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Pure Murder
TWO INNOCENT TEENS
The crime was unspeakable. On a summer night in Houston, two bright, beautiful, success-bound teenage girls crossed paths with a group of young men fueled with alcohol and rage. Four days later, when searchers finally found Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, their bodies were unrecognizable.
AN ORGY OF VIOLENCE
At first, the teenage boys grabbed Elizabeth, while Jennifer escaped. But Elizabeth's desperate cries brought Jennifer back to help her best friend. Both girls were subjected to sexual assaults of every conceivable kind--and long, painful, drawn-out deaths.
NO MERCY
For days afterward, the killers bragged openly about their crime. By the time prosecutors got the case, convictions for double murder looked like a "slam dunk." But the families of the victims were in for a horrible surprise. In this terrifying case, justice would be a torturous journey.
The crime was unspeakable. On a summer night in Houston, two bright, beautiful, success-bound teenage girls crossed paths with a group of young men fueled with alcohol and rage. Four days later, when searchers finally found Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, their bodies were unrecognizable.
AN ORGY OF VIOLENCE
At first, the teenage boys grabbed Elizabeth, while Jennifer escaped. But Elizabeth's desperate cries brought Jennifer back to help her best friend. Both girls were subjected to sexual assaults of every conceivable kind--and long, painful, drawn-out deaths.
NO MERCY
For days afterward, the killers bragged openly about their crime. By the time prosecutors got the case, convictions for double murder looked like a "slam dunk." But the families of the victims were in for a horrible surprise. In this terrifying case, justice would be a torturous journey.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
270 people are currently reading
2001 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
January 17, 2017
So our cast of villains includes: a misfit who dropped out during middle school; a wanna-be gang banger; a boy who was eleven in the fourth grade; an honor roll delinquent; and an undisciplined attention seeker.
What happens when society refuses to hold juveniles accountable for their actions because the adults are fearful of discrimination. These young men spiraled out of control, going from stealing bikes at the age of ten to rape and murder at the ages of 17-18. There was no self-respect, no intervention, no assistance to teach coping skills or even how to succeed in school. They gave up on society as society gave up on them.
2017 Reading Challenge: a difficult topic
Two beautiful teenage girls were attacked on their walk home on a summer night after hanging with friends at a pool. They were taken to the woods, beaten, violated, strangled, and left to the elements. Their murderers bragged about it to family members and eventually had their day in court. There was no remorse, no sense of guilt.
The voice of the victims was their father's, who adored their daughters. They attended every trial, every sentencing hearing. They talked to the press.
I believe in the death penalty. I support it. Cases like this deserve it.
What happens when society refuses to hold juveniles accountable for their actions because the adults are fearful of discrimination. These young men spiraled out of control, going from stealing bikes at the age of ten to rape and murder at the ages of 17-18. There was no self-respect, no intervention, no assistance to teach coping skills or even how to succeed in school. They gave up on society as society gave up on them.
2017 Reading Challenge: a difficult topic
Two beautiful teenage girls were attacked on their walk home on a summer night after hanging with friends at a pool. They were taken to the woods, beaten, violated, strangled, and left to the elements. Their murderers bragged about it to family members and eventually had their day in court. There was no remorse, no sense of guilt.
The voice of the victims was their father's, who adored their daughters. They attended every trial, every sentencing hearing. They talked to the press.
I believe in the death penalty. I support it. Cases like this deserve it.
March 7, 2013
I would have given this a five star rating, and believe me it almost was a fiver for me, but I wanted to know more about the girls. Who they were, and what they liked, instead we just get generic details like, "they did what all girls do." Still this was a great read that should hold the attention of any true crime fan from beginning to end.
I find it incredible that we have so many rotten potatoes in one pot. The likelihood that they would all meet up, and form such a lethal group is beyond terrifying. As one character witness, and friend of the boys stated, "the devil was in them". They brought fear, and suffering where ever they went without even the smallest hint of humanity. The friend who made this statement probably got out of being charged as an accessory by being a witness for the prosecution because him, and his brother seen the two girls being harassed by the group as they were leaving, and did nothing to help the girls. If not then I wonder why they never got into any trouble. Surely if your aware someone is being attacked, and do nothing that makes you an accessory?
If you go into this book with any faith in the justice system whatsoever you'll have little to none by the end of it. Those monsters got served with a sentence of death, and then the courts go and strip this sentencing down to serving life for the ones who were under eighteen. Given the severity of the crime I believe their age should have been over looked. At least three of the eight boys there that night have been sent to meet the top judge. Notice I say eight instead of six, that's because when those two brothers failed to call 911 upon leaving the group, and thus saving the lives of two young girls that makes them guilty.
Even though this is a true crime book it managed to have me in tears several times. I just couldn't read about the suffering of these two girls without crying, nor was I able to make it through reading of the grief of the families without crying. I wont ever forget these two girls, or their families. May God keep them all in his sight always.
