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TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer

By Michael Jacobs

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From its inception to its vanishment, TRACKRS made an impression of importance and gifted us with its inherent value of solving cold cases.

Synopsis

In a presentation unlike other true crime stories, TRACKRS takes the reader through all the stages involved in the pursuit of a serial killer who sexually assaulted seven young women in Orange County, California in 1978 and 1979. He brutally murdered five, savagely attacked another who barely survived, and injured a pregnant woman so severely that it caused the death of her unborn child. The narration provides a closeup, detailed chronicle of an intricate murder investigation by multiple Orange County law enforcement agencies in 1996. Including transcripts of the defendant's recorded statements and courtroom testimony, all the "in the trenches" and raw details are recounted as seen through the eyes of the author, a veteran homicide prosecutor who initiated the investigation and followed the case through to the jury's final verdict.

Never before have I read such a thorough rendering of events in a true crime novel. This book is unique and to be praised for its attention to detail, scrupulous timeline, outline, and unfolding of both people involved and the events that brought them together. The author's memory, and the facts presented, are amazing to behold! An incredible amount of moving pieces and mountains moved for justice to prevail.


What held me back from giving this book a 5-star rating was that all of the moving pieces, the people's names, job titles, contributions, and the knowledge necessary to absorb and attain to follow along, made this book hard to get through. Not for lack of desire or trying but simply because it was hard to keep everything and everyone straight.


For those more familiar with the inner workings of police departments and court systems, this book might be easier to understand, but the going might be slow for armchair detectives or those like me who are quite removed from such things. It's necessary to give this book time. Time for you, the reader, to understand it fully and follow along without getting lost.


As a person attracted to true crime to discover how perpetrators operate, in hopes of better protecting myself and my loved ones, and to learn how those who commit crimes are captured and brought to justice, this book teaches more than all other books I've read combined! (That being said, this book takes place in California; as such, you learn about CA and how DNA evidence began being utilized to solve cold cases in that state, and little else of other states is mentioned or discussed.)


I appreciate authors who share their lives, the purpose of their work, and their achievements toward that end. I celebrate the life of Michael Jacobs and thank him for his service to our country by doing his best to capture and put away the criminal element among us.


My takeaway from this read is the astounding number of cold cases, and how many crimes and murders go unsolved! The fact that there is little being done about this, little being done on a National level to bring about changes to create infrastructure to combat the issue at hand, is disturbing. How many criminals walk freely among us? Too many. How do we stop this? By instituting more programs like TRACKRS!


Somehow, we, the people, must find a way to make our voices heard by our elected officials so that cold cases are not left cold but are continuously worked on until the crimes are solved, and justice prevails. If only the government could be simplified and things not take so long because of bureaucratic policies, red tape, and corruption.


Thank God for those like Michael Jacobs who dedicate themselves to finding and upholding the truth that leads to victory. May we find a way to join these unsung heroes in their work, and may Heaven help us all! Amen.

Reviewed by
Jennie Louwes

Reading books and writing reviews brings with it every emotion under the sun; forever changing, forever changed, and I wouldn't have it any other way. May my words not only help fellow readers but also the authors of the books we read.

TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer

Written by Michael Jacobs

Buy it nowBuy nowBuy
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Synopsis

In a presentation unlike other true crime stories, TRACKRS takes the reader through all the stages involved in the pursuit of a serial killer who sexually assaulted seven young women in Orange County, California in 1978 and 1979. He brutally murdered five, savagely attacked another who barely survived, and injured a pregnant woman so severely that it caused the death of her unborn child. The narration provides a closeup, detailed chronicle of an intricate murder investigation by multiple Orange County law enforcement agencies in 1996. Including transcripts of the defendant's recorded statements and courtroom testimony, all the "in the trenches" and raw details are recounted as seen through the eyes of the author, a veteran homicide prosecutor who initiated the investigation and followed the case through to the jury's final verdict.

PROLOGUE

They were all beautiful young women. Even in the black-and-white crime scene photos from the coroner’s files, you could see how attractive they had been. Each set of dark, shadowy images depicted the final nightmarish end scene of a separate, gruesome horror story. The extreme severity and brutality of the injuries inflicted upon them was shocking to behold.

When the killer came, he came in the late evening or early morning. He would slip in through an unlocked window or door of the residence, brutally attack his victim, and then quietly disappear into the night. This was a killer who was bold and sure of himself. He was quick and efficient. Darkness was his ally. No witnesses ever got a good look at him. There was no suspect description in any of the files, and no one had been arrested or detained.

A number of obvious questions came to mind. What kind of person was capable of perpetrating these atrocities? How could one human being do this to another? Why had no one, as yet, been held accountable? And most perplexing of all, what was being done to bring the killer, or killers, to justice?

It was the fall of 1995. The murders had occurred between 1977 and 1988 in four different cities in Orange County, California. Nothing was being done. No coordinated investigation of any kind was being conducted into any of these cases, nor was one even being contemplated.

Most importantly, I realized it was likely that he was still out there, somewhere, looking for his next victim.


TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer

Written by Michael Jacobs

Buy it nowBuy nowBuy
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Michael Jacobs
Michael Jacobs shared an update on TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer6 months ago
6 months ago
"TRACKRS" is winner of the 2nd Place (Silver) Award for Nonfiction True Crime from The Bookfest for Fall, 2024.

1 Comment

Michael Jacobs – Unlike most other true crime books, I've included details and quotations from court transcripts and suspect interviews to give the reader a more realistic view of what the investigation and prosecution of a homicide case entails. So, come along with me if you’d like to know what it’s like to be part of a homicide investigation involving a cold case serial killer, with the various issues and obstacles involved. If that sounds interesting to you, then my first book, TRACKRS, is something you’ll probably want to read.
1 like
over 2 years ago
About the author

The author, Michael A. Jacobs, was employed for twenty-nine years as a deputy district attorney for the Orange County District Attorney's Office in California. He spent thirteen years in the Homicide Unit which he supervised for three years. He is currently engaged in a private civil law practice. view profile

Published on May 17, 2022

Published by

250000 words

Genre:True Crime

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