Full Title: It’s Me, Edward Wayne Edwards, The Serial Killer You Never Heard Of
Category: TRUE CRIME
Publication Date: July 25, 2014
Author: John A. Cameron
Website: Cold Case Cameron
Amazon Link to Purchase: Click Here to Buy
By Melissa Antoinette Garza
John A. Cameron: Author, Investigator, and Cold Case King
John A. Cameron was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1961. After graduating, from Alexandria Minnesota Law Enforcement Academy in 1981, he was hired by the Great Falls Police department. He rose in the ranks and worked as the Sergeant within the cold case division. There, he used his analytical talents, ability to properly profile perpetrators and his astounding ability to recall facts to crack cases long forgotten by all but those who still mourned the loss of loved ones.
Cameron’s attributes combined with his keen instincts made him a go-to man for detectives even after his retirement in 2005. Only three years after saying goodbye to the force, he began working as a parole board analyst for Montana Board of Pardons and Parole in Deer Lodge Prison. It wasn’t until June of 2010 that John A. Cameron was introduced and instantly intrigued by serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards.
Edward Wayne Edwards: Serial Killer, Sadist and Sociopathic Narcissist
Edward Wayne Edwards must be one of the most horrifying men who ever walked the earth. Simply, examining the murders he admitted to and the facts that are undisputed, one can’t help but cringe. Edwards nonchalant attitude towards his heinous actions is just as chilling as the crimes themselves.
One of the clearest examples is in a rare interview that Edward gave in 2010. He explains how he plotted and carried out a plan to kill his adopted son, 21-year-old, Danny Law Gloeckner. Gloeckner admired and loved Edwards so much that he took his name. Meanwhile, Edwards looked at the young man as a commodity that he would eventually cash in on; and cash in on he did.
Edwards cold account is as follows, “I shot him in the head. I reloaded and shot him again. He didn’t even see it coming. I went back a few months later and took his head and threw it in a corn field. I did it, it didn’t bother me, and I moved on.”
Gloeckner was killed by Edwards in 1996, but that wasn’t the crime that caught up to Edwards when he was finally arrested in 2010. The murders that first shined the spotlight on him was a cold case from 1980. Two Wisconsin teens, Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew were innocent victims who met an untimely and tragic end. Though some had reason to suspect Edwards even then, he spoke with the officials and then left Wisconsin with his family.
Thirty years later, on a local NBC news station, a small piece was aired about Hack and Drew. Edwards daughter called in a tip and advised that they needed to talk to her father. This was the initial call that got the ball rolling. After some thorough investigative work and matching DNA, there was no question that Edward Wayne Edwards was the killer.
Rather than remain in prison, Edwards wanted the death penalty. To achieve this, he confessed to two more murders that took place at Silver Creek Metropolitan Park in Norton, Ohio. Twenty-one-year-old Billy Lavaco and eighteen-year-old Judy Straub were shot point-blank in the neck in August of 1977. Edwards displayed no remorse, but grew angry when he realized that the death penalty was not legal in Ohio at the time of the crime. Therefore, Edwards was sentenced to life
Suspected Additional Crimes: The Zodiac Killer, The Atlanta Child Murders and JonBenet Ramsey
During his lifetime, Edwards only confessed to those five murders, but most concur there were more casualties than he admitted to.
Cameron takes that premise a step further. In IT’S ME, EDWARD WAYNE EDWARDS, THE SERIAL KILLER YOU NEVER HEARD OF (2014), he links Edwards to some of the most high-profile cases in history. His evidence and suppositions are very compelling. The way he develops the connections to Edwards is nothing short of brilliant, and Cameron’s credentials in cold cases speak for themselves.
Though I don’t concede that Edwards is responsible for every murder mentioned in this book, I will defend Cameron as an investigator, who researched Edwards more-so than anyone else.
That said, there are many articles, websites and Reddit posts aimed at debunking Cameron’s claims. They cite everything from Edwards’ age and medical condition to the fact that Cameron links him to over 500 murders which many deem as impossible. Many critics simply point to the lack of concrete or empirical evidence supporting the claims.
I urge the reader to take in all the information and make the decision for themselves.
Overall Review and Thoughts
Plainly speaking, IT’S ME,EDWARD WAYNE EDWARDS, THE SERIAL KILLER YOU NEVER HEARD OF is a well-written,engrossing book that motivates the reader to learn more about each case. Edwards history alone is extremely fascinating and downright horrifying. Whether Edwards murdered every victim Cameron mentions or it’s false speculation, it’s still a great read.
This is a great suggestion or gift for fans of the true crime genre or conspiracy theories. It would also be an excellent discussion piece for book clubs as it invokes emotion and readers often come away with different perspectives.
