The WVU coed murders : who killed Mared and Karen? / Geoffrey C. Fuller & S. James McLaughlin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fuller, G. Cameron, 1961- author.

McLaughlin, S. James, author.

Series:

True Crime

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Murder--West Virginia--Morgantown.

Murder.

Malarik, Mared, 1950-1970.

Malarik, Mared.

Ferrell, Karen, 1951-1970.

Ferrell, Karen.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (339 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Charleston, SC : The History Press, 2021.

Summary:

Some said that the killer couldn't be a local. Others claimed that he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: "You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move." Investigators didn't find too few suspects--they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the "harmless" deliveryman who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the "girlish" laugh who threatened to cut off people's heads. Local authors Geoffrey C. Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the murders for the first time.

Contents:

Intro

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Authors' Note

Contents

Acknowledgements

Reader Guide

Introduction: Mared and Karen

I. What Remains

Preface: West Virginia is rough country.

1. "I like to rub furry things."

2. "It's just unbelievable that this could happen in Morgantown."

3. "Don't leave me in this room by myself."

4. "We're thumbing."

5. "No evidence of abduction."

6. "Apparently disappearance was run away type."

7. "The heart of a woman aches for the things she loves."

8. "Hey, I found something!"

9. "Girls shouldn't hitchhike."

10. "Some considered alcohol."

11. "Heard you were looking for me."

12. "Something's been dead for too long."

13. "Down the holler there."

II. The Parade of Horribles

Preface: "Very strange, very violent, very nasty people."

1. "Maybe a hatchet?"

2. "I want a fucking press conference!"

3. "A white male, 6', blue eyes, brown hair, 197 lbs."

4. "More heads will roll!"

5. "There is no need to cover news."

6. "He was a crusading journalist."

7. "Aren't you afraid of getting into a stranger's car?"

8. "Why did Rowe see a green car?"

9. "Someone emotionally disturbed wrote the letters."

10. "Ridicule could trigger further violent reactions."

11. "I have seen him lose his temper to a very strong degree."

12. "I think he's a good suspect."

13. "Put him down."

14. "We are religious people here."

15. "Kill the pigs!"

16. "Former Fairmont man quizzed in decapitation."

17. "Whatever happened to the probe of the coed case?"

III. So Much Smoke

1. "The confession itself should be punished."

2. "I met one Eugene Paul Clawson."

3. "Clawson really, really tried hard to convince people he did it."

4. "Take your trash.".

5. "He cannot stand up to pushy, authoritative or powerful people."

6. "It was in some woods, remote."

7. "It seemed like a ritualistic murder."

IV. Hunting

Preface: "Remember that house."

1. "We called it the Shade Effect."

2. "I still think Costanes did it."

3. "He set some fires."

4. "May be."

5. "Skull's the hardest part."

6. "One of America's first serial killers."

7. "Getting their drink on."

8. "Bill was as crazy as they get."

9. Whoever Fights Monsters

10. "The investigation's over."

11. The Vampire Next Door

12. "Someone was writing my book."

13. "Broken dolls."

14. "Women in Morgantown were still vulnerable."

15. "These guys were violent and abusive."

16. "Some kind of forest coven?"

17. "They should know."

18. "Protection from anything."

19. "The Ferrell girl probably would have froze."

20. "I can't believe it leads to someone."

21. "Danny ran the jackets for DNA."

22. "She reached up and she grabbed John by the throat."

23. "Very sinister and very dark."

24. "The murders looked ritualistic, scripted."

25. "He either killed someone or robbed a bank."

26. "A white car and a boot."

27. "I was convinced."

Epilogue: "It's never too late to uncover the truth."

Interviewees

About the Authors.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBook Central, viewed June 3, 2025).

ISBN:

9781439673966

1439673969

OCLC:

1281967515