This is one of my last remaining True Crime books. I most of them out to make room on the shelves along with other books that were of little value. However, I've always loved the True Crime Genre, but this book is a perfect example of why they are no longer relevant.
At the end of this book, the murderer/ rapist gets a guilty verdict and life for his crimes. Yet, when I check the Interment I learn that George Franklin appealed the verdict, and was released after 6 1/2 years. It is far better to follow a particular case on-line because you are always made aware of the latest developments.
This particular book deals with the rape and murder of an eight year old girl, Susan Nason.
The crime happened in 1969 in Foster City, CA, just down the peninsula from San Francisco.
What sets this case apart is that one of Susan's friends, Eileen Franklin, was present at the murder and Eileen's father was the perpetrator. And, if that wasn't enough, Eileen didn't remember the incident until 20 years later when she had her own daughter and unconsciously noticed how closely she resembled Susan Nason.
The Franklin family was composed of three girls and a boy. All of the children were subjected to physical abuse and the girls were raped and sexually intimidated and raped by their father, George. Eileen was her father's favorite, possibly because she was a witness to the murder. And although George Jr. was regularly beaten by his father, he felt that George Sr. was not only innocent, but that he was being railroaded by the prosecution.
One of the biggest take-away from the book is how insidious child abuse can be. Normal appearing families can be a festering nest of illegality and the manifestations of the abuse can take many different guises.
A large part of the book is legal posturings about whether 'remembered' testimony is relevant. Apparently, California law prohibited memories obtained by hypnosis. Eileen had told several people that she had been hypnotized, but later admitted that she had not. It was only an excuse she used to make the memories more believable. However, the memory of the crime was just repressed, and according to Eileen, it really activated quite randomly.
This crime occurred after the McMartin Preschool Case and I wonder how much of of the legal positions were derived from that case.
When George Franklin was arrested twenty years after the crime, he was in possession of all kinds of child pornography and violent sexual materials.
Eileen Franklin- Lipsker co-authored the book and moved with her husband, Barry Lipsker, and two children to Switzerland. She and her family were in the process of relocation before the case came to trial. Barry, her husband was deeply involved in trying to make money off of the case through book deals and appearances. Eileen just wanted justice done and donated a large portion of the book deal profits to charity.
However, when you finish the book you believe Eileen's memory and subsequent testimony, and then you learn, after checking the Internet, that the court later ruled that this was not correct and this evil villain is free.
Stick to stories of True Crime on the Internet.
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