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A lITTLE sOMETHING EXTRA...

4/9/2025

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The book is out and unfortunately, a little something was left out of the beginning of the Connecticut Chapter.  Luckily, we have this blog to supplement the book so here it is:

 Connecticut Crime Statistics

Connecticut is a fairly safe state. According to NeighborhoodScout.com, in 2022, the Nutmeg State experienced only 1.5 violent crimes and 14.94 property crimes for every 1,000 residents. Out of a total estimated population of 3,626,205, that equated to 5,441 violent crimes (136 murders, 656 rapes, 1,629 robberies, and 3,020 assaults) and 54,175 reported property crimes.

In 2021, US News &World Report ranked Connecticut as #8 best in the USA in the category of Crimes and Corrections. They listed 155 incarcerations per every 100,000 residents, almost half of the national rate.
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In 2020, USA Today rated Connecticut as #46 out of 50 in terms of most violent states. MoneyGeek ranked the state’s most dangerous cities for 2023 as Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford, while SafeWise.com listed Ridgefield, Newtown, Wallingford, Simsbury, and New Milford as the safest in 2024.
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Newsletter...

3/21/2025

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You can receive monthly updates to Vacations Can Be Murder by subscribing to the free newsletter at barrsinister.substack.com. Be sure to subscribe to catch all the latest news.
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Reflections on CrimeCon

6/4/2024

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I’m back from my first CrimeCon, this one held in Nashville. For those who aren’t aware, CrimeCon varies from CrimeConn (in CT), Killer Con (from the Writer’s Police Academy), and all the other crime-related conferences in that 1. It’s almost all fans, not writers, and 2. It’s focused almost entirely on true crime. Since I’ve embarked on an extended project of writing Vacations Can Be Murder, a series of true crime travel guides, I thought it would be a good idea to meet my audience and see what makes them tick. And it’s definitely true crime, ticking like a time bomb inside them.

If you are reading this because you’re an author thinking of switching from fiction to true crime, or incorporating true crime into your fiction, this could be a valuable conference to attend. If you’re attending Bouchercon later this summer at the exact same venue (The Gaylord Opryland Hotel), I’ll include some tips at the end.

This is a highly engaged audience of around 5,000 attendees and 6,500 total—gratifying to see since I’m aiming my upcoming books their way. It helps if you’re well-versed in recent crimes and criminals since many of the presentations do a deep dive without giving background. For example, one panel featuring The Behavior Panel (https://www.youtube.com/c/thebehaviorpanel), analyzed an interview between Piers Morgan and Fiona Harvey, the woman on whom Martha Scott from Baby Reindeer is allegedly based. Well, I had never seen Baby Reindeer, so while enjoyable, the presentation was less meaningful to me than it would have been the next day, after I’d binged the whole seven-episode series.
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If you are addicted to true crime podcasts, you can meet all of your favorite creators here; Nancy Grace; the gang from Small Town Dicks, CourtTV, Dateline; the team behind Missing on NewsNation, and more. John Douglas, the profiler on whom Mindhunter is based, gave a two-hour presentation after-hours. John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted was also on hand. Some personal highlights: Susan Constantine discussing jury selection techniques; Frank Figliuzzi talking about his new book Long Haul (all about long-haul trucker serial killers); and Katherine Ramsland (who’s written 72 books!!!) discussing how serial killers recruit accomplices, all covered in her new release, The Serial Killer’s Apprentice.

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Meeting fellow author Katherine Ramsland

​If you’re an author who is thinking of attending to sell books, there was a bookstore on hand but unlike many writer’s cons, there was also an exhibit hall where you can sell directly, and the hours extended through the entire conference. No swag room though—I appropriated a table in the main hall to distribute promo and luckily, the organizers let them be. Also present: organizations catering to the community (colleges promoting forensics courses, for example). This space adjoined Creators Row, where you could chat with all the podcast creators. There was also a section selling merchandise. My new hat reads “Be Nice, Don’t Kill People.” Of course, if people listened, I’d have nothing to write about.


One sad note: a large bulletin board contained flyers from around 100 missing persons cases. It’s not just fans at the conference; it’s also families and organizations hoping to enlist the help of armchair, cold-case detectives among the attendees to help them find their loved ones.

Evening activities included Sip and Sketch, where you could learn the techniques of courtroom sketch artists. However, I opted for a local tour, Nashville’s Dark Secrets: Murder & True Crime Walking Ghost Tour (around $35 plus Ubers there and back), which was quite entertaining.