I find it incredible that we have so many rotten potatoes in one pot. The likelihood that they would all meet up, and form such a lethal group is beyond terrifying. As one character witness, and friend of the boys stated, "the devil was in them". They brought fear, and suffering where ever they went without even the smallest hint of humanity. The friend who made this statement probably got out of being charged as an accessory by being a witness for the prosecution because him, and his brother seen the two girls being harassed by the group as they were leaving, and did nothing to help the girls. If not then I wonder why they never got into any trouble. Surely if your aware someone is being attacked, and do nothing that makes you an accessory?
If you go into this book with any faith in the justice system whatsoever you'll have little to none by the end of it. Those monsters got served with a sentence of death, and then the courts go and strip this sentencing down to serving life for the ones who were under eighteen. Given the severity of the crime I believe their age should have been over looked. At least three of the eight boys there that night have been sent to meet the top judge. Notice I say eight instead of six, that's because when those two brothers failed to call 911 upon leaving the group, and thus saving the lives of two young girls that makes them guilty.
Even though this is a true crime book it managed to have me in tears several times. I just couldn't read about the suffering of these two girls without crying, nor was I able to make it through reading of the grief of the families without crying. I wont ever forget these two girls, or their families. May God keep them all in his sight always.
October 2, 2009
One of the best true crime books I've read in a while and I think it is the best of Corey Mitchell. Loved the way he build up the suspense and not began with the murders. (he told me his next book will have the same concept) I did not know what this book would be about but of course you slowly understand where this is going and it is going far, to hell and back. This is such a sad book.Highly recommend. 4.5 stars
October 20, 2011
What happened to these girls was absolutely horrific and I am just glad they caught these guys before they killed anyone else. But the story really wasn't that well written, I felt like I was reading a bunch of mini-newspaper reports from my college paper or something. the end got better, but there was a lot of unnecessary and distracting details. I am serious when I think this book could of EASILY been 100 to 150 pages shorter. NO JOKE. Don't think I'll be reading another book by this author. ever.
July 26, 2017
I am not normally pro-death penalty, but as I listened to this audiobook, I found myself feeling that the boys in this story did not deserve to live. They were truly wastes of oxygen, with all of the crimes they committed and their lack of remorse. They seemed to be beyond rehabilitation and destined to always be a drain on humanity.
I found this book well-written and interesting, although I felt that the author spent too much time describing the rapes and murders of the girls, and in too much detail. The other thing that took me out of the story was the author's habit of comparing every single lawyer and judge to whatever obscure celebrity they resembled. Other than that, I felt it was a good book, although not an easy one to read given the subject matter. I only hope that the girls' parents found some peace in their life, in some way.
I found this book well-written and interesting, although I felt that the author spent too much time describing the rapes and murders of the girls, and in too much detail. The other thing that took me out of the story was the author's habit of comparing every single lawyer and judge to whatever obscure celebrity they resembled. Other than that, I felt it was a good book, although not an easy one to read given the subject matter. I only hope that the girls' parents found some peace in their life, in some way.
July 9, 2017
You would think that someone who has published as many books as this author would have learned the craft of storytelling. But no, he hasn't. The book reads like an accretion of notes, conveying learned facts both relevant and irrelevant. There is no thoughtful storytelling, no observational analysis, and, despite the section titles with their dates and times, a jumble of facts that don't belong in each. The facts are horrific, but without a storyteller's fine hand all the reader is left with is horror and no comprehension of, or identification with, either killers or victims. Deeply unsatisfying. May I successfully avoid all of his work product henceforward.
November 25, 2020
Sad story and a horrible instance of the way group mentality can be a dangerous thing. I feel like the girls were simply secondary characters in this story. If that was the intention of the author to focus mainly on the perps, that's fine. But I feel like it was a bit dehumanizing.
January 10, 2025
It was a scary read, knowing that these happens to a lot of young girls online. And the fact that the rapists also happen to be young teenage boys... I wish they kinda showed more of the lives of the girls, their friends, since I felt like I knew more about how the boys grew up in prison and what happened to their lives there before their expecting death. But I did like how it focused on the parents' perspective of the girls, as it was truly heartbreaking.
The pictures were horrifying and haunting, to say the least.
The pictures were horrifying and haunting, to say the least.
January 13, 2024
This book was very emotionally upsetting and shockingly descriptive. The amount of horror that these two beautiful, young, innocent girls went through and the immeasurable grief and pain suffered by their families is almost too difficult to comprehend.
It is so disturbing to me that so many young kids can be capable of such unimaginable cruelty. That at such a young age, they can display such intentional callousness.
I honestly do not know how these families survived the aftermath of it all. They are incredible.
It is so disturbing to me that so many young kids can be capable of such unimaginable cruelty. That at such a young age, they can display such intentional callousness.
I honestly do not know how these families survived the aftermath of it all. They are incredible.
March 14, 2019
Very well written True Crime book documenting the random gang rape & murder of 2 innocent girls, but not for the squeamish. Very descriptive and gruesome, horrific crime, helped me decide my personal stance on the death penalty. I particularly appreciated the perspective from the murdered girls’ families, as it was compelling.
