Preview
  • The Snow Killings

  • Inside the Oakland County Child Killer Investigation
  • By: Marney Rich Keenan
  • Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
  • Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (870 ratings)

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The Snow Killings

By: Marney Rich Keenan
Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
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Publisher's summary

Over 13 months in 1976­-1977, four children were abducted in the Detroit suburbs, each of them held for days before their still-warm bodies were dumped in the snow near public roadsides. The Oakland County Child Murders spawned panic across southeast Michigan, triggering the most extensive manhunt in US history. Yet after less than two years, the task force created to find the killer was shut down without naming a suspect.

The case “went cold” for more than 30 years, until a chance discovery by one victim’s family pointed to the son of a wealthy General Motors executive: Christopher Brian Busch, a convicted pedophile, was freed weeks before the fourth child disappeared.

Veteran Detroit News reporter Marney Rich Keenan takes the listener inside the investigation of the still-unsolved murders - seen through the eyes of the lead detective in the case and the family who cracked it open - revealing evidence of a decades-long cover-up of malfeasance and obstruction that denied justice for the victims.

©2020 Marney Rich Keenan (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
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What listeners say about The Snow Killings

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

So many players to keep track of

Now I know this is a true crime story, but it’s insane how many people are talked about in this book. It was hard for me to keep track of who everybody was. It was a good story kind of long for me but I did finish it. If you like true crime stories you’ll like this one.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good true crime mystery

I enjoyed this book. some a bit sad there really isn't a ending . but that's true life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A detailed, thorough reporting of a story that changed my life

I, and so many people that I know, lived this story.
I grew up in Birmingham and went to school with the Kings and the Coffees.

I’ll never forget that morning, walking through Poppleton Park with my friend Carol, on our way to school. We were a little weirded out by the large police presence over by the tennis courts and even more apprehensive when we were waved over to speak to them. What could they want with us? They asked us if we knew Timmy King. “Yes,” we said, nodding our heads. “He’s been abducted,” they told us. We were shocked.

They warned us to be careful, to avoid walking alone and to keep and eye out for a blue Gremlin, the car driven by the suspect. They advised us to call them if we saw anything suspicious or heard anything about Timmy’s whereabouts. We went on our way, frightened and alert, down Mohegan Street and across Adams Road, arriving at school a short while later.

Back in those days we were all free rage kids, allowed to roam great distances, mostly unsupervised by the adults in our lives, despite what happened to Timmy and the other kids.

It’s forty three years later and I’ve listened to this book. I am utterly shocked by what was really going on at that time; of how near we all were to dangerous predators, literally in our own back yards; and of how much was known by the police and about which nothing was done.

Yes, the story is grim. When is child sex abuse, torture, and murder not grim?

This story is important to hear because knowledge is power. It shows us the reality of a system that, to this day, is rigged to permit wealthy and privileged predators to roam freely and without punishment, committing crimes that ruin and end innocent children’s lives in numbers too shocking to contemplate. This story also shines a bright light on the negligence and arrogance of the Michigan State Police and the Oakland County Prosecutor, who have refused, out of spite, to make every effort to share information with each other and work with other police agencies and the victim’s families to solve these heinous crimes - even now, when we have the technology to do so, they haven’t leapt at the chance to bring the killer(s) to justice.

Let this story move you to hold the police and the prosecutors accountable and demand they do their jobs.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Maddening, chilling, heartbreaking.

This riveting story broke my heart. I could not stop listening, even though I was often either angered or in tears. As a child, I grew up in Detroit during this tumultuous and horrifying time. I was the same age group as these children. It was the first time we knew of ‘stranger danger’ and everyone I knew was scarred and changed by it. I am deeply ashamed of Oakland County’s behavior in this story. Having lived there, too, I can personally vouch for their poor behavior. There role in this doesn’t surprise me a bit.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written and read

Crimes against children are particularly disturbing, and so this story is not an easy one to digest. It is a detailed account of the rationale behind determining the identity of the perpetrator(s). It held my interest throughout the hours of listening as Carrington MacDuffie delivered an outstanding interperative performance. I look forward to hearing additional audiobooks from both the author and narrator.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It's a very hard story to hear.

There is a lot of detail given in some places. Some I wish were left out. =(

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

snow killings

this book was about so much more than a few snow killings. I read the description ahead of time and I still want ready for this one. the author did a superb job of investigative work. for this year's old child case. and the stupid reasons it's remained unsolved for so many years is possibly as horrifying as the murders themselves. almost!!
the narrator did a great job. at times she was a bit monitor but how does one read a police file any other way? they're not exciting.
this is a true story.. horrific true story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A very well written book that shows great compassion for the families

I was born around the time these murders took place. I remember my family talking about it in the early 80’s and my dad explaining why he would not let me ride my bike into town alone and how awful things can happen as we lived near the area these things happened.

This book sadly reveals how Lady Justice in not blind as we have been told and there are two different tiers of the justice system — one is in place to protect those in high positions.

As hard as this was to hear, the book was laid out and told so well, Witt great compassion for the victims families.

There really is no such thing as closure but I think this book tells the truth about who did it. May God give grace and peace to families.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Clear and concise perspective…

I found myself having to stay on it and listen to the end to find out if the killer or killers where figured out. There are so many twist and turns revealed through out the investigation. This was a gripping tale of tragedy made all the more exacerbated by the clear problems this country has when more than one agency aren’t cooperative and forthcoming with information gleamed from their parts of the investigation. As always, sadly the victims and their families are further injured by this lack of cooperative professionalism, and lack of communication. Anytime Political motives are present…everyone loses except the Politician.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good

Good Excellent narrator, story matter poignant and impacting! Unbelievably heartbreaking and disappointed that answers took so long.

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