Here is an excerpt from my new release!

Blood was everywhere.

The five-year-old babies were covered in Blood but appeared to be unharmed after close observation.

The police blocked off the scene outside the house while investigators acted.

Nothing had ever rocked the upstate town of Pennington, New York in this upscale neighborhood where crime was scarce, and residents lived at ease in their gated communities.

Could this have been family related? Could this have been an inside job?

It was a complete mystery and gossip swept throughout the entire city.

In bars, restaurants, offices, department stores- everyone was talking about how Evelyn Barker and her son Ryan Barker brutally murdered inside their home, their bludgeoned bodies horribly discovered by the loving husband and father Jake Barker.

It was astonishing the two other children found at the home were alive and well.

Later learned, according to the children, that they ran and hid themselves inside a Bedroom Closet at the sound of violence erupting within the household from someone who had paid Evelyn a visit.

So, how did blood get all over the children?

The children told officers and a child psychologist while they were being questioned and evaluated that after things in the home quieted down and, in their words, – “The bad man had left”, they left from the bedroom closet, down the stairs, and both slipped in the pool of blood puddled throughout the living room.

The media and News reports ran with this story for months before the novelty of the situation wore off and the interest had died down a bit.

No suspect ever gained capture, but the case remained open until it eventually went cold from no substantial leads.

The only evidence found at the scene was a sledgehammer used in the assault on the mother and child.

Jake Barker’s fingerprints were on the weapon along with his wife’s, but Jake claimed to not be home during the possible time of the incident and security camera footage backed up his story.

However, counsel later claimed he could have committed the crimes before he left the home to attend for work on that Friday winter morning of January 5, 1981.

Evelyn’s parents Jane and Phil Caldwell refused to give up and vigorously pressed law enforcement hard in their search for justice in honor of their beloved daughter and grandson.

They did not want to believe their son in law Jake could do such a horrible act against the woman and child he was supposed to love and protect, yet there was nothing but the man’s word- and his word only telling them different.

There was no hard evidence, just circumstantial. It was natural for Jake’s or Evelyn’s fingerprints to be on the sledgehammer as the object was one of their own household tools.

Nevertheless, in this event, after deliberation, speculation, and town uproar there was no other conclusion drawn that would exclude Jake from somehow being involved in his wife and child’s premature death.

Jake was sentenced to twenty-five years to life with no parole.

Jake’s parents and relatives were disappointed and devastated. They felt that Jake did not receive a fair trial.

There was no way he killed Evelyn and six-year-old Ryan according to their beliefs. There was just no way. Not from what they knew and lived of Jake their adored son, brother, uncle, cousin, and grandson.

Jane and Phil Caldwell had money and influence, and they used their wealth in hiring and appointing the best attorneys along with whatever else it took to gain closure for themselves through the legal system.