Ann Rule

Ahnimus

Anyone ever read Ann Rule?

My mother studied criminology and worked as a matron for the police. She sent me three books by Ann Rule (true-crime author). I've just started casually reading "Most Dangerous Killers: Without pity".

It's interesting stuff.

Ann Rule was a friend and colleague of Ted Bundy at the Seattle, Washington Crisis line before it was revealed that he was a serial murderer.

catefrances

oh yes i have a littlestack of ann rule's books.

and never let her go
the lust killers
the stranger beside me (about bundy)
a rose for her grave
the I-5 killer

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

oh yes i have a littlestack of ann rule's books.

and never let her go
the lust killers
the stranger beside me (about bundy)
a rose for her grave
the I-5 killer

Cool, my mother sent me the I5 killer too. She has all the books apparently. She was way more into crime study than I have been, probably where I got it from to begin with.

Good stuff, I just made it through the first story in the book and I liked it. It was short and to the point, these are the facts, you decide what happened. I like that.

soulsinging

i felt the i-5 killer was kinda mediocre, but the one about ted bundy is amazing.

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

Cool, my mother sent me the I5 killer too. She has all the books apparently. She was way more into crime study than I have been, probably where I got it from to begin with.

Good stuff, I just made it through the first story in the book and I liked it. It was short and to the point, these are the facts, you decide what happened. I like that.

i went through a major crime period. what depravities people are capable of never ceases to amaze me.

ryan you should read the last victim by jason moss. his interest in serial killers came from his mum and he actually spoke to several of them in prison and corresponded with them. john wayne gacy, manson, dahmer. sadly he ended up suiciding.

Ahnimus

soulsinging wrote:

i felt the i-5 killer was kinda mediocre, but the one about ted bundy is amazing.

I don't think I got that one. I might check it out though.

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

i went through a major crime period. what depravities people are capable of never ceases to amaze me.

ryan you should read the last victim by jason moss. his interest in serial killers came from his mum and he actually spoke to several of them in prison and corresponded with them. john wayne gacy, manson, dahmer. sadly he ended up suiciding.

I'll see if my mother has read it, it sounds interesting. Thanks

libragirl

I'm familiar with her but I have yet to read her books.

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

I'll see if my mother has read it, it sounds interesting. Thanks

here's another 2 to check out:

riverman by robert keppel and william j. birnes

this ones about investigating the green river killings and how bundy insinuated his way into the investigation to buy himself some more time.


shot in the heart by mikal gilmore.

about mikal's brother gary gilmore. also the subject of mailer's the executioner's song

prism

yeah, i've read a few of Ann Rule's books

The Stranger Beside Me
The I-5 Killer
Small Sacrifices
Bitter Harvest
Everything She Ever Wanted
A Rose for Her Grave
You Belong to Me
A Fever in the Heart
In the Name of Love
The End Of The Dream
A Rage to Kill


I haven't read any of her newer books over the last few years. it kinda gets to be too creepy to keep reading about the crimes she writes about. like so creepy it's almost enough that if you live in the PNW you'll never want to leave your own front porch ever again :eek:

Ahnimus

prism wrote:

yeah, i've read a few of Ann Rule's books

The Stranger Beside Me
The I-5 Killer
Small Sacrifices
Bitter Harvest
Everything She Ever Wanted
A Rose for Her Grave
You Belong to Me
A Fever in the Heart
In the Name of Love
The End Of The Dream
A Rage to Kill


I haven't read any of her newer books over the last few years. it kinda gets to be too creepy to keep reading about the crimes she writes about. like so creepy it's almost enough that if you live in the PNW you'll never want to leave your own front porch ever again :eek:

What's a PNW? Washington area?

There sure is a lot of incidences of homicide in that region, but that might just be a result of population density.

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

What's a PNW? Washington area?

There sure is a lot of incidences of homicide in that region, but that might just be a result of population density.

PNW = pacific north west.

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

PNW = pacific north west.

I should have guessed that since I grew up in the pacific northwest. Specifically Powell River and Victoria, B.C. I guess, I've never seen it as an acronym before.

vedderfan10

Ahnimus wrote:

I should have guessed that since I grew up in the pacific northwest. Specifically Powell River and Victoria, B.C. I guess, I've never seen it as an acronym before.

Did not know you lived in Victoria at one time....I live near there - and grew up here too...

I used to just LOVE Ann Rule books! But I don't think I've read one since 2000. "Bitter Harvest" was the last one I read - and thought it was quite facinating...One I really got the creeps over was "Dead by Sunset". Everytime we go to Oregon, I think about that story...and I have no idea why...Small Sacrifices...that gives you a lot of insight into the mind of a psychopath/sociopath...I can't remember if she was psychotic or not...

What's weird is that my dad turns out to be an Ann Rule fan - I didn't know that for the longest time...anyway, he has all my books...

Cool thread!

Has anyone ever read Perfect Victim about the couple who kept a girl in a box under their bed - for years....? That was REALLY disturbing!

prism

Vedderfan10 wrote:

Did not know you lived in Victoria at one time....I live near there - and grew up here too...

