As this book reveals, nothing you have been told about the Oakland County child killer case is true.
Guarded by Jackals: Predators, the Public Officials Who Protected Them and Resolution of Michigan’s Most Notorious Cold Cases, is available on Amazon in color and black & white editions.
The first 9 of 28 chapters are available as a free preview, with the interactive footnote links at this WordPress site:
An online Citation Companion pdf to the written books with accessible footnote links to source cited can be accessed as described above.
The book is groundbreaking in its revelation of a level of corruption in the OCCK investigation, not previously understood, through the exhaustive analysis of case documents and the media reporting at the time.
I urge you to read this compelling, riveting, disturbing and well-documented book. I recommend the color version, but the black and white version is more compact in size and costs less.
I urge you to attempt to refute the analysis and the very substantive documentation as part of your own analysis.
When you are done reading the book, if nothing else I also urge you to pass it on to a friend, donate it to your local public library, or to your local bookstore if they carry used books. Ask your local book seller and public library to carry the book. Send it to a public official or a public servant in Michigan who needs to be aware of this information.
After you read the book, you will know what the author and I know, and you will realize the importance of the author’s call to action. It is especially needed in Michigan, but it also serves as a warning and a lesson to communities around the country and the world.
NEVER. AGAIN.
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Ordered…
My copy doesn’t seem to cover Hastings for some reason unless I missed it. It appears not even a mention of him. Seems like another incomplete OCCK book like the others. The real ticket to solving the case is finding out what really went down with that polygraph test in Georgia. Where in fact, there was no one representing Michigan present when the test was conducted.
After all of these years at least find out why the conclusions were written the way they were to that test! From what is documented from the conclusions, Hastings knew Busch and had something to do with the murders and this was strongly suggested by both the polygraher and his boss. Has there ever been any type of conclusions written like that and nothing was ever pursued by law enforcement before? Maybe it’s the first? Since authors seem to never cover this, it’s never pointed out to the public at large which in turn will never be investigated so nothing new ever comes out of this case. One thing for certain, it has never made the news and seems like it never has a chance.
From what I have read, it is my opinion that the author is attempting to explain only the legal proceedings and events that occurred between late January 1977, and the end of July, 1977. Anything else would be out of scope, and possibly beyond the author’s expertise. And as the author points out, there are other good books available that attempts to explain the entire OCCK case.
So while I agree with you that the Hastings polygraph should be investigated again in the OCCK case, that does not appear to be the intent of this book. This book appears to describe another crime within a crime, and uses public knowledge the case file to prove it’s point.
I agree, G-Man, and I commend the author for the meticulous attention to details that so many others have overlooked. It’s a fascinating and infuriating read.
Your copy of the book most certainly contains the footnote in Chapter 4, Complexity by Design. In the most recent version, it is footnote 25, and you can reference it at the link for the Reference Companion at the bottom of the page, https://guardedbyjackals.com/.
It discusses the endless rabbit holes in the case, including “[t]he meetings Helen Dagner had with the man she believed to be involved in the OCCK killings.” You are a smart person and you know as well as I do that the reasons then B’ham PD Cmdr Don Studt was pulled off of the 1992 investigation of John Hastings and the reason Det/Sgt. Garry Gray buried the 2009 Georgia polygraph results, are detailed in this book.
Let this be a trigger warning for anyone who has a pet suspect or theory. This book acknowledges but does not wade into the rabbit holes and dark stories “appealing to the interests of true crime junkies to keep them occupied in an endless loop for several lifetimes.” And the author further notes that “[t]hese distractions made it easier for the depraved public servants to cover up their crimes.”
I wonder what the prosecutor Karen McDonald is going to think about this. Or like the state police will this just be considered fiction and swept under the rug
I will be getting the book.
Having almost been kidnapped myself by someone I believe connected to the OCCK, I have read voraciously in the subject for years.
I have often wondered if the police report from Huntington Woods still exists somewhere.