B.R. Bates's Blog: From the social feeds ..., page 7

Over the years, particularly in the past decade or so when the true-crime genre has really exploded, there have been oodles of serial killers profiled on TV documentaries. "Dateline," "48 Hours" and "Forensic Files" were pioneers, but nowadays there are just a ton of shows on ID, Oxygen and the like that take a close look at criminal cases. This author has loved them. I eat them up. I also consume a lot of true-crime books. So can you believe there's been hardly anything at all done on convicted Detroit serial killer Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins? At the time of his arrest in August 1992, as police were sorting through the mess of this case that spanned less than a year, he was being called the country's fastest serial killer. Indeed, as far as I know, he still holds that unofficial title -- the most people killed in the smallest timeframe, 11 people in about 6-9 months.

Yet, until the release of "The Crack City Strangler: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins," there was no book done on the case. There are a couple e-books on Atkins out there, but they are more of a memoir / reminiscing quality. I have read both, and they each offer an interesting perspective on this serial. There have been some podcasts done on the case in recent years, but they only pull facts from newspaper articles of years ago and maybe offer an opinion or two. Only since January of this year have there been modern podcasts produced that introduce new information on the case. But can you believe there has never been, to the best of my knowledge, a TV doc done on the case? John Eric Armstrong, another Detroit serial, by comparison, has had three (and a half) TV episodes devoted to him. And I would argue that followers of true crime out there actually know Atkins' name better than Armstrong's -- the serial they casually call Tony Atkins does come up in some true-crime conversation on Reddit, etc.

So why has Ben Atkins faded more into obscurity over the years? Is it because it's an older case? Is it because of the demographic of his victims? Maybe his own demographic? Who knows, but it's one of the questions we address in this latest interview I did with Tim Dennis of Darkness Radio, for his True Crime Tuesdays. We recorded only yesterday -- St. Patrick's Day (and hey, we're both wearing green, you'll see when the video YouTube version drops), and it was a great discussion.

You can listen in a variety of ways, so choose your weapon:

Apple
Spotify
Castbox
iHeart Radio
Goodpods

Thanks again, Tim -- really enjoyed it!

How did the powerful, chilling story of assault in an abandoned Howard Johnson restaurant on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan, finally turn into the arrest of a notorious and earnestly hunted serial killer in 1992? And what about the time leading up to that arrest, after Darlene had been violently assaulted, but 11 other women found themselves in the same situation and did not survive? How did police in Highland Park and Detroit approach this case?

Dan Zupansky invited me back to his long-running and well-regarded podcast, "True Murder," to discuss the Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins case and "The Crack City Strangler" book, the second installment in the Murders in the Motor City series.

Find the new episode on your podcast platform of choice:

Apple Podcasts / iTunes
Spotify
Simplecast
Player.fm

I recently read the book by the daughter of #BTK, "A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming," and then I read this one by the psychologist who corresponded with him for years and has been interviewed on quite a few TV series: "Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer."

Interesting to reconcile the two very different views of this convicted killer — one from a loving daughter who was devastated by the revelation that her dad was the notorious serial they talked about in the news for years, and the other by a psychiatric professional trying to understand this criminal mind. Wow, what a trip. Katherine Ramsland does mention Kerri a few times in her own book, and the two meet on the same ground -- perhaps a bit -- a time or two, in their respective stories. But to hear Kerri's POV on her hiking trip at the Grand Canyon with her dad, her recollection that her dad was not home the night her neighbor was murdered, her finding one of the books from her dad's hidey hole stashes ... it really left an indelible impression.

Yes, it was challenging to see Dr. Ramsland's "patient," for lack of a better term, as the same person Kerri Rawson wrote about. But a #serialkiller can get pretty good at compartmentalizing. Or, as podcaster Jill of the "Murder Shelf Book Club" reminded me, what Rader called "cubing." That was a big theme of Ramsland's book. Overall, I enjoyed both views of this complicated killer.

I don't know just how fast books are shipping on Amazon right now -- but next-day arrival, on a regular order? I don't know ... Maybe it's a Prime thing ...

Jason, my coworker in my daytime web management work, likes to joke around a lot. He was kind enough to order "The Crack City Strangler" around Tuesday of this week, I believe, then he sent me this photo yesterday. Live, or Memorex? You decide, LOL.

At any rate, thanks,  Jason!!!!! (And yes, he did graciously offer up this fine photo for my marketing purposes. Thanks for that, too!)

