True Crime Blog
The highly-anticipated book 7 in the Dickie Floyd series, THE PROGRAM, is now available! “Nothing less than brilliant storytelling.” “Outstanding! Very Highly Recommended.” “Few writers can take you into the minds of police and criminals. None do so as well as Danny R. Smith.” The wait is finally over! It’s been more than two and a…
I HAVE A DEVIL INSIDE ME is the true story of a satanic murder that took place in Miami-Dade, Florida, in the year 2000.
L.A. Sheriff’s Homicide, April 2000. Joe Martinez and I were paired up in the rotation when a remarkably brazen murder occurred in the City of Carson. City of Carson It happened during broad daylight at arguably the busiest intersection in the city. Dozens of people arrived on a city bus just as the shooting occurred,…
I am writing this having just finished watching the press conference by the Idaho Falls Police Department announcing the arrest of Brian Leigh Dripps for the 1996 murder of Angie Dodge. Congratulations to them; it’s about time this case was solved. That may sound mean-spirited, but it’s not; it’s outrage.
Twenty-two years ago today, 18-year-old Angie Raye Dodge was killed as she slept in her upstairs apartment in the sleepy town of Idaho Falls, Idaho. At the time of Angie’s murder, DNA had become a household term thanks to the spectacle that was the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles. Simpson’s 1995 acquittal should…
Baptism by Fire Before I had a chance to grab a cup of coffee or discover the location of my desk, I was given my first assignment as a homicide detective. A 16-year-old boy had been killed by a train in the City of Industry. It was a chilly fall morning, and I made the…
This Blog has Gone to the Dogs. In 1997 when I promoted to Homicide, I was introduced to a tool of investigation that was new to me: scent canines. Droopy-eared hounds, low and stable, good for cornering if they were ever to build up speed. Which they don’t. They are slow and steady, designed for…
Suicide cases run the gamut: shooting, hanging, jumping, overdosing on pills, and slashing wrists. Carbon monoxide poisoning, drowning, asphyxia, suicide by train, suicide by cop, plummeting one’s car over a cliff.
As far as a homicide investigation goes, nothing is better than a callout when the suspect is already in custody. We call it a walkthrough. Homicide investigations are never simple, though some require less follow-up than others. With a suspect in custody, your case is “solved” before you’ve laced your wingtips. All that remains is the…
A robust Hispanic man stood unapologetically shirtless beneath the morning sun in East Los Angeles. My partner and I suffered in dress shirts and ties while we questioned him about a Mustang, a set of wheels, and a relative of his who we believed to be a suspect in our murder investigation. It was August…