Silent Testimony

by Roger W. Walker

A startling account of the murder of Florence Busacca chronicles the D.A.'s long search for the proper evidence--her body--to convict her husband of the crime

Genres: True Crime

Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Koren · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was published in 1984. I'm glad that most true crime authors have learned that readers want more background information on victims and killers and not so much word for word courtroom transcript. I skimmed most of this book trying to find some autobiographical information but there was virtually none. I'm listing this on GR as 'read' just so I don't pick it up again. I wish GR had a
read but didn't finish button.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book my 1st year in college, when I took a criminal justice class and I read it in a weekend. I was so enthralled with the entire story, with how the dates lined up with things that happened, and I loved the ending! I don’t understand the negative reviews, but everyone’s entitled to their own opinion!

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the case overall. I agree with other reviews that the chapters covering the trial could be better. It was like just reading a transcript, not really like reading a story that flows.

I enjoyed the epilogue and I’m glad that it was added to the book. I really enjoy true crime, so I’m glad I picked this one up.

[Fishface · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading this back when it first came out and could not finish. Now I remember why. This should have been an un-put-down-able read about the first case in the history of New York murders to be proven in court despite the fact that there was no body found -- and despite the fact that the killer was obviously severely mentally ill. Unfortunately, this book sux sox. We learn next to nothing about the victim, and very little about her apparently remarkable, unusual life. We learn nothing about the aftereffects of losing her on her family and friends. We astoundingly learn nothing about how the attorneys involved overcame the legal obstacles to presenting a murder case when the body has never been found. We even manage to learn nothing about how the defense counsel managed to get away with a three-pronged defense of "my client did not commit murder because you didn't prove the victim is dead; my client did not commit murder because the gallons of blood in the house and car could have belonged to someone else other than the missing woman; and my client did not commit this crime because he is insane." Wow! We also never heard a peep about what the jury thought of all this. What we did learn about was just how gruelingly nitpicky legal arguments can be -- a whole chapter was made up of sidebar discussion about whether the photo of the victim used at the trial was taken recently or 20 years before, and another was all about whether that photo could be used based on the belief that the family member who produced the photo in court had any legal right to be in the basement darkroom where the attorneys thought the photo had been obtained. All of this hairsplitting, page after page of it, was presented in ungrammatical, clumsy, awkward prose that all by itself made the proceedings hard to follow. Add to that all the twenty-five-cent words that made even me go running for the dictionary, and you are going to find reading this book a genuine chore.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book because it was mainly about all the courtroom proceedings and what each attorney was arguing, the judge's comments and opinion, etc. Not enough about the actual participants or the background story for my taste. Found myself skipping pages of courtroom arguments to try and find something of a thread of the story without success.
Finally just read the last two pages to see what the outcome was.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the time of this crime the NYS jurisprudence had never had a murder case with out the presence of a body. This trial the reader right into the courtroom and shows you how the prosectors pinastlaking investion and the chilling glimpses of the unlikely suspect's breakdown. This author penmanship is stellar int eh way he tells it and his play of words describing it.