It started when I was a teenager with a short fiction story about Jack the Ripper. Such nightmare fuel for an already vivid imagination in an eager young mind - I was riveted. I began to seek out any books or tv shows or movies I could find about the case. That was the first.
Then I read anything and everything I could find about true crime. From there I began to learn about how law enforcement works, how detectives track down criminals, how cases are worked and hopefully solved, and also how the judicial system operates, what attorneys do and how and why, what judges can and cannot do and why.
The case of JonBenet Ramsey was the first one that I became obsessed with after Jack the Ripper. To this day, it remains the one case I know the most about. My family and friends know not the mention anything about the Ramsey case in my presence unless they are ready for a long and in-depth debate, and none of them know (or care) as much about it as I do.
But several other cases have drawn my interest almost as much in the past 15 years.
Michael Jackson. Hey, I grew up with him, and I was not surprised by the molestation charges or his subsequent acquittal. I'll be watching the murder trial.
Darlie Routier. That "birthday party" video from the cemetery with the silly string was the first I heard of her, and the idea absolutely horrified me. I think she's where she belongs, although her sons are not - may they rest in peace together forever.
Trenton Duckett. What did his mother do with him, and will he ever be found? Still thinking about you, little man.
Caylee Anthony. Just bizarre from day 31, and can you believe I can see some of my own family in the As? God bless baby Caylee.
Hailey Dunn. I am appalled that she had to live with a mother like that, who had a man like that anywhere in her house or anywhere near her two innocent children. I hope we find you.
And Zahra Baker. That one breaks my heart. I knew a girl who looks very much like Zahra back when I was 10, the same age as Zahra when she was murdered. The resemblance between Zahra and the girl I knew haunted me as I learned more about the life Zahra lived, and I realized the girl I knew had also been the victim of abuse/neglect. I lost contact with the girl I knew when her dad moved her away after her dad and stepmom divorced, but I could not stop thinking about her, so I went searching for her, based on the information I had about her from when we were 10. I found her! After just two weeks, I found her, and we picked up where we left off.
But that doesn't help Zahra. I am so horrified at the way she was let down by everyone that should have been there for her. I understand how kids like Zahra can slip through the cracks based on how the system works, but NOTHING like what happened to her should ever happen to any child anywhere. I am relieved that the monster who killed Zahra has admitted it, but what was it, 15-18 years? WHAT?!? They should have to make sure they recover ALL of Zahra's scattered remains before the one who killed her can get any sort of leniency at all.
My eternal thanks to you, Zahra, and I will never, ever forget you or your beautiful freckle face.