Want My Advice? Go To Another County For Legal Help

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About once a month, I receive a panicky telephone call or email from a distraught parent who attempted to get an adult child with a mental disorder  involuntarily committed in Fairfax County, Virginia, where I live.

Forcing someone into a hospital for treatment is a desperate act that is traumatic for the person who is ill and their entire family. It should only be done when all other options have failed.

The parents who contact me were stymied by one of the special magistrates who ultimately decide if a person meets the legal criteria to be forced into a hospital. We have three such magistrates in our suburban Washington D.C. county and two of them, Mark H. Bodner and Jose E. Aunon,  are known state-wide for being reluctant to approve involuntary commitments.

“My son,” one caller told me, “has a long history of mental illness. He was living in our basement where he was hearing voices and talked about killing himself.”

Another parent said, “Our daughter was violent and her psychiatrist recommended that she be hospitalized.”

In both instances, the Fairfax special magistrates refused to authorize an involuntary commitment, the parents reported.

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Outraged By The Serial Killer Whisperer, Governor Puts Murderer on Fast Track

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A few weeks ago, Florida Governor Rick Scott had never heard of death row inmate, David Gore.

But Scott has heard about little else from the outraged residents of Vero Beach since the publication of my new book, The Serial Killer Whisperer.  In it, Gore openly boasts about how he abducted, raped, tortured and murdered two women and four teenage girls in the 1980s in that scenic beach community.

On Friday, Gov. Scott put Gore on a fast track to be executed.  Clearly, he now knows the serial killer’s name.

Gore could be put to death as early as March 1st.

I certainly didn’t write my book to get Gore executed. But Gore’s letters, which are printed verbatim in the book, clearly set off an emotional firestorm.

“[I] had absolutely NO mercy. You said you read on the computer where it said one victim was fed to the alligators. That was true….” Gore bragged in one letter to his Las Vegas pen pal, Tony Ciaglia.

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Dive Into the Minds of Monsters with The Serial Killer Whisperer Website

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The Serial Killer Whisperer Website - SerialKillerWhisperer.net Screenshot

Have you ever thought what you would say to a murderer? What do you talk about knowing they have taken the life of someone else? Where do you even start?

For Tony Ciaglia, it was obvious: you talk about their crimes, their motivations, and their remorse (or lack of it) for the horrifying acts they’ve committed. After suffering a traumatic brain injury from a WaveRunner accident, Ciaglia found himself fascinated with serial killers and began writing to them.

The story of Ciaglia’s correspondence forms the crux of my dad’s newest book, The Serial Killer Whisperer, just recently released last week.

And now I’m excited to announce a new webpage all about the book where you can read an excerpt, reviews, and even pick up your own copy.

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Walking In Others’ Shoes

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 Two unrelated stories last week caused me to think about how easy it is to blame others without “walking in” their shoes.

The first was an incredible magazine story published by The Washington Post and written by Susan Baer. I once worked at the magazine and knew the subject of the cover story, although certainly not well. One of my former colleagues, Robert Melton, suffered a stroke that drastically reduced his cognitive abilities. He was married and his wife, Page, continued to love and take care of him even though he had become a stranger who had little understanding of their marriage.  Eventually, Page fell in love with another man. She divorced her husband to marry him.

What makes this story incredible is that Page and her new husband did not abandon Robert. Rather, they made him a part of their new family and even moved Robert with Page to St. Louis when she joined her new husband to begin their lives together.

The story, which was brilliantly told, was a courageous effort to describe one of the most difficult challenges that a person can face in their lives:  what do you do when someone you love suffers a debilitating brain injury. It is an especially poignant question for those of us who love someone with a severe mental disorder.

But many readers saw the article much differently. Writing in today’s Washington Post, columnist Robert McCartney revealed in his column that the story sparked a torrent of mean-spirited comments from readers, especially anonymous ones.

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Day Begins With Glowing Reviews!

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My new non-fiction book, The Serial Killer Whisperer, is being published today, which means that after months of waiting and hard work, the book will go on sale and be judged by professional critics and readers.

I was thrilled that my morning began with two strong endorsements.

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Wearing Two Hats in Vero Beach, One Comfortable, One Not

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With tears in his eyes and his voice showing emotion, Carl Elliott Jr., told me last week that he hoped my book, The Serial Killer Whisperer, would finally be enough to get Florida’s governor to schedule the execution of serial killer David Gore. 

Gore abducted, raped, and murdered Elliott’s daughter, Lynn, age 17, in Vero Beach. He has been on death row for nearly thirty years. 

I certainly did not write my book to prompt the death of anyone, including Gore. But my book has re-ignited interest in his case and is stirring strong emotions in Vero Beach.

The book describes the plight of Tony Ciaglia, who was hit in the skull by a speeding jet ski when he was 15 years old. He died three times en route to the hospital but was revived. After several weeks in a coma, Ciaglia awoke much different from the carefree, happy, and popular teen he had been. Filled with rage, often uncontrollable, and suffering from damage to the front lobe of his brain, Ciaglia spent much of the next several years under a self-imposed house arrest.  At times, he was suicidal. Bored and aimless, he needed a hobby and by chance he began writing serial killers. His psychiatric problems mimicked those of the killers and he was able to befriend many of them and get them to share their inner-most thoughts with him. Today, he tries to help the police with his ability to communicate with killers.

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