Читать книгу Hometown Killer - Carol J. Rothgeb - Страница 8

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The following story is true. I have tried to do my very best to tell it exactly the way it happened. My sources include written and taped statements, interoffice communications (police), inquests, newspaper accounts, tip sheets, property receipts, diagrams and narrative (crime scene), arrest reports, and letters.

I conducted personal interviews and was present in the courtroom for most of the arraignments, hearings, and trials.

When there were conflicting statements or time frames, I studied them closely and chose the most logical.

Most of the time real names are used, but at times I felt the need to use fictitious ones. There will be an asterisk beside the fictitious names the first time the name is used.

My goal has been to write this rather complicated and very controversial story as factually as humanly possible. I also endeavored to tell it in a straightforward manner that would be clear to the reader. To meet those goals is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

When I read In Cold Blood at the age of nineteen, a seed was planted. Over the years I have read dozens of true-crime books and somewhere, in the back of my mind, the seed was growing. I knew that I wanted to write a book “someday.” Finally I came to believe that I could write a book—if I wanted to badly enough—and “someday” finally came.

Carol J. Rothgeb