Jane Doe No More: My 15-Year Fight To Reclaim My Identity--A True Story Of Survival, Hope, And Redemption

by M. William Phelps, Donna Palomba

In 1993, Donna Palomba was raped by a masked assailant in her own home. Yet, her story is more than a victim’s tale of physical and emotional recovery. It is a story of one woman’s hunt for justice while fending off attacks by institutions designed to defend and protect her—the police department, the local government, and a community clinging to an outrageous claim that Donna had invented the crime to cover up a sexual affair.      From the night of the attack, the botched crime scene investigation, and the abuse as authorities attempted to close the case by discrediting her, Donna was left as a victim with no name and no identity. Meanwhile, there was one courageous detective, later to become chief of police, who broke a cops’ code of silence in the name of justice. As they fought on, a legal battle ensued after the Waterbury Police Department—now with media support—refused to let go of its allegations against her and admit wrongdoing. Finally, after eleven years of struggle, Donna learned the identity of her attacker from the chief of police, who explained that the DNA from the rape kit taken a decade ago had turned up a shocking match.      In 2007, Donna Palomba was the subject of a special two-hour Dateline episode about her case. Suddenly, she was Jane Doe no more, launching the Jane Doe No More organization and becoming a promoter of the rights of women and victims of sexual assault. With the help of crime investigator and author M. William Phelps, this is her story.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Crime

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2012

About the author

Crime, murder and serial killer expert, creator/producer/writer and former host of the Investigation Discovery series DARK MINDS, acclaimed, award-winning investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 30 books and winner of the 2013 Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award and the 2008 New England Book Festival Award. A highly sought-after pundit, Phelps has made over 100 media-related television appearances: Early Show, The Today Show, The View, Fox & Friends, truTV, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, Good Morning America, TLC, BIO, History, Oxygen, OWN, on top of over 100 additional media appearances: USA Radio Network, Catholic Radio, Mancow, Wall Street Journal Radio, Zac Daniel, Ave Maria Radio, Catholic Channel, EWTN Radio, ABC News Radio, and many more.

Phelps is also a member of the Multidisciplinary Collaborative on Sexual Crime and Violence (MCSCV), also known as the Atypical Homicide Research Group (AHRG) at Northeastern University, maintained by NU alumni Enzo Yaksic.

Phelps is one of the regular and recurring experts frequently appearing on two long-running series, Deadly Women and Snapped. Radio America calls Phelps “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer,” and TV Rage says, “M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer.” A respected journalist, beyond his book writing Phelps has written for numerous publications—including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant—and consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter.

Phelps grew up in East Hartford, CT, moved to Vernon, CT, at age 12, where he lived for 25 years. He now lives in a reclusive Connecticut farming community north of Hartford.

Beyond crime, Phelps has also written several history books, including the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy, THE DEVIL’S ROOMING HOUSE, THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND, MURDER, NEW ENGLAND, and more.

Reviews

[René · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that this isn't a well-written or organized book compared to other true crime books out there. But it's a very important story, and I'm glad the woman in it chose to share it. I was struck by how badly Donna was treated by her local police department, even though she represents an "ideal victim" (i.e., white, middle-class, religious, close family, married with kids, good reputation, attacked in her own home in the middle of the night by what seemed to be a stranger, reported and examined immediately after attack, showed evidence of injuries and DNA from perpetrator). If the police didn't believe her story, whose would they believe? One can only imagine how many other victims in her area (and everywhere else, actually) have been bullied into dropping charges or taking the blame for being attacked. Many people wonder why most women who've been raped don't report it--Donna's story is a perfect example why. Some of the details of her case and experience are drawn out and unnecessarily repeated in the book, which does make it drag at times. I think some of the dragginess in the middle though is due to what a drawn-out process it became for her. You can only make years of tedious depositions sound so interesting. The author also leaves a few things unresolved, such as Donna's breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in the middle of all this hell. I'm assuming she successfully defeated her cancer, but there's no summary of that at the end when it would have been very easy to include that. Likewise with whatever became of the Moran twits in the Waterbury PD who made her life a living hell after the attack. Are they still employed by the PD or the city of Waterbury? Did either of them give a statement once her attacker was discovered, or did anyone approach them and ask what they had to say for themselves?

