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Friday, December 28, 2012

Brandi Hungerford: A "Pretty Bad Girl."

Crime writer Camille Kimball on set for Pretty Bad Girls on ID
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Show: Pretty Bad Girls
Episode title: Hungry Heart
Main character: Brandi Hungerford
Network: Investigation Discovery
Date: Friday, December 28, 2012

9:30 pm or CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS



 Tonight, Friday December 28, 2012, Investigation Discovery debuts a new episode on Brandi Hungerford.  That's me, getting set up for my interview with the "Pretty Bad Girls" crew.





Brandi was one of those petite young women with thick long hair that makes them a "10" for a lot of admirers.  She started off her adventure into adulthood after high school with a short-lived attempt at higher education. She quickly turned to stripping instead.

And a highly dangerous form of stripping, at that. Brandi was paid to visit men privately, often in a hotel room, where she'd do her dance while the man often, ahem, kept his hands to himself, so to speak.

Or not. Only Brandi really knows what went on between her and her clients.


Robert Donald Lemke II
Robert Donald Lemke II



While Brandi played the vixen for lonely men, she herself fell under the spell of another skin trade worker, Robert Lemke.  Lemke was an aggressive young man with plans and schemes and very bulky muscles. Their attraction for each other was intense.

While these two were taking their clothes off and bumping and grinding away for hire, television sets all around the area of Tempe, Arizona and surrounding Phoenix communities were regularly blaring out commercials for auto glass replacement. The beaming face of entrepreneur Rick Chance would offer you a substantial batch of free restaurant meals, if only you'd allow him to replace your windshield when it caught a rock.

Rick was a born salesman, an idea man, a pursuer of dreams. And his hard work had brought him quite a comfortable lifestyle.

Rick was never one to stay in the same gear for long. By the time Brandi Hungerford crossed his path, Rick had set his sights on the jewelry business.

In a scheme notable for both its brutality and its clownish errors, Rick Chance would lose his life to this pair, his corpse discovered in a hotel room by maids, a briefcase full of jewelry dribbling clues as police chased Brandi and Robert on the lam to the Pacific Northwest.

I'll let Pretty Bad Girls fill you in on the rest of the story.

Brandi happens to make an appearance in my book, WHAT SHE ALWAYS WANTED, which is about Marjorie Orbin. Brandi, housed in the same jail for awhile, became a lesbian lover of convicted dismemberment murderer Marjorie. And then, this girl who marched boldly into hotel rooms of strange men and plotted a murder of her own, became afraid of Marjorie. 

When Pretty Bad Girls came to town, they set up a green screen while we talked. So we can expect some fancy post-production effects. I rather expect some actors will be playing out my words behind my head while I speak. I do hope I was coherent. In order to keep the sound quality pristine, the crew turned off the air conditioning!  This was in the summer time in Phoenix. It's a wonder they didn't have to call an ambulance for me by the time we were through.  A business suit, a small room, and TV lights do not mix well with unabated heat!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Baby Gabriel's Daddy Did Not Leave the Baby


Pssst! Going to jail, buying documents, and everything else it takes to get this kind of info for the blog takes time and money! Every time you make a purchase here, it helps me be able to do more for you!


Now that the Elizabeth Johnson story has hit Huffpo and other venues, a lot of people are newly enraged upon seeing the story for the first time. And once again I find myself defending a man who got dragged down into a crime story by a mesmerizing woman.  Logan McQueary is the father of Baby Gabriel. Many commenters on the net are venting some of their rage at him.

Here's a typical one:


A lie's a lie, even if everyone believes it.
18 hours ago (11:34 PM)
"Yeah, sweetie, I'm leaving you and the baby so you can get your life back together. Later!"

And then he leaves the obvious mental case with the baby. Can we say "contraceptives?"

And another:


Fighting ignorance makes you an enemy of the right
21 hours ago ( 9:18 PM)
"i am confused, he left her with the child, did not want to put it up for adoption, sooo did he expect her to take care of it without him and then come and go as he pleased? not excusing what she has done but if the father did what it appears from this article he must not have cared for the child that much."
**************

These comments can only come from newcomers to the case, which we have many of starting today.  Here is a quick recap for them of Logan McQueary's conduct during Gabriel's life and disappearance.  This is information presented at trial and undisputed by her lawyer.

Logan was in jail on a skipping probation charge when Gabriel was born. Logan used his work-release time to go to the hospital to visit the baby and his mother every day, including the day he was born.  The being in jail part is not a feather in his cap but it also demonstrates he made a big effort NOT to abandon his child. As soon as Logan was out of jail, he created a two parent family for Gabriel and lived with Elizabeth. Neighbors testified they often saw him working on the house (trailer) with the baby in his stroller nearby while daddy watched over him. Elizabeth, the neighbors testified, was not seen in a similar manner. 
Logan McQueary testifying. His quiet sadness came through,

There was disallowed evidence that even when she was with the baby, Elizabeth was often in the other room while Logan took care of him. This info was disallowed not because it was not reliable, but because the prosecution was not allowed to argue whether or not Elizabeth was a good mother or even loved her child. 

