Vanished At Sea by Tina Dirmann

Vanished At Sea,the true crime book by Tina Dirmann the true story of Skylar Deleon, a former child actor on the TV series Power Rangers, who was charged with the 2004 double murder of a wealthy retired couple in Long Beach, California.
It was supposed to be blue skies and smooth sailing for Thomas and Jackie Hawks. A retired probation officer and a stay-at-home mom, they were looking forward to entering the next phase of their golden years. Their plan was to sell their home—a 55-foot, $435,000 yacht—and start a new life on land and spend as much time with their grandchildren as possible.The Hawks were thrilled when a young man named Skylar Deleon wanted to buy the boat for himself, his wife, and their two kids. Little did Thomas and Jackie know that this unemployed,former childhood actor and dishonorably discharged Marine had another devious plan in mind:to lure the couple out to sea, force them to sign away their life savings, throw them overboard, and leave them to die.

I finished reading this book a few days ago but could only post my review now because of all the Easter happenings and then wonder of wonders,my blog was nominated for the One Lovely Blog award so of course I had to immediately post on the good news.

I read this book literally in one sitting.A really well written and easy reading book.I loved the fact that it delved quite deeply into the early life of the main people namely the Hawks who were the victims and also provided a detailed and interesting few chapters on the early life of Skylar the alleged murderer.I say alleged because the book does not provide the final details and courtcase of Skylar but it does mention that the state was going to seek the death penalty in their case against him.I have to add though that I did not feel that I missed out on not having the court details because for me that usually just means a re hash of all the details which you gain though the investigation.This book provides all of these investigation details and I am completely sure that he will be charged with the murder of this innocent couple.

Tina Dirmann does take the reader through the trial of Skylar's wife,Jennifer,who you will find as you read the story,that even though she did not commit the murderous act herself,was very instrumental in leading this couple to their early death.

I got shivers as the witnesses explained how this couple was killed.I think that the way this couple was killed must be one of the worst ways to die.I cannot imagine what was going through their minds when they were sitting tied up together knowing how these people were going to kill them.I am terrified at the very thought of having to go through something like that.I fully agree with Skylar Deleon getting the death penalty.

I would recommend reading this book and in fact any of Tina Dirmann's books on true crime as she is excellent at drawing the reader into the tale.
If you would like to find out more about this book then South African readers can go to Kalahari Books or to get other readers' reviews on this book then access the Amazon link below
Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

Country: United States of America
Format: Mass market paperback
Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc.
Publication date: January 2008
Pages: 248
Illustrations: Illustrated

I read this book in April 2009 and it has 8 pages of photographs and I got really angry thinking how a bunch of lazy pipsqueaks destroyed the lives of these two hardworking people(and their families') who waited so long to have their dream of owning and retiring on their yacht.

Such Good Boys by Tina Dirmann

AN ABUSIVE MOTHER
Raised in the suburb of Riverside, California, twenty-year-old college student Jason Bautista endured for years his emotionally disturbed mother' s verbal and psychological abuse. She even locked him out of the house, tied him up with electrical cord, and on one occasion, gave him a beating that sent him to the emergency room. His fifteen-year-old half brother Matthew Montejo also was a victim to Jane Bautista' s dark mood swings and erratic behavior, but for some reason, Jason received the brunt of the abuse-- until he decided he' d had enough...

A SON' S REVENGE
On the night of January 14, 2003, Jason strangled his mother. To keep authorities from identifying her body, he chopped off her head and hands, an idea he claimed he got from watching an episode of the hit TV series The Sopranos. Matthew would later testify in court that he sat in another room in the house with the TV volume turned up while Jason murdered their mother. He also testified that he drove around with Jason to find a place to dump Jane' s torso.

A CRIME THAT WOULD BOND TWO BROTHERS
The morning following the murder, Matthew went to school, and Jason returned to his classes at Cal State San Bernardino. When authorities zeroed in on them, Jason lied and said that Jane had run off with a boyfriend she' d met on the Internet. But when police confronted the boys with overwhelming evidence, Jason confessed all. Now the nightmare was only just beginning for him...

This book will make you believe in the saying "you reap what you sow" and as a mother this book has put some more doubts and worries into my mind as to whether I am raising my children properly.This is what I love about true crime books.Because the stories are real life stories,true crime books provide an insight into what can go wrong,what you can do to avoid certain situations and much much more.True crime authors have to be especially gifted at writing these books as the climax of a true crime story has already happened.You know before you start reading who murdered who.These true crime authors do not have the advantage of keeping their readers enthralled with the prospect of finding out what happens in the end.So they have to be really talented to keep you reading and in my opinion most of them are.But not just anyone can become a true crime writer.

Tina Dirmann tells this story exactly like it is.There are no added frills.It is straight forward and factual and I personally love this style of writing.This books starts with a very brief chapter on how the body is discovered and then goes back in time to detail the events in the two boys' lives until they eventually murder their mother.

I do not believe in physical punishment of children so it follows then that I absolutely hate any form of abuse against children so I was unable to muster any sympathy for the murder victim.

I do believe that more should have been done by neighbors and friends.A little bit of interference could have gone a long way to changing the outcome of this story.Many people are reluctant to report abuse as they feel they are involving themselves in matters that are internal and private to another family.

As a mother I would like my neighbors to report any abuse they might see in my home.What if I have a mental disease and cannot see what I am doing wrong? As a mother I would want my childrens' needs to come first and for them to be protected.

The murder victim was definitely suffering from some kind of mental breakdown and in that state of mind was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong.The people close to the family should have done something.

To sum up the book,it is well written but any mother will feel an emotional tug at her heart when reading this book.You will be faced once more by the enormous responsiblities laid at our door once we become a parent and hopefully in most cases we can congratulate ourselves on maybe not a perfect job in raising our children but in the fact that we are doing our very best and hopefully that this very best is good enough for our kids.

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I read this book in September 2007
Book has 245 pages and 8 pages of photographs.Included are photos of the victim and her two sons.