From John Douglas--the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York
Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show
Mindhunter--comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of
Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas
confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him.
On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith
was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina.
Based on the crime scene and the abductor's repeated and taunting calls
to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a
sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next
day entitled "Last Will & Testament," in which Shari, knowing she was to
be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents,
siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew
they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet
town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which
enlisted profiler John Douglas. A few days later, a phone call told the
family where they could find Shari's body.
Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard,
confirming the harsh realization that Smith's murder was no random act.
A serial killer was evolving, and the only way to stop him would be to
use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he
could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught
strategy to use Shari's lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out
the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed.
One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas's storied career,
this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created--alongside
his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer's
psychology--combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge
forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari's family
took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows,
Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating
in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic
and remorseless killer.