By the time he was 7 months old, Gabriel's parents were bickering so much that Logan left. Elizabeth told him to "take that thing with you." "That thing" was their infant. While the "that thing" comment was not allowed in court (too inflammatory), Logan did pack up the baby and leave with him that morning. A few hours later, cops came looking for him, saying Elizabeth had reported the baby kidnapped by his father.  Logan was forced to return the baby to Elizabeth. He requested the police accompany him to her house. Gabriel was handed over to Elizabeth under this escort. 

The next day, Elizabeth --without Logan's consent or knowledge-- took the baby to a woman named Tammi Smith and began conspiring with her ways to adopt the baby out without Logan's consent. For about 10 days, this young father did not know where his baby was. And during this time, Elizabeth yet again reported to police that Gabriel had been kidnapped by Logan!  All the while, Elizabeth knew very well the baby was with Tammi because she delivered him to her. 

Logan attempted relief in Family Court. Elizabeth made nice with Logan for one night and in court maneuvered for Joint Custody. In a snap decision he must surely regret forever, the judge in the custody case awarded the split custody. The judge never knew that the baby was right that minute at Tammi's house, being plotted over with fake paternity documents. 

The very day after this joint custody decision, Elizabeth cleaned out her bank account, picked up the baby from Tammi and skipped town. A few days of confusion followed as Tammi manipulated Logan's understanding of Elizabeth's whereabouts and her intentions. But after just 4 days, Logan went back to court and was granted Sole Custody of Baby Gabriel. 

It was too late now. Elizabeth was alone in San Antonio, her rage growing and her determination never to let Logan have his baby boiling over.  When she first texted Logan--who did not know how to reach her since she did not have her own phone at the time she skipped--that she had killed the baby, he did not believe her. But his terror at her words made him contact police.

So for all the newcomers to the case who believe that Baby Gabriel's father cavalierly left his son with a distraught mother, here is the real information. Maybe he fell in love with the wrong girl and maybe he made some blunders, but at no time, starting before Gabriel was born, did Logan McQueary ever abandon his baby.

There are heartwrenching electronic conversations between the two young parents where Logan begs Elizabeth for custody. Her adoption scheme was carried out against his will, without his knowledge. Elizabeth Johnson even reported the baby kidnapped by his own grandaddy on a day when Logan's father, by Logan's request, picked up Gabriel from daycare.  All evidence shows that Logan actively cared for the baby and so did his extended family. He tried to salvage his relationship with Elizabeth but after being reported as a kidnapper, having your dad reported as a kidnapper, and the baby flat out disappearing, who wouldn't want to split up? 

Follow me at twitter @CamilleKimball to read my tweets from inside the courtroom, just a few feet away from the defendant. 



Pssst! Going to jail, buying documents, and everything else it takes to get this kind of info for the blog takes time and money! Every time you make a purchase here, it helps me be able to do more for you!




Friday, September 28, 2012

Camille...a True Crime Hottie????!!!



Burl Barer is a scary outlaw who wields a wicked...keyboard.  An acclaimed writer whose life veers dizzyingly between fiction and non-fiction, mashing the two together with his use of real and non-real names in the opposite genres like literary bumper cars, Burl has dared me to come on his radio show!

Burl Barer, ImaginePublicity


Let's hope I can hold my own as I am now officially designated a True Crime Hottie!  Holy smokes, did I just say that? I promise, I'm just quoting Burl! My debut is tomorrow (Sat. Sep 29th, 2012) at 2 pm Pacific, 5 pm Eastern.  Here's the link with the details...and the spot to listen in. http://outlawcrime.com/

Burl and I are officially colleagues by both appearing in the true crime anthology Masters of True Crime. 

I've read Burl's story in this collection. His is #7, The Alaska Mail-Bomb conspiracy. Boy, can this guy write. I dare you to read the first paragraph (his story starts on page 97) and not be hooked.

You might be so in the mood for true crime by the time he's done with you, you'll just be swept along into reading story #8, The Trophy Wife, right after. **darts eyes around slyly**   Hey, Burl, does that make you my opening act?!

I can't believe I said that, either!  Burl just brings out the ornery in me. See, I can't match the guy in wit, I'm gettin' all jittery, what to do???!!!

In all seriousness, I am very honored to be included in the same collection as this very fine and highly accomplished writer. I am thrilled that he has invited me on his show. And I'm definitely quaking at the knees to face him on the radio!

Will he ask me about the no-body case that I wrote about in Masters of True Crime? 

 Or will he hit me up on the trial I'm currently attending (also a no-body case--see posts on #ElizabethJohnson #BabyGabriel)? 

Or will he take me down the trail of Hollywood, screenplays, and the nitty-gritty of Writing For a Living?

Hey, why not download a kindle copy of Masters of True Crime and have questions ready for us?

 




Hope to hear from you...on Outlaw Crime Radio!

For your convenience, a sampling of other books by Burl Barer. Click to buy: