Blog of the Week: The True Crime Weblog

Everyone loves the story of the local boy done good. Well, this is one of those.

If you’ve been reading the crime blogs for a while then you know the name Steve Huff. And if you’ve just started reading, then you’ll know the name soon enough.

Steve is the blogger at The True Crime Weblog, and although he won’t admit to it, crime bloggers know that it was Huff that put this genre on the map. And while he may humbly point to one of his blogging compatriots as being the one who started it all, the rest of us know he’s full of it.

Many of us in the early days watched as Huff would scoop the news media on crime stories, and the media was definitely noticing it, too. He was doing something that hadn’t really been done before, or at least not to the level and extent that he elevated it to. Huff was telling the story of the victims and the perps, but he was doing it while incorporating information that no one else was reporting on. Information uncovered in a place that it seemed very few people were even thinking to look – the Internet.

People were paying attention. The main stream media was defiantly paying attention. Who was this guy and how in the world is he getting all of this information?! Must be a hacker! Nah, not even close. Steve probably couldn’t hack his way into a Speak-n-Spell. But if you’ve got the tiniest little bit of weird-ass information about yourself on the Internet, he’s the guy who’s gonna find it. Then write about it. And post your picture. Steve is what we call a sleuth.

For the sleuth the object of the game is to find every single piece of information about you that they can, using the Internet. Every single email address, every forum, every directory listing, every single piece of text or image that has ever been placed on the Internet about you. And there are some sleuths that are very, very, very good. [note to the pedophiles out there: you think the cops are scary, you should see what happens when a sleuth starts hunting your ugly ass!]

One of the criminal cases that Steve wrote about, in which sleuthing skills were used by the master, and by some of his readers and friends who were following the story, was the murder of Taylor Behl by Ben Fawley.

On Wednesday, November 7th at 10:30pm Eastern, MyCase.com, featuring Steve Huff will air on Court TV. Steve will lead the viewer through the virtual reality of Ben Fawley and Taylor Behl. The same online reality that lead to the arrest and subsequent charges against Fawley, aka: Skullz, for her murder.

Join Steve on the 7th, and watch for yourself how the sleuths do their thing, and why you should probably be more careful when doing yours.

Carnival of the True Crime Blogs No. 100

This week we have another lineup of stellar true crime stories from our members.

The 1947 Project reminds us of days gone by with their story, Give Us Some Candy, or We'll Blow You Up!. Oh, for the good old days. When boys could be boys – and having enough dynamite to blow-up the entire city of Beverly Hills was seen as little more than a mere Halloween prank. Find yourself in possession of “300 pounds of dynamite, black powder, cellulose, and 1000 fulminate of mercury capsules” today and you’ll end up with an FBI identification number, a visit from Homeland Security and a cell at Gitmo with your name engraved on the door. You know, some people just take all the fun out of playing with explosives, anymore.

Also from the 1947 Project is a story from 1927 Cuba about the twice executed Baldomero Rodrigues by a garroting machine. Unfortunately for Mr. Rodrigues the executioner believed that If At First You Don't Succeed... one should try, try again.

CLEWS has an interview with brand new True Crime Blogroll member, Dennis Griffin. Dennis is a published author and retired law enforcement professional who brings to readers his extensive knowledge of Las Vegas & The Mob.

Crime Interrupted has the bizarre tale of Dr. Peter Normann and Dr. Gary Page who with the help of a staff consisting of a, “licensed massage therapist, a former restaurant owner, two former pre-school teachers and his mother” accidentally lost a patient – or two – while performing unlicensed liposuction procedures. For some reason these two make having a fat butt not seem like such a bad thing after all.

Crime Rant, written by acclaimed authors Gregg Olsen and M. William Phelps, is always a fan favorite. With an unprecedented 100,000 readers a month, a favorite regular feature is always the Letter of the Week. This time around Diane, the sister of murderess and brand new death row inmate Lisa Montgomery, weighs in.

Dreamin Demon and Parents Behaving Badly bring some of the most despicable stories of child abuse to readers. While When a Child Goes Missing and Missing & Murdered Children bring some of the most heart wrenching stories of loss. Unfortunately for these bloggers there is never a shortage of human garbage to write about.

In Cold Blog is the brain child of best selling true crime author, Corey Mitchell. With multiple contributors there is never a lack for something interesting to read. This time around is no exception with author, and In Cold Blog contributor, Carlton Stowers. His post, Redemption, about a man who was sent to prison for a crime that science said he didn’t commit is a definite must read!

True Crime Blog UK has the story of a toddler who vanished from a farmhouse sixteen years ago, in Out There Somewhere: Ben Needham. A tragic story of another child gone missing, and the unyielding hope that maybe someday they will find their way back home.

Because no Halloween can be complete without an Alleged Creep of the Week, The True Crime Weblog has accommodated us by tracking down a real winner to celebrate all spooks eve this year! Twenty-four year old Anthony Merino is accused of desecrating a very dead corpse. Ewww…. Is anyone other than me old enough to remember the song Cold Ethel by Alice Cooper??

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