBN-13: 978-0786018512
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,545 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (and Anger), June 7, 2008

By	tomas - See all my reviews

I have never read a book before that made me so furious. Not the quality of the writing, but rather the story itself. Corey Mitchell does an incredible job of pulling you right into the story as we find ourselves right alongside the father of Jennifer Ertman, a young girl, who was brutally murdered in 1993 in a park in Houston, Texas. We have no idea how she is killed or why or by who, but eventually we learn all that and so much more.

It take nearly 200 pages before we even get to the crime and by the time we are there I was completely entranced and mortified. In addition to learning about Jennifer, we also learn about her best friend, Elizabeth pena. I enjoyed how the athor did not try to make both girls out to be the perfect angels like so many other true crime authors do with their subjects. We learn that Elizabeth is a flawed individual and not the perfect daughter. This only serves to make her even more human and more sympathetic.

We also learn about the six main culprits behind this incredibly gruesome and horrifying crime. Instaed of creating sympathy for the killers, this also makes them more human as well. It is fascinating to know that they all came from relatively stable, happy home lives. Definitely breaking the mold of the typical killer, or at least how the media attempts to portray them.

Getting to know the two girls, as well as all six of their killers, made reading the murder scene almost unbearable. I never have experienced sheer terror when reading a true crime book, until now. After it was finally over, I wanted to put down the book and take a shower. There was no way though that I could stop reading this story.

I could not imagine this story getting any better (or worse as the case would be for the families) but it did. The insane ordeal that Jennifer and Elizabeth's families had to endure is completely maddening. Trials, delayed executions, Supreme Court rulings, and even meddling by the president of the United States are just a few of the obstacles they have to endure.

This book is intense, very well-written, and truly terrifying. I was not familiar with the case and know I cannot believe I did not know about it before. A truly staggering book that I highly recommend to readers of true crime, but also to parents, as well as people tired of criminals receiving more rights than the victims.

A genius work of literature.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad, June 23, 2008

By	MoodyBlue - See all my reviews

I read this book in one day. I am a fan of Corey Mitchell because he gives the reader the opportunity to get to know all those involved. He doesn't stay focused on the gore, and he gives the reader just enough information for us to realize how the poor victim(s) suffered at the hands of the killer(s).

In "Pure", Elizabeth and Jennifer are young and beautiful teenagers who set out for a night of fun with some friends. When the girls realize their curfew is minutes away, they decide to take a shortcut home. That shortcut would prove to be fatal. The young teens meet up with a pack of monsters. What followed was truly disturbing. What was even more disturbing are the two young men who could have perhaps saved the girls from their deaths, yet did nothing. The rest of the book follows the families outrage, the arrest and the trials of these losers. This story is one you will not soon forget.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horrific , August 13, 2008

By	CG "Cg" (California) - See all my reviews

After learning a 31 year old man had FINALLY been excecuted for the murder he (and others) committed at 18 years old. I purchased the book Saturday afternoon and I finished Tuesday evening. I am a mother of 3 children under 5.
I just couldn't put it down and when I did, I said a prayer for those beautiful girls and their families. I felt emotions, anger, scared, helplessness and cried.
The Author just captivated me. The story was there he just put the information in order and shared the VICTIMS injustice. Corey Mitchell put the victims first, NOT the criminals. There was no making excuses for their actions.
Even not wanting to know the animals lives and up bringing, it gave a sense of how the did not value or respect life. I realize not just Adult men are true animals but it can happen in Young men, I am now a changed woman and mother for reading this book! I will always pray that they are ALL executed and burn in hell. Good JOB TEXAS! Better late then NEVER!"