You are here
Back to topVanished: A Story of betrayal, Murder, and a father's Dying Wish (Paperback)
Description
Jana Carpenter Koklich and Bruce Koklich seemed like the ideal couple. She was an attractive 41-year-old blonde, the doted-on only child of a once-powerful California state senator. He was the dedicated and loving husband. Together they owned a lucrative Norwalk, California, real estate business, and a computer business, owned a pair of luxurious houses, and drove high-end cars.
Then in August 2001, Jana Carpenter Koklich went to an Eric Clapton concert with friends.
She was never heard from again.
Bruce Koklich painted himself as the grieving husband. He turned up on news broadcasts, tearfully pleading for his wife's safe return. But something wasn't right.
First of all, there were inexplicable money problems that police traced back to some of Bruce Koklich's shadier business dealings. Then there was the shadowy business partner who came out of the woodwork and the million dollar insurance policy on Jana Carpenter Koklich's life. Topping it all off were the supposedly grieving husband's sleazy secret attempts to bed his 18-year-old niece while his wife was secretly missing!
Eventually, those who had been close to Jana grew suspicious of the man she had married. And no one was more suspicious than her father, former State Senator Paul Carpenter. He was dying of cancer in Texas, but still found in his decaying body the strength for one last fight. It would be the fight of his life: Justice for Jana Carpenter Koklich.
Finally, in late 2003, after Jana's blood-stained car had been found, a California jury convicted Bruce Koklich for her murder and sentenced him to fifteen years to life in prison. Paul Carpenter did not live to see justice done.
About the Author
Carlton Smith (1947-2011) was the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Search for the Green River Killer: The True Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer with Tomás Guillén, about the crimes of Gary Ridgway. They were Pulitzer Prize finalists in 1988 for their investigative reporting on the case.
An award-winning journalist for The Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times during the 1970s and 1980s, Carlton was also the author of the true crime books Blood Money: The Du Pont Heir and the Murder of an Olympic Athlete and Reckless: Millionaire Record Producer Phil Spector and the Violent Death of Lana Clarkson, among many others.