''Body Count: The Terrifying True Story of the Spokane Serial Killer'' is a non-fiction book released in December 2012 by

Pinnacle Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender Gr ...

and written by the crime writer

Burl Barer Burl Barer (born 1947 in Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author, literary historian and radio host. He is best known for his writings about the character Simon Templar. Career Fiction ''The Saint'' ''The Saint: A Complete History in ...

about the American serial killer

Robert Lee Yates Robert Lee Yates Jr. (born May 27, 1952) is an American serial killer from Spokane, Washington. From 1975 to 1998, Yates is known to have murdered at least 11 women in Spokane. Yates also confessed to two murders committed in Walla Walla in 1975 ...

from

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

. It was first published in 2002, and then updated and re-released 10 years later.

Storyline

Robert Lee Yates, Jr. was the father of five, an Air National Guard pilot who served in

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, and someone no one suspected as a killer. But at night, he prowled the streets where prostitutes gathered. The book follows the four-year investigation, describing it as a "process of elimination" to solve it. The book covers how Yates was finally caught and the effect Yates's double life had on his family. After a trial in 2002, Yates was convicted of killing two women and sentenced to death. In 2000, he pleaded guilty to 13 other murders and was given a sentence of 408 years. The author appeared in 2010 on

BlogTalkRadio BlogTalkRadio is a web-based platform that allows podcasters and radio sites and talk show hosts to create live and on-demand talk format content for distribution on the web and podcast distribution channels. Its claim to fame is a web-based 'st ...

's "True Murder" show to talk about the book and the lengthy investigation, telling radio host Dan Zupansky that he gained access to the law enforcement task force that gave him a behind-the-scenes look to the investigation." Barer had a personal connection to the killer, as Yates's first victims were friends of the author's family in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

.Remote View of a Serial Killer , ''Psychology Today''
/ref>

References

External links

Publisher's ''Body Count'' page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Body Count 2012 non-fiction books American biographies Non-fiction books about serial killers American non-fiction books Books about Washington (state) 2002 non-fiction books Pinnacle Books books