Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer by Mark Fuhrman
When I read John Douglas's books, I'm amazed at the arrogance and self-importance I see. After reading Murder in Spokane, however, I have found a worthy rival for Douglas.
It only took a few pages for him to bring up the OJ business and his other books (Murder in Brentwood and Murder in Greenwich). In fact, the book jacket proclaims:
Mark Fuhrman's bestseller Murder in Greenwich led to Michael Skakel's arrest [in the Martha Moxley case] .
Now America's foremost detective turns his investigative brilliance to Spokane. . .
Let's step back a minute and consider how "America's foremost detective" (according to whom?) went from being a cop to a journalist. About how he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights at the OJ trial and refused to testify about falsified documents and planted evidence. About how he claims Robert Yates could have been caught two years earlier if Spokane police would have just worked smarter. That's what this book is mostly about: how the bumbling Spokane PD and Sheriff's department took three years to crack the case - with Fuhrman's help, of course.
To read this book, you'd think Spokane is a backwards little burg in the middle of nowhere. Well, I can say that because it's my hometown. But I defend it mightily against the likes of Mark Fuhrman, who now calls Sandpoint, Idaho home (about 75 miles from Spokane). I happen to know he is not well liked in the area. In fact, many locals refuse to buy this book. I can see why.
Okay, so what about the book, you ask?
Fuhrman finds fault with every aspect of the investigation, while lamenting the uncooperativeness of the city and county cops. The book opens with:
You never forget what a dead body smells like. The stink of decomposing flesh. That retching, putrid stanch that seems to penetrate right through your skin. That sticks to your clothing and clings to the hairs in your nose. . . That afternoon, I smelled it again. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but the smell wouldn't go away.
I was stuck in traffic on my way to do a radio show in Spokane, Washington. Mark Fitzsimmons had asked me to be a guest host on his program at KXLY 920 AM.
(Two pages later you find that the smell is a dead deer on the side of the road, and he describes the carcass in full, revolting detail.) Much of the book deals with Fuhrman and Fitzsimmons, hosts of the radio show "All About Crime," taking the investigation upon themselves and criticizing local law enforcement's lack of footwork.
The book follows a time line in which several prostitutes' bodies are found in the Spokane area. Fuhrman says police didn't follow up on tips and sat on good information. Police say that Fuhrman didn't have all of the information. In fact, police refused Fuhrman access to law enforcement files and crime scene information, which Fuhrman complains about in the book. Gee, I would have to side with the cops on this one. Here's this radio duo stepping on your investigation - and one of them is an ex-LAPD cop with a bad reputation. In fact, Fuhrman's 20 years of experience as a cop included two serial killer investigations. And he portrayed himself as a lead investigator in Murder in Brentwood, when in fact he was just one of the first cops on the scene. Would you share? And despite the SPD's apparent shoddy investigative techniques, Robert L. Yates, a father of five, pled guilty last October to 14 murders. I'd say the local boys did just fine.
The one interesting aspect of the case that Fuhrman didn't examine very deeply was the general attitude of the locals about the killings. Because the victims were prostitutes, most people didn't worry too much about the killer in their midst because they didn't consider themselves in danger. In fact, one woman I know from there said, "Who cares, as long as he [the killer] is getting the junkies off the streets?" That position seems to have been the norm rather than the exception.
In any case, I suggest reading The Robert Lee Yates Spokane Serial Killer Timeline instead of that egomaniac Fuhrman's book. It's shorter and less critical of the professionals.
More on Yates, Fuhrman, and Spokane:
The Robert Lee Yates Spokane Serial Killer Timeline
Mark Fuhrman Credited with Pinpointing Kennedy Nephew as Killer
Why Mike Fitzsimmons plays sidekick to Mark Fuhrman
KREM.com Serial Killer Investigation
Find My Baby! The Inside Story of Valiree Jackson
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