Best-selling author Frank C. Girardot has been called the "Demon dog of true crime" by none other than Black Dahlia author James Ellroy. Praise for his writing has come from authors as varied as Walter Kirn and Michael Fleeman. His books have ranged from "Name Dropper", a chronicle on the bizarre antics of a murdering imposter who called himself Clark Rockefeller to "Betrayal in Blue" a look at cocaine dealing cops in 1980s New York City, which was co-authored by Burl Barer and Ken Eurell, one of the actual cops. In all of his writing, Girardot's ability to interview complicated characters like drug kingpin Adam Diaz, German imposter Christian Gerhartsreiter and serial arsonist John Orr, add a depth to his story telling that is often lacking in police procedurals masking as true crime. In each of his books, Girardot has displayed a unique ability to locate long-hidden public records and distill narratives from complex court records that brings his stories to life. Girardot's career in journalism began as a copyboy with the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner. As a reporter he covered stories as fascinating as the O.J. Simpson murder trial and as complex as the mistaken gang execution of three trick-or-treaters on Halloween 1993 in the Los Angeles area. Most recently, Girardot wrote a weekly column on the 2016 election for The Hill.
Born in Texas in 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer who killed at least 14 people and raped and tortured at least two dozen more, mostly during the spring and summer of 1985. After developing epilepsy as a child, he became a heavy drug user and cultivated an interest in Satanism, which became a calling card for investigators at his crime scenes. Apprehended in August 1985, Ramirez was sentenced to death at the conclusion of his trial in 1989. He spent the remainder of his days at California's San Quentin Prison, before dying from cancer on June 7, 2013, at age 53.
Comments