July 23, 2018
unbelievable!! hard to put down despite the graphic nature and intensity!! no spoilers here!! true crime buffs...READ THIS BOOK!!!! you'll shiver, shake, squeal...feel so many emotions and think so hard it hurts!!
May 19, 2017
This is an excellent book written about one of the most horrific crimes ever. The rapes and murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena is one of the worst I have ever read about. This book was very well researched. Very detailed about the victims, killers, and the murders - enough that you felt you were watching all of it. The group of gang members that raped and murdered these two innocent girls were all sociopaths who enjoyed inflicting pain on others. In fact, some got in trouble while in prison serving their sentences or awaiting execution, attacking guards or other inmates. Thankfully, 3 of them were executed, 2 others have life with no parole and 1 has 40 years. This book is excellent - well-written and well-researched. He gave depth to each character, making you love them or hate them. You feel such empathy for the victims' family and the pain they had to endure throughout their journey to justice. Corey Mitchell, the author, makes sure you always know who the victims are and that they are and should be the center of attention. I, personally, will never forget these two young ladies. I recommend this book. It is great!
December 7, 2018
This is a well-written, well researched account of the murders. Extremely graphic so beware if you have “triggers” that could make this book too much for you. I read a lot of true crime, but this story in particular was very upsetting because of the brutality of the rapes/murders. If you are on the fence about the death penalty, this book will likely make you an advocate of the death penalty.
March 19, 2023
My Review and Thoughts:
This is a truly brutal case of murder. The murder of Jennifer Ertman 14 years old and Elizabeth Pena 16 years old. This is a sad and haunting note in the history of Houston Texas. This was a crime on June 24th, 1993.
Both girls where beautiful high school students at Waltrip High. On that night, they were at a pool party of a friend. Both realized they were going to be late getting home so they left. A shortcut was taken by some railroads that then led through T.C. Jester Park. There they came across a modern nightmare, gang members, drinking. At that moment innocence was captured and six gang members ganged raped and tortured the innocence. Soon the ordeal would worsen as it led to murder.
For this is a story of Innocence Slain!!!
From broken ribs, bunched out teeth, forced in oral sex and being repeatedly vaginal and anal raped over an hour period while being punched and kicked, and then ultimately strangled to death. They then were stepped on to make sure they were dead. This is a case of pure capital murder. This book is a haunting part of criminal history that should be read for the mere documentation of the ordeal.
It's a moment in history just like all crimes of a brutal nature that should not be forgotten, because these where innocent victims taken by human monsters. These two girls should be remembered not as a brutal victim, but as innocent high school students living out their life, but because of monsters of a human nature, bullies, disgusting gang members, they will forever be stained with the image of a violent act.
What makes this book stand out is that Corey Mitchell doesn't just write a typical crime book and linger on the horrible ordeal, he introduces you to the players, the two victims and even the six human monsters.
You get to know each of the victims and the monsters. You know their story and slowly the ordeal unfolds giving you the whole massive reality. The beauty of giving the voices to the victims is amazing. He lets you know them, become a part of them, and showcase the innocence, and the reality of two teenage girls. He leads you down a path of the monsters, giving you the makeup and reality to them. He expresses the everyday lives, and the atmospheres leading to the horrible stain of crime.
This is a well written book that can give haunting nightmares on how reality based it is. I found myself not wanting to put it down, I wanting to read page after page until the end and that's the quality of telling this ordeal; this true crime story. The depravity caused that night and the depravity caused in the aftermath is something that will linger inside my mind for a long time.
It amazes me how many signs where given on certain of these boys being trouble makers, signs that the system failed again to protect Ertman and Pena. These boys list consisted of assaulting teachers, carrying weapons, stealing, drugs, car theft, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, and yet over and over these boys got slaps on the wrist, a simple probation that even then they broke it, and nothing was done. They grew more and more violent and they never got stopped.
Most of the parents did not care or where so blind they just allowed them to do whatever they wanted. They had no care for others, they had no care for the law or life, and they were creating themselves into whatever they wished, mainly thugs; violent thugs.
At times the book goes through the spill of bad moments throughout the boy’s life where you end up thinking maybe the book is making excuses because of their past ordeals, but, the book is displaying all the facts never taking any side. I don't like boo who sob stories in trying to excuse violent actions, you ultimately have a choice, right from wrong, and these human monsters choose wrong.
I think the parents and the justice system are to blame for a lot of the ordeal. These kids could do as they wished. Most of them never were punished or corrected. If my son or child hit me, or threatened me, or pushed me through a glass door window, that would be the end of that ordeal, because off you go. The amazing reality these thugs exhibited is almost unbelievable, yet it's true. Guns and knives at school, punching and kicking and attacking and stalking teachers, killing and harming animals, mistreating grownups and so on.
The description of the gang rape and brutal murders of Pena and Ertman is very graphic, a little too graphic, yet it must be written that way for you the reader can grasp and understand the horrible nightmare, and evil reality that happened to these two young innocent girls.
This book causes emotions in the reader giving at times a bitter taste on how horrible the ordeal was and how there was so many opportunities to stop these kids by locking them up before that fateful horrible night of murder, and just maybe the justice system would not have failed Pena and Ertman that night.
Corey Mitchell's writing is flawless and will forever leave me with the nightmares of this horrible crime. Mitchell knows how to capture a complete story from the start to the end.
This is a case that forever has haunted me because of how savage and horrible the ordeal was. This was a case that lingered in the news and brought massive political talks and ordeals due to the bad guys screaming they did not get a Mexican consular, ahhh boo who. If you can do the crime, you get the punishment, that's how I feel, no matter if your white, black, American, Japanese and so on. If any case needs justice this one did, and justice was served.
This is a truly brutal case of murder. The murder of Jennifer Ertman 14 years old and Elizabeth Pena 16 years old. This is a sad and haunting note in the history of Houston Texas. This was a crime on June 24th, 1993.
Both girls where beautiful high school students at Waltrip High. On that night, they were at a pool party of a friend. Both realized they were going to be late getting home so they left. A shortcut was taken by some railroads that then led through T.C. Jester Park. There they came across a modern nightmare, gang members, drinking. At that moment innocence was captured and six gang members ganged raped and tortured the innocence. Soon the ordeal would worsen as it led to murder.
For this is a story of Innocence Slain!!!
From broken ribs, bunched out teeth, forced in oral sex and being repeatedly vaginal and anal raped over an hour period while being punched and kicked, and then ultimately strangled to death. They then were stepped on to make sure they were dead. This is a case of pure capital murder. This book is a haunting part of criminal history that should be read for the mere documentation of the ordeal.
It's a moment in history just like all crimes of a brutal nature that should not be forgotten, because these where innocent victims taken by human monsters. These two girls should be remembered not as a brutal victim, but as innocent high school students living out their life, but because of monsters of a human nature, bullies, disgusting gang members, they will forever be stained with the image of a violent act.
What makes this book stand out is that Corey Mitchell doesn't just write a typical crime book and linger on the horrible ordeal, he introduces you to the players, the two victims and even the six human monsters.
You get to know each of the victims and the monsters. You know their story and slowly the ordeal unfolds giving you the whole massive reality. The beauty of giving the voices to the victims is amazing. He lets you know them, become a part of them, and showcase the innocence, and the reality of two teenage girls. He leads you down a path of the monsters, giving you the makeup and reality to them. He expresses the everyday lives, and the atmospheres leading to the horrible stain of crime.
This is a well written book that can give haunting nightmares on how reality based it is. I found myself not wanting to put it down, I wanting to read page after page until the end and that's the quality of telling this ordeal; this true crime story. The depravity caused that night and the depravity caused in the aftermath is something that will linger inside my mind for a long time.
It amazes me how many signs where given on certain of these boys being trouble makers, signs that the system failed again to protect Ertman and Pena. These boys list consisted of assaulting teachers, carrying weapons, stealing, drugs, car theft, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, and yet over and over these boys got slaps on the wrist, a simple probation that even then they broke it, and nothing was done. They grew more and more violent and they never got stopped.
Most of the parents did not care or where so blind they just allowed them to do whatever they wanted. They had no care for others, they had no care for the law or life, and they were creating themselves into whatever they wished, mainly thugs; violent thugs.
At times the book goes through the spill of bad moments throughout the boy’s life where you end up thinking maybe the book is making excuses because of their past ordeals, but, the book is displaying all the facts never taking any side. I don't like boo who sob stories in trying to excuse violent actions, you ultimately have a choice, right from wrong, and these human monsters choose wrong.
I think the parents and the justice system are to blame for a lot of the ordeal. These kids could do as they wished. Most of them never were punished or corrected. If my son or child hit me, or threatened me, or pushed me through a glass door window, that would be the end of that ordeal, because off you go. The amazing reality these thugs exhibited is almost unbelievable, yet it's true. Guns and knives at school, punching and kicking and attacking and stalking teachers, killing and harming animals, mistreating grownups and so on.
The description of the gang rape and brutal murders of Pena and Ertman is very graphic, a little too graphic, yet it must be written that way for you the reader can grasp and understand the horrible nightmare, and evil reality that happened to these two young innocent girls.
This book causes emotions in the reader giving at times a bitter taste on how horrible the ordeal was and how there was so many opportunities to stop these kids by locking them up before that fateful horrible night of murder, and just maybe the justice system would not have failed Pena and Ertman that night.
Corey Mitchell's writing is flawless and will forever leave me with the nightmares of this horrible crime. Mitchell knows how to capture a complete story from the start to the end.
This is a case that forever has haunted me because of how savage and horrible the ordeal was. This was a case that lingered in the news and brought massive political talks and ordeals due to the bad guys screaming they did not get a Mexican consular, ahhh boo who. If you can do the crime, you get the punishment, that's how I feel, no matter if your white, black, American, Japanese and so on. If any case needs justice this one did, and justice was served.
