Las Vegas bookmaker Bruce Weinstein was immediately enamored of the diminutive brunette, Amy DeChant when he met her in October of 1995 at The Mirage poker room. He bought her a car, a beautiful diamond necklace, purchased a carpet-cleaning business for her, and took very good care of her. Bruce Weinstein, was described as "the kind guy you loved to hate and hated to love." When the wealthy, 46-year-old 300 pound risk-taker suddenly disappeared July 5, 1996 from his Las Vegas home, Amy DeChant, his 48-year-old live in lover was the prime suspect. Amy said Bruce left at 11:00pm, to go out -- but his family suspected foul play. Why? Because he was always in bed by 9 or 10, the cellular telephone that was his link to his wealthy bookmaking business remained in the house, as did his beeper and an American Express card - "He never left home without it." But how could DeChant -- at 5-foot-1 and 110 pounds, and suffering a bad hip, carry the burly body of her lover out of posh house they shared? The police listed him as a MISSING PERSON, but his family knew something was amiss. They posted a $50,000 reward leading to the recovery of Weinstein's body and arrest of the killer and hired private investigator, Mike Wysocki, to delve deeper. After the investigator discovered blood on the underside of the mattress in the bookmaker's bedroom, Las Vegas Metro began a murder investigation. The remains of the 46-year-old bookmaker were discovered Aug. 11, 1996, in a makeshift grave about 60 miles north of Las Vegas, in an isolated spot in the desert near Mesquite, where it was carefully covered with rocks. Because the body was badly decomposed, it took investigators until September to make a positive identification using Weinstein's dental records. Immediately, the investigation focused on two people: DeChant, who operated a carpet-cleaning business, and Robert Wayne Jones, her employee. Why? Amy disappeared the day after the killing and was stopped by police in Maryland. In her car was more than $100,000 in cash, false birth certificates, wigs and information on obtaining false identification. Also, police investigators found blood stains in the freshly cleaned carpets of Weinstein's home after searching for clues to his mysterious disappearance. Her brother posted a $5,000 cash bail for her after she had spent @ 2 months in jail, but after being released on bail, she fled again. DeChant changed her story several times about the events leading to Weinstein's disappearance. Her story to police now was that vindictive, masked, "New York-looking type guys" actually were the killers and they allowed her to live only if she cleaned up the bloody death scene and kept quiet. Why? Amy said the four masked men entered the house, said they were going to "teach Bruce a lesson," then killed him and took away his body (leaving some bloody spots in the house that she was told to clean). Hummm! Also missing is Robert Wayne Jones, 57, who vanished on July 12, 1996, without clothing, money, even a toothbrush. Weinstein's family has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. He was on the lam for almost a year, but was later found and arrested in New Mexico. DeChant, disappeared in September 1997 after she and Robert Jones were charged with Weinstein's murder by a grand jury. She was profiled on America's Most Wanted and a tip from a viewer watching the program led to her capture. DeChant was tracked down in January, 1998, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where she was worked as a bartender at two South Florida establishments. She was arrested at the home of a Port St. Lucie man who ran a commercial cleaning service! At her 1998 trial, Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane portrayed DeChant as a "dominating person" who never took no for an answer and was determined to get her hands on Weinstein's wealth no matter what it took. When she couldn't manipulate control of the money from the illegal bookmaking operation, he contended, she killed him and took it. He also said Robert Wayne Jones, supplied the semi-automatic pistol that was used to kill Weinstein and helped with the clean up. The .380-caliber weapon was found under a bush a year after the slaying, but ballistic tests were inconclusive, and the weapon that killed Bruce Weinstein could have been the same make or one of three other makes... Her attorney stated in closing, that police used high-tech methods to check for blood residue in DeChant's car and carpet-cleaning van and in Weinstein's car and found nothing! The jury of nine women and three men spent 15 hours over a three-day period deliberating the murder case of DeChant and her co-defendant, Robert Wayne Jones. DeChant was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder but guilty of first-degree murder and of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Her life was spared. Jones was found not guilty of direct involvement in the murder but was convicted of being an accessory to murder after the fact, and was given a five-year sentence. Bruce Weinstein's family cried with joy after Amy DeChant, was convicted of murder in his July 1996 death. Sylvia White, Weinstein's mother, said after the verdict, "All I want to do is go to the cemetery to see my son. We don't have him anymore, but we do have justice." Will the family's joy be short lived? In May 2000, DeChant's attorney appealed the conviction citing it was impossible for DeChant, who weighs less than 120 pounds, to have shot the 300-pound Weinstein, dragged him from his upstairs bedroom, put him into a car, rolled him down a ditch in the desert and placed boulders on his head. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Amy DeChant, overturning her October 1998 conviction for the murder of Bruce Weinstein. In their October 2000 ruling, the Justices said the trial judge erred in allowing testimony from a former homicide investigator, who termed DeChant's mob hit account a "fairy tale." The high court noted prosecutors used the same phrase later in the trial.

