Jeannie Walker - A Real-life Sherlock Holmes   Murder Mystery Fans Can Help Justice Prevail in Real-Life Cases
— Since the 19th Century works of
Arthur Conran Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe, crime and murder mysteries have
evolved as one of the most popular literary genres. Readers enjoy the chance to
solve the mystery and see justice served before the final chapter concludes;
however, in real life it can take decades to bring a perpetrator to justice, no
matter how seemingly obvious his or her guilt.
A subset of the murder mystery category is the non-fiction
book, often more chilling to read because the events presented aren't a flight
of fancy by the author, but rather an accounting of a real, often heinous,
crime. Perhaps even more disturbing is that sometimes there is no neat wrap-up
at the end, no justice served; instead, readers are left wondering how they can
help.
Jerry Sternadel, a self-made Texas millionaire, was poisoned
to death in 1990. While hospitalized, he told nurses and doctors alike that he
was being poisoned. The staff did not heed his frantic pleas, allowing the
suspects continued access to him as he lay dying in the hospital. Upon his
death, his children, doctor, and ex-wife, Jeannie Walker, all called the
authorities, who quickly determined he had died from arsenic poisoning.
If the case were the creation of a fiction writer,
investigators would have collected evidence, interviewed witnesses, and solved
the case. Yet in this real-life crime drama, detailed in Walker's new book, Fighting the Devil: A True Story of Consuming Passion, Deadly Poison, and Murder, no arrests were made for three years. The woman
ultimately convicted of first-degree murder was sentenced with only a fine and
a lengthy probation; she was finally sent to jail a full 13 years after she
committed the murder because she violated her probation. To this day, a main
suspect has yet to be brought to justice.
Walker, who played a key role in helping law enforcement
investigate many aspects of the murder, says she felt compelled to write the
book. "I owe my ex-husband a voice, as he no longer has one," she says, adding
that "when I see injustice, I want to fight it." She continues that fight now
by raising new awareness of her ex-husband's case. The ex-wife-turned sleuth and author says that she hopes
fans of crime stories have an appreciation of the pain, trauma, and grueling
battle for justice that the family and friends of real-life victims experience.
Additionally, she wants them to realize that if their lives are ever touched by
anything as horrific as a murder, "they have the ability and right to become
their loved one's advocate, and to become their own, real-life Sherlock
Holmes."
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