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Ann Rule's Guestbook and Web Log
True Crime Writer Ann Rule's Web Log and Guestbook
Ann Rule's Guestbook and Web Log 
Comments
Regarding “In the Still of the Night” from what I read in my local paper the new coroner in that county is going to reopen the case within the next few months. That was one of his campaign promises but had to wait while a triple homicide last year in the same jurisdiction was finished. B
Hello, I am an Aussie fan of long standing, I have been reading your books for many years, and I would like to say thank you for many many hours of interesting reading. I enjoy trying to understand the psychology of people and to make some sense out of the senseless. I have just finished reading In The Dark Of The Night, found it very intriguing and am wondering if any progress has been made towards an conclusion since it has been published.Thank you again ,and I hope you continue to write for years to come.
P.S. I will continue to write as long as I can. Researching, writing, and putting it all into some kind of order–with suspense–exercises my brain more than cross-word puzzles. I have a hitch-in-my-get-along from osteoarthritis, but I love what I do. I can’t imagine retiring. I have three more books under contract, including my autobiography, so I plan to find myself at my computer five to six days a week for the next several years, God willing.
Ann
YEA!!! Autobio…that’s what I want!!
Have to finish a book AND go through the first pass pages of the paperback version of In the Still of the Night by Monday, so this has to be short. The other man Liysa Northon was “engaged” to–who wrote to me–met her through the mail. He initially was sorry for the poor, little, “battered wife,” and wrote to her. They exchanged mail for years and then he began to get nervous. As he assured me when he contacted me, he has lived to regret it. If there any more of Liysa’s “fiances” out there, we would all be interested in having you post on my web site. Unless something intervenes, Liysa is scheduled to get out of prison next year.
Diane Downs of Small Sacrifices has been turned down twice for parole. Her parole appearances have been televised. She seems quite deranged now. Until she admits shooting her three children and shows some remorse, it is unlikely that she will ever be paroled. Her surviving children–Christie and Danny–had a very loving home with Joanne and Fred Hugi, the prosecutor and his wife. They are adults now, and Christie is married and has a family. Danny is still paralyzed from the chest down, but he is a computer genius and has great upper body strength. Both of Diane’s off-spring are loving, kind people. Diane commited her murders a decade before Susan Smith drowned her two toddler sons, but the script is almost the same–and not that different from Casey Anthony. Susan and Diane wanted to be with men they were besotted with, and Casey, I believe, wanted to be free to party and date. It is so difficult for normal moms who would quickly die to save their children to understand the psychological dynamics in mothers who destroy their young.
Talk to you soon. I appreciate all of you!
Take care,
Ann
Ann, your house and cottage are beautiful – wish I could afford to buy it. What an inspirational spot on this earth to do your writing. Please tell me you’ll continue to write even though you’re moving on.
Ann, I read your book, “Heart Full of Lies” when it was first published and have been a fan ever since and have read most of your books.
I find your work/ writing credible on the fact that Liysa Northon did kill her husband, not out of self defense. If she was a victim of abuse, there were other avenues she could have taken. Whether or not she was, doesn’t matter as far as what looks to me like a premeditated event. He was comatose, zipped up in a sleeping bag and not running after her. She could have left him. She could have sought help from a women’s shelter, her family, etc. She had more resources than most battered women.
It’s a shame that she cannot take responsibility for the actions SHE took and is hell bent on making you the villain.
How can anyone get past her saying he was chasing her when, in fact, he was shot in the temple while zipped inside a sleeping bag?
Ann Rule, you are the master writer of true crime and I will forever be a fan! I have read almost all of your books. You engage the reader from the first sentence. I do have a question for you. One of my favorite books is “If You Really Loved Me.” Do you have any new information and/or pictures of the real Cinnamon Brown? Best wishes in your future writings! A fan for life, Lynn
The ‘Purpose” section of Liysa’s web site makes me sick. She believes her own lies and fabrications, which of course make her story seem so much more believable, because she can speak and write with such conviction about “what really happened.” I spent a brief period of time married to a narcissistic sociopath/pathological liar and I’m lucky I got out alive (he did try to kill me), and I am all too familiar with someone who is able to look into your eyes and lie like the devil, and yet they believe every word they say. I had incident after incident happen like this, and yet, all the other evidence was that this person was lying to me. In the end, the untruths were all exposed, but it is truly frightening to me how people like him and Liysa can sway people with their side of the ‘truth.’ These people are often very intelligent, good with words and for the most part, seem quite normal and non-threatening. – It bothers me that Lisya will be out of prison sometime next year. I personally wish that they would have put her away for much longer.