Children in Chains, written by Clifford L. Linedecker, is the best piece of literature I have read in ages. It analyzes many different cases and accounts of child prostitution, pornography, and abuse. The numbers and statistics are unbelievable; it's enough to just make your stomach turn. I couldn't believe some of the things I read in this book. It's a really eye opening piece of work. Sometimes society tends to keep acts like pornography, prostitution, and abuse uncovered and "undealt" with. Well, this book exposes some of the most shocking aspects of society that most of us didn't even know existed. And, if we did, we didn't know to what extreme.

This book is for every closed minded cretin who insists that Ritual Abuse is a hoax, a "witch hunt" invented by hysterical mothers and imaginative children who falsely accuse innocent adults and destroy their careers.

This is the true story of a bizarre blood cult that actually existed in Mexico and involved drugs, kidnapping, and human sacrifice. This book is documented evidence of how one cult, based in Palo Mayombe, Santeria, and Brujeria, underscored by the American movie "The Believers," mixed liberally with drug dealing and sexual manipulation, was able to create havoc and destruction all along the border between Mexico and the United States.

Complete with illustrations depicting evidence of "Satanic rituals" which in fact they are not, blood sacrifice was a major part of the power that Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo was able to utilize to convince drug dealers that they would become invisible and safe from harm while doing their business.

It was a racket that made him and his followers very rich and very powerful for as long as it lasted, aided and abetted by corrupt law enforcement officials, which the book does not go into in great detail, but which can be easily figured out by looking at the book "Whiteout" by Alexander Cockburn or "Barry and the Boys" by Daniel Hopsicker or the web site ...

Take what we know about the corruption of the War on Drugs and add a little corruption in the form of "Black Magick" and there is no end to the amount of destruction that can occur.

We can't do anything about it until we know that it exists.

If you still know people who insist that it's a hoax, give them this book for Christmas. It will give them something to make new year's resoutions about for the rest of their lives.

...

I am fascinated by the criminal mind, and the story of Jill Coit is fascinating. I recommend the book to true crime enthusiasts. It is well written. I like the way the author chronicles a little bit of the history of each place that Jill Coit finds herself. Not too much--just enough. This woman was so intelligent had she pursued a more "legal" lifestyle, she might have become the first woman President of The United States. The author shows through out the story how focused, single-minded, and intent she is on using up and destroying every man she decides to date and/or marry. But after all was said and done, I don't think the author even knows what makes this woman tick. I know that I don't. It is no fault of the author, because Jill Coit is too complicated. It is extememly sad how her own sons had to testify against her in order to put a stop to this woman. Now that she is behind bars in one of the Countries toughest prisons, maybe she will begin to figure herself out. What is amazing to me is that she has absolutely no remorse, and I do not believe that she even realizes that she has lead her life in the wrong way. She is not crazy. She is just without conscious. Thanks to the author, I enjoyed this book immensely.

I picked this book up because a good friend of mine was involved in this case. This is a typical "true crime" book, fairly well written. The author keeps your attention throughout.

If you like this type of book, I recommend it. May be too graphic for some...

I enjoyed the book. Apparently, beauty doesn't guarantee happiness anymore than money does.

Linda Sobek may have been "genetically gifted" but her beauty did not bring her happiness. Not to blame the victim, but her physical perfection was what got her killed.

What infuriated me was the fact that Tom Rathbun, Linda's murderer, had been allowed to walk free from an earlier rape charge. ([...]I'm sure that Linda wasn't the only woman he's killed.

As for Rathbun trying to convince the court that he and his victim had "consensual" sex, what a dreamer. As if a woman like Linda Sobek would willingly TOUCH him....he is creepy.

Good book for anyone thinking of getting into the modeling business....what NOT to do!

I live in Price County and there is a lot of missing children.
I read the horrifying story of John Weber. I think a lot is missing like details of the Lenz family. I also believe that there were more people involved with Satanism. I don't understand how Emily could be beaten that bad and cut up and the assailant John Weber had no scratches. I do not understand why one person is at fault and the others get away free. I believe Satanism should be exposed to the public for what it is so that people can protect their children from this evil. There have been other cases that involve Satanism that are covered-up.

For a time, I lived in Wisconsin & now live in a heavily wooded
area like the scenes in this book. I am an avid reader of the True
crime genre. Yes, John Ray was a "nut case" and his family
& shrinks should have acted on his problems years before. But I
had a hard time slogging through this book as every mundane detail of
police procedure is detailingly catalogued - even though it is not
relevant to the story. (I could understand it if there was an error
in procedure that caused ramifications in the criminal trial - but
here it is boringly gratuitous.) The book is the opposite of an
"I couldn't put it down" good read - but the police
proceedural texts are good for curing insomnia.

