The following are some of my own personal opinions of an eventful year in ‘True Crime’, and are not to be seen as being comprehensive, as they’re based on my own scattered readings. I do not use AI, except to occasionally glance at it. It is still not reliable.

The event of the year had to be the Karen Read Trial number 2. If you missed it I don’t know what to say except that you missed a chance to see the exposure of widespread corruption in the State of MA, and the practice of defense law at its finest. I followed the ongoing trial via Andrea Burkhart, an experienced West Coast attorney, and this too was a unique experience. Following her commentary and the comments of others watching the trial, who participated from across the nation and even other countries, could be at times exhilarating, sometimes quite humorous, and often edifying. The outcome renewed my faith in the American Justice system, but also brought into focus the many problems needing correction. I’ll wrap it up by saying power corrupts…and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And that the true murderers will be exposed in time.

The big letdown for me was Kohberger’s plea deal. We weren’t able to learn about his motives. On top of that, so many questions about the investigation remain unanswered. However, the powerful witness statements were another highlight of the year. Heartbreaking, especially that of Dylan Mortensen, who actually witnessed the murderer from a few feet away on that fateful night. My heart goes out to the 4 victims and their families.

A few years back, I wrote a blog about 3 murders a few years apart in the US on Halloween Eve. You can easily find it on this site. There is an ongoing NBC podcast about 15 year-old Martha Moxley, murdered in an exclusive Connecticut neighborhood. It’s fascinating and reveals a new suspect. I’m just about to listen to the 12th and final episode. The ripple effect of this crime has affected political figures at the highest levels of power, including the Kennedys. There’s a potential serial killer involved. And 2 of my October 30th murders are tied more tightly together than I ever would have expected, through the writer and public figure Dominick Dunne. His daughter, actress Dominique Dunne, was murdered 7 years later, strangely enough, on Halloween eve, though this one was solved.

Other highlights include my interview on Black Box Radio Podcast with Ned Dehan, after the release of my ebook in January; some great videos from David Oranchak on Zodiac; and the recent discoveries regarding victims of the Colonial Parkway Killer. For the latter see Ned’s recent post, and an earlier post on this site suggesting the killer may have been a Zodiac copycat.

Thanks for following me into what looks like another eventful year. Where I will surely be following updates on Heuermann/LISK. And the Ohio Dentist and his wife, to name a few. For LISK I follow the Sinister podcast. For Ohio I follow Angenette Levy.

See you out there.