July 27, 2008
I learned that a bunch of teenage boys hopped up on drugs and booze can be a terrifying scene if they chose to be violent. It wouldn't matter if they are teens or senior citizens. I just so happened it was teenage girls.
July 25, 2009
Very disturbing what 6 animals could do to 2 innocent girls. They all should die for what they did to Elizabeth & Jennifer. This book is not for the faint of heart.
May 19, 2011
One of the best true crime novels I have ever read. Mr. Mitchell puts you right there;you feel as if you are witnessing everything first hand.
September 28, 2018
I really enjoyed this book the only problem I had with it is I wish it would have talked about the girls backstories more other than that it was good
March 29, 2025
The summer of 1993. Houston. Teenagers with no moral compass. Two innocent schoolgirls took the wrong path one evening and would not live to regret it. That is all I can say regarding one of the most horrific crimes to occur in the early 90s.
For those of you who do not know the names of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, a quick Google search conjures up YouTube videos and old newspaper articles giving a sanitized version of the nightmare that befell a 16-year-old girl and her 14-year-old friend on a warm summer evening in June. After attending a pool party a few miles away, the girls were in a hurry to make it home in time for their curfew. They would never make it. They took a shortcut.
And shortcuts can be deadly.
I won't go into gruesome detail, but this book will have you screaming at the mess that was the Texas justice system in the early 90s. The author introduces us to all those involved and you wish he hadn't. You learn some horrifically surprising things when reading about the 6 gang members who chose to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on two girls who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was a gang initiation.
Liquor was involved.
The leader was spoiling for a fight.
All young men involved were no strangers to law enforcement; to juvenile probation officers; and should have been locked up until Doomsday. The ringleader of this nasty little group you discover was Damian incarnate and by the time of the murders had already assaulted a schoolteacher in her classroom, stalked a girl from school, and had pulled a knife on a stadium refreshment employee. Peter Cantu was an arrogant bully, had no respect for authority, and had a doting mother who could not or would not control him. He was also so full of rage that he would try to fight anything that moved.
The others were no better, showing promise as children only to fall into a pattern of skipping school and flouting any attempts by the juvenile justice system to correct their behavior. Most drank or used drugs. Violence was a currency they understood and everyone from school security officers and even policemen were terrified of them.
By the time Peter Cantu's group encountered the girls it was already too late because if it hadn't been them, it would have been someone else. They wanted to hurt someone that night and it didn't matter who it was. As it so happened, six months before the girls went missing three of the boys had brutally murdered a young mother in much the same way and bragged about it.
I highly suggest if you're brave enough to read this book you avoid the descriptive chapter in which the girls are brutally attacked. Skip ahead to find out that Houston isn't a place for a young woman to walk home in the dark. And that the police disregarded the parents' pleas for help as soon as the girls were reported missing. So what if one girl had a history of running away? Go out and look for them!
You'll get angry when 4 days are allowed to pass. It's hot. Middle of a Texas summer. Figure out what happens to dead bodies in those conditions. You will grieve for the parents and hate how they had to fight for their voices to be heard.
You'll also grow enraged when not one of the perpetrators has any remorse for what they have done.
NONE.
Three were executed for those crimes. The father of the youngest girl died from cancer. I believe the author of the book has also passed.
Even today the crime remains one of the most disturbing facets of Houston's tainted history. There are memorial benches in T.C. Jester Park dedicated to the two girls but it is a small comfort to know the crimes did not have to happen had the boys not slipped through the system. If you think Houston is better off today than it was in 1993, just read a current headline and realize nothing has changed.
For those of you who do not know the names of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, a quick Google search conjures up YouTube videos and old newspaper articles giving a sanitized version of the nightmare that befell a 16-year-old girl and her 14-year-old friend on a warm summer evening in June. After attending a pool party a few miles away, the girls were in a hurry to make it home in time for their curfew. They would never make it. They took a shortcut.
And shortcuts can be deadly.
I won't go into gruesome detail, but this book will have you screaming at the mess that was the Texas justice system in the early 90s. The author introduces us to all those involved and you wish he hadn't. You learn some horrifically surprising things when reading about the 6 gang members who chose to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on two girls who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was a gang initiation.
Liquor was involved.
The leader was spoiling for a fight.
All young men involved were no strangers to law enforcement; to juvenile probation officers; and should have been locked up until Doomsday. The ringleader of this nasty little group you discover was Damian incarnate and by the time of the murders had already assaulted a schoolteacher in her classroom, stalked a girl from school, and had pulled a knife on a stadium refreshment employee. Peter Cantu was an arrogant bully, had no respect for authority, and had a doting mother who could not or would not control him. He was also so full of rage that he would try to fight anything that moved.
The others were no better, showing promise as children only to fall into a pattern of skipping school and flouting any attempts by the juvenile justice system to correct their behavior. Most drank or used drugs. Violence was a currency they understood and everyone from school security officers and even policemen were terrified of them.
