Customer Reviews

While Innocents Slept: A Story of Revenge, Murder, and SIDS

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is poorly researched, disorganized, and a difficult read. The author also seems to be biased toward the killer, and in fact, obtained most of his information from the killer and his starry-eyed, fourth wife. Havill does not appear to think highly of women; the victim, Ms. Anastasi, has traveled the world, holds a master's degree and currently works for NASA. Havill describes her as an overweight, bleached blonde. (incidentally, she is an attractive, natural blonde who happens to be in her forties). The trial judge, Ann Harrington, was one of the first women prosecutors in the State of Maryland, and is considered a brilliant, fair jurist. Her convictions are rarely, if ever, overturned on appeal. Havill describes Judge Harrington only in terms of her daily choice of jewelry and makeup, and mentions that she is a former beauty queen.

Havill's "research" is flawed because he presents only one view; that from the killer and this then-current family and few friends. The lawyers and witnesses in the case were not free to discuss the case while it was pending, and thus a mountain of information (evidence that was not admitted at trial) was never revealed. If Havill had not been in such a hurry to publish, his account could have been much more informative and accurate. I know; I am one of the figures in the investigation.

This book grabbed me from the beginning. It's way above most true crime because it treats both sides equally and reads more like a novel than a by-the-book regurgitating of trial transcripts. I started this at eight in the evening and finished it at five the next morning, fell asleep, and was an hour late for work. So my advice is: start on a weekend. Seriously, I've read a lot of crime and this is one of the best!

I knew Garrett Wilson at the time of Michael's death. I knew and worked with him at Jordan Kitt's Music before and after Michael was born and when he also, unfortunately died. I found the book interesting, however, I was disappointed with Mr. Havill's research. For someone that met with Mr.Wilson numerous times, there wasn't much dialog from Mr. Wilson. I found the book to be truthful as far as Mr.Wilson's womanizing and spending habits. I was 15 when I met Mr. Wilson and was 16 when we became involved. I was shocked to learn of Michael's death. The picture Garrett painted Missy was not a pretty one. He was coniving and manipulative (especially of a 16 year old). As he told Vicky, he also asked me if I'd like to take care of Michael. I found it interesting to find out there were at least two other women besides me at that same time, although, now that I'm 14 years older and wiser, not shocked. I still have journal entries about this man from my teen years, I am interested to dig them out of storage now. I wonder how many other women there truly were. I never saw Garrett as an evil or hurtful man, but would he kill his child for insurance money? I think it's quite possible. I remember running errands for Mr.Wilson and I believe one of the many errands was dropping off that insurance payment. In the beginning of our "relationship", I remember him asking me how much money my father made, etc... Greed takes over some people in strange ways. My heart truly goes out to Missy. I am so very, very sorry for her loss. Garrett was the truest form of a "con-man". Garrett deserves to be where he is now.

Adrian Havill's new book, While Innocents Slept, takes the True Crime-writing genre to a new level. He maintains a journalistic impartiality, keeping secret how he is viewing the accused, Garrett Wilson, and the crimes of which Wilson is suspected: The suffocation of his own two babies (from subsequent marriages), ostensibly for insurance money, and the covering up of those deeds with the handy mystery-diagnosis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The reader is kept in suspense until the final pages when the jury renders its verdict. Havill's even-handedness paints a clear picture of the tragedies. Three sets of families suffered. The two sympathetic families of the dead infants are certainly victims as well as the family of the accused man, who believe in him. The reader has a chance to identify with each person's pain and actions, because they are in almost every way, everyday people like we all know from somewhere.

His friends and family felt bad for Garrett and Missy Wilson when both their infants died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the 1980s. In 1993, Garrett divorced Missy. Later he married Vicky and had a little girl Marysa with her. In 1998, Maryland police arrest Garrett for smothering his son Garrett Michael to death in 1987. The death of his daughter Brandi Jean remains suspicious. A jury deliberating in less than two hours returned a guilty verdict on Garrett.

However, is he guilty of murder for insurance or is he the victim of a zealot police officer and a scorned former wife? Adrian Havill provides one heck of a true-life crime tale by having access to more than just both sides of the story. The author also obtains the latest medical information on SIDS that adds to the terror of this real life murder mystery. WHILE INNOCENTS SLEPT is a shocker not because Garrett did or did not kill his two children, but because of the realization that a statistically significant number of SIDS casualties are homicide victims. Not for the faint of heart, fans will find this scary true-life mystery to be one of the best the genre offers.

Harriet Klausner

This book was especially shocking and hard to put down for me because I went to high school with this guy and we were actually friends. Not that we hung around, but spoke alot, rode around once in a while etc... Shocking that he had this side to him. I would have NEVER thought he had anything like this lurking below the surface. He was very nice, well mannered and seemed very genuine.

This book is a capable chronicle of an interesting true crime story that spans over many years. For those who are fans of this genre they will find the mystery itself and the people sho demanded these deaths be prosecuted, despite the inital lack of police interest, to be the substance that carries this book.

The author did his homework and wrote the book in a straight forward fashion that neither gets in the way of the story nor overly dramatizes the tale. The background info on the central charachters is adequate, but there were times I would have liked to have them flushed out some more.

I think the book does justice to prosecutor Doug Gansler, who really carried the ball on the case when it would have been just as easy to decline.

The face of evil in this story is so ordinary and bland that it chills the heart. While Innocents Slept is the tale of a father accused of mudering two infant children as they slept. Unfortunately, the writing is a bit scattered and the story is uneven. That makes this book very hard to follow and unrewarding to read.

Garrett Wilson was far from a model citizen. He was convicted of embezzlement, theft, and was accomplished in deceiving women. Seven years after he had a second child died of SIDS, his wife decided that Garrett Wilson must also be a murderer. While arguing the case of Wilson's guilt, the author simultaneously raises the question of whether Wilson's former wife is merely a scorned former lover seeking revenge. Even though some startling arguments are raised in this book, a reasonable doubt as to Wilson's guilt does exist.

Garrett Wilson allegedly had several siblings die from SIDS. This was his reasoning for purchasing a life insurance policy on his daughter Brandy Jean and son Garrett Michael shortly after their birth. Any time a baby dies from SIDS, the circumstances are suspicious. While Wilson's behavior surrounding the death of his children may be suspicious, much of the evidence seems circumstantial. Though Garrett Michael's edema may suggest trauma from suffocation, an edema can arise from other forms of trauma aside from suffocation. Being the last person to see his children alive before they died does cause some serious eye brows to be raised. Particularly with the accusation that he drugged one of his wives to make her sleep through the murder.

Is it possible that Garrett Wilson killed his two children to collect life insurance? Based on his shadowy financial reputation, his guilt is quite possible. The evidence has obviously left doubt in the mind of other reviewers based on their reviews. I will give the author credit, he did pick a compelling story for his book.

This book is a spellbinding read. It reads more like a novel than real life. You are left wondering if Missy was honestly trying to protect a baby or if she was just a scorned woman seeking revenge. Obviously, the jury felt she was trying to save a baby's life.

It is the story of a con man, a scorned ex-wife, two SIDS deaths of babies, coroners that reversed their autopsy decision years after the fact, and a man that was convicted because of insurance policies and reputation.

The case put SIDS evidence, or the lack of it, on trial as much as anything else. Experts refuted each other and presented conflicting studies and statistics. It was an interesting debate.

I found the entire book fascinating and highly recommend it.