I don't believe in psychics, ESP or anything like that, but I can't tell you how many times strange coincidences have occurred related to the Oakland County Child Killer, the Blue Gremlin-driving serial killer who was on the loose near my home in Madison Heights, Michigan, when I was a boy in the late 1970s. (See HERE.)
Dean Corll: The most horrible person you've never heard of
You see, I spent this morning reading a horrifying article in the Texas Monthly a friend sent me about Dean Corll (aka "The Candy Man"), a nearly forgotten serial killer who sexually tortured and murdered at least 28 young boys in the Heights section of Houston in the 1970s. (I "follow" this kind of stuff and I'd never even heard of him. Read Skip Hollandsworth's heartbreaking piece HERE.)Not sure why I read it today -- my pal had sent it to me weeks ago -- but the second I finished it, I clicked on my email to find my friend Mark had forwarded me a tweet from ThatKevinSmith with a link to a KickStarter campaign to fund ... a new book about the Oakland County Child Killer. (I'm sorry, but that sent a chill down my spine.) In writing "Murder City Shakedown: A Cold Case Memoir." J. Reuben Appelman has made it his mission to solve this sickening crime that left at least four children dead, destroyed countless families and terrorized an entire community. He explains why:
My memory of the O.C.C.K. era is anchored by an abduction attempt on me. I was seven years old during the winter of 1977, when I eluded a "snatch and grab" halfway between a local pharmacy and my home. The O.C.C.K. task force was fully operable at the time, ransacking the streets for information. I ran from my would-be abductor, hid in a woods for the afternoon, then went home and told no one. As an adult, I became haunted by what might have awaited me in captivity. I am not a journalist, nor memoirist, by nature. My obsessions related the O.C.C.K. murders have compelled me to find closure to both the criminal aspects of the case, and to the equally haunting psychological aspects I, and the environs of Detroit, have inherited in the wake of these crimes.
Absolutely cannot wait for this one -- how did I not write it already?! -- as I'm not aware of any books on the subject, and missed the E! Investigates episode about it. Although it's been 35 years, this case finally has some momentum building. Just last month, the first DNA match of any kind in the case was made and it, in a round about way, links back to Christopher Busch, the convicted child molester who committed suicide right after the killings stopped. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that I would hear about this book the same day I was revisiting those old fears while reading about the Candy Man murders, though, as the O.C.C.K. is never really that far from my mind. (Just look at those kids.) For more information about "Murder City Shakedown," click HERE.
4 comments:
Man this really brings back memories. I lived in Birmingham at the time the King boy was kidnapped. We knew of the family and this just destroyed them. I'd love to see this case finally get solved.
I remember it well, Kenneth. I have also read the other book on the killings, "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". It is a detailed account of the various child killings that occurred in Oakland County in the 70s. I would like to talk to you about this. Is there any way we can talk privately? I used to be FB friends with you but stopped FB a while ago. I grew up on Detroit's East side, then Macomb County and I remember we once joked on FB about Big Time Wrestling. Do you remember me? I am Tom W.
As fascinated as I am by the O.C.C.K., I can't believe this guy raised $15,000 to fund his book. (Good for him!) Perhaps I should give Kickstarter a try...
I thought I knew my serial killers, however you have proved me wrong. This is disturbing as it is enlightening. Thanks you.
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