The Murder of Jacob

by Mary Ellen Johnson

Johnson, Mary Ellen

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

Mary Ellen Johnson's writing career began with her passion for Medieval England. Her first book, THE LION AND THE LEOPARD, related the doomed reign of Edward II. She also collaborated on a second historical, THE LANDLORD'S BLACK-EYED DAUGHTER, which was published under the pseudonym, Mary Ellen Dennis.
Mary Ellen is nearing completion of a five-book series, KNIGHTS OF ENGLAND, which spans the fourteenth century--a time that includes the Black Death, the Peasant's Revolt, the beginnings of the Hundred Years War, as well as the reign of England's greatest medieval king. THE LION AND THE LEOPARD (completely reworked), A KNIGHT THERE WAS, and WITHIN A FOREST DARK are all currently available in both print and electronic form. A CHILD UPON THE THRONE and Mary Ellen's final book, detailing the tragic reign of Richard II will be published by the end of 2017.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author has an agenda, and nothing is going to get in her way. Dammit! First of all, Jacob is not a child who is murdered as the title and book cover seem to suggest. Jacob is the murderer, who at fifteen years old, murders his mother and stepfather. The author tries to make a case that the penalty is too harsh, which is quite possibly true, but making a case based on painting the parents as monsters via conjecture presented as fact just hurts her case and made me feel manipulated and a bit angry. She presents the mother's private thoughts as truth, like she would like awake during her pregnancy and wish this evil baby gone. She must have done her research using a psychic hotline. When Johnson gets around to attacking the parents physical appearance and then rants about the stepfathers "pretentious" and "amateurish" writing in grad school. How this ad hominem attack is relevant to being murdered is unclear, but it revealing about the author.

It's hard to tell what's true and what's not and it ended up being a frustrating waste of time.

[K.A. Krisko · Rating 3 out of 5]

You might think this book is about the murder of Jacob, but you would be wrong. In fact, Jacob was the murderer - an undeniably abused kid who finally had enough. The author, Ms. Johnson, seems to have kind of insinuated herself into the investigation of his case. By her own admission, she had no experience with the legal system or abused children. Frankly, her apparent infatuation with Jacob seems somewhat creepy or self-serving. The hyperbole she employs doesn't do the book any favors, either. People she dislikes are described in deprecatory terms, alluding to their appearance. She spends a good deal of time asserting what the two murder victims were thinking and feeling, when there's absolutely no way for her to know. She ends up painting them as such despicable monsters that it hardly seems possible that people could have looked at them without flinching and scrambling away.

She criticizes everybody from the attorneys, judge, and jurors, through Jacob's friends and relatives, several of whom did the exact correct thing by reporting what he'd said to authorities and testifying truthfully. She seems to feel that they should somehow have been 'loyal' to Jacob by, what? lying? Only Jacob is exempt from criticism. This obvious and dramatic dichotomy doesn't make Jacob more sympathetic, it makes Ms. Johnson seem like she has an agenda.

The book was decently written and organized. It's obvious that Ms. Johnson sat through much of the trial and did a great deal of research, as well as speaking regularly to Jacob himself. I did indeed come out believing that Jacob was abused by multiple people and I believe he felt he had no choice but to do as he did. In light of the abuse, his case should be reevaluated. The 'murder' of Jacob is pure hyperbole, though, and does a disservice to others who have been victims.

[Debra Barstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really pissed me off. The criminal justice system is very broken in this country and no one seems to give a rats ass about it. Sending children to prison for life because they fought back the only way they knew how is repulsive. The school and DSS should have been held accountable for their lack of intervention in this story. The parents in this story may they rot in hell for what they did to their children and hopefully Jacob and his brother can find peace with the rest of their lives.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable

The state of Colorado definitely did not do their job when it came to protecting Jacob and his brother. Then finally, Jacob…he snapped and did the unthinkable. This poor boy and everything his mother and her mother’s husband did to him. This child did what he thought at the time was his only way to get out and ended up being sent to jail for it. Such a sad book indeed

[Jennifer Barstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astonished

I can't believe the jurors in this case could convict after the hell that boy went through growing up. That jury makes me feel ashamed of my fellow Americans. As far as the book, it was well written and had more than enough details explaining everything.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book, and I suspect that Jacob Ind will remain in my thoughts for a while. The main emotions I felt were sadness and anger. Sadness for what Jacob and his brother, Charles, endured at the hands of their mother and stepfather, and anger at the justice system, particularly the jurors at his trial, who convicted him.

