The Blooding

by Joseph Wambaugh

Book Overview

This title covers the tragic and brutal rape of two teenagers in the British Midlands. It covers, in every detail, the massive manhunt that ensued with a twist in the proceedings at almost every chapter.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688086179
• ISBN13: 9780688086176
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Everyone comes to life in a Wambaugh story

I'm a big fan of the forensic programs on Court TV, and I always check the date of the featured crime (almost always murder and/or rape) to see if it occurred before or after DNA testing became common in the United States. If it occurred after 1992, the perp is usually doomed. Even decades-old cases can be solved if blood/semen/saliva samples were properly stored from the crime scene. According to a prophecy in the weekly "New Scientist," there will soon be kits available that will allow police to process DNA samples in less than two hours. In "The Blooding," former policeman, Joseph Wambaugh writes about the first serial killer who was caught and convicted through the use of DNA testing: two teenage girls in the English village of Narborough were brutally raped and murdered in 1983 and 1986, and it took four years, a scientific breakthrough, and the blood of 5,000 men to capture the killer, Colin Pitchfork. DNA testing also freed the suspect who police had already jailed for the crime. On September 10, 1984, at nearby Leicester University, Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Sir Alec) discovered that each human being (except for identical twins) has a unique genetic profile. At first, his DNA profiling technique was used to sort out immigration cases. Then the Leicestershire constabulary became familiar with DNA 'fingerprinting' and collected blood from over 5,000 men in the ultimately successful search for their murderer. (By 2004, the UK had a national database of 2.5 million genetic profiles from convicted criminals. Statistics show that 38% of all crimes are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the UK national database, compared with a 24% detection rate overall. And 48% of burglaries are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the database, compared with a 14% detection rate for burglaries overall. Nowadays, even British bus drivers are issued DNA testing kits to help catch passengers who spit at them.) Wambaugh does not spend much time exploring the scientific aspects of the Narborough Village murders. He tells the interwoven stories of the victims, their families, the murderer, and most especially the policemen who were involved in the hunt. From the shadowy paths that wound past the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital to the ancient, smoke-filled pubs where the villagers spent their free hours, this author will have you living and breathing the horror of these crimes. There are a few of the patented Wambaugh belly laughs as the Leicestershire police invent their own techniques for 'blooding' the local men. One of my favorite scenes takes place after Colin Pitchfork is apprehended, and he insists on telling his bored interrogators his whole life story before he will confess to his crimes. Everyone comes to life in a Wambaugh story, but most especially the policemen. I have never been able to pick up one of this author's books without reading it through to the end, and "The Blooding" is no exception.

A must-read for fans of 'Forensic Files'

I'm a big fan of the forensic programs on Court TV, and I always check the date of the featured crime (almost always murder and/or rape) to see if it occurred before or after DNA testing became common in the United States. If it occurred after 1992, the perp is usually doomed. Even decades-old cases can be solved if blood/semen/saliva samples were properly stored from the crime scene. According to a prophecy in the weekly "New Scientist," there will soon be kits available that will allow police to process DNA samples in less than two hours. In "The Blooding," former policeman, Joseph Wambaugh writes about the first serial killer who was caught and convicted through the use of DNA testing: two teenage girls in the English village of Narborough were brutally raped and murdered in 1983 and 1986, and it took four years, a scientific breakthrough, and the blood of 5,000 men to capture the killer, Colin Pitchfork. DNA testing also freed the suspect that police had already jailed for the crime. On September 10, 1984, at nearby Leicester University, Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Sir Alec) discovered that each human being (except for identical twins) has a unique genetic profile. At first, his DNA profiling technique was used to sort out immigration cases. Then the Leicestershire constabulary became familiar with DNA 'fingerprinting' and collected blood from over 5,000 men in the ultimately successful search for their murderer. (By 2004, the UK had a national database of 2.5 million genetic profiles from convicted criminals. Statistics show that 38% of all crimes are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the UK national database, compared with a 24% detection rate overall. And 48% of burglaries are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the database, compared with a 14% detection rate for burglaries overall. Nowadays, even British bus drivers are issued DNA testing kits to help catch passengers who spit at them.) Wambaugh does not spend much time exploring the scientific aspects of the Narborough Village murders. He tells the interwoven stories of the victims, their families, the murderer, and most especially the policemen who were involved in the hunt. From the shadowy paths that wound past the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital to the ancient, smoke-filled pubs where the villagers spent their free hours, this author will have you living and breathing the horror of these crimes. There are a few of the patented Wambaugh belly laughs as the Leicestershire police invent their own techniques for 'blooding' the local men. One of my favorite scenes takes place after Colin Pitchfork is apprehended, and he insists on telling his bored interrogators his whole life story before he will confess to his crimes. Everyone comes to life in a Wambaugh story, but most especially the policemen. I have never been able to pick up one of this author's books without reading it through to the end, and "The Blooding" is no exception.

