Rare True Crime Book Wanted

[bulletgirl2002]

Is anyone here familiar with the Alvin and Judith Ann Neelley case in GA/ AL/ TN from the early 80's?
Here's the link from what I just found out and read at Crime Library.

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cach.../neelley+"NEELLEY,+JUDITH+ANN"&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

These two tortured, sexually abused and killed at least 3 people, Judith Neelley was the youngest woman in the US to receive the death penalty at the age of 18 in the state of Alabama.

However, just a few years ago, her sentence was commuted to LIP by the then- governor Fob James. What he didn't know was that the judiciary in AL did not allow for the decision of parole vs. life in prison without possibility of parole to be made.
Thus, Judith Ann Neelley is listed in the AL prison system as LP- Life sentence, eligible for parole. She has at least 3 children who were born in the 80's, a set of twins and another baby born in prison.

The final twist? She is or was engaged to be married to her Fort Payne, AL court- appointed attorney Robert French, Jr. at the time her sentence was commuted by the former governor.

Alvin, on the other hand, seems to have slipped into obscurity.. Judy was always the agressor.

This is a fascinating and disturbing case.

Evidently they were tried in Georgia too. I was living in Dalton, Ga while this case was being tried and a friend of mine was actually on the jury. One of the girls that they torturned and killed had red hair like her daughter and she said it was a forever before she could sleep through a night. The jurors had to look had photos of the tortured bodies and all she could see was that red hair and think of her daughter. I didn't remember her being the agressor. I seem to remember her as being short and dumpy looking. I think she was pregnant during the trial. Didn't she try the abused spouse defense? It has been so long ago----more than 20. I would like to revisit the case.

 

[Alta]

There is a copy Of A Marriage Made For Murder for sale on e-bay right now.There are currently no bids,starting bid is $36.00 US,but there is 5 days left on this auction so I am curious to see how high this book goes.Karla was released from prison on Monday so all of this stuff with her name on it is going for big bucks right now on e-bay.Here is the link for this auction if anyone wishes to look.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=378&item=4560471186&rd=1

 

[Alta]

There is a copy Of A Marriage Made For Murder for sale on e-bay right now.There are currently no bids,starting bid is $36.00 US,but there is 5 days left on this auction so I am curious to see how high this book goes.Karla was released from prison on Monday so all of this stuff with her name on it is going for big bucks right now on e-bay.Here is the link for this auction if anyone wishes to look.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=378&item=4560471186&rd=1

9 hours left in this auction and I am surprised bidding is sitting at $99.95.

 

[angarella]

Good luck darlin, that book is next to impossible to find. I had found one but the guy wouldn't sell it and he had bought it for just over $200. Another one hard to find is Sacrifice Unto Me about the Santa Cruz murders. Happy Hunting, hope you find it.:banghead:

Amason has 2 copies of Sacrifice Unto Me for a mere $125.00 each!

 

[Prmichel]

Messiecake, have you found the book yet?

I have a large collection of true crime books dating back probably ten or fifteen years. I know I have a book about Karla and Paul, will check to see if this is one I have.

Priscilla

 

[poco]

The Ebay Book - Marriage Made for Murder - went for $202. Now you guys got me trying to find a copy of it.....

 

[heathere66]

I was doing research on this book and I know that I found that they were very over priced but did find a guy that has 13 for sale and they are a total with shipping was $33.00 I am not the one selling them but can send you the link to were to get them. Also there is a place on the net a book store that sells them for $29.90 but if you want the book bad enough I hated to pay that price but that was the cheapiest I could find.

 

[michelle]

I was doing research on this book and I know that I found that they were very over priced but did find a guy that has 13 for sale and they are a total with shipping was $33.00 I am not the one selling them but can send you the link to were to get them. Also there is a place on the net a book store that sells them for $29.90 but if you want the book bad enough I hated to pay that price but that was the cheapiest I could find.

i have read this book, i bought it and i know i have it packed in my boxes of millions, i will look, now i am curious, why is it so much because it was banned?

 

[tybee204]

A Marriage Made For Murder by Brian ONeill

Its about Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and was (supposedly) 'Banned in Canada'.

Its out of print and rare and Id like a copy .

TIA!

This site has them from $29 for paperback to $151 for copy signed by the author.

http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm

 

[poco]

I emailed the site that has the book for $29 - because I cannot believe it is selling for that cheap. They also listed the book as "new' which causes me to question if whether this is the original print date of 1995 or a, newer, reprint. It also says they have 13 of these??? Does anyone know if there is a reprint out now of this book????

Will await to hear back from them and see what they say.

 

[tybee204]

Thanks Poco let us know.

 

[*02]

I found the book in paperback listed on Amazon, 1 new, $49.90 (I think) 3 used

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/offer-listing/0969977913/ref=dp_olp_0/002-1861981-2191236?%5Fencoding=UTF8&condition=all

hope this helps.

 

[Alta]

A book liquidator has 4 of these listed on e-bay right now as a buy now of $29.95.http://snipurl.com/rqf4

 

[TheRealJen]

I am very curious about this book. I recently purchased it on Amazon for $3.99, and am wondering if a reprint was issued that possibly omitted what was considered "bannable" in the original print, making the one I bought so inexpensive. There were a few more listed ranging in price from $75 to $150. Does anyone know?

Added: I just read a review of this book on Amazon, and the reviewer said this:

"This book isn't "banned in Canada" per se. It, along with other books and newstories, were subjected to a temporary publication ban before and during the defendant's trial, because there is a general idea in Canada that big media frenzies reduce said defendant's "right to a fair trial"; too much lurid press on a country-wide level make finding impartial, untainted jurors much more difficult.

Once Bernardo's trial was over, this and all kinds of other tell-all stuff (however accurate or inaccurate) became widely available."

I don't know what to believe!

 

[michelle]

I am very curious about this book. I recently purchased it on Amazon for $3.99, and am wondering if a reprint was issued that possibly omitted what was considered "bannable" in the original print, making the one I bought so inexpensive. There were a few more listed ranging in price from $75 to $150. Does anyone know?

Added: I just read a review of this book on Amazon, and the reviewer said this:

"This book isn't "banned in Canada" per se. It, along with other books and newstories, were subjected to a temporary publication ban before and during the defendant's trial, because there is a general idea in Canada that big media frenzies reduce said defendant's "right to a fair trial"; too much lurid press on a country-wide level make finding impartial, untainted jurors much more difficult.

Once Bernardo's trial was over, this and all kinds of other tell-all stuff (however accurate or inaccurate) became widely available."

I don't know what to believe!

I dont think it is banned anymore that is why its so cheap. I ordered one as well. I also have another book about them that was "banned" and I have seen that get very expensive but I spent about 8$ on it. I dont know. Go figure, right?

 

[websurfer]

Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller
on web and
via snail mail

I bet you could find any book there!
and the shipping is cheaper than most places....

 

[KarlK]

I'm new and I guess I'm dumb, but why would Canada ( which I have always considered to be liberal) ban this book? Is the " ban" a marketing ploy?

I live in a border state and often listen to Canadian radio stations for real rock when I get tired of the 20 or so hillbilly-country music-only stations we have here. My understanding of the ban is that it was temporary and motivated by a court injunction that suspended the sale of the book until some judicial review of a technicality was dealt with. Such an occurrence is common here in the US as well but usually only applies to the state where the case is being tried. However in Canada any crime is a federal crime because criminal law in that country is the sole responsibility of the federal government. This means that any injunction from a criminal court applies to the whole country.

This being said, it is my impression that a publication ban on a book about a criminal case is extremely rare in Canada, especially when the book in question is already on the market. This, along with the notoriety of the case throughout North America, made that book an instant collector's item. Another factor is that no publisher in Canada wanted anything to do with this book, fearing bad PR should the public perceive it as an attempt at profiteering from heinous crimes. It appears the book is now under reprint by a US publisher following the release of the movie Karla. However only the self-published first edition would be considered a collectible, especially a copy autographed by the author. It is probably worth the $200 investment.

 

[KarlK]

What did these 2 people do, and how is it that I read that she will soon be released?

Cami summed it up pretty good. US media interest in this case is due to the fact that Homolka and Bernardo were both young, good looking and from a benign middle-class background. From the outside they seemed like the perfect couple, the "Ken and Barbie of murder" is the nickname the Crime Library uses for them. Another factor is the fact that this happened in southern Ontario where communities on both sides of the border in this densely populated area are tightly interwoven, sharing language, culture and heavy industry-based economy not to mention family ties. Media in bordering areas of northwestern New York and southern Michigan took an immediate interest in the case and from there it rapidly spread across the country. Interest was renewed when Homolka was released from a federal penitentiary in Quebec two years ago. Apparently she now lives in Montreal and intends to stay there hoping that local media won't be as inquisitive about her as those in Ontario/New York/Michigan are. I doubt it's working, now every time I read something about her the sources cited are Montreal media or reports from the criminal courts in Quebec she has to deal with. Doesn't really matter, I don't think she's allowed to leave the Montreal area anyway.