A chronicle of sixteen ruthless killings from Lone Star history and the dirty details that have shocked and bewildered Texans for decades. Texas has long boasted of its iron fist and strict treatment of criminals. Nevertheless, a number of homicidal scoundrels and fiends have slipped through the state’s justice system despite even the best efforts of the legendary Texas Rangers. In 1877, Texas saw its first high-profile murder case with the slaying of a woman in Jefferson and the subsequent “Diamond Bessie” trial. More than a century later, state legislator Price Daniel Jr., was shot in cold blood by his wife at their home in Liberty, TX. True crime writer and historian Bartee Haile unburies these and other stories from Texas’s murderous past. With these stories and more—from senseless roadside murders to political assassinations—discover the seedy underbelly of the Lone Star State’s murderous past.

Was he his brother's keeper? Robert and Doris Angleton seemed to have the perfect life. Until she was coldly murdered in her own home, shot thirteen times in the head, chest, and abdomen... Suddenly the ideal husband seemed anything but perfect: he was jailed, accused of hiring his older brother, Roger, to kill his wife for money-- possibly as much as $2 million. However, without the crucial eyewitness testimony of Roger-- who soon committed suicide in a Houston jail cell-- the case against Robert rested entirely on circumstantial evidence. But the facts raise more questions than answers... * Doris Angleton-- deeply involved in a secret love affair-- had asked her husband for a divorce, which might have exposed him as a tax-skipping millionaire bookie and favored police informant... * Extensive handwritten and typewritten notes, coupled with a secretly taped conversation between Roger and another man outlining the murder, were found in a briefcase Roger Angleton was carrying when he was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, it was later concluded that the second voice on the tape was not Robert's... * Also in Roger's briefcase: $64,000 in cash, along with a money wrapper with Robert's fingerprint on it... * Ultimately Roger confessed to the murder in his suicide note, exonerating his brother of any guilt... A Texas jury came to one conclusion. Read this fascinating true-crime account of greed, deception, and cold-blooded murder-- and decide for yourself. With eight pages of shocking photos!

Winner of the 2008 Rupert N. Richardson AwardBook of the Year by the National Association for Outlaw and Lawmen History

In 1998, a trio of young white men chained a black man to the bumper of a truck and dragged him down a country road. From the initial investigation and through the trials and their aftermath, "A Death in Texas" follows the turns of events through the eyes of Sheriff Billy Rowles and other townspeople trying to come to grips with the killing. 16 page photo insert.

Describes how a Bangladeshi immigrant, shot in the Dallas mini mart where he worked in the days after September 11 in a revenge crime, forgave his assailant and petitioned the state of Texas to spare his attacker the death penalty.

What happened in Kirven, Texas, in May 1922 has been forgotten by the outside world. It was only a co-worker's whispered words, "Kirven is where they burned the [Negroes]," that set Monte Akers on a quest to find out what happened and, more important, why. After years of following clues found in old newspaper clippings, NAACP reports, and the memories of the few remaining witnesses who would talk, Akers here pieces together the story of a young white woman's brutal murder and the burning alive of three black men who were almost certainly innocent of it. This was followed by a month-long reign of terror as white men hunted down and killed blacks while local authorities concealed the real identity of the white probable murderers and allowed them to go free. Akers paints a vivid portrait of a community desolated by race hatred and its own refusal to face hard truths.

At 3:00 a.m. on March 1, 2008, Terry Caffey awoke to find his daughter’s boyfriend standing in his bedroom with a gun. An instant later the teen opened fire, killing Terry’s wife, his two sons, and wounding him 12 times, before setting the house ablaze. Terry fell into deep depression and planned to kill himself, but God intervened. Upon visiting his burned-out property, Terry noticed a scorched scrap of paper from one of his wife’s books leaning against a tree trunk. The page read: “[God,] I couldn’t understand why You would take my family and leave me behind to struggle along without them. And I guess I still don’t totally understand that part of it. But I do believe that You’re sovereign; You’re in control.” That page was like a direct message from God, and it turned Terry’s life around. Now, one year later, Terry is remarried, the adoptive father of two young sons, and working to rebuild his relationship with his 17-year-old daughter, who is currently serving two life sentences in a Texas state penitentiary for her involvement in the crimes. Terror by Night tells the compelling story of how Terry Caffey found peace after his wife and sons were brutally murdered and his teenage daughter implicated in the crime. Sharing never-before-told details about the night of the crime and subsequent murder trial, it explains how Terry was able to forgive the men who murdered his family, and how he even interceded with the prosecutors on their behalf. A powerful example of how the power of forgiveness can bring healing after tragedy and great loss, it shows how God can bring good out of even the darkest tragedies.