I am so glad that Ann took the time to energy to expose the truth of that murder case, because at least we know that there are many, many people who took the time to read the book that know the real truth of what Liysa is, and what Chris is not (a violent abuser), no matter how seemingly convincing and articulate her story is.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/07/what_rick_swart_failed_to_tell.php
The real truth will prevail!
Keep up the great work Ann!
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2011/07/what_rick_swart_failed_to_tell.php
This should clear it up!
I’m still not able to see her new picture with Mr. Swart. That’s OK though. B
Betti, I emailed it to you.
Hi,
I’m the one who posted the “fiance & website comments” on this site & the Seattle weekly website. I didn’t include Liysa’s website link as I didn’t know if Ann wanted this information posted up on her website, anyway now that Ann posted a link herself I guess its ok.
Ann’s link has a misspelling in it so it is diverting off to a broken link, if you click on http://liysanorthon.com/index.html & scroll down a bit you will see the picture i mentioned.
Just a quick note, I have to get ready for a library benefit tonight. You can find Lisa and Rick in a loving pose by searching for http://liysanorthon.com
I had trouble finding it too at first. I use AOL and they have the search slot near the top of the page.
Spoke with my attorney again today. And I am not the only one who was savaged in Swart’s article. The Seattle Weekly’s follow-up when they learned the truth was on-line today, but they only publish the paper once a week, so lots of people will never see their explanation after they learned that Rick Swart was engaged to Liysa.
Take care,
Ann
Ann, how did the other “fiance” meet this crazy woman? RH in GA
I wrote a note to the newspaper before they put in their “apology”. It makes no sense to me they didn’t check things out before publishing it. I haven’t been able to find the picture of Liysa and her fiancee. I looked through several things that came up when I googled her name but there weren’t any new pictures. I hope Mr. Swart knows what kind of slippery slope he’s on but it appears he doesn’t care as Liysa is the only truthful one in her case. He really should check the facts and not go by what she has told him. When is she up for parole? Have a good weekend and Ann do take care of yourself. Betti
Are you considering a suit for libel?
ANN – I have purchased and read every book you have ever written. Your research is solid..period. We ARFs have your back, and I’m sure your attorneys do, as well.
Georgia Mary
Does the News Paper that published this trash, own any of the responsibility for not checking it out before they published it?
Ann – I left a comment at the Seattle Weekly website. Anyone who knows you can verify that you are a fact finding, research minded and truth finding author. And because of your books you have helped countless others before they became victims of abuse or worse. You can hold your head up high and know that you have countless numbers of ARF who know how dedicated you are to telling the story. It is a privilege to know you and consider you a friend. You are being held up in my thoughts and prayers. Kelly from Michigan
Hi Gang,
Well, I guess the Seattle Weekly did some latter-day fact checking and found out that Rick Swart, the author of the malicious and libelous article about me that appeared on July 20th, hadn’t told them everything. He is, indeed, engaged to Liysa. He apparently doesn’t know that Liysa was also planning to marry another man at the same time she was seeing him (on visitor’s day). The other man, whose privacy will be protected, has scores of letters from Liysa planning their wedding. He contacted me because she was beginning to scare him. Chris’s best friend and I are going to meet with him soon. I also heard from Rick’s wife of twenty years who was understandably heartbroken that her marriage suddenly blew all to pieces because of Liysa. As far as I can tell, all of Rick’s information came from Liysa. And he apparently believes her. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of documentation about what really happened. You who have read the book will remember that Liysa set up the camping trip, and she made intricate preparations before they left for the river. She said she left the campsite once because she was “afraid” of Chris, and then came back. Why would she come back if she was so terrified? And poor Chris could not have made a move toward attacking her; he was unconscious, and zipped up to his chin in an Eskimo sleeping bag. He never knew what hit him when she fired a bullet DOWN into his forehead. There are dozens of facts in the book that explain what really happened, too many to mention here. If you haven’t read Heart Full of Lies, I hope you will. I feel most sorry for Chris’s parents who have suffered again and again from Liysa’s manipulations, lawsuits, and horrible things she says about them. And that was all after she killed their only son. I feel sorry for Chris’s son who will never know his dad–although Chris’s fellow pilots have been wonderful as substitute dads, along with Don King, who is raising the boy and Liysa’s older son.
The Seattle Weekly’s editorial comment today reveals what they didn’t know about Rick Swart and Liysa, but what they published about me was extremely damaging. We will see how this unfolds. In the meantime, I thank my webmasters for doing some great web searching. I haven’t seen the photo of Liysa embracing her new fiance yet.
Have a great weekend, and bless you for having my back!
Ann