I am an avid reader of true crime and I must say this is one of the best. It is well written and the author leaves no stone unturned to let the reader know exactly what John Weber was all about. I just don't understand how his family didn't do more for him? If my brother stole my underwear and wrote perverted letters to me, I would have ran out of my house so fast I would have left a skid marks. I wouldn't have stayed around to hear him talk to himself, that's for sure. And I don't get his wife. Besides the fact that he looked like a baby with a beard, his bedwetting would have been enough for me to hit the road. I can't believe that this weird little deviant wasn't throwing off "I'm a nut" signals to anyone. The description of the way he killed Carla will leave the reader sickened. Not for the fainthearted that's for sure.

'Massacre at Waco' was one of several that came out almost immediately after the burning of Mt. Carmel on April 19, 1993. In essence this book covers the events leading up to and including the fiery end of the Davidians.

The most glaring fault with this book is its extreme bias. When reading about the Davidian "cultists" you almost feel like you are reading of Cthulhu worshippers in an H.P. Lovecraft horror novel. On the other hand the section on the history of the ATF has the feel of being plagiarized from an ATF publicity pamphlet. Perhaps because he is the author of several 'true crime' books Mr. Linedecker does not seem able to look past the simple crime scene aspect of what went on at Waco. He covers Waco as if it had been bank robbery, and seems oblivious to any greater picture.

Other problems with this book are a result of when it was written. Coming out so soon after the fire, many of the myths had not yet been exposed. The apparently untrue myths propagated in this book include: the babies being beaten during the siege, tunnels under and around Mt. Carmel, the brave FBI agent running into the burning building to save Majorie Thomas, and the FBI agents seeing the fires being lit. Events that have come under dispute, such as who fired first in the initial raid, are reported with only the government's perspective, possibly because other viewpoints were not available when this book came out.

This book also has no footnoting, or even a solid sources section. To the extent that sources are made known they are stated in the text and it is often very difficult to figure out where Mr. Linedecker got what piece of information. When you can determine the sources, they appear to all be either mainstream media, government spokesmen, or people with a real anti Davidian axe to grind.

On the plus side, the book is well written. The writing is almost conversational, uncluttered with obscure phrases or references, and it makes for a quick and enjoyable read. Even in its coverage of events it has some good points. If you can get past the astonishingly biased account of the initial raid in chapter one, its history of the early Davidians in chapter two is as good as that given in other books, and more clearly written. The book's main strength, however, lies in its coverage of the intents and methods of government agencies. It does a pretty good job of explaining what the official motivations of the ATF's initial raid were, how the negotiation teams were set up, and it examines the motives (if uncritically) behind the various tactics employed by law enforcement throughout.

Although it has some interesting aspects, because of its deficiencies, I cannot recommend 'Massacre at Waco.' Instead I suggest 'The Ashes of Waco' by Dick Reavis.

I thought that "Massacre at Waco, Texas" was the best account of the events at Ranch Apocalypse that I've ever read. It is a simple, straightforward description of the beginning of the Branch Davidian Cult, the rise of David Koresh as their leader, and the eventual showdown with the ATF. Most importantly, Linedecker tells the story in an unbiased way, in contrast to the numerous versions that have been produced by conservatives and anti-government extremists. Now it is true that the book was rushed into publication shortly after the siege, and consequently contains a small number of factual errors. However, it is overall a well-researched and documented work. For example, consider Linedecker's approach to the issue of Koresh's alleged abuse of children. It is true that he includes the incident with the eight-month-old baby, a story that later proved to be questionable. However, Koresh did regularly beat children and have sexual relations with underaged girls, and Linedeckers backs up these assertions with an impressive array of court documents and testimony from former cult members. Since some of Koresh's defenders have attempted to downplay the reports about his abuse of children, it's obviously important to get the facts straight on this issue. The author also documents the process by which the Branch Davidians obtained and constructed illegal firearms and their plans for a major terrorist attack against the city of Waco.

With that said, I can't pretend that the book is well written. The writing is quite mediocre, with immature word choice, frequent grammar mistakes, and paragraphs that have just one sentence. Linedecker sometimes goes off on tangents that don't really contribute to the story for several pages. He provides long lists of people who were part of the cult, but doesn't really get into their heads to make us understand why they joined the cult. Also, the eight-page photo section doesn't really serve any purpose. Even so, I still recommend this book because I think that it's important for people to understand the truth about the tragic events that took place in Waco in 1993.

Ever since the Waco tragedy happend years ago, I've always wanted to know more about what happend there. This is the very first book that I picked up concerning the subject. While it never really went in depth with things, it did give me an understanding of what happend. I finished this book in one night, believe it or not, but I really enjoyed reading it. Since that time, I've picked up several other books concerning the subject (and you should too after reading this one). Even moreso, check out the documentary.."Rules of Engagement". Each one offers several different sides of the tragedy so you can understand what happend there better.
Overall, this is a good place to start to find out about it. This book is a good read. Definitely. Check it out.