Frank Spiering

On October 30, 1993, twelve-year-old Polly Klaas and two girlfriends are enjoying a slumber party at Polly's home at 427 Fourth St in Petaluma, CA. They are getting ready for Halloween and deciding what they are going to be. While doing this, a man marches into the bedroom and threatens Polly and her two friends.
He asks the question: Who lives here? and Polly answers that she is the one who lives there. The man starts tying her up with cloth and electrical cords. Polly offers him $50 that she has and he rejects that, although he stated that he was doing this for the money.
The man takes off with Polly, and immediately the two friends and involve Polly's mother. The police are called and a description given of the man involved.
Less than an hour later, twenty-five miles from where Polly was taken, a woman encounters a man having that same description, on property that belongs to a woman that she babysits for. Police are called, but the man is released after the police find nothing untoward about him, other than the fact that he has been drinking beer.
Richard Allen Davis is the man who is eventually identified as the man in both instances. He has a history of kidnapping, burglary, etc. He has a very long prison and arrest record.

This book gets very detailed about the case itself. There are undercurrents of this being much more than is known by the press and the public. I certainly hope that his indications aren't the truth, but you really have to read the book and his take on this case to make that decision for yourself.… (altro)

While I enjoyed reading this due to a familiarity/fascination with the Borden murders, I was very much put off by the lack of evidence provided by the author. Spiering's stance is that Emma Borden killed her father and stepmother, while Lizzie covered for her. Aside from bringing up the fact that Emma's presence in Fairhaven on the day of the murders was merely accepted rather than established, he does nothing to convince the reader that Emma not only had the opportunity to commit the crime but actually swung the axe. For someone pointing out the problems of a trial based around circumstantial evidence, Mr. Spiering relies far too heavily on theory to present his case.

If you're a fan of all things Borden, you may enjoy this. If this is your first book about the case I'd suggest seeking an alternative.… (altro)