Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law
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Narrated by:
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Wendy Almeida
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By:
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Harry N. MacLean
About this listen
In 1989, Eileen Franklin, a young California housewife, claimed to recover a repressed memory of her father killing her playmate 20 years earlier. In a landmark trial, the father was charged and convicted of first-degree murder, based solely on his daughter's testimony. This book chronicles the trial, explores the remarkably dysfunctional Franklin family and delves into the credibility of repressed memories as evidence.
This version contains a 2011 Epilogue, which details the reasons for the reversal of George Franklin's murder conviction and the refusal of the district attorney to retry him for murder.
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Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the 20th century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Now available for the first time in unabridged audio, the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime is brought to life by acclaimed narrator Scott Brick.
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Everything I remembered about the case was wrong..
- By karen on 06-22-12
By: Vincent Bugliosi, and others
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Deliver Us
- Three Decades of Murder and Redemption in the Infamous I-45/Texas Killing Fields
- By: Kathryn Casey
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a three-decade span, more than 20 women - many teenagers - died mysteriously in the small towns bordering Interstate 45, a 50-mile stretch of highway running from Houston to Galveston. The victims were strangled, shot, or savagely beaten.
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Creepy creepy creepy
- By 6catz on 04-10-15
By: Kathryn Casey
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Dead and Buried
- By: Corey Mitchell
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Rachel Newhouse disappeared on the night of November 12, 1998. Only months later, in the same town, Aundria Crawford lost her life in an act of unimaginable violence. As authorities worked to find clues, parole officer David Zaragoza paid a routine visit to one of his charges - Rex Allan Krebs, a violent serial rapist who'd served only 10 years of a 20-year sentence. After sending Krebs back to jail for violating his parole, Zaragoza found a key chain belonging to one of the victims. An intensive search led to the gruesome discovery of buried remains near Krebs' secluded cabin.
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Well Written!
- By txammug on 09-10-18
By: Corey Mitchell
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Possessed
- The Infamous Texas Stiletto Murder
- By: Kathryn Casey
- Narrated by: Heather Auden
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The officer responding to a 911 call at one of Houston's hippest high-rises expected the worst. After all, domestic violence situations can be unpredictable. But nothing could've prepared him for what he found: a beautiful woman drenched in blood, an older man lying dead on the floor, and a cobalt blue suede stiletto with tufts of white hair stuck to its five-and-a-half-inch heel.
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Well written
- By Heather S. on 04-12-17
By: Kathryn Casey
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Little Shoes
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- By: Pamela Everett
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- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1937, a California crime stunned an already grim nation. Three little girls were lured away from a neighborhood park to unthinkable deaths. After a frantic week-long manhunt for the killer, a suspect emerged. Justice was swift, and the condemned man was buried away with the horrifying story. But decades later, Pamela Everett, a lawyer and former journalist, starts digging, following up a cryptic comment her father once made about losing two of his sisters. Everett unearths a truly historic legal case that included the genesis of modern sex offender laws and the last man sentenced to hang in California.
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Masterful presentation of secrets and crime case!
- By deb on 05-31-18
By: Pamela Everett
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By Their Father's Hand
- The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre
- By: Monte Francis
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Neighbors were unaware of what went on behind the tightly closed doors of a house in Fresno, California - the home of an imposing, 300-pound Marcus Wesson, his wife, children, nieces, and grandchildren. But on March 12, 2004, gunshots were heard inside the Wesson home, and police officers responding to what they believed was a routine domestic disturbance were horrified by the senseless carnage they discovered when they entered.
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Be Very Prepared for Disturbing and Graphic Detail
- By Jessica on 02-21-17
By: Monte Francis
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Imperfect Justice
- Prosecuting Casey Anthony
- By: Jeff Ashton
- Narrated by: Jeff Ashton
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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It was the trial that stunned America, the verdict that shocked us all. On July 5, 2011, nearly three years after her initial arrest, Casey Anthony walked away, virtually scot-free, from one of the most sensational murder trials of all time. She'd been accused of killing her daughter, Caylee, but the trial only left behind more questions: Was she actually innocent? What really happened to Caylee? Was this what justice really looked like?
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Surprisingly Compelling -
- By Dave on 03-20-12
By: Jeff Ashton
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Hate Crime
- The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas
- By: Joyce King
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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On June 7, 1998, James Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old black man, was dragged to his death while chained to the back of a pickup truck driven by three young white men. It happened just outside of Jasper, a sleepy East Texas logging town that, within 24 hours of the discovery of the murder, would be inextricably linked in the nation's imagination to an exceptionally brutal, modern-day lynching. In this superbly written examination of the murder and its aftermath, award-winning journalist Joyce King brings us on a journey that begins at the crime scene.