By the time Peter Cantu's group encountered the girls it was already too late because if it hadn't been them, it would have been someone else. They wanted to hurt someone that night and it didn't matter who it was. As it so happened, six months before the girls went missing three of the boys had brutally murdered a young mother in much the same way and bragged about it.
I highly suggest if you're brave enough to read this book you avoid the descriptive chapter in which the girls are brutally attacked. Skip ahead to find out that Houston isn't a place for a young woman to walk home in the dark. And that the police disregarded the parents' pleas for help as soon as the girls were reported missing. So what if one girl had a history of running away? Go out and look for them!
You'll get angry when 4 days are allowed to pass. It's hot. Middle of a Texas summer. Figure out what happens to dead bodies in those conditions. You will grieve for the parents and hate how they had to fight for their voices to be heard.
You'll also grow enraged when not one of the perpetrators has any remorse for what they have done.
NONE.
Three were executed for those crimes. The father of the youngest girl died from cancer. I believe the author of the book has also passed.
Even today the crime remains one of the most disturbing facets of Houston's tainted history. There are memorial benches in T.C. Jester Park dedicated to the two girls but it is a small comfort to know the crimes did not have to happen had the boys not slipped through the system. If you think Houston is better off today than it was in 1993, just read a current headline and realize nothing has changed.
April 20, 2021
I found this to be one of the harder true crime listens. On the one hand, the author did an excellent job of presenting the victims’ lives...all the victims: the young girls, their families, and friends. I appreciated that. On the other hand, the details regarding the awful crimes against these girls made me cry. I am not sure how I feel about hearing all that cruelty. Well, I know it made me incredibly sad, but did it need to be in the book? I don’t know. Also, there were times I couldn’t decide what was actually known about what people were thinking. That makes me uncomfortable.
I have very mixed feelings about the death penalty, so often, as I read this genre, I end up putting myself in the jury box. This time, there seemed to be little question that the boys/men were guilty. Nevertheless, I wonder if the crimes had been committed in a northern state or if the crimes were committed by wealthy, white men/boys, what would have been the fates of the criminals?
I thought too about the overworked social workers and teachers who had to deal with the worst actions of some of these criminals when they were younger. Do we do any better now, well over twenty-five years later, in following through on punishment for young kids who act as violently as these kids did. It might not have made a difference, but it almost seemed like no one tried to straighten them out and/or protect the rest of us from them. I know that isn’t accurate-people did try to reach them (pastors, police, etc.) and maybe they couldn’t be helped. However, the law didn’t have any teeth to it when court decisions had no real consequences. And who knows, if the most troubled of the boys/men were kept away from society, could the others have been saved from becoming murderers?
And, frankly reading about such almost inevitable violence made me scared.
I have very mixed feelings about the death penalty, so often, as I read this genre, I end up putting myself in the jury box. This time, there seemed to be little question that the boys/men were guilty. Nevertheless, I wonder if the crimes had been committed in a northern state or if the crimes were committed by wealthy, white men/boys, what would have been the fates of the criminals?
I thought too about the overworked social workers and teachers who had to deal with the worst actions of some of these criminals when they were younger. Do we do any better now, well over twenty-five years later, in following through on punishment for young kids who act as violently as these kids did. It might not have made a difference, but it almost seemed like no one tried to straighten them out and/or protect the rest of us from them. I know that isn’t accurate-people did try to reach them (pastors, police, etc.) and maybe they couldn’t be helped. However, the law didn’t have any teeth to it when court decisions had no real consequences. And who knows, if the most troubled of the boys/men were kept away from society, could the others have been saved from becoming murderers?
And, frankly reading about such almost inevitable violence made me scared.
January 21, 2019
I Wish This Had Been My 1st Book By This Author
If it had, I wouldn’t of bought anymore. Unfortunately it’s my 2nd and as I mostly enjoyed his 1st one, and I’m a true crime addict, after reading the prior book I went and bought all the rest.
Well, if this had been book 1 it would be an entirely different story. I was already getting rather fed up with SO much backstory on some of the assailants in this book, 164 pages of pure back story on them, 40% of the book !
So why am I so upset all of a sudden, and at this point in the book ? Well I realize this author is dead, and I hate to speak ill of him, but he has written the most disgusting version of an attack I think I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. It’s along the lines of why I only ‘mostly’ liked his prior book, some of his writing is rather immature, I don’t know how else to put it other than that, it’s like someone trying to write how they think they should, but it’s coming across here & there like a teenage boy inputting some of the wording & phrasing.
During this assault the language and wording used is utterly disrespectful to the victims, to any other victims of crimes like this, and to women in general. I’m totally disgusted, and I hope with all my heart that no friends or family of the girls read this piece of .....
I’ve tried to write the above without giving anything away to any future readers, but in all honesty, if anyone’s reading reviews to decide whether to buy the book or not ... DONT.
If it had, I wouldn’t of bought anymore. Unfortunately it’s my 2nd and as I mostly enjoyed his 1st one, and I’m a true crime addict, after reading the prior book I went and bought all the rest.