Anyway, this books tells an important story, and Donna and her family's strength throughout her ordeal is amazing and inspiring.

[Pattie O'Donnell · Rating 1 out of 5]

The core story here would have made an interesting article in Ladies Home Journal (not dissing LHJ - I'm a subscriber), or a solid "48 Hours Mystery". But as told here, it just doesn't sustain a full-length book.

The book starts well (scary) and the ending is interesting (also scary), but it sags badly in the middle, and most of the book is middle.

In addition, it was poorly written. If it were written by the protagonist, that would be understandable, but evidently there was a "professional" involved. Maybe I'm spoiled by crime writers like Ann Rule, but this whole thing felt really amateurish. For instance, throughout the entire book, Donna's "strong faith" and "strong Catholic faith" is cited over and over and over and over, and it's only ever really tied to the story once, when the hospital offers her "Plan B" (not that it actually had much influence at that point, when she was still stunned and upset, but at least this was the one point were it was logical to mention her Catholic faith).

Also, a little off-topic, but in what kind of a weirdo small town does a normal, average person have a creep stalking her via telephone (the guy was convicted) and within a few years is ALSO raped by someone she is familiar with (and it is proven beyond a doubt that he has victimized others). Family ties or no family ties, I'd get the hell out of there if I were her.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book. Mrs. Palomba spent 15 years trying to get police to believe her story of rape and to bring her rapist to justice. Very hard to read in parts. I actually had to read to read the end to see all was good for her in the end because I was upset in the middle of the book. Then I went back and read the middle.

[Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book club book we as a group, it took place in Connecticut and New York. Being from CT we thought it would be a good read and areas that we are familiar with. It started off good, kept my attention and I didn't want to put it down, however about half way through the book it started to get slow and it stayed that way. It was difficult to finish, but I did it, this morning.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna Palomba is an extremely strong and inspirational woman. This book will take you through the many struggles of her ordeal as well as her triumphs. A must-read for any woman.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

What A Journey

Firstly before I say anything about this book, I need to say .. from one survivor to another .. “Thank You” to Donna Palomba for being brave enough to go through all those years of abuse, degradation & ridicule, and not just to get through them, but to come out the other side as a stronger woman ready to stand up and fight not just for herself, but for every single sexual abuse victim that came before, and after her. Many, no, MOST.. would of crumbled under all of the pressure she had to endure, but she instead took all of it in, and turned it around into something good, to something that would mean a change in the ways other women (& men) would be treated in the future. I don’t think I can thank her enough for coming out of the darkness & standing up not just for herself, but for ALL of us.

If your reading reviews to see if you’d like this book, all I can say is that it will make you question a lot of things about our society, the masks people can (& do) hide behind, and how not everyone we trust with our safety, our friendships and our very lives should be given too much power over us. This book is about sexual abuse, about abuse of power, and how injustice can raise its nasty dirty head in the worst places, but also it’s about gaining reclamation of your own power and how doing that can not just change your life, but also change, and in some cases save, the lives of many many others to come.

Again my sincere “Thank You” to Donna Palomba, and of course to Mr Phelps who helped to tell such an awful tale with so much consideration for all ‘Jane Doe’s’

[Beki Lantos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very good book. It was easy to read and follow, and one could truly get a sense of what was happening, not only in the case, but with the survivor as well. If you're looking for a true crime with drama and what not, this is not for you. This is a REAL LIFE story that actually took place. It's heart wrenching and terrifying, but completely worth the read.
I finished this book hoping that things have improved for sexual assault survivors in North America. Only more research will tell.

[Julie Lemos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly, being from Waterbury CT and knowing (or knowing of) many of the people involved, made this a quicker, more engrossing read. An important story and I felt it was well told.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a compelling book written about an amazing story that unfourtunately is similar to millions of real people out there around the world and needs to be told. However the format with the dual perspectives is not well done and hard to fallow. This book explians why so many victims choose not to report and why prosecutions and convictions for sexual offences are so rare. Donna Palomba is what many would call the ideal victim - she said no , she fought , she reported and got examined right away , happily married with two children in a quiet , low crime area; not a big drinker, doesnt use drugs , low risk , middle class, white , well educated , religious, no prior criminal history , history of false reports or even other allegations, no prior history of mental or emotional illness. The fact that this woman wasnt believed and was almost prosecuted for lying about her assult when there was no evidence to support this charge speaks volumes of the problems encountered by other victims. The cops also threatened to take away her children which actually couldnt legally happen even if she lied about the rape. She spent years trying to get her case investigated and get her attacker convicted. I think thepeople involved in this case had better apolgize , lose their lisenses and abilities to work in their chosen fields , get life long restraining orders to keep them away from the victim and her family . I also think that there should be the prompt payment of a cash settlement to her from the government and from her attacker that includes personal money from individuals involved in the case. Her rape case was compromised because the police did very shoddy work and did not fallow the investigative steps you need to to solve a case. They refused to believe detials of her case without reasons to do so. Then while waiting for her civil suit to begin , she is diagnosed with breast cancer. It turned out the person who raped Donna was a serial offender.`And he didnt get very long in prison. She worked to change state law in New York and Connecitut and procedures for how to conduct rape investigations in her those states. She created a website to support victims and worked to train officers. SHe created an initative called Jane Doe No More. She also created self defense training that helped many women.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazing story about an amazing woman!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. So this was a great story and a bad book. I simply could NOT get over the format they chose, where a professional author wrote some parts and then Donna Palomba popped in with sections in italics. Reading Donna's sections was painful at times. Sometimes she added useful information as the victim, other times it was just pointless diatribes and you never knew which was what! I started to skim her sections because they were often distracting and poorly written.

It's sad that she just didn't work with M. William Phelps to write a professional-level book. Her story is heart wrenching and needs to be heard, but not in this format. I just couldn't stop wishing for a coherent narrative.

[Heather Oleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a gripping sad story

Donna was truly a fighter. It was so sad that this traumatized ,raped victim was put through shell ,while her attacker was let to run free for years. The,Waterbury Police Department should be ashamed. Trying to accuse her rather then doing their job. What a corrupt system. So glad that Donna kept fighting and that her husband o
And O'Neal stood by her. Hopefully with her getting the laws changed on DNA evidence and the statues of limitations ,this is able to help other victims.

[Jerry Triplett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lousy bunch of city cops in Waterbury, Connecticut who were not only incompetent but downright failed to execute their positions as LEO's. There were a few officers who finally stepped up and did their duty to apprehend the perpetrator..This read will question your faith in LEO's unless you find the right men and women who love their job and care about their investigations and the people who they are supposed to serve. Thankfully justice did finally prevail to a certain extent.

[Kim Wantroba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This crime happened in a city near me, so there were some names and places I recognized. The story was engrossing. The policies and procedures followed by law enforcement were frustrating, and unbelievable, yet we all know it happens this way too often. The reveal of the perpetrator was a shock and too strange for fiction.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! An eye opening book about what can happen to an innocent person; and a victim no less, when the police dept are determined they are right.. should be a wake up call to us all that just because someone is in authority doenst always mean they are the good guy!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself has a lot of potential but this book is a yawner. It starts out pretty good, but then D-R-A-G-S through the ending. Lots of repetition. If the books was about 1/2 the size it would probably have done better.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

a well-written book about a woman 'assaulted' by the police investigating her rape.

[Leanne Drake-kavanagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just couldn't put it down.