Hot Blood: The Money, the Brach Heiress, and the Horse Murders

by Ken Englade

The disappearance of fabulously rich Chicago candy heiress Helen Brach and the suspicious deaths of a string of champion racehorses are linked in a celebrated scandal that has reverberated through every level of the glamorous enclaves of thoroughbred horse breeding. When widowed heiress Helen Brach suddenly disappeared on the morning of February 17, 1977, after a visit to the Mayo Clinic, she left behind a lavender Rolls-Royce, Cadillacs in red, pink, and coral, an eighteen-room mansion, and a fortune now estimated at $75 million. She also left behind a mystery that would tantalize investigators for years. When Assistant US Attorney Steven Miller assigned himself the challenge of solving the Brach case, he never imagined an investigation of the horse world would lead to a charming gigolo named Richard Bailey who made a career of romancing wealthy women out of huge sums of money, a shadowy figure called The Sandman who made his living by killing priceless horses so that their owners could collect insurance, and the ghastly murder of three children in 1955.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Horses, Crime, Mystery

441 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Kenneth F. Englade is a New Mexico-based author who has published nine books dealing with high profile trials. His latest book, Meltdown in Haditha: The Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians by U.S. Marines and the Failure of Military Justice, will be published in 2015 by McFarland & Co. He also published five historical novels dealing with the pre-Civil War West. His books have been published in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He is a veteran journalist who has worked on newspapers and for fourteen years with United Press International, including three years in Asia where he covered the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon. Beyond Reason, his book about a University of Virginia coed and her German boyfriend who conspired to kill the woman’s parents was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. From 2000-2006 he was a public information officer for the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. In 2010 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Louisiana State University School of Mass Communications in recognition of his career achievements.

Reviews

[Aingeal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the dirty underbelly of the horse world, and exposes the bleak history of the horse show world, and how far some were willing to save face and make a buck. Some of the characters involved are still trying to get reinstated back into the United States Equestrian Federation. They still board horses, and coach riders. I think everyone involved in the horse show world should read this book, it opens your eyes to the types of people found at the very shows they are showing at. There are people who were known to be guilty who are still among us who the statute of limitations ran out on, so no convictions. Ken Englade did a wonderful job researching this book and bringing to light the tragic deaths of both humans and equines. It's a real-life mystery that involves big money, high rollers, beautiful animals and some of the biggest names in the industry. To get more back-story, google "The Jayne Gang" or "Chicago Horse Mafia" for some interesting reads!

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why is this tilted the Brach murder? She goes missing, the end, no resolution. It’s a story about horse crimes and that a wealthy woman mysteriously disappears.

[Mary Pagones · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author isn't a horse person, and sadly, a horse person was really needed to make this into an engaging or educational narrative. The portrait of the horse world as a place where people kill horses for insurance money (and are willing to maim and kill humans to preserve their secrets) is sickening to any equestrian, and should be more well known and publicized than it is. But I would have liked more behind-the-scenes information about how people who made a living working with horses become killers. There's very little about the actual horses (the innocent victims) and the riding.

The entire book left me revolted, not simply with the criminals, but also the credulous owners who allowed themselves to be gulled by attractive men and bought worthless horses. Sadly, this sort of thing is still going on in the horse world today, as can be seen in the actions and words of riders who defend trainers who abuse horses and humans. But you don't really need to read the book; the Wikipedia page has enough of the grisly details.

For a well-written book about this very subject, I'd recommend Jean Slaughter Doty's The Crumb instead.

[Jan C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Reminds me how long we were obsessed (all right, maybe obsessed is a little strong) about the disappearance of Helen Vorhees Brach. And then we learned that it was only the tip of the iceberg that was the horse murders. In the area, everyone knew the Jaynes were bad news but I'm not sure how much everyone knew about the rest of the horse industry. And Kenneth Hansen shows up to play his part.

What was really interesting was to see how the FBI agents found out about the whole story.

And despite Tommy Burns being a totally despicable character who apparently only being able to tell the truth when his life depends on it I liked him. But, then, that's the thing about a con man - they are very likable.

And some of it is pretty disgusting. Why did they do it? Because, like Leopold and Loeb, they could.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dealt with multiple themes. I was raised with horses, so I am no stranger to the concept of doping horses and all the shady goings on in barns, at shows, and on the track. It is still insane to me that people are this cruel and horrible for insurance money, yet people do horrible things to other people for insurance money as well. I think the author did a good job covering those things in layman's terms, though I am certain the author was not an expert on that topic. I also didn't know anything about the Brach heiress, so that was an interesting bit to the story. I would give more Ken Englade books a shot after reading this one. I liked it.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. For a change of pace, a book that did not deal with a gruesome murder (at least not in the contents of this story), albeit the “horse murders” are gruesome. The author writes very well and this book contained a goodly amount of dialogue which makes a story more interesting, in my estimation. The author, Ken Englade writes very well. He keeps the story flowing and interesting right up to the last page.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Held my interest, Not a news report a journey into minds

I gave this book 5 stars because it caught my attention quickly in the first pages with the gruesome murder ... of a *horse*. By the time I got to the end of Book II which focused on Brach, I was ready for the book to be done. But in my opinion the author saved his best for Lindeman in Book III.

