Recap #cclivechat August 24, 2012. Today, the Writing PIs joined me for a chat about their work, their books, and of course, famous cases.
Colleen Collins and Shaun Kaufman are co-owners of Highlands Investigations in Denver, Colorado. Their ebook How to Write a Dick: A Guide for Writing Fictional Sleuths from a Couple of Real-Life Sleuths is available on Kindle.
For those of you with in interest in the JonBenet Ramsey case, scroll down in the verbatim text for some exchange of idea between Colleen Collins, Shaun Kaufman, Joe Giacalone and I and why this case needs one more shot.
The next #cclivechat is on September 7. John Leake will discuss the case of Duncan MacPherson with us.
The verbatim thread is below.
Cheers!
| Vidocq_CC | It is noon at the East Coast of the USA so time for another #cclivechat! My guests: the @writingpis! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:59:53 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | The @writingpis are Colleen Collins & Shaun Kaufman. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:00:44 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | They write, they sleuth, they watch ... Colleen has written about 22 novels and 2 nonfiction books. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:01:25 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | Shaun is a trial attorney, a former PI, and co-author of one nonfiction book. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:01:55 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | Together, they run the blog Guns, Gams, and Gumshoes! http://t.co/nW7CEyXs #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:02:35 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | So how did they get started? How do they combine being a PI with running a blog and writing books? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:03:16 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:03:46 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | @Vidocq_CC they probably don't sleep much #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:04:33 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad Hey Joe! So ... Grumpy Guns, Gams and Gunshoes! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:05:37 +0000 |
| writingpis | #cclivechat Hi, we had computer/Internet problems this morning, but we're up and running again. Sorry we're late. | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:06:15 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis No problem, how are you two? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:07:00 +0000 |
| writingpis | #cclivechat Shaun had been attorney 18 years, retired, and was doing legal research. In 2003, Colleen suggested they start an agency. | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:10:07 +0000 |
| writingpis | #cclivechat We're doing well, thanks. We're on a new computer (slow) for this chat, but doing our best to sync up. Good morning, everyone. | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:11:14 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis When you started an agency, did you plan to handle only certain cases? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:11:54 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC #cclivechat We planned to primarily handle legal investigations, which evolved into domestic, surveillance & asset investigations | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:13:54 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis That sounds busy so where do you find the time to write and keep up a blog? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:16:46 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | @Vidocq_CC not just that they also write guest posts! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:17:59 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad Correct but I place that all under the header "writing." #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:19:14 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC #cclivechat Colleen's been publishing novels since '97, she's used to writing at all hours. Shaun's a multitasker extraordinaire. | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:20:13 +0000 |
| jenniferjbland | @writingpis You ever look at Background Records of what kind of Violent Offenders - etc. are right now on the streets? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:20:27 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | @Vidocq_CC ;)~ #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:20:52 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad How is your book coming along, by the way? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:21:42 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Tell us about one of your most favourite cases or book you wrote. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:22:11 +0000 |
| jenniferjbland | @Vidocq_CC @writingpis I think investigations should be done in BAD NEIGHBORHOODS - VICTIMS - MISSING PERSONS FOUND here - #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:22:40 +0000 |
| writingpis | @jenniferjbland Hi Jennifer, we don't research on an academic level. We research violent offenders if they play a role in a case #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:23:00 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Wasn't sure if u were talking to us re book, but Colleen just turned in completed ms. last week (March 2013 release) #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:24:37 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @jenniferjbland Sometimes people get killed in mansions or are found dead in castles. Crime happens everywhere. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:24:49 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Tell us more about that book, please? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:25:26 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC A fav. case: Aiding father in taking his children from drug-addicted mother. Another: Finding a son abducted by cult #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:26:01 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Colleen's book is a romance w/ PI heroine & lawyer hero (surprise!). Title: THE NEXT RIGHT THING, March 2013. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:27:06 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis I remember, you guest blogged about that on DCC. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:27:19 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Yes, we wrote about the son who'd been abducted on DCC. Other children are still in that cult, covered by Dr. Phil... #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:28:26 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis What is your take on the Rebecca Zahau case: murder or suicide http://t.co/RU7oqaFg #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:28:29 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC show this past year. We were the agency who found the location of the cult, although that wasn't shared on Dr. Phil. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:28:57 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC RE: Rebecca Zahau, we are not familiar with this case. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:29:28 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Maybe you know the case as Coronado mansion death? http://t.co/1bqNsk8L #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:31:36 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | ok, tell me about a case you wish you could have covered. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:33:12 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC We just looked at story. From the 4 hemorrhages found beneath scalp, suicide is questionable. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:35:24 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis No fracture of the cervical vertebrae [neck] worries me if she hung herself or threw herself over the balcony. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:36:55 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC A case we wish we could have covered: Jon Benet Ramsey (we live near Boulder, CO) #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:36:56 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis What would you have done differently? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:37:58 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @coldcasesquad Were you not also interested in the Ramsey case, Joe, to re-do it? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:39:08 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Do you think that Zahau could have died from anoxia? We'll answer Ramsey question next. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:41:00 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | @Vidocq_CC yes V, I did a post on the new evidence that was brought to light http://t.co/9uui4mkm #CCLiveChat I have my own opinions | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:41:05 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Maybe but how did she get herself hung? What was she standing on? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:42:19 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Differences handling Ramsey case? Tried to invoke jurisdiction of FBI b/c locals lacked CSI resources #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:42:38 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | Ironically I mentioned that I would have like to look into the Ramsey case on the radio show I did too http://t.co/e1X3Ci40 #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:43:00 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad What made the marking if not a stun gun? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:43:23 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | @Vidocq_CC It could have been made by a cooking utensil or a food temperature gauge-need a forensic tool expert to examine #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:44:52 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Joe, ideas on what would have made marking? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:44:52 +0000 |
| writingpis | @ColdCaseSquad Doubt that Boulder police did kitchen utensil inventory. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:46:00 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad Interesting! I think she was not murdered in the boiler room but placed there to keep her body warm. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:46:06 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | Cardinal rule in missing children/elderly cases-Search the entire house first before doing anything! #JonBenet #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:47:22 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | Remember the note was written in the kitchen #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:47:57 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad Right, and first officer on the scene should not take NO for an answer and search the house themselves. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:48:25 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Crime scene investigation in this case was conducted by police force accustomed to date rape & drunk in public cases #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:48:31 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad How do you explain the pineapple? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:48:45 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | The police have the Emergency Exception to a search warrant in these cases #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:49:31 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad And they should use it instead of believing a homeowner that he searched the house. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:50:46 +0000 |
| writingpis | @ColdCaseSquad Within five years previous to Benet death, Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the Emergency Exception with corpses. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:51:31 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Especially necessary to search home immediately when homeowner probably present during killing. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:52:11 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | I think it had to do with inexperience more than anything else, unfortunately. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:52:36 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad I think so too. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:53:24 +0000 |
| writingpis | @ColdCaseSquad Inexperience, agreed, and fabulous defense lawyer & investigator work on behalf of parents. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:53:54 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Are the parents completely cleared in your mind? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:54:59 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | its also a learning experience for all law enforcement-like the OJ/Knox cases-learn from others missteps #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:55:25 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Parents completely cleared in our minds? No. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:55:40 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis And the son? #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:56:40 +0000 |
| writingpis | Last famous homicide in Boulder before Benet was an on-campus killing in 1965. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:57:12 +0000 |
| writingpis | @Vidocq_CC Son not cleared in our minds, either. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:57:32 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | According to the Boulder DA, the parents have been cleared and even issued an apology #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:57:49 +0000 |
| ColdCaseSquad | I must leave good chatting with @Vidocq_CC @Writingpis in case you missed their guest post here it is http://t.co/1C3C7DQu #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:59:01 +0000 |
| writingpis | @ColdCaseSquad Funny what $800,000 in fees will get you. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:59:20 +0000 |
| writingpis | Good to chat with you, Joe. Thanks, Vidster. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:59:49 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @ColdCaseSquad Bye Joe! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:00:02 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | If you have any questions for the @writingpis, leave them in the comment box below the recap. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:00:44 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Thanks, Colleen & Shaun for being here. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:00:58 +0000 |
| writingpis | Thank you, Vidster. #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:01:51 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | @writingpis Keep me posted on the new book! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:02:42 +0000 |
| Vidocq_CC | Recap on DCC later on today or this weekend. Thanks to the @writingpis! Signing off! #cclivechat | Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:07:44 +0000 |
