Beware, once you start this book you can’t put it down!! I have recommended this book to all my friends and have purchased 6 copies just so I can loan them out. Sheds a lot of light on the Oswego County DA’s office!
Scrapped: Justice and a Teen Informant
by Lisa Peebles and John O'Brien
"Scrapped captures the barren roads and fallow fields of Oswego County the way Capote captured Finney County, Kansas in In Cold Blood." –Tom Barbash, New York Times bestselling author of The Dakota WintersCriminal defense lawyer Lisa Peebles was taken aback by a secretly recorded phone call and police interrogation video that surfaced in a 20-year-old kidnapping case. They held the stench of a cover-up. She recruited an investigative reporter to help unearth the truth and exonerate Gary Thibodeau, the man convicted in the 1994 kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old Heidi Allen.Scrapped: Justice and a Teen Informant exposes the underbelly of a system built more for finality than justice. It's the true story of Peebles' pursuit of new evidence against three new suspects and her discovery that Heidi had lived a double life: convenience store cashier and undercover informant. The sheriff's office hid the truth after her death as the real killers roamed free. Peebles became a de facto prosecutor to prove their guilt and Gary's innocence. As Heidi's family stood by the sheriff, her remains were likely secreted right under their noses - probably inside a scrapped van and shipped to a car shredder in Canada.
Reviews
Excellent Book!
Great book about a local tragedy
Great book about a local tragedy. I highly recommend.
Riveting read
Could not put it down. A really sad commentary on one small-town justice system. All the indicators were there that they had the wrong guy, but they relentlessly shut down efforts to correct the mistake. How can anybody be satisfied with such a fraudulent outcome?
Hard to put down
This book was written brilliantly. This book named people known to us. Previously lived in the area from D&W when Heidi disappeared. The evidence was incredible. Was this all a case of a bad coverup? I just kept reading and saying this is crazy.
A must read for anyone that wants to hear the truths.
Heartbreaking
I’m so glad this book was written. It’s so sad an innocent man sat in jail. It’s a must read ! You can’t put the book down it just gets more shocking as you turn each page.
Great read
Lots of information in this book that I never knew. Very good read.
there’s always two sides to every story
growing up near new haven, having family ties with the store owner and knowing the family personally, you never would imagine all the new twists and turns hearing it from someone else’s perspective. I feel extremely guilty for not being able to feel what the poor Thibodeau family went through. as a young girl i was there experiencing everything first hand but always wondered where is heidi? how can we make this right and close this case and put heidi to rest. so much of this information was crucial & withheld, yet who’s accountable? my condolences because two innocent people have been laid to rest, but one will not rest until justice is served. there is more to be done, but i hope the truth finally sets heidi free.
Loved it!
After following this case since the phone call hit the news and sitting in court the day Jennifer was up there like a puppet it was nice to get a behind the scenes look at things. The book brought a lot to light and confirmed other things I had suspected. I feel the ending is probably spot on and puts the cherry on top. Sadly, this is a drop in the bucket to the shady crap that’s gone on in Oswego County with their law enforcement being right in the middle of it all. Thank you for being a voice for Gary.
