Like A Moth To a Flame

In this book, the forensic pathologist Dr William J. Allender presents a selection of case stories from the many that he was involved with over the years. Some have led to successful prosecutions and some haven’t. Like a Moth to the Flame looks at cases where good girls have become involved with bad boys. Unfortunately, matters become even more intense and extremely dangerous when controlling behaviour, in some cases coupled with drugs, become involved in such relationships. Then, the naive ‘moth’ (the victim) ventures too close to the ‘flame’ (the offender) with the most disastrous results, often with serious injury (physical and/or mental) or, at its worst, death. Included is a number of earlier cases for example, (‘Brides in the Bath murders,’ ‘The Black Dahlia’) and later stories such as (‘Fifteen Floor Fatality,’ ‘A Fiery Fiend’) because they are relevant to the theme of the book in that they illustrate how dark forces, if not constrained, can dominate their victims to the point of ruin and very often death; hence the phrase and title of the book Like a Moth to a Flame, which means to be irresistibly and dangerously attracted to someone or something.

As a forensic toxicologist, William Allender has been called to give expert witness evidence in a number of very high profile cases involving drug overdoses and poisons (including pesticides), in which those substances have been used in suicides and murder. This is his third book .

Introduction............................................................................13 1. Brides in the Bath Murders.......................................................17 2. The Chorus Girl Mystery: Death of Mamie Stuart....................29 3. The ‘ Pyjama Girl’ Mystery: The Murder of Linda Agostini.........39 4. The Black Dahlia: Who Murdered Elizabeth Short?..................47 5. Arsenic in the Air: The Marcus Marymont Case........................61 6. A Dog and a Dame in a Ditch: Who Murdered Maureen McLaughlin?..............................................................67 7. A Cry in the Night: A Misplaced Love......................................73 8. Affairs of the Heart and Poison: Almost a Victim.......................81 9. The Case of the One-Armed Would-Be Rapist........................85 10. The Lady in the Bath Water: Death of an ‘ Angel of Mercy’ ........89 11. A Bad Night at the Tavern: Who Killed Tiffany Graham?..........95 12. Death on the High Seas: The Dianne Brimble Case................103 13. Mystery Cliff Top Fall: The Sarah Rawson Case......................121 14. Sex, Drugs and a Body in the Bush: The Pia Navida Case....... 129 15. Butchery and Body Parts: The Murder of Nicole Grant.......... 135 16. Almost a Murder: The ‘ Romeo and Juliet’ Case....................... 145 17. Tulips for Holly: Death of a ‘ Wild Child’ ................................. 155 18. The Body in the Bay: Who Killed Katrina Ploy?..................... 169 19. The ‘ Ice Man’ Cometh: The Jessica Silva Case......................... 175 20. The Wife over the Cliff Killer: The Desmond Campbell Case. 181 21. Fifteenth Floor Fatality: The Simon Gittany Case.................... 191 22. The Tinder Killer: The Alexander Villaluna Case..................... 211 23. The Baseball Bat Brute: The Glenn Cable Case....................... 219 24. The Fiery Fiend: A Case of Familicide.................................... 227 Epilogue................................................................................. 233 Acknowledgements................................................................ 234 References & Further Reading............................................... 235