There are some fascinating tidbits of information you will NOT see on The Staircase, the 13-episode true crime docu-series currently streaming on Netflix. One of them is the full story of the blowpokes. It relates to the fact that in September 2003 while he was on trial for the first-degree murder of his wife, novelist Michael Peterson called an antiques store in Maine and ordered three blowpokes to be shipped overnight to his home in Durham, North Carolina. Continue reading “The Staircase Hubby: Charmer Or Psychopath?”
Author: joanna
Who’s The Real Villain In True Crime TV Series, The Staircase?
If you haven’t actually watched it yet, you surely have heard something about Netflix’s latest true crime docu-series, The Staircase. And, yes, it is ever bit as riveting as the myriad reviews online and in the mainstream press say it is. I can attest to that since I binge-watched all 13 episodes.
The episodes, amounting to approximately 650 minutes of docu-drama, were edited down from 650 hours of video footage filmed by a French director and his television crew over a period 15 years. The TV crew became virtually embedded with Michael Peterson and his family and legal team of highly-priced defense attorneys after Michael, a 61-year old novelist and former columnist for a Durham, North Carolina newspaper was arrested and indicted on charges of first degree murder. The victim? His 48-year old wife of five years, a telecommunications executive named Kathleen. Continue reading “Who’s The Real Villain In True Crime TV Series, The Staircase?”
The Fascinators Of Hampton Bays
Question: Where do you get to see as many fascinators in one afternoon as you saw at the very British, very Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan?
Answer: At a fundraiser garden party for the Hampton Bays Beautification Society on the first Saturday in June 2018.
If you still don’t know — or can’t guess– what a fascinator is, hint: there’s one in almost every photo below.
And, if you don’t know where Hampton Bays is, hint: it’s in the Hamptons, on Long Island, but it’s not the snootiest Hampton. Not even close. That’s despite the fact that the hamlet has sandy beaches on two spectacular bays, Shinnecock and Peconic, and one of the best Ocean beaches in the world over the Ponguogue Bridge. Continue reading “The Fascinators Of Hampton Bays”
Amateur Online Sleuths: How They Work & Do They Help Solve Crimes?
Call them online sleuths, web detectives, or sometimes armchair vigilantes. These days apparently, they are everywhere, and you, too, could be one so long as you have a desktop or laptop computer with a connection to the Internet, and a passion for true crime — especially for unsolved homicides. Continue reading “Amateur Online Sleuths: How They Work & Do They Help Solve Crimes?”
Hunting A Serial Killer: One Woman’s Astounding True Crime Story
I have something in common with Michelle McNamara the author of the “astounding” true crime best seller, I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: We have both hunted serial killers who terrorized quiet neighborhoods, and brutally killed women in various parts of California four decades ago.
My “hunt” took place over the course of one night in 1978 when I joined a Los Angeles detective on patrol with the task force searching for the Hillside Strangler –a serial killer who claimed the lives of ten women in the Los Angeles area between 1977 and 1978. I was on assignment at the time for the London Evening News in which my article about the search (see photo) appeared. Continue reading “Hunting A Serial Killer: One Woman’s Astounding True Crime Story”