Well, if this had been book 1 it would be an entirely different story. I was already getting rather fed up with SO much backstory on some of the assailants in this book, 164 pages of pure back story on them, 40% of the book !
So why am I so upset all of a sudden, and at this point in the book ? Well I realize this author is dead, and I hate to speak ill of him, but he has written the most disgusting version of an attack I think I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. It’s along the lines of why I only ‘mostly’ liked his prior book, some of his writing is rather immature, I don’t know how else to put it other than that, it’s like someone trying to write how they think they should, but it’s coming across here & there like a teenage boy inputting some of the wording & phrasing.
During this assault the language and wording used is utterly disrespectful to the victims, to any other victims of crimes like this, and to women in general. I’m totally disgusted, and I hope with all my heart that no friends or family of the girls read this piece of .....
I’ve tried to write the above without giving anything away to any future readers, but in all honesty, if anyone’s reading reviews to decide whether to buy the book or not ... DONT.
October 26, 2020
Pure Murder by Corey Mitchell. I read a lot of mysteries, but only the occasional True Crime. I picked up this one because the crime occurred in Houston in 1993 and I lived there at that time and remembered the media coverage.
The author did his homework--lots of research on the boys involved, lots of facts. I was following along until the scene where the girls were raped and murdered. Mitchell told in graphic detail exactly how each girl was gang raped--what boy did what. Way more than I needed, or wanted to know, and it took several days to unsee that description. There was no need to get that graphic--it was almost porn. He spent most of the book trying to get justice and respect for the girls and their families, then he objectified them in this chapter.
In the trial phase, the fathers kept saying some variation of "Whatever he gets, my daughter got worse." Which is true and the man has every right to say that. However, the author didn't need to report it quite so often. What was said several times over a few months began to seem almost as whining when written several times in a few pages. I think the author could have shown a little restraint.
Also, in the death penalty scene, one of the mothers declined to go, but no word on why or if she struggled with it or who stayed with her during that time. Instead, the focus remained on the fathers.
The author did his homework--lots of research on the boys involved, lots of facts. I was following along until the scene where the girls were raped and murdered. Mitchell told in graphic detail exactly how each girl was gang raped--what boy did what. Way more than I needed, or wanted to know, and it took several days to unsee that description. There was no need to get that graphic--it was almost porn. He spent most of the book trying to get justice and respect for the girls and their families, then he objectified them in this chapter.
In the trial phase, the fathers kept saying some variation of "Whatever he gets, my daughter got worse." Which is true and the man has every right to say that. However, the author didn't need to report it quite so often. What was said several times over a few months began to seem almost as whining when written several times in a few pages. I think the author could have shown a little restraint.
Also, in the death penalty scene, one of the mothers declined to go, but no word on why or if she struggled with it or who stayed with her during that time. Instead, the focus remained on the fathers.
January 7, 2021
Outrageous!
Houston, TX
A metropolis of mixed races, family communities, broken homes, neighborhoods separated by socioeconomics.
People just trying to survive and raise their children to thrive, be better then themselves and to have better then what they(the parents) grew up with.
The author does a beautiful job of providing heavily detailed backgrounds on each of the guilty young men in this true crime retelling of a most vile crime.
Despite the regional location and the economics of these neighborhoods, those guilty individuals had CHOICES and they chose very wrong.
This retelling will make you mad, frustrated and broken hearted all at once.
Did the families of these beautiful angels get the justice they required/asked for? I am not sure; it seemed that death sentences was the appropriate sentencing.
The ending leaves questions as to whether all have met their maker.
Intense reading.
Houston, TX
A metropolis of mixed races, family communities, broken homes, neighborhoods separated by socioeconomics.
People just trying to survive and raise their children to thrive, be better then themselves and to have better then what they(the parents) grew up with.
The author does a beautiful job of providing heavily detailed backgrounds on each of the guilty young men in this true crime retelling of a most vile crime.
Despite the regional location and the economics of these neighborhoods, those guilty individuals had CHOICES and they chose very wrong.
This retelling will make you mad, frustrated and broken hearted all at once.
Did the families of these beautiful angels get the justice they required/asked for? I am not sure; it seemed that death sentences was the appropriate sentencing.
The ending leaves questions as to whether all have met their maker.
Intense reading.
January 27, 2023
This book will stay on your mind for a very long time due to the horror of the continuous rape and then murder of two very young teenager girls. Their only mistake was taking a shortcut home so they didn’t miss their curfew. Even thinking about that makes my heart bleed.
Unfortunately they run into a group of young boys - and they were boys not men in my mind - who viciously attacked the girls and then boasted about it. They were proud of what they had done! It makes me so angry that I can’t even put my feelings into words.
The book was well researched although I did feel like the focus was more on the background of the boys before the crime was committed which went a long way to explaining how a crime like this happens. I would have liked to have known more about the girls lives as I felt that was only touched on.
The crimes are described graphically so be aware of that if you shocked easily or you are sensitive.
I thought it was a good book.
