Murderous Methods
From ForensicWiki
Mark Benecke:
Murderous Methods. Using Forensic Science to Solve Lethal Crimes.
Preface by Michael Baden
True Crime Stories including Father Denke (German Cannibal), Bernardo/Homolka (Canada), Lindbergh (USA) and many, many others. Lots of good photographs, too!
New York City Book Tour Pics: Click here
"This book makes you want to murder someone, in really strange circumstances, just to see what Dr. Benecke might make of it." - Marc Abrahams, author of The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable Research
"Compelling, absorbing from start to finish - a must buy, must have for anyone with an interest in murder most foul. Highly recommended." - Christopher Berry-Dee, Publisher of 'The New Criminologist'.
"This is a must read for anybody interested in murder mysteries and who is, at the same time, looking for insight into what is in the mind of a serial killer and what triggers crimes to be committed in the first place." - Lawrence Kobilinsky, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, co-author of 'DNA: Forensic and Legal Applications.'
How did a piece of wood lead investigators in the Lindbergh kidnapping case to Bruno Hauptmann? What role, if any, did Charles Lindbergh have in the disappearance and death of his son? And just who was the "Vampire of Düsseldorf"? These are just some of the questions Mark Benecke explores in this surprising history of criminal investigative methods and techniques.
Benecke, a leading forensic scientist who is frequently called upon to help solve crimes throughout the world, takes the reader through the investigations of some of the most infamous murder cases in the United States, Germany, and Canada. In discussions of cases against O. J. Simpson and others, Benecke carefully explains the ways in which police and forensic scientists gather and analyze evidence. Going beyond the media frenzy that surrounded high-profile investigations, Benecke considers how science, police intuition, and an occasional lucky break can lead police to the guilty party. He also describes forensic scientists' tricks of the trade, including the use of facial reconstruction and pollen analysis to learn more about unidentified corpses.
Murderous Methods is peppered with fascinating stories that bring the reader closer into the minds of criminals and the ways in which criminal investigators work. Benecke introduces American readers to bizarre and horrifying criminals such as Peter Kürten, "The Vampire of Düsseldorf" Karl Denke, a cannibal and one of the earliest known serial killers; and Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, a Canadian couple who committed a series of brutal rapes. Benecke shows that even as scientific scrutiny helps investigators to understand more about crimes and the criminals who commit them, whenever humans are involved, events may go in unpredictable directions. In particular, he looks at how unreliable eyewitness accounts and public fears and prejudices have led investigators down the wrong path.
About the Author
Mark Benecke is an internationally known forensic scientist and the author of The Dream of Eternal Life: Biomedicine, Aging, and Immortality. His work on DNA and forensic entomology has appeared in a variety of scientific journals and he has hosted shows on forensic science for the National Geographic Channel.
Dr. Mark Benecke, born in 1970, holds a doctorate in forensic biology. Benecke is a guest lecturer and professor at universities in the USA, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Columbia, a trainer at police academies, and a guest at the FBI Academy (and, briefly, the Anthropologocal Research Facility, "Body Farm"). He completed forensic expert programs in the USA and Canada.
Mark Benecke's special area of interest is examining the condition of corpses as they have been found; based on the presence
Murderous Methods is an anthology of the most horrid and interesting criminal cases of the 20th century, including the cases Heineken, Lindbergh, Pastor Geyer, O. J. Simpson, Seifert, and Bartsch. Altogether lively and entertaining, the book also considers questions such as: Has the custom of dueling continued into modern times? Is it possible to slip through genetic fingerprinting? How does a forgotten pair of glasses lead to a horrific blood bath? Who, besides O. J. Simpson, knows something about the death of his ex-wife? And what does the famous magician Houdini have to do with the German police, Sherlock Holmes and apparitions?
Confirming the notion "reality is more exciting than any fantasy", Mark Benecke succeeds in making the solving of highly publicized murders accessible to the reader in an intensely entertaining and informative manner.
Cloth/Murderous Methods: Using Forensic Science to Solve Lethal Crimes /Mark Benecke; foreword by Michael Baden; translated by Karin Heusch
How did a piece of wood lead investigators in the Lindbergh kidnapping case to Bruno Hauptmann? Who, besides O. J. Simpson, knows something about the death of his ex-wife? And just who was the "Vampire of Düsseldorf"? These are just some of the questions Mark Benecke explores in this compelling and surprising history of criminal investigative methods and techniques.
