Eyes of the Predator: The Pickham County Murders

Some have asked where the idea for “Eyes of the Predator” came from. I was 14 years old and living in Atlanta in 1965. The City was rocked by the abduction and presumed murder of a young newlywed (you can search it easily, but I prefer not to mention her name here) at Lenox Square a large shopping center that is now a huge upscale mall in the Buckhead area. Although her body was never found, her bloodstained car was. The incident was covered repeatedly in the media for months. You have to remember, this was a different world. Mothers still left their babies in strollers outside stores while they went in and shopped. It dd not occur to anyone that someone would harm a child, or for that matter a young newlywed walking across a parking lot. Atlanta was truly traumatized by the disappearance of the young woman. No one had ever heard of Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy. I remember that even in school, teachers and students were in shock that such an occurrence could happen in 1965 Atlanta,which was then still somewhat a quiet, backwater city. In short it made a deep impression on the mind of a lot of people, including me, and the idea that people could just disappear permanently was deeply disconcerting. In the seventies and eighties I was policing in the Atlanta area, DeKalb County to be exact. Periodically, someone, almost always a young woman would disappear from some parking lot. The end was never good for them. Met some very bad people, almost always men and witnessed the ongoing patterns of abuse responding to domestic violence calls. I became aware in a very real way that some people live lives of terror and fear right under our noses. I also became aware of the fact that there are human predators in the world. Like other predators, they seek weakness and vulnerability in their victims and the opportunity to exercise their will. I also learned that for many, if not most, the driving motivation behind their terrible acts is power, the ability to inflict pain on others. Sex for many of these predators is secondary and another way of controlling and inflicting pain. I realize that “Eyes of the Predator: The Pickham County Murders” may be a bit intense for some readers. I apologize for this. It tells a true story, not a real one. By that I mean the story is not based on any single case or event. It is a composite sketch of predators and their victims. An additional parallel plot in the book is the parental abuse of the main female character. Again this plotline is true but not real. It is intended to paint a picture of abuse within a family but does not represent any particular family. In any event, I realize the story is somewhat dark. Truth be known, I found writing some of the passages to be deeply disturbing but as the characters acted out on my computer screen they took on their own lives and acted for themselves. I simply recorded the action as I saw it. I hope you enjoy the story. In the end, that is all that it is. If there are lessons to be learned, maybe we can all learn them.

• Press Release - Eyes of the Predator