There are multiple price tiers for CrimeCon; I opted for the standard $399 rate, so I didn’t receive the option for priority seating (viewing the big screens was just fine) or some of the additional content. If you decide to attend next year in Denver (September 5-7, which unfortunately conflicts with Bouchercon in New Orleans), you should sign up early because host hotel rooms might go fast. And if you love traveling to learn about true crime (as opposed to traveling to visit the spots where the crime happened, the subject of my books), CrimeCon also runs a True Crime Cruise (sailing in November this year, June next, for around 600 people); and CrimeCon UK in September in London which also promises a more intimate experience with around 500 of your fellow true crime lovers. You can explore all the offerings at https://www.crimecon.com/.

Now, about the Gaylord Opryland, what you should be aware of if you’re planning to attend Bouchercon in August, is that it’s huge. Expect to do considerable walking so bring comfortable shoes. And, despite the large number of dining venues, at mealtime, there are usually looong lines so plan to eat early or late or drive “off campus” to a local restaurant, bring snacks and water bottles so you don’t waste time waiting around, and make sure you have your credit card, because the entire hotel is cashless. The hotel keeps the conference rooms frigid (which inspired one of my favorite posts of the conference: “Why are the rooms so cold? We don’t need to be refrigerated, we’re not dead!”) so bring a coat, blanket, or other warming garb. And don’t worry if you are in a sister hotel like the Inn at Opryland, where I stayed, because there’s a frequent shuttle, and you could even walk.
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Would I go again? Sure. It was a lot of fun. As a crime/mystery/suspense writer, it’s something you might want to try, even if only to get ideas for future books. Hit me up if you have questions.
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Crime Con in Nashville!

5/26/2024

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​I'm heading to CrimeCon in Nashville next week and for those who will be attending, here are some true crime facts about the area:

It Happened in Nashville!
 
  • Out on parole from a 1983 armed-robbery conviction, Paul Dennis Reid traveled to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. Early in the morning on Feb 16, 1997, Reid, finding himself short on cash, visited Captain D’s at 2633 Lebanon Road. There he shot two employees then used the money from the cash register to put a downpayment on a car. On March 23rd, he stole $3,000 from the McDonald’s on 3470 Lebanon Road (3.4 miles from Captain D’s) and shot and killed three employees. When a fourth tried to escape, Reid stabbed him 17 times. The employee survived and later testified at trial. Reid was captured, convicted, and received seven death sentences, which at that time, were the most ever handed down to a single person in the state. Because of several stays, Reid ended up dying just shy of his 56th birthday at Nashville General Hospital (1818 Albion Street) from complications due to pneumonia, heart failure, and upper respiratory issues.
 
  • On August 29, 1996, children’s book illustrator Janet Gail March (33) disappeared from the home she shared with her lawyer husband Perry and their two children on Blackberry Road. Perry claimed Janet left home two weeks earlier for a 12-day “vacation” following an argument they’d had. Police found Janet’s abandoned car, containing her purse and toiletries, on September 7th in the parking lot of the Brixworth Apartments on Harding Place in West Nashville. Janet was declared legally dead in 2000. Perry’s father later confessed to helping his son move her dead body after Perry murdered her around August 15th. Although Janet’s body was never recovered, a jury convicted Perry of murder in 2006. He is currently serving his 56-year sentence at Morgan County Correctional Complex.
 
 
While you’re there, don’t miss…
 
 
Nashville’s Dark Secrets: Murder and True Crime Tour (18+, 90 min) and Nashville's Lost Spirits: Murder and True Crime Haunted Pub Crawl (ages 21+, 2 hrs., both from $35, see https://www.gonashvilletours.com)

  • Murder in Music City Night-Time Ghost Walking Tour of Nashville (90 minutes, $35, ages 16+, see https://ghostcitytours.com)
 
  • The castle-like, 800-cell Tennessee State Penitentiary (located on Bomar Blvd, six miles west of downtown Nashville), opened in 1898 and once housed James Earl Ray, the convicted killer of Martin Luther King. More than one hundred inmates were executed here; others were just exploited as cheap labor in its working farm, warehouses, and factories. Rampant mistreatment led to riots: one in 1975 resulted in one death and thirty-nine injuries; ten years later, inmates rioted again, setting fires, taking guards hostage, and causing $1.7 million in property damage. Now the penitentiary sits empty, having been forced to close in 1992 due to overcrowding. However, it still serves a purpose, having appeared in movies like “The Green Mile” and “Walk the Line,” and music videos by such artists as Eric Church and Cage the Elephant. Many claim the building is haunted.
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Paranormal Bethesda Area