I used to just LOVE Ann Rule books! But I don't think I've read one since 2000. "Bitter Harvest" was the last one I read - and thought it was quite facinating...One I really got the creeps over was "Dead by Sunset". Everytime we go to Oregon, I think about that story...and I have no idea why...Small Sacrifices...that gives you a lot of insight into the mind of a psychopath/sociopath...I can't remember if she was psychotic or not...

What's weird is that my dad turns out to be an Ann Rule fan - I didn't know that for the longest time...anyway, he has all my books...

Cool thread!

Has anyone ever read Perfect Victim about the couple who kept a girl in a box under their bed - for years....? That was REALLY disturbing!

lived in Victoria at one time *raises hand*


i forgot all about about Dead By Sunset.....I read that one too

prism

Ahnimus wrote:

What's a PNW? Washington area?

There sure is a lot of incidences of homicide in that region, but that might just be a result of population density.

psycho nuts in washington


it doesn't have anything to do with population density...if that were the case the entire east coast would be crawling with serial killers....if i had to guess i would say that it has much more to do with lots of wooded areas to hide the bodies in the PNW

catefrances

prism wrote:

psycho nuts in washington


it doesn't have anything to do with population density...if that were the case the entire east coast would be crawling with serial killers....if i had to guess i would say that it has much more to do with lots of wooded areas to hide the bodies in the PNW

and perhaps a more transient population? truckers, loggers... your garden variety nutjobs. not to mention the type of industries that attract such creatures giving them the opprtunity and victim base to commit their crimes.

prism

catefrances wrote:

and perhaps a more transient population? truckers, loggers... your garden variety nutjobs. not to mention the type of industries that attract such creatures giving them the opprtunity and victim base to commit their crimes.

dammit cate, now i'm scared to leave my house ever again


the one serial killer that i've ever seen personally (I stood behind him in the check out line at the Rite-Aid) didn't kill anyone around here. as a matter of fact he and his cohort(that my daughter went to high school with here) went to my hometown and the surrounding area 3000 miles away from here to do most of their killing. I'm dead serious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks

catefrances

prism wrote:

dammit cate, now i'm scared to leave my house ever again


the one serial killer that i've ever seen personally (I stood behind him in the check out line at the Rite-Aid) didn't kill anyone around here. as a matter of fact he and his cohort(that my daughter went to high school with here) went to my hometown and the surrounding area 3000 miles away from here to do most of their killing. I'm dead serious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks

just carry a big knife.

prism

catefrances wrote:

just carry a big knife.

good idea...I'll start carrying a machete around with me...you know, just to blend in with the other garden-variety nutjobs :cool:

Ahnimus

I have no fear of killers.

Ahnimus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4SZ6cv1y0

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

I have no fear of killers.

i have no fear of the killers

wolfbear

It's funny, a client of mine just recommended her to me this morning. He loves her books. I'm going to have to check her out.

prism

wolfbear wrote:

It's funny, a client of mine just recommended her to me this morning. He loves her books. I'm going to have to check her out.

I got rid of some of them at a book sale years ago. but I still have a stack to get you started, that you're more than welcome to borrow anytime.

ardy

hey you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nAnCy...how the heck are you!!!!!?????!!!!

Ahnimus

I found this story particularly interesting, it's from "Without Pity"

I'm paraphrasing here.

Kip and Lori Rennsler (28), lived on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Kip was VP of Personnel for Old National Bank.

They had been married 6 years with a son Stevie who was "old enough to be excited about santa claus"

They had adopted a Dachsund puppy.

Police received a call from a neighbour reporting a "triple homicide".

Police arrived to find Stevie had been stabbed in the neck, his body situated near his mother in the master bedroom. His mother's neck had been hacked at with a kitchen knife found in the bedroom, in an apparent attempt to decapitate her, blood splatter all over the walls. The dog was also murdered and lay near the bed.

Kip, had 4 stab wounds to his chest, his shirt had been removed. His clothes were found under Stevie's mattress which had been turned over on the floor. Blood filled the mattress and box spring. Police noticed that there was too much blood to have been from Stevie alone. There were three punctures in Kips t-shirt, but four knife wounds in his chest. Coroner's determined that the first three wounds were shallow punctures, but the fourth damaged major organs and filled his lung with blood.

In the end police determined that Kip had murdered his wife, son and dog and then suicided hours later. Even though family and friends reported that he was a decent man, he had not been himself as of late. A 25 page letter was found torn in his jacket pocket, which read, in part:

"Now, you will realize why I am doing all this. What I have to do is so simple it's unbelievable. It is something that will never hurt anyone--even you or Stevie or Me. However, it's so shocking that even when I tell you, you won't believe it. PLEASE READ THIS ALOUD! That means that although you and I can live out our entire lives VERY HAPPY--NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT--the rest of the world will never get a chance. Everyone that ever lived in the past and everyone that will ever live in the future.

