Drifting Into Darkness : Murders, Madness, Suicide, and a Death "Under Suspicious Circumstances".

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pinsky, Mark I.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parricide--Alabama--Case studies.

Parricide.

Springford, Brent, Jr., 1976-2013.

Springford, Brent.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (314 pages)

Place of Publication:

Montgomery : NewSouth Books, 2022.

Summary:

"Two grisly murders-a brutal double parricide-a suicide, and a fourth death under suspicious circumstances. Drifting Into Darkness is a tangled tale of family dysfunction, fatal attraction, and greed, a saga that wends its way from the elegant Southern mansions of Montgomery, Alabama, to the New Age salons of Boulder, Colorado, to rural, windswept Wyoming. On Thanksgiving weekend in 2004, philanthropists Charlotte and Brent Springford Sr.-a wealthy, socially prominent Montgomery couple-were brutally beaten to death with an ax handle, echoing the infamous case of Lizzie Borden. Suspicion quickly fell on the Springfords' gifted but troubled son Brent Jr., who would be tried and sentenced to life without parole. But a mystery remained: Who was the mysterious, elusive woman who claimed to be a Native American shaman that investigators believed manipulated Brent into this murder? Journalists solving murders is a time-tested trope in movies, mysteries, and on television. But cops and cop reporters know that rarely happens in real life. Except when it does. Veteran crime reporter Mark I. Pinsky, who covered the sensational cases of serial killer Ted Bundy and Green Beret Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, broke the cardinal rule of journalism by involving himself in the story. Pinsky's extensive research prompted investigators to invite him to join their dogged pursuit of justice. His access to unique and heart-breaking behind-the-scenes material enables him to take readers with him into the troubled, tortured minds of the case's main players"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Prologue

Part One - The Springfords

1. Garden District

2. Family

3. Fortunate Son

4. Wild Child

5. Searching

6. Boulder

7. Medicine Woman

8. Descent

9. Visitors

10. Investigation

11. Closing In

12. Arrest

13. Akasha

14. Legal Maneuvers

15. Competence

16. Mitigation

17. Plea

18. Prison

19. What If . . .

Part Two-The Hunt for Answers

20. Shaking the Tree

21. Eric and Deny

Photographs

22. Caroline

23. Task Force

24. The Trail

25. Pursuit

26. Post-Mortem Prep

27. Coroner's Inquest

28. Inquest, Day One

29. Inquest, Interlude

30. Inquest, Day Two

31. Waiting (1)

32. Inquest, Day Three

33. Waiting (2)

34. Denouement

35. Aftermath

36. Reckoning

37. Reflections

Epilogue

Notes on Sources, Methodology

Acknowledgments

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version: Pinsky, Mark I. Drifting Into Darkness

ISBN:

9781588384584

OCLC:

1306061607