8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thrilling Trial, Objective Presentation, October 28, 2002
This review is from: Reasonable Doubt (Mass Market Paperback)
Steve Vogel's accounting of the horrid Hendricks family murder was laced with controversy when it first came out. At the time, those following the crime believed David Hendricks was guilty, but Vogel's book challenged the thoroughness of the police, questioned their biases and their understanding of religious matters.
The story details the events surrounding the murder of three children and their mother, and whether or not the father was guilty. The father, out of town when the police discovered the bodies, claimed an alibi. The police determined, through statements from models he used for his catalog for his company, that perhaps David Hendricks was not faithful to his wife. No affairs were discovered, but the model statements still showed a poor light on Hendrick's commitment to his wife.
Hendricks was a lay leader in a relatively small, conservative group of evangelical Christians called the "Plymouth Brethren". The police did not realize that this group, though small, shared its basic theology with many Baptist denominations, as well as other better-known Christian groups. Instead, the police surmised that since divorce was discouraged in the Plymouth Brethren, Hendricks felt he needed to kill his family in order to be free of the marriage. Vogel describes the small-town ignorance of the police detectives and prosecutors by using their own trial testimoy. The prosecutor's logical jump was proposterous, but it played heavily into the trial.
The town, in a near OJ Simpson trial like frenzy, fed off the news, and the story became both local scandal and national news.
Confusing the matter was Hendrick's intense demeanor. He was well-read, and well-thought out, and by no means a man to react over-emotionally. His seemingly calm response, which may have been based on his faith or general personality, caused the police to see Hendricks cynically. Though they weren't country bumpkins, they weren't on the intellectual caliber of Hendricks, a star graduate of Northwestern University and inventor of a top-selling piece of medical equipment.
At issue in the trial was if Hendricks had the opportunity to have been at home at the time of the murders. He claimed no, the police claimed yes. The key evidence was the time of death as determined by the digestion of food the children ate. If that could be verified, then the suspect Hendricks was either cleared or very likely the culprit.
I fully recommend "Reasonable Doubt" for readers looking to think in this older, yet continually popular true crime book.
Anthony Trendl
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very detailed account of a horrific murder., January 1, 1998
This review is from: Reasonable Doubt (Mass Market Paperback)
I found this book to be a very well written account of the horrific murder of four very innocent people. The book contains considerable detail of the crime, the investigation, the trial of David Hendricks, the accused. Although most of the evidence is circumstanual and there is certainly a "reasonable doubt" as to the true guilt or innocence of the accused, the book is excellent for those who crave only the true stories of life. I for one am an avid reader of only those stories that are in fact true in nature. I have never cared for fiction. This book is worth the purchase and reading. The only thing I did not care for is that the print is rather small in the paperback edition and was for me difficult to read. Otherwise the book is tops.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Objective book, an average read, June 19, 2007
This review is from: Reasonable Doubt (Mass Market Paperback)
The David Hendricks case was a media sensation in the Peoria area. This was the dawn of guerilla news tactics and the area media was only too glad to serve what would sell.
The title pretty much sums up what I believe the author was striving for. Hendricks was tried and convicted in the public's eyes long before his trial started; and Vogel I think is attempting to get the reader to actually consider all the facts of the case, not just the soundbites. Before I read the book I was pretty well convinced Hendricks murdered his family, afterward I wasn't so sure. The guy may have had a wandering eye, but that doesn't make him an axe-murderer.
Towards the end, Vogel presents a couple of the scenarios the prosecution came up with to buttress their case, but they come off as a lot of grand speculation when everything is taken into account.
Gore-hounds looking for a fast, bloody true crime tale will come away disappointed. Vogel doesn't embellish the details in what is a horrifying, heart-breaking end to three children's lives and their mother's.
His presentation is objective, however the style is a little dry. But I'm not sure I would want him to juice things up.
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