Customer Reviews

Stalking Justice The Dramatic True Story of the Detective Who First Used DNA Testing to Catch a Serial Killer

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"Stalking Justice" is a very good book. It is the story of the arrest, conviction, and eventual putting to death of Timothy Wilson Spencer for a series of gruesome rape/murders in Virginia in the 1980s. The murders took place in Arlington and Richmond. The book focuses on Arlington Detective Joe Horgas' investigation. This was also the first murder conviction that hinged on the breakthrough forensic science of DNA fingerprinting. This not only lead to the conviction of Spencer but helped free a man who had been convicted of one of the murders.Paul Mones does an excellent job of recreating the horrific crimes and crime scenes. Spencer was also linked to a series of break-ins/rapes that had been committed by a masked man. He was truely an evil person. Mones takes the reader step by step through Horgas' investigation. He shows the reader the right things that were done and also the errors that were committed by others. I grew up in Richmond and remember the panic that shook the city to it's core during the "Southside Strangler's" 3 murder spree. The number of murders may not seem large by serial killer standards, but there was a genuine fear in the city, especially by women who lived alone. I also knew one of the victim's mother. She was a teacher of mine in elementary school, so I always remembered the case. A whole other book could be written about the psychological aspects of the killer's makeup, but the bottom line is this was an individual who ritualistically tortured his victims and kept them alive for long periods of time before killing them. Luckily, he was stopped.I have a few complaints about the book. First, Det. Horgas is depicted as a one man wrecking crew while all other investigators are depicted as pig-headed or incompetent. I don't believe the entire Richmond PD was that inept. It was pointed out that several people involved had reservations about how Horgas came up with Spencer's name. While the evidence shows that Spencer undoubtedly committed the murders, the question of how Horgas pulled Spencer's name out of thin air is a curious one. I have no doubt this can happen in an investigation, but it is very coincidental that it happened this way in such a high profile one. My only insinuation is that maybe there was more information not privy to the reader. Also it was mentioned that animal hairs/fibers were found but the author never gave resolution to this. Did Spencer have a dog? Maybe I missed that in my reading. These complaints are minor as the author overall did an outstanding job. My only major complaint is that no picture of Spencer was included in the photo spread in the book. All major players were shown including the man falsely accused, but not Spencer. This was an error in editing. My last observation is in regards to the DNA analysis. The author mentions another case involving Barry Sheck, where DNA analysis was thrown out when the lab's quality control came under fire. DNA fingerprinting is revolutionary in crime fighting but it is only as good as the people analyzing the samples. Spencer was undoubtedly guilty, but for the sake of innocent persons accused the labs doing the tests have to be closely monitored. The Spencer case is also mentioned in John Douglas' "Journey into Darkness".

which satisfied many of my long-standing questions & concerns regarding the tragic death of one of Mr. Spencer's victims. My interest in this particular crime is personal because I knew her. We worked together & interacted on an almost daily basis. I'd describe her best as a "jackie-of-all-trades" (architect, attorney, photographer, adventurer). She was also perhaps our office's Einstein equivalent, for she was so intelligent & bright. I continue to remember her most for her many eccentricities, some endearing & some perhaps not (depending upon whom you happened to ask). She was a gentle spirit who always remembered to live for each day & to be thankful for its many gifts. There was truly no one else quite like her!

Greetings,

As an avid reader of true crime books this one rates really high on my list. I loved every minute of it as the book was well written and really held your attention. Once I started reading I could not put it down. I liked it because the author told the entire story without adding endless pages of scientific termonology that would go over the average reader's head. I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with the criminal mind.

I purchased this book after reading "The Blooding" by Joseph Wambaugh. I have always been fascinated by DNA and it's ability to free someone Or find them guilty. This book is about a detective in Virginia who dared to use DNA testing in it's early stages,for finding the true rapist & murderer and releasing the innocent person. It was one of the first cases in the U.S. to use DNA. This happened in 1988 and 1989! His name is Detective Joe Horgas. Great book! A keeper.