Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco

First of all I have to say that Virginia A. McConnell did fantastic work on the Case of William Henry Theodore Durrant and the two young victims.I thought in the last chapter of the book she speculated very well on what happened on the night Durrant supposedly murdered those young girls. But I have to remind myself it's just a speculation. I do not think Theo got a fair trial and the book gave me the impression that they wanted to hold somebody accountable than doing thorough investigation. There is no absolute proof that Durrant did these heinous crimes so the guilty verdict was not right at all!! I don't want to hold him accountable just because the media wants him to be. The was no concrete evedience to support his guilt. Besides there were no draw backs in this book from begnning to end. Durrant was a good boy and never had any strange behavior until that massive brain fever he suffered which I'm sure left his brain with sever damage and I do have sympathy for him for that. Back then very few people survived brain fever in Theodore's day. If someone did survive they were never the same. The victims of this tragic story I also have deep sympathy for and they were murdered in such tragic circumstances that never should have happened. This book is great for every crime buff...and a great story to be made into a movie!!!!

The second book by this author is even better than the first! The story gives insight into both the murderer and his victims. It was done with great care to detail to compare the cultures present and past, which is fasinating. Could a young man who seemed to have a good future ahead of him have commited these crimes? What possibly could have drove him to do something like this? If not caught, would he have become a serial killer much like modern day Ted Bundy or was it a simple crime of passion and a cover up?You MUST read this book!

This author is so good. She is amazing in the scope of her details and the depth of her research. I certainly hope she acheives her goal of becoming "The Ann Rule of Victorian True Crime."

As I have been constructing my own version of this story for years, and have at least developed an experienced sense for what is credible and what is not along the way, I am honored to be the first customer to review Virginia McConnell's book.To begin with, this is the best book cover anyone ever used for the case - and I have almost every important image ever published on it - because it is the first cover to ever show the unusual red-ocher color of the church and the great shadow it cast onto Bartlett Street. I actually spoke to a witness who claimed to see this in his youth, so it's quite impressive that someone got it right.The text of this book is just as pleasing, as it not only accurately relates what was known - expertly navigating through the contradictions and pitfalls long associated with this case - but goes well beyond by adding in documents previously missing.I was particularly impressed at the many firsts achieved here: Previous authors said the first victim, Blanche Lamont, was beautiful, but McConnell actually delivers the best photo to prove it. Blanche's face reminds me a lot of women like Britain's Kate Winslet and San Francisco's Alma Spreckels. And no other published image ever made that kind of impression on this Titanic fan.Previous authors only mentioned the mysterious Flora Upton, making it sound as if she disappeared forever, but Ms. McConnell not only traces her movements but provides us with another amazing photo. Yes indeed, Flora had an exquisite face as well.As Ms. McConnell managed to find these pictures, frequently by finding the relatives in possession of them, she was also able to flesh out the characters of the people better than they were at any time since 1895. Previous authors merely claimed there was a controversial (but apparently lost photograph) of the murderer taken at a picnic, Ms. McConnell at least provides the newspaper drawing based on it and lets you make of it what you will.Hopefully, if and when I finish my own book, a publisher will appreciate what I have discovered as well, but Sympathy for the Devil just raised the standard in a big way.