I feel that I don't really need to explain my sadness because any normal human being who is capable of experiencing empathy will understand the overwhelming sadness that accompanies this book. But I will elaborate on my anger.

My opinion on the state of the justice system today is that most prosecutors really don't give a crap about a defendant's guilt or innocence, rather they just want as many convictions as possible on their record in order to further their career. There are many instances detailed in this book that should've granted Jacob a new trial, yet he's still rotting away in prison.

And the jurors...the rage inducing jurors. A few did not want to convict Jacob of first degree murder but they did. Why? Well because they were in the minority and, like other cases where the jury was divided, they buckled under the pressure of their fellow jurors. Had I been on Jacob's jury, I would've stuck it out. I'm a very stubborn woman when I want to be and none of the majority who wanted to convict would've been able to sway me to change my vote. What's frustrating is that, in my opinion, many people who serve on murder trial juries don't fully grasp the fact that they hold another person's fate (and sometimes their very lives) in their hands. A responsibility of that magnitude deserves respect and devotion to every single scrap of evidence and testimony. But no, most jurors on Jacob's trial just wanted to "get it over with." One juror even had the gall to say she wanted to hurry up and convict so she could get home because her plants were dying. Her plants! This woman's plants were more important than a fifteen year old's life. Another juror commented that he'd already made up his mind at the beginning of the trial that he was going to convict. And yet another juror used stricken testimony in her decision. Why didn't at least some of these instances of jury misconduct get Jacob a new trial?

I could go on and on, but I won't. Just read the book and keep Jacob Ind in your thoughts. I know he'll be in my thoughts for a long time to come.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book. What a tragedy for this whole family, including the young boy who murdered his mother and step-dad.

It just goes to show you never know what's going on in your own neighborhood. The two brothers tried to get some help close to the end but they did not "cry" loud enough.

They had been brought up from childhood to keep family matters to themselves. So just the fact that they went to a counselor and said such things as our parents are "mean" to us was a big deal for them. They were crying for help but I don't blame the school officials for not seeing it clearly. Only in hindsight.

It's just too bad that the counselor did not probe a little deeper to get to the facts before Jacob took his parents lives and is now paying for it with his own.

I agree with the author that child offenders sentenced to life should have their cases reviewed after a certain period of time. Only makes sense. Jacob is definitely not the same person now as he was in 1992 when he committed this horrible act.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear oh dear. I made it 3% in and I'd had enough. It's clearly not had a good editor read through it first. Such a shame as I wanted to learn Jacob's story but I still can't sit through so many errors however intriguing the story itself.
A lot of them appeared to be formatting errors as random spaces were thrown into words or missed out instead. They really should have been spotted-like Charl es/d own/hecould/Ke rmode's......very irritating.
Then a berlywood table was mentioned which I searched for in a dictionary but it wasn't recognised so clearly something else was meant, perhaps ?
There was a mention of Jacob's hatred of homosexuals which I think was meant to be Kermode's-just more carelessness and I gave up.
I'll be more than happy to revisit this if it ever gets a proper proofreading exercise done. A pity to put it out there in this state.
As an aside, even the author's name on the Kindle is spelt Elln so maybe Amazon need a kick up the arse as well.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of Jacob Ind and his family is interesting, but I'm not so sure that this book is an accurate portrayal. The author does a lot of interpreting of other people's thoughts and actions throughout. Many times there are detailed accounts of what happened when the only people who were there are either dead or claim not to remember. How then does she know so precisely what went on and what they were thinking? This isn't the best true crime book I've read but it wasn't the worst either. Also, the author's use of the word "nor" drove me crazy!

[Melissa Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Murder of Jacob

What Jacob went through makes the skin crawl, especially at the hands of the ones that should have kept him safe and showed him love. The many small cries for help left unanswered. This book will leave you looking at every family with the questions...What's their life like and what secrets does their home hold???

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at all of the errors that should have been caught by an editor. One example is Major's first name. Sometimes the author spelled it Gabrial, and at other times she spelled it as Gabriel. Sometimes it would be spelled two different ways in the same paragraph. Her book clearly makes Jacob Ind the victim.

[Peejay(Pamela) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An examination into juveniles who murder and get life without parole through the particular case of Jacob Ind who murdered his mother and stepfather after a decade of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Emotionally difficult to read, but well written.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book...but very sad. It is based on a true story that took place in Woodland Park, CO.

[Elda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too hard to read

Her writing isn't easy and flowing. Too hard to read. I don't think I'm going to read another one of her books