United States of True Crime is an anthology series with books devoted to the most disturbing cases in each of the 50 states. This book focuses on ten of the most chilling crimes in Alaska history.
The cases in this book:
Robert Hansen: Serial killer who flew his victims to the remote wilderness and hunted them. He confessed to murdering 17 women and raping at least 30.
Thomas Richard Bunday: Confessed to the brutal slaying of four women and a young girl but committed suicide before standing trial.
Michael Silka: Murdered his neighbor in Fairbanks before embarking on a killing spree in a remote Arctic town.
Joshua Wade: Acquitted for murdering an indigenous Alaskan woman then went on to kill another woman when he was released. While incarcerated he confessed to murdering three men.
Gary Zieger: Serial killer killed in retaliation for murdering a mother and her young son. Investigators assert that he was connected to at least five murders
Lisa Donlon: Shot her husband to death after years of abuse then forced to stand trial.
James Dale Ritchie: Killed in a shootout with police. After his death police connected him to five unsolved homicides.
Robert Allen Hale: Frontiersman who physically, mentally, and sexually abused his 15 children for decades in rural Alaska.
Steven H. Downs: Accused of the murder of a young woman after DNA evidence was linked to him over 25 years after her death.
Israel Keyes: Serial murderer who evaded capture for decades by abducting his victims in one state, murdering them in another, and disposing of them in a third. Although he only ever confessed to three murders, the FBI believes he had at least 11 victims.