I found myself being pulled back and forth on his guilt or innocence, even though the author clearly believes he did the crime. You will cover a time frame of over 50 years with many crimes in a field which may not be familiar to you. Equestrian competition and equine insurance fraud are their own fields in themselves. The author really got me interested in learning about them in an interesting and provocative way.

The author does a good job portraying the characters’ thinking by showing who they are as people; illustrating their talk, mannerisms, physical appearance, dress and actions. It’s not like reading a boring court transcript, a trap all too many True Crime authors fall into. This book is a good solid “A.”

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it was going to be when I picked it up, but it was very interesting. I thought it was going to be solely about the disappearance of Helen Brach. That is the same thing that the investigators thought it was going to be also, but their investsigation led into the seedy world of horse murderers. I was so horrified to find out that there is such a thing as a horse hitman! People actually contract hitmen to knock off their highly insured horses that are not performing as they should. One of the men that was tied up in the horsey business (not a hitman) was a con man who preyed on lonely rich women and sold them horses that were worthless for big $, oftentimes selling the same horse to another woman at the same time. It seems that Helen caught on, but disappeared before she could blow the whistle. Definitely an interesting and eye opening read.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting story. It would be even more so if the reader had some experience with horses. The author does explain the horse business enough to understand the plot, though. There's a pretty shady group of characters that are mafia- like throughout the book. A large chunk of the story is dedicated to the investigation and trials of those involved. If you like true crime and criminal trials, you'd enjoy this book..

[Cay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not fiction. All of these unbelievable incidents actually happened. Ken Englade does a masterful job of leading us through the many twists and turns that the lead investigator followed through the dark side of the horse world as he chased down leads and assembled the facts of the case. Never a dull moment.

[Anne Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about scams and fraud in the horse industry. It was very detailed (sometimes too much so for me) and the cast of characters was huge. Thanks to the author for copious notes that made reading it easier.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shocking account about the lengths people are willing to go for money. Well written, but too long.

[Carolyn Solomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

learned about horse training

A lot of cases and people to keep straight. Author does a good job with a lot of information. Never knew the dark side of horse training.

[Chelsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years and years ago I read something about Barney Ward having been involved in horse murders for insurance money, and ever since I have wanted to read more about it. I put this book on my reading list a long time ago, but I would always kind of forget about it until I saw his son McLain Ward (who I do think is a fabulous rider) at the Olympics or some other big competition on TV…without fail I would think about the scandal in the back of my mind. Anyway, I finally found a copy of the book on eBay recently and gave it a read.

What an interesting and disturbing chain of events. I hate to think there were/are people in the horse industry who care so little about the lives and wellbeing of their animals, but I’m sure killing them for insurance money probably still goes on. I’m also surprised I’d never heard anything about the disappearance of Helen Brach before (although I wasn’t born yet at the time she disappeared). Richard Bailey’s whole schtick gives me the creeps in particular and screams of a personality disorder. The level of unscrupulous activity all around, including the murders of the 3 boys and Helen Brach, in the name of greed, is disgusting and horrifying at a level that far surpasses just the murders of the animals.

The subject matter aside, the writing of this book was just okay. There are some sports metaphors littered throughout the text that seem random and out of place. There are also a weird amount of very detailed descriptions of people eating and commentary on people’s weight. These things seemed oddly detailed and specific compared to the writing style as a whole—I’m guessing that was Mr. Englade’s reporter’s way of trying to flesh things out and make the writing more descriptive.

Overall, this was worth the read—incredibly interesting but horrible that things like this can and do happen in our world.

[Jen Signorelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but not what I thought it would be. Thought it would be more about the candy lady when in fact it was about the rich and the horse world and the scams they run.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction account of the prosecution of several individuals involved in 1- killing pedigreed horses for the insurance money, and 2- scamming victims (usually wealthy older women) into overpaying for show horses or race horses.
Tho this is a true crime book, it reads a lot like a top-notch thriller.
Especially engrossing is the information about the famous disappearance of the millionairess Helen Brach, sometimes referred to as the Candy Lady by the man who scammed her. Ms. Brach was outraged when she found out she had been had, and was determined to file suit for damages as soon as she got out of the Mayo Clinic for a physical.
She never arrived home.
Very engrossing writing. I especially enjoyed all the scenes either in the courtroom or the hearing which brought out more details about the scam and about the characters involved.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super informative with the outing of some of the biggest names in the H/J world and a look at some of the scamming that goes on with the gulliable, wealthy women who are part of the sport. The author also tried to connect the larger story of the disappearance of Helen Brach to the horse killings and I might be dense, but that is the one connection that never seemed super clear to me.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a really interesting book. But it got a little slow at the end with all the trial stuff.

[Blanche Padgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was interesting

The fact that these people killed horses for insurance money makes a person think they could’ve killed mrs brach and thought nothing about it

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

They're not shooting horses, they're electrocuting them - for insurance money.