Despite the surging popularity of true-crime-themed podcasts and docuseries, the public’s fascination with strange and twisted tales of inhumanity is nothing new. Be it the proliferation of penny dreadfuls during the eighteen hundreds or Capote’s 1966 genre-defining masterpiece Cold Blood, the true-crime genre and mass print have been intertwined from the beginning. Still, for every Zodiac Killer, there are dozens of equally fascinating cases that remain relatively unknown. With that in mind, Romeo Vitelli’s TRUE CRIME STORIES YOU WON’T BELIEVE is a welcome addition to the true-crime genre.
As the book’s subtitle suggests, TRUE CRIME STORIES YOU WON’T BELIEVE primarily focuses on lesser-known cases that run the gamut from murder to macabre. Drawn from various time periods, Vitelli wisely offers an eclectic collection. Forensic fanatics will appreciate the clinical detailing of Ed Gein’s reign of terror (which eventually inspired the movie Psycho), while history buffs will likely applaud Vitelli’s inclusion of obscure, albeit historically significant events. For instance, the official story of the JFK assassination pins the blame on Lee Harvey Oswald. Virtually unknown, however, is the story of Richard Paul Pavlick, a retired postal worker who stalked Kennedy in late 1960. As Vitelli points out, Pavlick burned with hatred for the Catholic politician and planned to assassinate the President-elect with dynamite. As crude as it may have been, Pavlick’s plan likely would’ve succeeded had Kennedy not been traveling with his family (the would-be assassin had no interest in harming women or children). Ultimately, it was a routine traffic stop that brought Pavlick’s journey to an end.
Other notable additions include the story of Vincent the ‘Oddfather’ Gigante, a boxer-turned-mob boss (once considered the most powerful member of the mafia in the U.S), a Swedish serial killer (the Phantom Cannibal), and a spine-tingling foray into the paranormal (the Greenbriar Ghost Case). But as he points out in the book’s forward, the obscure crimes covered in TRUE CRIME STORIES YOU WON’T BELIEVE are only half the story. In many instances, the strangest part of a crime was its conclusion in the courts. Case in point: at the unfathomably young age of fourteen, George Stinney was sent to the electric chair. Accused of killing two young girls, the African-American teen was convicted by an all-white jury based on little more than hearsay. Even with a posthumous reversal, Stinney’s story serves as one of the book’s more sobering moments.
Despite the campy title and a cover that harkens back to yesteryear’s VHS horror compilations, TRUE CRIME STORIES YOU WON’T BELIEVE is soundly sourced (there are no wiki-citations to be found). Drawing upon his years of experience as a forensic psychologist and blogger, Vitelli shades his meticulous research with superb writing, delivering a page-turner experience that could easily pass as fiction. In fact, the book’s brevity just might be its only notable shortcoming. Luckily, with hundreds of stories under his belt, future volumes are sure to follow.
An engrossing read from cover to cover, Romeo Vitelli’s TRUE CRIME STORIES YOU WON’T BELIEVE is an eclectic collection of obscure true-crime cases delivered by a gifted storyteller.
~James Weiskittel for IndieReader