On June 22, 1978, Melvin Lorenz, his wife, Linda, and son, Richard, were killed near Purcell, Oklahoma. Twenty-four days later, on July 16, six employees of a Sirloin Stockade Restaurant in southwest Oklahoma City were herded into a freezer and shot to death. Hundreds of law enforcement members worked for eight months to track down the killers. In October and November 1979, Roger Dale Stafford was convicted of first degree murder of nine people. However, he was not executed until 1995. This murder story coming from the heart of Oklahoma deserves to be told. It includes the behind-the-scenes perspective of law enforcement officers involved.

On June 22, 1978, Melvin Lorenz, his wife Linda, and son Richard were killed near Purcell, Oklahoma. Twenty-four days later, on July 16, six employees of a Sirloin Stockade Restaurant in southwest Oklahoma City were herded into a freezer and shot to death. Hundreds of law-enforcement members worked for eight months to track down the killers. In October and November 1979, Roger Dale Stafford was convicted of first-degree murder of nine people. However, he was not executed until 1995. This murder story coming from the heart of Oklahoma deserves to be told. It includes the behind-the-scenes perspective of law-enforcement officers involved.

Oklahoma has had more than its share of sensational crimes with national implications, but for the first time in one volume, attorney/historian Kent Frates reveals the facts behind six infamous cases that remain the talk of courtrooms everywhere. From bloody murders, to political scandal, to a horrific act of domestic terrorism, Oklahoma's Most Notorious Cases captures the stories, the times, and the import of these landmark trials. Populated by a host of stranger-than-fiction characters--a machine-gun toting gangster, a Cherokee outlaw, a blood thirsty conman, a crooked governor, and a twisted soldier, the stories reveal the cold calculation inherent in the perpetrators and the guts, guile, and tenacity required of the dedicated law enforcement professionals who brought these men and women to justice.

American Mass Murderers collects nearly 700 pages of information about the most notorious killers in America, as well as some of the lesser-known murderers.

The cold case that put Speedway, Indiana, on the map. “What may be the definitive public accounting of the murder mystery that still resonates today.” —Fox59 The evening of November 17, 1978, should have been like any other for the four young crewmembers closing the Burger Chef at 5725 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana. After serving customers and locking the doors for the night, the kids began their regular cleanup to ready the restaurant for the following day. But then something went horribly wrong. Just before midnight, someone muscled into the place, robbed the store of $581 and kidnapped the four employees. Over the next two days, investigators searched in vain for the missing crewmembers before their bodies were discovered more than twenty miles away. The killer or killers were never caught. Join Julie Young on an exploration of one of the most baffling cold cases in Indiana history. “Young doesn’t try to solve the murders. Instead, her goal is to make sure no one forgets the victims.” —IndyStar

Reveals the inside story of the Oklahoma City Police from 1889-1995.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LOOK FOR THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES • “Both an American tragedy and [Grisham’s] strongest legal thriller yet, all the more gripping because it happens to be true.”—Entertainment Weekly John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction: a true crime masterpiece that tells the story of small town justice gone terribly awry. In the Major League draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the state of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you. Don’t miss Framed, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, co-authored with Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey.