Never See Them Again, page 1
Highest Praise for M. William Phelps
NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN
“This riveting new book from veteran true-crime author M. William Phelps examines one of the most horrific murders in recent American history.”
—New York Post
“Through Phelp’s investigative journalism, the reader goes along on the emotionally turbulent ride of the victims’ families, who suffered through anguish, heartbreak, and fear. Phelps clearly shows how the ugliest crimes can take place in the quietest of suburbs. An unblinking account of how four American teenagers lost their lives in the most violent way, how their families have suffered, and how an unlikely individual was responsible for causing this terrible crime.”
—Library Journal
“Exposes the gut-wrenching story of a teen plagued by drug abuse and consumed by jealousy who turned on ‘the only people who wouldn’t stab me in the back.’ ”
—Daily Mail
“Thoroughly reported . . . The book is primarily a police procedural, but it is also a tribute to the four murder victims.”
—Kirkus Reviews
TOO YOUNG TO KILL
“Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.”
—Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of If I Should Die
LOVE HER TO DEATH
“Reading anything by Phelps is always an eye-opening experience. His writing reads like a fiction mystery novel. The characters are well researched and well written. We have murder, adultery, obsession, lies and so much more.”
—Suspense Magazine
“You don’t want to miss Love Her To Death by M. William Phelps, a book destined to be one of 2011’s top true crime!”
—True Crime Book Reviews
“A chilling crime . . . award-winning author Phelps goes into lustrous and painstaking detail, bringing all the players vividly to life.”
—Crime Magazine
KILL FOR ME
“Phelps gets into the blood and guts of the story.”
—Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of Fear Collector
“Phelps infuses his investigative journalism with plenty of energized descriptions.”
—Publishers Weekly
DEATH TRAP
“A chilling tale of a sociopathic wife and mother willing to sacrifice all those around her to satisfy her boundless narcissism . . . a compelling journey from the inside of this woman’s mind to final justice in a court of law. Fair warning: for three days I did little else but read this book.”
—Harry N. MacLean, New York Times bestselling author of In Broad Daylight
I’LL BE WATCHING YOU
“Skillfully balances a victim’s story against that of an arrogant killer as it reveals a deviant mind intent on topping the world’s most dangerous criminals. Phelps has an unrelenting sense for detail that affirms his place, book by book, as one of our most engaging crime journalists.”
—Katherine Ramsland, author of The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds
IF LOOKS COULD KILL
“M. William Phelps, one of America’s finest true-crime writers, has written a compelling and gripping book about an intriguing murder mystery. Readers of this genre will thoroughly enjoy this book.”
—Vincent Bugliosi, New York Times bestselling author of Helter Skelter
“Starts quickly and doesn’t slow down . . . Phelps consistently ratchets up the dramatic tension, hooking readers before they even know they’ve been hooked. His thorough research and interviews give the book a sense of growing complexity, richness of character, and urgency.”
—Stephen Singular, New York Times bestselling author of Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer
“Phelps’s sharp attention to detail culminates in this meticulous recreation of a tragic crime. This gripping true story reads like a well-plotted crime novel and proves that truth is not only stranger, but more shocking, than fiction. Riveting.”
—Allison Brennan
MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND
“Drawing on interviews with law officers and relatives, the author has done significant research and—demonstrating how modern forensics and the Internet played critical, even unexpected roles in the investigation—his facile writing pulls the reader along.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Phelps uses a unique combination of investigative skills and narrative insight to give readers an exclusive, insider’s look into the events surrounding this incredible, high-profile American tragedy . . . a compassionate, riveting true crime masterpiece.”
—Anne Bremner, op-ed columnist and TV legal analyst
“When unimaginable horror strikes, it is certain to cause monstrous sufferings, regardless of its locale. Phelps expertly reminds us that when the darkest form of evil invades the quiet and safe outposts of rural America, the tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for some sleepless nights.”