Benecke, a leading forensic scientist who is frequently called upon to help solve crimes throughout the world, takes the reader through some of the most infamous and intriguing murder investigations in the United States, Germany, and Canada. In discussions of the cases against O. J. Simpson, and others, Benecke carefully explains the ways in which police and forensic scientists gather and analyze evidence. Going beyond the media frenzy that surrounded many of these investigations, Benecke considers how science, intuition, and an occasional lucky break can lead police to the guilty party. He describes the history of forensic technology as well as forensic scientists' tricks of the trade, including DNA fingerprinting, soil analysis, and the use of facial reconstruction and pollen analysis to learn more about unidentified corpses.
Murderous Methods is peppered with other fascinating stories that bring the reader closer into the minds of criminals and the ways in which criminal investigators work. Benecke introduces readers to bizarre and horrifying criminals such as Peter Kürten, "The Vampire of Düsseldorf"; Karl Denke, a cannibal and one of the earliest known serial killers in modern history; and Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, a Canadian couple who committed a series of brutal rapes. Benecke shows that even as scientific scrutiny helps investigators to understand more about crimes and the criminals who commit them, whenever humans are involved, events may go in unpredictable directions. In particular, he looks at how unreliable eyewitness accounts and public fears and prejudices have led investigators down the wrong path.
Mark Benecke is an internationally known forensic scientist and the author of The Dream of Eternal Life: Biomedicine, Aging, and Immortality. His work on DNA and forensic entomology has appeared in a variety of scientific journals and he has hosted shows on forensic science for the National Geographic Channel.
"Murderous Methods does not rest with assembling expert analysis of a vast range of complex crimes and investigations from around the world - Mark Benecke also manages to create a level of suspense and charm in his narrative worthy of a great novel. Benecke, one of the world's leading forensic experts, proves himself one of the most insightful and important commentators on the evolving interaction between crime and public culture." - Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club
"No mere true-crime tome, Mark Benecke's Murderous Methods artfully blends history and cutting-edge science with a conscience-provoking exploration of the cultural mores and psychological demons that drive both homicide and the ways we punish it. Disturbing but compelling reading for forensic experts and buffs alike." - Jessica Snyder Sachs, author of The Encyclopedia of Inventions
"Murderous Methods": Cutting Edge
By Jenna SchnuerSource: Pages Magazine, Noc./Dec. 2005, p. 128 ("Whole Truth" column)
Benecke was determined to give readers a true look into the world of forensic science - not the dolled-up version by TV shows of the science-nerds version that, quite frankly, it's easy to conjure up when you think of microscopes. "Most people think my work is mostly about dissection, microscopes, tubes, forceps, monochromatic light, etc., which is not true", says Benecke by email. My assistants an I need to think like juridical people, like people in prison, and so on, too, and not only in science terms." (...)
Benecke says there's plenty more blood, er, info worth spilling and that Murderous Methods fans won't be left hanging: He's working on the follow-up. "The craziest stuff I did not even tell - that's for the future book", he says. "I guess writing helps me to stay sane in all that sad blackness and insanity."
(To read the full text, please click here.)
A note about the U.S. translation / edition by Mark Benecke (Autumn 2008):</b>
Hello, dear readers. I heard that in the U.S. edition (the book was written in German), some small text parts may probably resemble text parts that can be found in english text the internet. I have absolutely no idea how this might have happened (if true) because neither did i use English text in the first place nor did i use internet sources. So -- if true -- it may have happened in the process of translation or, more likely, afterwards.
Since I am not sure about it, I told the editors to research the matter, however, all I received as a reply was this:
From: Marina Petrova <mp2581@columbia.edu> Date: November 14, 2008 8:10:24 PM GMT To: forensic@benecke.com Subject: Re: Jacket copy Reply-To: mp2581@columbia.edu
Dear Prof. Benecke,
This is the assistant to Patrick Fitzgerald, publisher in the life sciences at Columbia University Press. Our copywriter, Marisa Pagano, let us know that you'd like to make changes to the interior of the paperback edition of "Murderous Methods." Unfortunately, these changes would incur production costs while not necessarily making the volume more marketable and increasing revenue. We would prefer to hold off on them. We hope you will understand our position.
Sincerely, Marina
-- Marina Petrova Assistant Editor Columbia University Press 61 West 62nd Street New York, NY 10023 tel 212-459-0600 x7136 fax 212-459-3677 www.columbia.edu/cu/cup
