Heather’s Bookshelf: Death Space: The true story of a deaf serial killer at Gallaudet University
Author: Teresa Crowe
Released: 05/18/22
Genre: True Crime
“I don’t know how I chose them. There was an angel on one shoulder telling me to be helpful and friendly and nice. Then there was a devil on the other shoulder, giving me a violent image. I’d try to control it, but I couldn’t.”
“Death Space: The true story of a deaf serial killer at Gallaudet University” takes place starting in the fall semester of 2000 at Gallaudet University, a University designed for hard of hearing and deaf individuals. When a student, Eric Plunkett, is found dead, it sets the school and community into chaos.
When a second student is found dead, the police bring in experts in order to stop the killer before he can strike again. Everyone has their own theory or story about who the culprit is and no one believes it can be a member of their community or even one of their own friends! But it’s the killer himself who ends up revealing his truth and confessing to the crimes.
This story is told in three sections. The beginning tells about the victims and their friends from their perspectives. The middle is more about the investigation, suspects, and the trial. The third section centers around the author’s actual interview with the killer after he is sentenced.
Trigger Warning: violence (human and animal), murder, sexual situations
Overall, I found this story interesting. I’m a little true crime obsessed, so I jumped at the chance to read about a case and a culture I was less familiar with. A little semantics at the beginning. I understand the definition of a serial killer to be a little different than the author’s. This is a true crime story about two victims from the same community killed over a period of 6 months by the same assailant. I have no doubt this guy probably would have turned into a serial killer if not caught, but found the subtitle a little misleading. The biggest thing I enjoyed about this book is how much insider knowledge and research the author put in to it. Clearly she was a member of the community who thought this story needed to be told and did a lot of background work (plus the interview) in order to make it happen. She even has excerpts from emails between herself and the killer. However, I found many portions of the book to be repetitive, even sometimes on the same page. This slowed the pacing of the story and did not find me learning much from the middle portion of the book. I also found the ending to be rather abrupt. Since so much of this centered around Gallaudet and the community of deaf or hard of hearing individuals, I would have liked to know of any changes made on campus or changes amongst the community.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A true crime story with insider knowledge about the killer and the community affected by his crimes.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Teresa Crowe
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Find it for purchase here
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