4/25/2024

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For those visiting Bethesda for Malice Domestic or any other reason, here are a sampling of haunted accommodations, restaurants, and ghost tours to enjoy while you’re in the area. I’ve collected listings within 50 miles; they are listed from closest to Bethesda (DC is only around 7 miles away) to as far as 50 miles away (as is the case with Boonsboro and Stephensville.) The Baltimore, Ellicott City, and Annapolis locations are between 35-40 miles from Bethesda. You can read more when the Mid-Atlantic edition of Vacations Can Be Murder is published.
Accommodations:
 
Washington DC
 
Hay Adams Hotel
800 16th Street NW, Washington DC
202-638-6600
https://www.hayadams.com
Socialite and photographer Marian “Clover’ Hooper, who was married to the grandson of John Quincy Adams, committed suicide here by ingesting th potassium cynanide she used in her darkroom. If you smell an almond fragrance on the fourth floor in conjunction with doors unlocking on their own, or a woman’s wails, it might be her ghost.
 
Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC
202-347-3000
https://www.themayflowerhotel.com/
The resident ghost is said to be that of President Calvin Coolidge or his son. Coolidge was to host his inaugural ball here in February of 1925. He chose not to attend the ball because he was mourning the loss of his teenage son. The party went on without him. From 1925 until 1981, presidential inaugurations have been held at the hotel, and every year starting on January 27, 1937, the hotel was haunted on that day (even though the ball is held every four years.) The haunting consisted of Grand Ballroom lights flickering at 10:00 pm, followed by an elevator car becoming stuck on the 8th floor, where Coolidge had been staying on inaugural night. The elevator unsticks at 10:15, when Coolidge would have arrived at the ball.
Omni Shoreham Hotel
2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington DC
202-234-0700
https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/washington-dc-shoreham
Room 870, referred to at the hotel as the “Ghost Suite” is no longer open to the public. Clerks claim that the spirit of Juliette Brown, one of the resident ghosts, wouldn’t let his key work when he tried to enter. A former housekeeper, Brown supposedly died in the suite, as reportedly did the wife and daughter of the former owner, Henry Doherty. The apartment was abandoned for decades. The ghosts still make their presence known, and if you stay here, don’t be surprised to see lights flickering, or hear vacuums running, piano music, floors creaking, and televisions playing at all hours.
 
The Kimpton Hotel Monaco
700 F Street NW, Washington DC
202-628-7177
https://www.monaco-dc.com
Built in 1842 to house the General Post Office, the wails you might hear when staying here could be from the ghosts of the woman who waited for and received bad news here regarding their loved ones fighting in the Civil War. The spirits spotted by guests were wearing period clothing.
 
Manassas
The Olde Towne Inn
9403 Main Street, Manassas, VA
703-368-9191
https://theoldetowneinn.com
The ghost of Miss Lucy, dating back to the Civil War, makes her presence especially known in Rooms 50-54 and in the hotel tavern. She’s said to have made guests levitate, in case you’re in the mood for an uplifting experience.
 
 
Ellicott City
Lilburn Mansion (Air BnB)
3899 College Avenue, Ellicott City
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16673443?source_impression_id=p3_1664469122_gRgeGZ9euwvJ52Mg
Also known as The Castle, Balderstones Mansion, or Hazeldene, the property is over 165 years old. You can rent a two-bedroom apartment here with a pool, but with a twist: after restoration following a 1923 fire, ghosts of children who died in the home are said to have started haunting the premises.
 
Baltimore
Admiral Fell Inn
888 South Broadway, Baltimore
410-422-7377
[email protected]
Admiralfellinn.com
Known as one of the most haunted hotels, not only in Baltimore, but in the country. Room 413, the site of a homophobic murder, as well as Room 218 are hotspots of paranormal activity. Ghosts of sailors can be seen in the halls. Guests have even seen the ghost of a dog.
 
Lord Baltimore Hotel
20 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore
410-539-8400
[email protected]
Lordbaltimorehotel.com
Thought to be one of the top ten most haunted places in the city, and in the United States. During the Great Depression, over 20 people committed suicide by jumping off the roof after the market crashed. Many of their spirits apparently stuck around. A little girl named Molly, whose parents apparently jumped with her in a murder/suicide, ahs been seen on the 19th floor where they’d stayed. And that’s just a bit of the paranormal activity here.
 
