NIGHTCRAWLER (A True Crime Short)

Mark Gado

NIGHTCRAWLER COVER2 no R w cr

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Released: 12/09/2011

In Brief

They died because they did not satisfy him sexually and so the giant of a man justified their deaths. What he did with them afterwards shocked and appalled the entire city.

He was on the football and wrestling teams in high school — a giant of a man, a US Army veteran and a college student who dreamed of the day when he would become a teacher. He also had a deep sexual compulsion to kill … again and again. He was a cold, ruthless murderer who preyed on the weak and deceived the police at almost every turn. When his most terrible secret was finally revealed, an entire city was left in shock and grief. How and why could such a thing happen?

Mark Gado was a detective with the City of New Rochelle Police Department in New York for 29 years and also a federal agent assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force from 1997 to 1999. During that assignment, he received the International Award of Honor in New Orleans. Mark was named Investigator of the Year 2000 and received dozens of other awards and commendations during his long police career.

Mark Gado’s first book, Killer Priest: The Crimes, Trial, and Execution of Father Hans Schmidt, was published by Praeger in March, 2006. Killer Priest is the terrifying true story of the only Catholic priest in American history to be executed for murder. Gado’s second book, Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, was published by Praeger in November 2007. His 2011 short true crime eBook MOM: The Killer was a Kindle bestseller.

Gado has been a writer for more than 20 years. His award-winning work has appeared in numerous publications and on websites, including truTV’s Crime Library.

From the best true crime authors in the business, many of whom have seen their books made into major motion pictures, comes Crimescape® — a new collection of compelling short nonfiction crime e-books from leading independent e-book publisher RosettaBooks. Taking readers into the dark heart of the criminal mind and the tense hunt to bring perpetrators to justice, Crimescape® authors stand apart from other true crime writers because they have personal experience in crime investigation, whether as police detectives, investigative reporters, forensics professionals or criminal psychologists. As riveting storytellers, Crimescape® authors’ short nonfiction eBooks give readers all the information they need to understand relevant clues and the interwoven influences in each criminal case.

Foreword by Marilyn Bardsley

NIGHTCRAWLER is a story you’ll never forget. It is about a psychopathic killer who lives with his shockingly dysfunctional parents, both of whom have respectable careers, in a house so choked with trash that the powerful odor of human decomposition goes unnoticed. It is also a fascinating portrait of a killer who thinks of himself as a nice guy, someone who is convinced his homicidal anger is justified because his victims cheated him by not fully satisfying his sexual needs.

Former Detective Mark Gado’s 29 years with the City of New Rochelle Police Department inNew Yorkand two years as a federal agent on a Drug Enforcement Administration task force gives him a perspective on murder that few other true crime writers have. He leads you into the depths of a two-year investigation as women went missing without a trace and then into a bleak and horrifying crime scene. Gado is an excellent storyteller, bringing together the details of brutal murder, a frustrated community, and the police investigators who had the thankless job to uncover the fate of the missing women.

Gado’s first book, Killer Priest, the true story of the only Catholic priest in American history to be executed for murder, was published by Praeger in March 2006. His second book, Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, was published by Praeger in November 2007. His 2011 short true crime eBook MOM: THE KILLER is a Kindle bestseller.

As a writer for more than 20 years, Gado has created works that have appeared on numerous websites and in many publications, including Time Warner’s truTV Crime Library. Like many of his law-enforcement colleagues, Gado joined the rescue effort at Ground Zero immediately after September 11. He is also a U.S. Army combat veteran ofVietnam, 1967-1968.

About Mark Gado

Former Detective Mark Gado’s 29 years as with the City of New Rochelle Police Department in New York and two years as a federal agent on a Drug Enforcement Administration task force gives him a perspective on murder that few other true crime writers have. During his D.E.A assignment, he received the International Award of Honor in New Orleans, Louisiana. Gado was also named Investigator of the Year 2000 and received dozens of other awards and commendations during his long police career.

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