You are not going to believe what I have to through. It's so simple yet so tough. Please put Stevie to bed--no matter what he says"

There was a section missing, and then it went on:

"But that kills the whole deal. YOu made the decision. Now I have to stick to it. I'm about to tell you what it is. But you must first provide me two things out loud and on paper and really mean them. They are very simple but so weird that you will probably wonder if I'm still around this world.

Remember. I have to do this the rest of my life. You must believe me immediately. No hesitation. Are you ready? I have to remain silent the rest of my life."

And here the note trailed off into a stream of consciousness as Kip struggled to make his mind do his bidding"

"I forgot one of the things. I can't go ahead without that one, even though I remember the other one. However, I can't tell you what the thing I have to is until I find that simple thing.

You still have the hardest part because I know all this to be absolutely true, but you have only my word for it. I will tell you something. You and I and Steview were meant to do this out of all the poeple past, present and future. Why were we picked? Because God thought we were the very best out of all people, past--present--future. I am, and if he didn't know this, he would never have picked me for this final or final things.

IT IS UNBELIEVABLE TO ME TOO!!!"

And I particularly like Ann's final paragraph on the story:

"Every year, there are bleak headlines about fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, and even grown children who, for their own unfathomable and distorted reasons, destroy their entire families. Many of these tragedies can be prevented in the future if we pay attention to symptoms that are like tiny red flags just beyond the periphery of our vision."

I still believe that no one acts with the sense of acting irrationally or immorally. Clearly this man was convinced of his own delusions. Driven by his faith, justified by his insanity, he did what felt right in his gut and his heart.

prism

ardy wrote:

hey you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
nAnCy...how the heck are you!!!!!?????!!!!

RD.....my lovely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am the heck great!!!!!!!!

you must get your behind back out here again soon! I promise to protect said behind from all the other psycho nuts in washington

prism

Ahnimus wrote:

I found this story particularly interesting, it's from "Without Pity"

I'm paraphrasing here.

Kip and Lori Rennsler (28), lived on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Kip was VP of Personnel for Old National Bank.

They had been married 6 years with a son Stevie who was "old enough to be excited about santa claus"

They had adopted a Dachsund puppy.

Police received a call from a neighbour reporting a "triple homicide".

Police arrived to find Stevie had been stabbed in the neck, his body situated near his mother in the master bedroom. His mother's neck had been hacked at with a kitchen knife found in the bedroom, in an apparent attempt to decapitate her, blood splatter all over the walls. The dog was also murdered and lay near the bed.

Kip, had 4 stab wounds to his chest, his shirt had been removed. His clothes were found under Stevie's mattress which had been turned over on the floor. Blood filled the mattress and box spring. Police noticed that there was too much blood to have been from Stevie alone. There were three punctures in Kips t-shirt, but four knife wounds in his chest. Coroner's determined that the first three wounds were shallow punctures, but the fourth damaged major organs and filled his lung with blood.

In the end police determined that Kip had murdered his wife, son and dog and then suicided hours later. Even though family and friends reported that he was a decent man, he had not been himself as of late. A 25 page letter was found torn in his jacket pocket, which read, in part:

"Now, you will realize why I am doing all this. What I have to do is so simple it's unbelievable. It is something that will never hurt anyone--even you or Stevie or Me. However, it's so shocking that even when I tell you, you won't believe it. PLEASE READ THIS ALOUD! That means that although you and I can live out our entire lives VERY HAPPY--NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT--the rest of the world will never get a chance. Everyone that ever lived in the past and everyone that will ever live in the future.

You are not going to believe what I have to through. It's so simple yet so tough. Please put Stevie to bed--no matter what he says"

There was a section missing, and then it went on:

"But that kills the whole deal. YOu made the decision. Now I have to stick to it. I'm about to tell you what it is. But you must first provide me two things out loud and on paper and really mean them. They are very simple but so weird that you will probably wonder if I'm still around this world.

Remember. I have to do this the rest of my life. You must believe me immediately. No hesitation. Are you ready? I have to remain silent the rest of my life."

And here the note trailed off into a stream of consciousness as Kip struggled to make his mind do his bidding"

"I forgot one of the things. I can't go ahead without that one, even though I remember the other one. However, I can't tell you what the thing I have to is until I find that simple thing.

You still have the hardest part because I know all this to be absolutely true, but you have only my word for it. I will tell you something. You and I and Steview were meant to do this out of all the poeple past, present and future. Why were we picked? Because God thought we were the very best out of all people, past--present--future. I am, and if he didn't know this, he would never have picked me for this final or final things.

IT IS UNBELIEVABLE TO ME TOO!!!"

And I particularly like Ann's final paragraph on the story:

"Every year, there are bleak headlines about fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, and even grown children who, for their own unfathomable and distorted reasons, destroy their entire families. Many of these tragedies can be prevented in the future if we pay attention to symptoms that are like tiny red flags just beyond the periphery of our vision."

I still believe that no one acts with the sense of acting irrationally or immorally. Clearly this man was convinced of his own delusions. Driven by his faith, justified by his insanity, he did what felt right in his gut and his heart.

jeez dude.....isn't any wonder why it gets too creepy after a while?


yuck