Unfortunately they run into a group of young boys - and they were boys not men in my mind - who viciously attacked the girls and then boasted about it. They were proud of what they had done! It makes me so angry that I can’t even put my feelings into words.
The book was well researched although I did feel like the focus was more on the background of the boys before the crime was committed which went a long way to explaining how a crime like this happens. I would have liked to have known more about the girls lives as I felt that was only touched on.
The crimes are described graphically so be aware of that if you shocked easily or you are sensitive.
I thought it was a good book.
August 13, 2017
This book is well researched and well written. It is the first true crime book I've read that takes group dynamic to a new level. This is more than a group of teenagers, it is gang mentality.
My only criticism is that this book did not have any input from the killers. Realistically some of them have been executed and could not have been interviewed. But there are no interviews conducted with anyone from the other side. Don't get me wrong. I have no mercy for these men. I am not sorry they were executed. It may not be a popular stance, but I'm in favor of executing men who rape and murder young women to avoid getting caught. Still... I like a well rounded book. I would have liked to have heard from the families of the boys.
I would recommend this book to individuals seeking case studies on child murderers, group dynamics, group think, and gang mentality.
My only criticism is that this book did not have any input from the killers. Realistically some of them have been executed and could not have been interviewed. But there are no interviews conducted with anyone from the other side. Don't get me wrong. I have no mercy for these men. I am not sorry they were executed. It may not be a popular stance, but I'm in favor of executing men who rape and murder young women to avoid getting caught. Still... I like a well rounded book. I would have liked to have heard from the families of the boys.
I would recommend this book to individuals seeking case studies on child murderers, group dynamics, group think, and gang mentality.
October 27, 2016
Pure Murder? Yes...
It's hard to write a review after reading the horrific life ending injuries these poor girls suffered. Bless their hearts, may they rest in peace.
This was a well researched easy to read book about the murders of two young girls on their way home after visiting a friend. They were stopped by 6 young men with terrible intentions. What they did then is too terrible to comprehend.
With no remorse, no feelings , with smiles and glee, they ruthlessly destroyed these young women's lives.
Mr. Mitchell presented a life synopsis on each of these young men. They all seemed to have parents that loved them, with a home and surroundings that should have produced active members of society. Instead, they chose a different pa err h
It's hard to write a review after reading the horrific life ending injuries these poor girls suffered. Bless their hearts, may they rest in peace.
This was a well researched easy to read book about the murders of two young girls on their way home after visiting a friend. They were stopped by 6 young men with terrible intentions. What they did then is too terrible to comprehend.
With no remorse, no feelings , with smiles and glee, they ruthlessly destroyed these young women's lives.
Mr. Mitchell presented a life synopsis on each of these young men. They all seemed to have parents that loved them, with a home and surroundings that should have produced active members of society. Instead, they chose a different pa err h
August 28, 2018
This is a true gruesome story of the vile rapes and murders of two young girls. The story starts with the scene of the crime, then moves to ward the girls back stories as well as the 8 young men involved. The story is a graphic detail of the events that happened as well as the outcomes of the young men. As it is a true story, it is hard to analyze this book. The depiction of the crime is so detailed you feel you are there, traumatized, scared into immobility. Some of the best narration I have ever read, and the attention to detail in telling of the story is superb. With that being said, I feel that this book being so well written made it difficult to digest. I would not recommend anyone to read this book because it is so gruesomely detailed. If you have ever been assaulted, this is not for you.
February 17, 2019
What Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman went through was absolutely horrific and heartbreaking. I listened to the audio version of this book and had to skip certain parts because the detail of what they went through was too much for me to handle. I watch a lot of investigation discovery and have read some raunchy books, but this was too much. I can’t begin to imagine what their families went through while waiting for justice to be served. This book wasn’t that well written and at times was choppy and even awkward when it came to the dialogue, but it’s still an important book. Elizabeth and Jennifer’s stories need to be heard. I can’t believe the monsters that live among us. This is one true crime book that will stick with me for a long while.
October 27, 2024
Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were raped and murdered during a gang initiation while they were walking home from a pool party late at night. The bodies were discovered four days later, and due to the weather, the rate of decomposition only allowed for dental identification of the girls. The families of the girl advocated for the right of victims families to view executions. The girls have a memorial dedicated to them in a park with the view of the railroad tracks where they were found in the background.
This case was featured on Dateline, for anyone interest in the Dateline reading list. The book outlined in greater detail the facts of the case. It was a fairly quick read.
This case was featured on Dateline, for anyone interest in the Dateline reading list. The book outlined in greater detail the facts of the case. It was a fairly quick read.
August 18, 2017
This book is so poorly written I almost couldn't finish it. It was like a teenager was writing it. It often went from stating a fact to an observers (whose?) trite exclamation in one sentence. And why didn't he finish the story? What happened to the others? Yes you can find that online but why not at least say there were things still pending. Or maybe I missed that, I guess I was skimming a lot by the end. I'm going to have to remember this author's name in order to avoid any more of this tripe.
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