—Carlton Stowers, Edgar Award-winning author of
Careless Whispers
“This is the most disturbing and moving look at murder in rural America since Capote’s In Cold Blood.”
—Gregg Olsen
“A crisp, no-nonsense account . . . masterful.”
—Bucks County Courier Times
“An unflinching investigation . . . Phelps explores this tragedy with courage, insight, and compassion.”
—Lima News
SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE
“An exceptional book by an exceptional true crime writer. Phelps exposes long-hidden secrets and reveals disquieting truths.”
—Kathryn Casey, author of Shattered
EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE
“An insightful and fast-paced examination of the inner workings of a good cop and his bad informant, culminating in an unforgettable truth-is-stranger-than-fiction climax.”
—Michael M. Baden, M.D., author of Unnatural Death
“M. William Phelps is the rising star of the nonfiction crime genre, and his true tales of murderers and mayhem are scary-as-hell thrill rides into the dark heart of the inhuman condition.”
—Douglas Clegg, author of Neverland
LETHAL GUARDIAN
“An intense roller-coaster of a crime story . . . complex, with a plethora of twists and turns worthy of any great detective mystery, and yet so well-laid out, so crisply written with such detail to character and place that it reads more like a novel than your standard non-fiction crime-book.”
—Steve Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Love Me to Death
PERFECT POISON
“A stunner from beginning to end . . . Phelps unravels the devastating case and shockingly reveals that unimaginable evil sometimes comes in pretty packages.”
—Gregg Olsen
“True crime at its best—compelling, gripping, an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Phelps packs wallops of delight with his skillful ability to narrate a suspenseful story and his encyclopedic knowledge of police procedures.”
—Harvey Rachlin, author of The Making of a Detective
“A compelling account of terror . . . the author dedicates himself to unmasking the psychopath with facts, insight and the other unproven methods of journalistic leg work.”
—Lowell Cauffiel, New York Times bestselling author of House of Secrets
“A blood-curdling page turner and a meticulously researched study of the inner recesses of the mind of a psychopathic narcissist.”
—Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love—Narcissism Revisited
Also By M. William Phelps
Perfect Poison
Lethal Guardian
Every Move You Make
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Murder in the Heartland
Because You Loved Me
If Looks Could Kill
I’ll Be Watching You
Deadly Secrets
Cruel Death
Death Trap
Kill For Me
Failures of the Presidents (coauthor)
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy
The Devil’s Rooming House: The True Story of
America’s Deadliest Female Serial Killer
Love Her to Death
Too Young to Kill
NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN
M. WILLIAM PHELPS
PINNACLE BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
Highest Praise for M. William Phelps
Also By M. William Phelps
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
AUTHOR’S NOTE
PART ONE - RABBIT TRAIL
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
PART TWO - A FATHER’S PAIN
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
&
PART THREE - BETWEEN A ROTT AND A HARD PLACE
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
PART FOUR - THE PROMISE
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
PART FIVE - THE NORMAL WE KNEW WILL NEVER BE
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
KISS OF THE SHE-DEVIL
Copyright Page
Notes
This book is dedicated to Bill W.
Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the truth leads us to discover the good. Truth speaks to the individual in his or her entirety, inviting us to respond with our whole being.
—Joseph Ratzinger
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The totality of this crime is deplorable: four victims attacked in a blizzard of gunfire, two of them also beaten to death. A mass murder that took place inside a suburban home in an upper-middle-class neighborhood: Clear Lake City, Texas. Two teenagers. Two others in their early twenties. All of them murdered before their lives had a chance to begin. In the scope of the work I do, this crime spoke particularly to the culture of death we live in today; and provides an important glimpse into how some of us place so little value on human life.