What was the actual timeframe of the homicides of Benjamin ("Tony") Atkins, known as the country's fastest serial killer? How was he able to elude police, and how was he finally arrested? Why did he even kill in the first place? I discuss that and more on this new true-crime podcast episode -- thanks, Jim, for inviting me to the Sherpalution!

Find it on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Castbox, Overcast, Pandora and more.

🔗

https://shows.acast.com/the-sherpas-podcast-picks

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See the book "The Crack City Strangler: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins" at wbp.bz/CrackCityStrangler.

So very thankful and excited that my second true-crime book, "The Crack City Strangler: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins" is now officially released in three formats. It hit No. 1 in the Criminal Law Evidence category on Amazon this week. Thanks to all who preordered! Let me know what you think might possibly be the answer to the million-dollar question of why this man chose to take human life. His background is certainly troubled, and his life tends to draw a conflicted response -- do you abhor him as a serial killer, or feel sorry for the things he has gone through? There's something very surreal about doing this research. I love it very much (and I actually wish I had started these true crime projects years ago), but crawling into bed at night with a stack of files to study, and holding an actual letter written by a serial killer in your hand, feeling the gravity of the case (or is that possibly some bad energy?) ... it's pretty crazy. I really hope you enjoy the fruits of this labor.
Learn more about the book at the website of the publisher, WildBlue Press.

I've been very fortunate to talk with a number of talented podcasters in the past few months since "The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides" was released. One of those interviews was a live one with Daniel Lucas of Book 101 Review, to also be posted soon on Apple Podcasts, etc.

Wow, it's been a big week. The Murder Shelf Book Club podcast episode 3 on the John Eric Armstrong case dropped, True Crime Talk's episodes on the Benjamin Atkins case and "The Crack City Strangler" book dropped, and things have really kicked into high gear for next week's release of the book. 
Catch the True Crime Talk episodes on Apple, Spotify and Audible:Short episodeLong episode

🎧 Ep 113-115 of Murder Shelf - binge now! 🎧https://linktr.ee/murdershelfbookclub 🌏

Learn more: wbp.bz/CrackCityStrangler

Thanks so much to WildBlue Press, Murder Shelf Book Club and True Crime Talk for their support.

And hey, TGIF!

Jill of the Murder Shelf Book Club podcast has done a masterful job of telling the story of convicted serial killer John Eric Armstrong, drawing from "The 'Baby Doll' Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides" book. For this third episode, she focuses on the Navy confessions Armstrong made when arrested in Detroit in April 2000. Did these murders really happen? Jill talks about suspected Virginia victim Linette Hillig, who is accepted in the NCIS records as one of Armstrong's victims though charges were never actually brought.

Listen to all three episodes in the series now:

https://linktr.ee/murdershelfbookclub 

Also see the YouTube playlist for all three episodes (and like and subscribe, if ya would be so kind!):

He roamed Detroit's historic Woodward Ave -- a street known for having the nation's first mile of concrete paved road. But he wasn't behind the wheel; he was on foot. Nevertheless, he certainly had his foot on the gas: Benjamin Atkins, homeless, so young in his early 20s, and addicted to crack, was known to have killed 11 women in a short time span -- between six and nine months. That earned him the moniker of the nation's fastest serial killer after he was arrested in August 1992.

"The Crack City Strangler: The Homicides of Benjamin Atkins" takes you through the case from start to finish, from Atkins' very troubled beginnings through his arrest, trial, incarceration and death in 1997. Most importantly, the book opens with a look at each and every one of his victims -- not only the 11 who lost their lives but also the one known survivor at the time, and an additional survivor who has never told her story until now. I was blessed to not only speak with that additional survivor, but also several family members of the women who were killed, plus police who worked the case and the attorney who represented Atkins. I tracked down whoever I could find -- unfortunately, several people, such as the prosecuting attorney and some of the law enforcement folks, have passed on in the years since the case. But I was thankful to have a lot of source material for this project, including many, many case files.

The book releases on March 11, and the Kindle edition is available for preorder now. It's the second book in the Murders in the Motor City series. I think you will be as fascinated by this case as I was. There are a lot of elements in Atkins' background that could make you shake your head and say, yeah, that was it right there. But really, the mystery of why he killed includes all kinds of crazy factors and is up to your own interpretation. You can tell me what you think!