Innocent Blood

Innocent Blood is the true story of Charles Hatcher and his life of crime—a powerful, and blood-chilling glimpse into the darkness between sanity and madness. It also chronicles a justice system gone wrong.

Throughout his criminal career Hatcher was able to fool dozens of psychiatrists, who repeatedly failed to identify him as a multiple murderer. Hatcher's astonishing skill was not just in his ability to murder and escape imprisonment. He became an expert at manipulating the criminal justice system; overall, he outwitted police, prosecutors, psychiatrists, and judges in twelve cities and eight states.

Terry Ganey first covered this story as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Later, he spent four years researching the material for this book, interviewing over seventy-five people and reviewing thousands of documents, court transcripts, prison files, police reports, and mental health records.

What emerges is a fascinating and horrifying portrait of a mass murderer at large in America—a murderer who could have stalked his victims in any of our towns and cities, whether urban or rural, large or small.

Contains mature themes.