M Stoddart

The Chaparral Murders: Dollar Store Justice M Stoddart

From the dense woods of the Appalachian Mountains comes this true tale of deception, murder, and greed in a tiny West Virginia town. M. M. Stoddart returns to the scene of the decades-old murders of Glenn Roberts and his teenaged son, Timothy, to conduct a new investigation of the biggest homicide case in Tucker County history?one shrouded by suspicion and doubt for more than twenty years. Glenn and Timothy were killed by near-contact shotgun blasts from the same weapon on the same night. But their bodies were found eight miles and three weeks apart. Stoddart reopens the cold case, and soon finds that the murders were much more than a simple botched robbery, as West Virginia authorities had previously concluded. New information uncovers a vast web of missing evidence, deceit, and family intrigue. Set in an impoverished mountain community in the early 1980s, this shocking and compelling story exposes the tragedy of wrongful conviction and the true meaning of justice.

A thicket of dubious alliances, jealousies, missing evidence and inconsistent testimony lead to a dubious conviction for murder?and reasonable doubt. The author makes a valiant attempt to present a plausible alternative to robbery and murder and poses the question of guilt or innocence. Stoddart?s inexorable journey uncovers a web of official incompetence, lies and deceit. ?Kirkus Discoveries

The Chaparral Murders has many strong points particularly its impressive and comprehensive research considering that Stoddart began from scratch in amassing her information, and although it will probably will not receive as much attention as it deserves, it certainly merits reading. It is detailed but never dull, methodical but never hair-splitting with events that are recounted in retrospect, offering the reader a vivid description of what may have occurred when Glenn and Timmy Roberts lost their lives. Moreover, the book is not a bland exposition of a criminal trial but rather constant question that haunts every page of the book: did Rusty Phillips murder Timmy Roberts and did he receive a fair trial? ?bookpleasures.com