In Plain Sight: The Kaufman County Prosecutor Murders

On January 31, 2013, in the small town of Kaufman, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Dallas, a lone gunman dressed in black, with a black hood and black netting across his face shot and killed Assistant District Attorney Mark Haase as he was walking to his office. The gunman pushed and spoke to him before shooting him 8 times with two pistols in plain daylight in front of several witnesses and then was driven away by an accomplice. Two months later, the morning before Easter, a gunman walked into the home of Mark’s boss, DA Mike McLelland and shot both him and his wife, Cynthia with two AR15 rifles. The were hit with 20 bullets even after they had fallen dead. The table was already set and Easter baskets were already prepared for a family get-together. Kaufman rarely had to investigate a murder. Now it had three in 2 months. And, two were District Attorneys along with one of their wives. For the first, the Rangers sent help and the FBI assigned two agents. After the second, the investigation swelled to hundreds and the FBI made it their top priority for the nation. A rumor spread that it was the Arian Brotherhood and hundreds of tips poured in relating to that. Others suggested it was a Mexican drug cartel. Investigators looked through the DA’s case files for any potential clues. And there was one local name that kept coming up from locals, but others who knew him declared that it couldn’t possibly be him. Kathryn Casey has researched her subject in great detail, both the details of the crime and investigation but also the stories of the main participants. She attended the trials. She was able to interview the perpetrators in prison (though they had refused any media interviews before her). He writing is detailed and she doesn’t leave any loose ends. If anything, she probably could have edited the book to be a bit shorter but I can’t complain about the results. If you like true crime, this is a very good one.

Excellent read, Kathryn Casey delivers another well researched, well written true crime story .. She gives us the why on these shocking crimes and the devastating effects on those involved as well as the community.. 5 star read for true crime lovers..

Well written and descriptive but easy to read story. Recommended.