Evil Beside Her

Hero, Husband, Father . . . Monster?

In Creekstone, Texas, a small, quiet suburb of Houston, football was king . . . and David Temple was a prince. A former high school and college gridiron star-turned-coach, he had a fairy-tale marriage to bright, vivacious Belinda Lucas, a teacher at the local high school who was so warm and popular her colleagues called her "The Sunshine Girl."

The fairy tale ended savagely on January 11, 1999, when Belinda's lifeless body was discovered in a closet. Her skull had been shattered by a shotgun blast at close range. She was eight months pregnant.

There was no damning evidence directly linking the brutal murder to husband David, who stood by emotionless and dry-eyed as police searched the crime scene. But a dogged eight-year investigation would expose a shocking history of cruelty and domination, infidelity and rage—ultimately resulting in an epic courtroom battle for the ages—as the scandalous truth was revealed about love betrayed and innocent lives . . . shattered.

Bright, attractive, and both from good families, University of Texas college student Colton Pitonyak and vibrant redhead Jennifer Cave had the world at their beckoning. Cave, an ex-cheerleader, had just landed an exciting new job, while a big-money scholarship to UT's prestigious business school lured Pitonyak to Austin. Yet the former altar boy had a dark, unpredictable streak, one that ensnared him in the perilous underworld of drugs and guns. When Jennifer failed to show up for work on August 18, 2005, her mother became frightened. Sharon Cave's search led to Colton's West Campus apartment, where Jennifer's family discovered a scene worthy of the grisliest horror movie. Meanwhile, Colton Pitonyak was nowhere to be found.

A Descent Into Hell is the gripping true story of one of the most brutal slayings in UT history—and the wild "Bonnie and Clyde-like" flight from justice of a cold-blooded young killer and his would-be girlfriend, who claimed that her unquestioning allegiance to Pitonyak was "just the way I roll."

A man of God . . . driven by the evil

To his parishioners, minister Matt Baker seemed a pious and good man. To his wife, Kari, he was a devoted husband and caring father. Always sunny and vivacious, Kari never questioned their frequent relocations from one small Texas Baptist church to another. Even when tragedy struck, Kari remained strong—until one day, inexplicably, she took her own life.

To friends and family, Kari's suicide made no sense—and they struggled with questions they couldn't answer. Why couldn't Matt hold a job with any one church? Why did he cut off all contact with Kari's devastated parents soon after her death? And who was the blond companion he began appearing with just days after the funeral? But it would take a team of investigators and dogged determination to bring Matt Baker's dark secrets to light—revealing a shocking history of lies, infidelity, cruelty, and sexual obsession that may have led a serial predator cloaked in God's word to commit murder.

The day before Halloween 2004 was the last day on Earth for respected, well-liked college professor Fred Jablin. That morning, a neighbor discovered his body lying in a pool of blood in the driveway of Jablin's Virginia home. Police immediately turned their attentions to the victim's ex-wife, Piper, a petite, pretty Texas lawyer who had lost a bitter custody battle and would do anything to get her kids back. But Piper was in Houston, one thousand miles away, at the time of the slaying and couldn't possibly have been the killer . . . could she?

So began an investigation into one of the most bizarre cases Virginia and Texas law enforcement agencies had ever encountered: a twisted conspiracy of lies, rage, paranoia, manipulation, and savage murder that would ensnare an entire family—including two lethally close look-alike sisters—and reveal the shocking depravities possible when a dangerously disordered mind slips into madness.

She tried to tell her friends. She even went to the police. No one would believe her--and now she was dead.

Problems had always followed Susan White, but when she remarried and moved to Houston's posh suburbs, she thought the past was behind her--until she met a deputy sheriff named Kent McGowen who would soon become her worst nightmare.

McGowen was an aggressive cop with a spotty record. When Susan rebuffed his advances, she claimed he stalked and harassed her, using her troubled teenage son as bait. And then, in an act of arrogance and revenge, he made good on his threats, setting her up for the kill.

In A Warrant to Kill, Kathryn Casey meticulously pieces together the tragic shards of the case to create a riveting story of vengeance, fear, and justice--of the terrifying power a badge can have in the wrong hands.

Trophy wife Celeste Beard wasn't satisfied with a luxurious lifestyle and her rich Austin media mogul husband's devotion -- so she took his life!

The wife:
She wanted everything, but her husband stood in the way.

The lesbian lover:
A love-struck, middle-aged woman with a history of mental illness, she would do anything to set Celeste free.

The beauty salon receptionist:
Celeste hired her to tie up the loose ends ... in a second conspiracy to commit murder.

In the midst of Pennsylvania's Amish country, on a peaceful summer night in 2008, the body of 45-year-old Jan Roseboro was found at the bottom of her backyard pool. Her husband Michael, a successful businessman and member of a prominent family, showed no emotion as he learned of her death. But the next day an autopsy revealed Jan had been savagely beaten and strangled before being tossed in the water to drown. Soon Michael's secret lover, pregnant with his child, stepped into the media spotlight. And a horrifying true story of illicit passion, deadly deceit, and cold-blooded murder unfolded. . .

"One of America's finest true-crime writers."--Vincent Bugliosi

"Phelps creates a vivid portrait." --Publishers Weeklyy

In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims were just eighteen-years-old, popular and beloved--but when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. . ..Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider--until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood--until now.

"Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers." Allison Brennan

"The best true-crime writer to come along in years." Gregg Olsen

Praise for M. William Phelps

"Phelps ratchets up the dramatic tension." Stephen Singular

"One of America's finest true-crime writers." Vincent Bugliosi

"Phelps creates a vivid portrait." Publishers Weekly

A loving father and his new wife set out to pick up his kids for a scheduled weekend visit--but never suspected they were walking into a death trap.

A handwritten note instructed Alan and Terra Bates to enter the back door of his ex-wife's Alabama home. A day later their charred bodies were found hundreds of miles away, wrapped in blankets, in a burned-out car's trunk on a desolate Georgia road.

At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors--a couch gone. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Upon release, Jessica swore, "Somebody is going to pay." With her new police-officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder. . .

"M. William Phelps' true tales of murderers and mayhem are scary-as-hell thrill rides." --Douglas Clegg

"One of our most engaging crime journalists." --Katherine Ramsland

"One of America's finest true-crime writers." --Vincent Bugliosi