The Kill Jar

Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit’s Most Notorious Serial Killer

De: J. Reuben Appelman, Catherine Broad - foreword

Narrado por: Joe Barrett

Duración: 7 h y 7 m

Resumen del Editor

Four children were abducted and murdered outside of Detroit during the winters of 1976 and 1977; their bodies eventually dumped in snow banks around the city. J. Reuben Appelman was six years old at the time the murders began and had evaded an abduction attempt during that same period, fueling a lifelong obsession with what became known as the Oakland County Child Killings.

Autopsies showed the victims to have been fed while in captivity, reportedly held with care. And yet, with equal care, their bodies had allegedly been groomed post-mortem, scrubbed-free of evidence that might link to a killer. There were few credible leads and equally few credible suspects. That's what the cops had passed down to the press, and that's what the city of Detroit and J. Reuben Appelman had come to believe.

When the abductions mysteriously stopped, a task force operating on one of the largest manhunt budgets in history shut down without an arrest. Although no more murders occurred, Detroit and its environs remained haunted. The killer had, presumably, not been caught.

©2018 J. Reuben Appelman (P)2018 Tantor

Renamed: My autobiography plus a little about the OCCK

Way too much emphasis on the authors personal life to make this a good true crime book. There are already so many characters in the OCCK case that adding more from the authors life that has zero connection to the case made this book very jumbled and confused. The description was VERY misleading of how much of the case was covered, I feel I know more about the author than the OCCK case.

More memoir than true crime

I have been interested in the OCCK case for many years, following Cathy Broad's blog for almost 8 years now, and was eagerly awaiting this book. I found it somewhat disappointing because it reads more like a memoir than a true crime book about this horrific case. Though the author's personal details and broad connection to the story could have been interesting to read, I felt it was on the verge of distasteful in the way it was presented. There are some interesting details, but all of these can be found with simple Google searches or perusing Cathy Broad's blog. Overall, it's an okay book, but not one I would highly recommend to get an understanding of the OCCK case.

hard to follow

the story itself was good. I did have trouble though paying attention well enough due to the readers mostly monotone delivery.

An author's life journey

I would retitle this book The Kill Jar: A Memoir... I liked it because it was full of details I didn't know about the case... but when a book is 50% about the author, I do like to know ahead of time. Overall, the narrator is fitting and the book is well written.

really enjoyed the listen

I'm from Michigan, and I'd heard about this scandal on the Already Gone podcast. so intriguing!

Author ruins an otherwise great story

The real story seemed to be a subplot to the authors constant focus on his horrible life. The narrator speed reads, but not sure there was anything he could have done to save the story. Shame that he uncovers this amazingly awful conspiracy and new details, but can’t bother to stop talking about himself long enough to put the pieces together.

An insightful look into the abyss

Crime claims more victims than one can possibly imagine. Appelman's life is an obvious casualty of the Oakland County Child Killer murder mystery in the late 70s and the surrounding conspiracies and complacency of sex crimes taking place at the time. This is a tragic and redeeming look at how crime can affect us all. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is a true crime novel. It's a look at how crime can harm more than the murder victim and their family. This is a spiderweb of tragedy that spans beyond the four victims; it continues to haunt and slowly eat away at those who remember this age old cold case.
The narrator wasn't my favorite, and in some ways, he does this book a disservice, but the book generously provides an insightful perspective on obsession and abuse.
I recommend it.

Interesting

Enjoyed this book. Interesting theories behind OCK case. Stream of consciousness layout for the narration

True True Crime

I just finished listening, and I am in awe. The author writes about a most heinous crime spree against children from his own memories of the incidents, from the narrative of his own life journey and sometimes descent. Although the story of these crimes is difficult to bare on the heart and psyche, the information is delivered in a respectful way - honoring the spirits of the children, and shedding light into the years of buried truths about their deaths. After listening, and without giving away the thorough investigations done by the author, I can say that it leaves me wanting to hold my own child closer, on to my own relationships tighter, and to use my voice to hold those in powerful positions accountable to their corruption, exploitation and unscrupulous ways of dodging basic human decency.

It's...okay

I had just finished James Renner's book about the Amy Mihaljevic case so I think it may have tainted my reception of this book - I would recommend NOT listening to them back to back, regardless of the order.

So much of both books is about the writer's life and background and obsession, not just a factual presentation of the case(s). Since I had just been through James Renner's, I found Appelman's reliving of his past to be quite monotonous. Not to take anything away from the man's struggle - Lord knows we've all had one.

The OCCK is a VERY interesting case, still categorized as "unsolved" but I think Appelman pretty well wraps it up, short of tying the final bow, to call it solved. Most of the people involved are dead or in prison - only the families of the victims are left to carry the burden...as usual.

Law enforcement and the "justice" system back in the 60's / 70's / 80's were a joke. So many innocent people who were tortured and killed (or are still "missing") by monsters who could have - should have - been dealt with before they became serial predators. It's just sad...

I love Joe Barrett's voice, so I enjoyed his "almost out of breath" treatment of the performance.

For anyone interested in OCCK, this a volume filled with A LOT of facts but you have to wade through Jason Appelman's misgivings about being a man to get to them. It's worth the effort (with the proviso above about Renner's book).