Vampires Gators And Wackos

<p>Teens savagely murder a couple in the name of their vampire cult.</p><p>A sex-starved teacher cannot get enough of her young male student.</p><p>The case of a missing child keeps cops awake at night for years after his confounding disappearance.</p><p><br></p><p>During his decades-long crime coverage in Central Florida journalist Frank Stanfield covered every atrocity that man or nature could unleash.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Vampires Gators and Wackos: A Florida Newspaperman's Life</em> recounts some of the frequently craven and at times downright stupid crimes Stanfield covered during his time in the field. He somehow made it through without winding up more mental than the crackpots he tracked. However his unvarnished no-holds-barred account of news events reveals just how crazy-making a case can be when you are dead set on nailing the truth.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Here's a tip for young reporters: Don't beat the cops to a homicide. Crowds at murder scenes are sometimes wildly angry drunk high confused and looking at a face that is decidedly out of place in their neighborhood. In those days we wore nice clothes even ties if not jackets to a crime scene. 'Who are you?' they asked figuring I must be a cop because surely no sane person would show up unarmed in the middle of a melee.</em> - Frank Stanfield</p>