Annapolis
(Note: The fact that both of these hotels are listed under the same address is not an accident. There is a large complex where both buildings are located.)
Governor Calvert House
58 State Circle, Annapolis
410-263-2641
Historicinnsofannapolis.com/staty/governor-calvert-house
Of the many spirits here, beware of the ghost of former employee Dominic, who apparently likes to watch guests undress.
 
The Maryland Inn
58 State Circle, Annapolis
410-263-2641
https://www.historicinnsofannapolis.com/stay/maryland-inn
Dating back to the 1770s, a navy captain named Charles Campbell and his intended brid are said to haunt the building. The captain was killed by a horse carriage outside the hotel and his bride committed suicide immediately afterwards.
 
Boonsboro
Inn Boonsboro
1 North Main Street, Boonsboro
301-432-1188
Info2innboonsboro.com
https://innboonsboro.com/
The building dates back to 1790. No saying when the spirit of a cat appeared, visiting guests at night. If you hear a bell tinkling, perhaps it’s visiting your room.
 
Stevensville
Kent Island Resort (formerly the Kent Manor Inn)
500 Kent Manor Drive, Stevensville
410-643-5757
https://www.kentislandresort.com/
Thought to be haunted by former resident Alexander Thompson. He hanged himself in Room #210.
 
 
Haunted Restaurants/Bars
Washington DC
Round Robin Bar
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC
(202) 628-9100
Located inside the Willard Hotel where guests have included Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., the ghost of a 13-year-old boy is said to haunt the hotel elevator.
 
Wok and Roll (also a karaoke bar)
604 H Street NW, Washington DC
(202) 347-4656
Serves Chinese and Japanese food, but in its former iteration, it was a boarding house owned by Mary Surratt, part of a group that conspired to murder leaders including Lincoln. After becoming the first female executed by the federal government, she took up residence here.
 
Alexandria
Gadsby’s Tavern
138 N. Royal Street, Alexandria
A former hotel, dating back to the 1880s, is where a couple stayed, and the woman became ill and died. The man made the owner and doctors swear they would never reveal her name, but she reveals her presence by haunting with odd noises in what’s now a tavern.
 
Other haunted restaurants in the area:
Ellicott City
The Judges Bench
8385 Main Street, Ellicott City
410-465-3497
https://judgesbenchpub.com/
This bar used to be a grocery store named Berger’s Grocery. Mart, the daughter of the owner hanged herself here in 1962 when her parents forbade her from dating a certain boy. She still hangs out at the bar.
 
Baltimore
Club Charles
1724 North Charles Street, Baltimore
410-727-8815
This dive bar is haunted by a male spirit named “Frenchie,” who, when alive, used to live in an apartment above the club.
 
The Horse You Came In On Saloon
1626 Thames Street, Baltimore
410-327-8111
https://www.thehorsebaltimore.com/
America’s oldest continually operated saloon, dating back to 1775. This is said to be the last place Edgar Allan Poe was seen in 1849 before his death, and that his spirit has been seen walking toward the saloon, where he drinks cognac left out by the bartenders.
 
Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore
1710 Thames Street, Baltimore
410-537-5055
http://www.waterfronthotelfellspoint.com/
Dating back to 1771, diners hear voices and footsteps from the vacant floors above.
 
Annapolis
Galway Bay Restaurant
63 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis
410-263-8333
https://www.galwaybaymd.com
Two guests are said to reside here, that of a servant girl seen in the basement and the other, a bootlegger who was shot dead in the building.
 
Middleton Tavern
2 Market Space, Annapolis
410-263-3323
https://middletontavern.com
This former private residence that was built in 1740 is haunted by a ghost nicknamed Ronald, wearing Revolutionary War-era clothing. The scent of cigar smoke and the breaking of glasses and plates announces his presence.
 
Rams Head Tavern
33 West Street, Annapolis
410-268-4545
https://ramsheadtavern.com/
The ghost of Amy, a prostitute, haunts this 1830s tavern. She died on the job.
 
Reynolds Tavern
7 Church Circle, Annapolis
410-295-9555
https://reynoldstavern.org
Haunted by the ghost of Mary Reynolds, who inherited the building in 1777 from her dead husband William. You can hear her singing Christmas carols and see objects moved without explanation.
 