There is a component of drug addiction to this story. For that reason, I chose to change several names connected to this case. My wish in doing so was to protect confidential informants and others who spoke to police (and me). It needs to be said that not every person’s name I changed was a confidential informant. Some asked for a name change; while with others, I did it on my own. I want to point out that this—the changing of a person’s name—does not take anything away from the integrity of the story. I have heard that if a person is not willing to come forward and put himself or herself out there for the sake of justice, how can his or her information be trusted? That’s simply unfair and untrue.
Part of this judgment stems from the Wikileaks war documents scandal, which makes an important point for me here within the context of my argument. As a journalist, you need to take into account a source’s credibility, reliability, his or her relation to the players in the story, whether he or she testified during the legal portion of the case, and if this person benefits or is put in danger from being exposed publicly. We (journalists) cannot just name everyone involved in a criminal case based on the fact that some people think a person who chooses not to identify himself or herself cannot add anything to a nonfiction story.
It is unfair to the source. Unfair to the victims (who cannot obviously speak on the matter). And unfair to justice and its future. After all, every rape victim is a Jane Doe until she decides to come forward and reveal herself. Does this mean every Jane Doe has a hidden agenda in telling her story?
The journalist is always aware of the person’s real name. I never use a source, for example, who would call and claim anonymity without him or her providing proof of identity. I am old school, I guess you could say, where it pertains to the use of sources. The late Jack Olsen, a true-crime author I respect more than just about anybody in the business, spoke in his no-holds-barred way about defending the use of pseudonyms in his true-crime stories. I will paraphrase what he once said: If there are not a few name changes, I do not feel I am getting the entire story.
Think about it—Jack’s statement makes a lot of sense.
JUST WHEN YOU THINK you’ve seen a case that has been well documented—and I have commented on those in previous books—along comes an investigation with more documentation than you think you’ll be able to manage. This was one of those: there were thousands of pages of reports and additional documentation, on top of a large trial transcript, and close to one hundred hours of interviews I conducted with scores of sources. I should also mention that for the ease of reading some of the conversations and dialogue in this book have been trimmed and edited for clarity and cohesiveness. Nothing that impacts the meaning or the intent was changed, however; conversations were, like in any nonfiction book, reduced at times for editorial purposes.
This book truly needs no more of an introduction. I think you, the reader, will agree that this “nonfiction thriller” is one of the most comprehensive murder mysteries in quite some time.
PART ONE
RABBIT TRAIL
CHAPTER 1
IT WAS JUST after six o’clock on the evening of July 18, 2003. For the past ninety minutes, eighteen-year-old Brittney Vikko (pseudonym) had been calling Tiffany Rowell, one of her BFFs since middle school. Something was wrong, Brittney felt. She kept dialing Tiffany’s number, but there was no response.
Brittney had spoken to Tiffany’s boyfriend of several years, Marcus Precella, earlier that day, after Marcus had answered Tiffany’s cell phone.
“She’s in the bathroom,” Marcus said. It was close to three o’clock then.
“I’ll call back,” Brittney told him.
Thirty minutes later, Brittney started phoning her friend again.
But no one—not even Marcus—picked up.
“I was in the area, so I drove over to Tiffany’s house,” Brittney recalled later. Brittney’s boyfriend, her nephew, and her boyfriend’s cousin went with her.
Brittney drove. They stopped at a McDonald’s after leaving an appointment Brittney had downtown at 4:10 P.M. A few minutes after six, Brittney pulled into Tiffany Rowell’s driveway in the stylish suburban neighborhood of Millbridge Drive, Clear Lake City, Texas, and noticed immediately that Marcus’s and Tiffany’s vehicles were there. Tiffany’s truck was parked in front of the house; its back wheel up on top of the curb. Marcus’s car was positioned next to the garage.
Why aren’t they answering their phones?
Brittney pulled in behind Marcus’s car.
Odd, she thought, looking at both vehicles. They must be here. . . .
Brittney got out and rang the doorbell.
No answer.
She rang it again.
Not a peep from inside the house.
She knocked. Then she tried to look through a nearby window, cupping both hands over the sides of her eyes to block the light.
