Post by Helen Dagner on May 5, 2012 22:16:53 GMT -5
The Oakland County Child *Killer~Written by Michael L. Parrott-Who Was Really Dr. Bruce Danto~
I got a chance to read this book in one sitting tonight--before I
had only read parts of it and never sat down and read the thing cover
to cover. Before I send it, here is an overview. The book is a
fictionalized account based on the factual OCCK child murders. The
book, published in 1980, was written by Michael L. Parrott, described
as a graduate of Wayne State University who, at the time, was working
as a writer, photographer and film producer. This was his first, and
as far as I can determine, his only novel. Although the book
contains the standard statement that "ll the characters in this
book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons living or
dead is purely coincidental," you will see when you read the book
that this is hardly the case. For example, the psychiatrist "Dr.
Elliot Denton" is Dr. Bruce Danto, etc. The author did a lot of
factual research and it is reflected on almost every page of the book.
The book is fascinating to me in one sense only. Are the book's
premises purely fictionalized, based on possible suspects and
possible scenarios (and pieced together through various media
reports, but he connects the dots using literary license), or are
they based on theories and/or scenarios that were based on rumors
that actually "had legs"? In other words, is this a guy sitting at a
desk, reading news accounts and recalling details based on having
lived in the area and then spinning it, or is he someone who got wind
of possibilities from real sources and extrapolated somewhat
accurately from there? I realize anyone would probably read this
book and say it was simply fiction based on plausible theories that
had some basis in fact. For example, the killer in this book ends up
being a Catholic priest--and I am sure the task force and subsequent
investigations looked at priests who were alive in 1977, but deceased
by 1978 or 1979. This priest commits suicide at the end of the book--
and I believe there was a pastor (I don't believe he was Catholic)
who was questioned in these cases, left Michigan and then soon after
killed himself. There was also a Catholic priest who was arrested in
1977 or 1978 for sexually abusing two boys who was initially loosely
linked with the OCCK cases, but ultimately cleared of any involvement
in those murders. (He was convicted of sexual abuse, spent time in
jail and then went on to abuse other boys as he was moved from parish
to parish over the decades after his release from prison.) These are
examples of possibilities that led to the author's fictionalization.
In the book the police kill a suspect who they believe was the OCCK
because he was crazy and they believed he would simply spend a few
years "in the nut house" and then roam the streets again. No one is
the wiser, the task force shuts down within 2 months due to lack of
progress and lack of funds, and the public ultimately lets go of the
deal because there are no more murders. I know it all sounds as
crazy as someone who would commit these murders, but when crimes like
these remain forever unsolved they are always open to deep speculation.
A final interesting point--the killer (the priest) is showing his
photography at an small art gallery during the relevant time period
and even stops by the place late one evening for drinks with the
gallery owner. Again, call me crazy, call this stuff pure fiction,
or call it simply loosely based on news articles from the relevant
time period. Call it what ever you want.
I got a chance to read this book in one sitting tonight--before I
had only read parts of it and never sat down and read the thing cover
to cover. Before I send it, here is an overview. The book is a
fictionalized account based on the factual OCCK child murders. The
book, published in 1980, was written by Michael L. Parrott, described
as a graduate of Wayne State University who, at the time, was working
as a writer, photographer and film producer. This was his first, and
as far as I can determine, his only novel. Although the book
contains the standard statement that "ll the characters in this
book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons living or
dead is purely coincidental," you will see when you read the book
that this is hardly the case. For example, the psychiatrist "Dr.
Elliot Denton" is Dr. Bruce Danto, etc. The author did a lot of
factual research and it is reflected on almost every page of the book.
The book is fascinating to me in one sense only. Are the book's
premises purely fictionalized, based on possible suspects and
possible scenarios (and pieced together through various media
reports, but he connects the dots using literary license), or are
they based on theories and/or scenarios that were based on rumors
that actually "had legs"? In other words, is this a guy sitting at a
desk, reading news accounts and recalling details based on having
lived in the area and then spinning it, or is he someone who got wind
of possibilities from real sources and extrapolated somewhat
accurately from there? I realize anyone would probably read this
book and say it was simply fiction based on plausible theories that
had some basis in fact. For example, the killer in this book ends up
being a Catholic priest--and I am sure the task force and subsequent
investigations looked at priests who were alive in 1977, but deceased
by 1978 or 1979. This priest commits suicide at the end of the book--
and I believe there was a pastor (I don't believe he was Catholic)
who was questioned in these cases, left Michigan and then soon after
killed himself. There was also a Catholic priest who was arrested in
1977 or 1978 for sexually abusing two boys who was initially loosely
linked with the OCCK cases, but ultimately cleared of any involvement
in those murders. (He was convicted of sexual abuse, spent time in
jail and then went on to abuse other boys as he was moved from parish
to parish over the decades after his release from prison.) These are
examples of possibilities that led to the author's fictionalization.
In the book the police kill a suspect who they believe was the OCCK
because he was crazy and they believed he would simply spend a few
years "in the nut house" and then roam the streets again. No one is
the wiser, the task force shuts down within 2 months due to lack of
progress and lack of funds, and the public ultimately lets go of the
deal because there are no more murders. I know it all sounds as
crazy as someone who would commit these murders, but when crimes like
these remain forever unsolved they are always open to deep speculation.
A final interesting point--the killer (the priest) is showing his
photography at an small art gallery during the relevant time period
and even stops by the place late one evening for drinks with the
gallery owner. Again, call me crazy, call this stuff pure fiction,
or call it simply loosely based on news articles from the relevant
time period. Call it what ever you want.