Paranormal Tours in the Area
(click on individual tours for more information, age restrictions, etc.)
 
  • Ghosts of Georgetown Night-Time Walking Tour, 1-2 hours, from $49,
 
  • DC Ghosts By US Ghost Adventures, 1 hour, from $30
 
  • Murders, Mysteries, and Hauntings of DC Night-Time Walking Tour, 1-2 hours, from $35
 
  • Walking Night-Time Ghost Tour of Washington DC. 1-2 hours, from $25
 
  • Haunted DC Walking Tour on Capitol Hill. 1-2 hours, from $25
 
  • DC Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl by US Ghost Adventures, 2 hours, from $35
 
  • Original Haunted LaFayette Park Tour, 1-2 hours, from $25
 
  • DC Ghosts Ultimate Dead of Night Haunted Ghost Tour, 2 hours, from $35
 
  • Haunted Washington D.C. Booze and Boos Ghost Walking Tour. 2-3 hours, from $35

  • DC Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl By US Ghost Adventures, 2 hours, from $42

  • Haunted Old Town Alexandria Booze and Boos Ghost Walking Tour, 2-3 hours, from $35

  • Phantoms of Annapolis Ghost Tour By US Ghost Adventures. 1 hour, from $30
 
  • Alexandria Ghosts Ultimate Dead of Night Haunted Ghost Tour, 1-2 hours, from $37
 
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Bethesda and Malice Domestic

4/21/2024

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From April 26-28, I will be at the mystery fan conference Malice Domestic, previewing the first volume of my true crime travel guide, Vacations Can Be Murder.

Here's a taste of what's happened in Bethesda and nearby that might be of interest to true crime fanatics:
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  • In 2023, SmartAsset.com rated Bethesda the third safest suburb in the U.S. But that’s not to say Bethesda and its surrounding areas haven’t seen their share of crime…
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  • On March 1st, 1976, State Department Foreign Service Officer and Yale graduate William Bradford Bishop Jr. was upset when he was passed over for a promotion. So upset in fact, he allegedly murdered his wife Annette (37), mother Lobelia (68) and sons Brad III (14), Brent (10), and Geoffrey (5) in their Lily Stone Drive home. He then drove their bludgeoned bodies to a wooded swamp south of Columbia, NC, threw them in a hole, doused them with gasoline, and set them on fire. Bishop was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List from 2014-2018 and remains at large.
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  • On March 11th, 2011, Brittany Norwood murdered her co-worker Jayna Troxel Murray at the Lululemon Athletica store at 4856 Bethesda Avenue (now closed). Murray had apparently discovered stolen merchandise in Norwood’s possession. Norwood originally claimed masked thugs had broken in and raped, stabbed, and beaten both women, but her story quickly unraveled. In January 2012, a jury sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

  • Hadden Clark served in the US Navy until doctors diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. While he’d been arrested numerous times for theft, it wasn’t until May of 1986 that he committed murder. After stabbing six-year-old Michele Dorr to death inside her home on Sudbury Road in Silver Spring, he drank her blood, hid her body in a duffle bag and buried her in a shallow grave at North Paint Branch Stream Valley Park. Then on October 18, 1992, he killed Laura Houghteling (23) in her bedroom on Julliard Drive in Bethesda, stabbing and then suffocating her, then burying her in a three-foot deep grave off Interstate 270 and Old Georgetown Road. When authorities linked him to the second murder, he confessed to both. He is currently serving two consecutive 30- year sentences at Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover.

And while you’re in Maryland, don’t miss these crime-related sites:

  • In Lorton in nearby Fairfax County, Liberty Village has transformed the former prison into a shopping/dining/destination.

  • The grave of author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is at the Westminster Burial Ground, 519 West Fayette Street, Baltimore. The Poe House and Museum are located nearby at 203 N. Amity Street. 
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  • The grave of Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth (1838-1865) is at Green Mount Cemetery, 1501 Greenmount Avenue, Baltimore (Likely buried in the empty area behind the obelisk.)
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  • The Dock Street Bar and Grill in Annapolis at 136 Dock Street used to be the city jail. • The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death features eighteen intricately crafted models depicting vignettes from actual crime scenes. Located on the third floor of the State of Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office at 900 West Baltimore St in Baltimore, it can only be seen by appointment
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    Dawn M, Barclay is an award-winning fiction and nonfiction author.

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