First murder/rape case solved by DNA

I'm a big fan of the forensic programs on Court TV, and I always check the date of the featured crime (almost always murder and/or rape) to see if it occurred before or after DNA testing became common in the United States. If it occurred after 1992, the perp is usually doomed. Even decades-old cases can be solved if blood/semen/saliva samples were properly stored from the crime scene. According to a prophecy in the weekly "New Scientist," there will soon be kits available that will allow police to process DNA samples in less than two hours. In "The Blooding," former policeman, Joseph Wambaugh writes about the first serial killer who was caught and convicted through the use of DNA testing: two teenage girls in the English village of Narborough were brutally raped and murdered in 1983 and 1986, and it took four years, a scientific breakthrough, and the blood of 5,000 men to capture the killer, Colin Pitchfork. DNA testing also freed the suspect that police had already jailed for the crime. On September 10, 1984, at nearby Leicester University, Dr. Alec Jeffreys (now Sir Alec) discovered that each human being (except for identical twins) has a unique genetic profile. At first, his DNA profiling technique was used to sort out immigration cases. Then the Leicestershire constabulary became familiar with DNA 'fingerprinting' and collected blood from over 5,000 men in the ultimately successful search for their murderer. (By 2004, the UK had a national database of 2.5 million genetic profiles from convicted criminals. Statistics show that 38% of all crimes are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the UK national database, compared with a 24% detection rate overall. And 48% of burglaries are detected where DNA has been loaded onto the database, compared with a 14% detection rate for burglaries overall. Nowadays, British bus drivers are issued DNA testing kits to help catch passengers who spit at them.) Wambaugh does not spend much time exploring the scientific aspects of the Narborough Village murders. He tells the interwoven stories of the victims, their families, the murderer, and most especially the policemen who were involved in the hunt. From the shadowy paths that wound past the grounds of the local psychiatric hospital to the ancient, smoke-filled pubs where the villagers spent their free hours, this author will have you living and breathing the horror of these crimes. There are a few of the patented Wambaugh belly laughs as the Leicestershire police invent their own techniques for 'blooding' the local men. One of my favorite scenes takes place after Colin Pitchfork is apprehended, and he insists on telling his bored interrogators his whole life story before he will confess to his crimes. Everyone comes to life in a Wambaugh story, but most especially the policemen. I have never been able to pick up one of this author's books without reading it through to the end, and "The Blooding" is no exception.

A fascinating Orwellian dragnet for a killer

A fifteen year old girl is raped and strangled, her body left along a footpath near an English Village called Narborough. Though a massive effort is launch to find the killer, he remains at large for years. Then the Killer strikes three years after the first murder, killing another young girl in the same brutal fashion, and leaving her body only a short distance from the first. The police do not give up, but this man continually evades detection until several years later Scotland Yard comes a calling with a new tool: DNA. The first time its was used to solve a police case, and to actually track a killer not just to reinforce a case. In a very controversial move, nearly 4000 men in and around the town of Narborough are tested, everyone from teen to old man are 'blooded' meaning their DNA of their blood is tested against the samples of the killer. Never has any police force taken such a massive Orwellian move, compelling every male able to commit the crime to come forward for testing. Even so, the killer continually evades being blooded, but it was a matter of time and dogged police work.Warbaugh's best work since The Onion Field, may be uncomfortable for some people because of the details of the murders etc, others - believers of the right of individual - will be upset with the Orwellian dragnet, but its a fascinating detailed account that often compels as repels in the same breath.

True story of first murder solved by DNA tests

This story is set in three neighbouring villages with which I am familiar. The crimes were committed in the eighties, but I only came to know the villages many years later, when I worked in Narborough (the middle of the three villages) from 1998 to 2002. I heard occasional references to these crimes, although never any in-depth conversations. Even now, the topic is too sensitive, so the only way I could find out what really happened was via this book.Wambaugh gives an excellent account of the crimes and the often futile attempts to solve them. Perhaps occasionally it is more graphic than it needs to be, describing the state of the bodies in intimate detail, but its easy to gloss over that (it is in print, not on film) and there's not too much of that. Some of the main characters, including the policemen and their suspects, are described in great detail. While some may feel that this is just padding, I feel it all helps to make it a good story.Again, plenty of pages are devoted to false leads, but this may help us to understand why detective work is never as simple as we would like it to be. At one point, after the second murder, the police think they've got their man. The parents can't believe that he would do such a thing and it is at that point that the new science of DNA testing is brought in. The parents are convinced their son in innocent. The police are convinced that he is not only guilty of that murder, but also the earlier one. Did the same man commit both murders and was this particular man guilty? The DNA test results eventually provide answers, but to find out what those answers were, you must read the book.