Eye of the Beholder
The Almost Perfect Murder of Anchorwoman Diane Newton King
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3.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
“A fascinating psychological study of an unrepentant murderer” from a New York Times–bestselling author (Library Journal).
Battle Creek, Michigan, is famous as the birthplace of breakfast cereal, and the nearby suburb of Marshall is as wholesome as shredded wheat. Well-known for its colorful Victorian mansions, this stately slice of nineteenth-century Americana became infamous on a frigid night in February of 1991. Newscaster Diane Newton King was stepping out of her car, her children strapped into the backseat, when a sniper’s bullet cut her down. The police assumed that the killer was her stalker—a crazed fan who had been terrorizing King for weeks. But as their investigation ground to a standstill, the police turned to another suspect—one much closer to home.
In this gripping retelling of the crime and its aftermath, journalist Lowell Cauffiel re-creates the atmosphere of terror that marked King’s last days, giving us a story of celebrity, obsession, and what it means to kill.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Diane King, morning anchor at WUHQ-TV in Battle Creek, Mich., was fatally shot on February 9, 1991, in the driveway of her home. News of the murder elicited odd reactions: some acquaintances said they were not surprised; others lamented the death of a thoughtful friend. When, after inept local police work, the Michigan State Police began to focus on Brad, Diane's husband, a former cop who was now a professor of criminal justice at Western Michigan University, there was a parallel reaction: some assumed he had killed his wife, others considered him incapable of violence. Brad was prosecuted and sentenced to life on what the author suggests was circumstantial evidence. But what interests Cauffiel ( Masquerade ) most is unraveling the personality of Brad, who is portrayed as resentful of living in the shadow of a celebrity wife and a dominating woman. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
Gripping nightmare in Cereal City
I was always intrigued by this particular case. I can well remember this being at the top of our local news (WDIV-TV Channel 4) for several months in 1991. Diane Newton King was, for all intents and purposes, a very special lady. Bright, pretty, effervescent and very well liked by many. I remember feeling terribly sorry for her babies (a 3 year old son and 3 month old baby girl). I NEVER bought the whole “stalker” theory. For me, that was just another way for her husband (who mind you, was a former Pontiac police officer and criminal justice instructor) to deflect attention from himself and onto a “nameless, faceless terror in the night”. Am I the only one who found it usually convenient that a popular news anchor, who was heavily pregnant with her soon to be born 2nd child, would be tracked and hunted by a “mysterious crazed fan” who wanted to go to lunch with her, and when she refused, he then put a cut and paste letter into her mailbox?