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    The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice
    The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice
    The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice

    Written by Vanessa Brown

    Narrated by Vivienne Leheny

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Dig deep into the unsolved murder of Jackie English and join the hunt for a serial killer

    Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster ― or monsters ― stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later. For decades, detectives, actual and armchair, and the victims’ families and friends continued to ask questions: Who was the Forest City Killer? Was there more than one person, or did a depraved individual commit all of these crimes on his own?

    Combing through the files Detective Alsop left behind, researcher Vanessa Brown reopens the cases, revealing previously unpublished witness statements, details of evidence, and astonishing revelations. And through her investigation, Vanessa posits the unthinkable: is it possible that the Forest City Killer is still alive and, like the notorious Golden State Killer, a simple DNA test could bring him to justice?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 4, 2019
    ISBN9781799750864
    Author

    Vanessa Brown

    Vanessa Brown has lived her entire life in London, Ontario, Canada. Her previous books include The Grand Old Lady: A History of Hotel London and London: 150 Cultural Moments, which was honoured by the Ontario Heritage Trust. She is married to Canadian poet Jason Dickson, and together they own Brown & Dickson Booksellers.

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    Reviews for The Forest City Killer

    4/5

    36 ratings4 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Interesting but seemed to just drag on. (Maybe it was just me.)

      I definitely had my suspicions of who the killer might've been but I'm sure it was based on the writings of this author.

      It was a solid 3, for an audiobook.
    • 5/5
      Great book. If you like the TV show Disappeared you'll love this.
    • 4/5
      This is a true crime account of a series of unsolved murders that happened from the late 60's to through the 70's in a small Canadian town. The author grew up there and knew nothing about the murders for many years. After she found out about them, she became obsessed with research and theories about possible perpetrators. This book is her collection and attempt to make sense of the years of research. She leaned heavily on the case files that the lead detective kept on the case. After the detective's death, boxes of files on these murders where found in his home. These detailed notes have shone a light on the case from law enforcement's perspective.I thought this book was well written and researched, although there were a lot of characters and it became difficult to keep all the details straight. I also sometimes felt like the author was spending too much time on theories and gossip which could not be verified. Overall, it was an interesting read and a great example of the types of cases that might be solved if detectives use modern science to reexamine the remaining evidence.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      London, Ontario earned its nickname ‘The Forest City’ during its establishment in 1826, when it was little more than a village among the trees. Today, London is a mid size city with a population of about 400,000 that spreads out along the River Thames. London is a community much like any other, but from 1959 to 1984, the town was said to have had more active serial killers than any other locale in the world. It was reported by criminologist, Michael Arntfield in his book Murder City, that there were at least six serial killers active in London during this era, including Russell Maurice Johnson known as ‘The Bedroom Strangler’, Gerald Thomas Archer known as ‘The London Chambermaid Slayer, and Christian Magee known as ‘The Mad Slasher’.The Forest City Killer explores the murders of several young women and children, linked by location and manner of death, whose killer/s were never officially identified. Amateur historian, writer, and antiquarian bookseller Vanessa Brown presents Information about several of the cases that remain unsolved from the late 1960’s drawn not only from public record but also her own interviews with relevant persons, and from the personal files of a (now deceased) detective who played an active role in the investigation of these crimes.Brown begins with the murder of fifteen year old Jackie English, who disappeared on her way home from work one evening in 1969. Her nude body was found under a bridge a few days later, she had been beaten, raped and strangled. Her unidentified killer, is who Brown calls ‘The Forest City Killer’, and it is this case that she finds the most compelling.Brown’s personal theory links the murder of Jackie English with the murders of at least two other teenage girls, Jacqueline Dunleavy, and Soraya O’Connell, as well as a woman in her mid-thirties, Helga Beer, and three young boys, eleven-year-old Bruce Stapylton, nine-year old Frankie Jensen, and sixteen year old Scott Leishman. I’m not sure I agree that all the murders, and at least one other disappearance, are the work of a single killer, but Brown does suggest points of comparison that could be of significance.Unfortunately the investigation of the cases were cases were uneven, largely a byproduct of the times. The police chief was uninterested in the disappearance of young women in particular, quick to suggest they were off partying, or were simply runaway’s, so official searches were delayed. The London police force also generally lacked experience, and an understanding, of sexually motivated crimes, evident by some shocking statements of victim shaming. While blood, fluids, and other evidence were collected from many of the scenes, forensic investigative techniques at the time were primitive, and it is unclear if any of it still exists.Brown’s material on these unsolved cases is interesting and readable, though at times the narrative feels a little cluttered with extraneous personal detail. I do think the book would benefit from summary’s of each case’s details, and perhaps a comparison table, or something similar.Brown states that her main purpose in writing The Forest City Killer is “…to renew interest in these unsolved cases and to urge the Ontario Provincial Police to re-investigate these crimes vigorously, using all DNA and other evidence in their possession.” I hope that her aim is achieved and the family’s may finally get the answers they have long hoped for.