By: Joyce King
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A Wilderness of Error
- The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald
- By: Errol Morris
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a Green Beret doctor named Jeffrey MacDonald called the police for help. When the officers arrived at his home they found the bloody and battered bodies of MacDonald's pregnant wife and two young daughters. The word "pig" was written in blood on the headboard in the master bedroom. As MacDonald was being loaded into the ambulance, he accused a band of drug-crazed hippies of the crime.
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Interesting but Unconvincing
- By A customer on 03-31-15
By: Errol Morris
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No Regrets: And Other True Cases
- And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 11)
- By: Ann Rule
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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A ship's pilot legendary for guiding mammoth freighters through the narrows of Puget Sound, Rolf Neslund was a proud Norwegian, a ladies' man, and a beloved resident of Washington State's idyllic Lopez Island. Virtually indestructible even into his golden years, he made electrifying headlines more than once: after a ship he was helming crashed into the soaring West Seattle Bridge, causing millions in damages; and following his inexplicable disappearance at age 80. Was he a suicide, a man broken by one costly misstep? Had he run off with a lifelong love? Or did a trail of gruesome evidence lead to the home Rolf shared with his wife, Ruth?
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Finally...worth it!
- By Luv lots on 09-04-13
By: Ann Rule
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What listeners say about Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- dawn raught
- 07-24-17
Author/ narrator dissonance
I had a hard time with this book. I was unsure of the authors intent at several points because of the narrators delivery. It occurred to me that it may have been vague for the narrator as well so she did the best she could in interpreting through inflection. Still, although I found the basic facts gripping, I was not a fan of how the author portrayed behaviors of the female victims and the way he described the appearance of the prosecuting attorney. False memory syndrome is fascinating and I'd like to find titles that focus on the emerging science of such. All in all I walked away wondering if the author has ever known anyone that was a victim of abuse or incest because he seemed like either a closet chauvinist or the bitter ex of a victim.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jack Shamblin
- 02-02-16
Our children. Our future.
The book leaves you with an aftertaste of avoiding contact with any appearance of molestation however innocent. I've often wanted to get involved with helping disadvantage youth but fear those who have suspicious minds. Innocent until proven guilty is a myth. It's a shame as our future is tied to our children.
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- Elizabeth
- 10-03-15
Fascinating true story!!!
Where does Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This ranks among my favorite Audible books. I remember this story from the '90s and the facts are very different than what was reported at the time. This story details an abusive and extremely dysfunctional family and a father accused of murder by his daughter. The author presents a believable psychological explanation and a 2011 update.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jennifer Nelson
- 11-30-15
Interesting and addictive story, bad narrator
Would you consider the audio edition of Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law to be better than the print version?
No, the narrator was annoying. I found myself getting irritated at her over and mis-pronunciations.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Wondering if her story is true, or how much of it is true.
Would you be willing to try another one of Wendy Almeida’s performances?
NO
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen next. It made me research this case, look at pictures of the family and try to decide for myself.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Rjai
- 08-05-15
Job well done.
This book had you on the edge of your seat. I was late for a lot of appointments because I didn't want to get out of the car. Ms. Wendy did an awesome job narrating the story.
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3 people found this helpful
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- inov8v
- 10-22-15
exceptional...
i found this book to be exceptionally written and very well narrated...the story is unreal but is told in such a well written manner...
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- Judy
- 01-15-20
Slow
This story is way too slow and dragged out it was interesting however I don’t think it had to be so painfully slow
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- Brittany
- 08-15-15
Superb!
As an avid true crime lover I especially enjoyed the detail in this book. The entire court case was told in such a way to make you feel as if you were there. Too many true crime stories assume guilt based on a conviction, in this tale the reader is allowed to make up their own mind. I found myself wondering what I would have done had I been on the jury, with the facts that the jury was given, and also trying to decide what I thought with all the facts. That was an interesting change for me, as usually my option of guilt is decided before the book even makes it to the courtroom.
The narrator did a pretty good job of portraying the different speakers, although there were moments that she annoyed me in her attempts to do this. Overall though, she added to the book and did not take away.
Highly recommend!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Ginger
- 03-13-16
Interesting story but slow read
What about Wendy Almeida’s performance did you like?
Had to listen on faster speed. Narration is too slow and tedious.
Any additional comments?
Interesting subject matter. Be prepared for a slow narration.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sara
- 12-21-15
Poor writing worse narration!
You could rip out every other page of this book and still probably not miss anything of substance. MacLean's writing style was dizzying and told the story as a watery soup more full of contradicting opinions than facts. It isn't the worst true crime novel but it's not good either. The narration was truly awful! What were they thinking?! Almeida sounds grandmotherly and every time she said something obscene (which is frequently) I truly cringed! I'm sure she could pull off many books very well as a narrator and she did do a fantastic southern drawl for the killers voice, but she was honestly a very very poor choice for this book! I cannot recommend, nor will I ever re-read.
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