Broken Lives

by Estelle Blackburn

Eric Edgar Cooke was the last man to hang in Western Australia. Between 1958 and his capture in September 1963, Cooke committed 22 murders and attempted murders that forever changed the face of Perth from a friendly big country town to a city of suspicion and fear. His fantasies and delusions led him to commit a series of sexual perversions and crimes, including theft, deliberate hit-and-runs, vicious attacks on women in their beds and murder - by shooting, stabbing and strangling. When two innocent men were convicted and jailed for crimes committed by Cooke, journalist Estelle Blackburn began an exhaustive investigation which lasted six years. 'Broken Lives' is the award-winning, compelling and thought-provoking result of her relentless search for the truth. Blackburn reveals the life of a social misfit with a desire to hurt others, and the stories of the people whose lives he intruded upon. She examines and appraises the police investigation and uncovers the workings of the judicial system of the day. Through her investigations and the new evidence Blackburn presented in 'Broken Lives', new appeals were gained before Western Australia's Court of Criminal Appeal for John Button and Darryl Beamish, leading to Button being exonerated of manslaughter in 2002 and (as this updated edition reveals), Beamish being exonerated of wilful murder in 2005.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

554 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good true crime book about Eric Edgar Cooke's crimes, in Western Australia, between 1958 and 1963. It also covers the author's diligent endeavours to see that justice was done for John Button, and Darryl Beamish, who were wrongly accused, and sentenced to prison, for two of Cooke's crimes.

4 Stars = Nice. It definitely held my interest.

[Sharon]

I found this book facinating, and scary at the same time.

The names are part of conversation still to this day, and the events occuring while my mother was in her teens.

The fact that the places are all familiar to me (one of the breakins occured down the road from where my mother in law lives) just adds all the more to the creepiness this book gives to me.

I say it is a recommended read for anyone intrested in true crime and coming from the city of Perth Western Australia.

It describes in good detail the period of time that Perth lost it's innocence, and the way people lived changed a great deal as people began to be unable to trust their neighbours.

This book was also very instrumental I'm sure in the case of John Button and Darryl Beamish winning their right to have their convictions over turnned and taken off the books, something that should have been done a long time before. Both men should have never served the time they did, especially after Cooke admitted and confessed to the crimes, in great detail.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing tribute to Estelle Blackburn's persistence. Eric Edgar Cooke was a serial killer who was hanged in Western Australia in 1964. Unfortunately, two other men had already been imprisoned for murders that Cooke confessed to. One of those young men served 15 years, the other was not exonerated until 2002. Estelle Blackburn spent six years on the research for this book.

Please read my review on Amazon.com if you are interested:

http://tinyurl.com/3y8tjt

[Aaron Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and exhaustive account of the life and crimes of serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke. An important and well-told contribution to journalism and well deserving of the Walkley Award. Also important was Estelle Blackburn's role in helping to have John Button and Darryl Beamish's guilty verdicts exonerated.

[Asha Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shows you just how US-centric the world is when Manson's a household name, while this guy's relatively unknown. Jfc.

[Josh Bennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read. True crime Perth style.

[Joshua Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrifying account of a horrific period in Perth history. Well documented and resourced, the tragedy of innocent men being persecuted for the crimes of a psycopath made for compelling reading.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This expository text was very well written, convincing the reader of John Button's innocence and Eric Edgar Cooke's guilt. Even though this is an expository text and is full of factual information such as police reports and newspaper articles, Blackburn has purposely edited (leaving out certain information) the documents, very subtly uses narrative elements and made many assumptions.
Blackburn uses the documents like police reports to further support Button's innocence and make the reader support Blackburn's perspective. She purposely edits these documents, she doesn't change wording or change much, she only includes information which is relevant to supporting John Button.
Blackburn uses themes and language techniques to persuade the reader. Through out the text Blackburn describes Cooke as 'sinister', 'evil', etc. which is a narrative element and these are used in narratives not expository texts which are supposed factual texts. Blackburn takes advantage of this and subtly uses the elements and the reader doesn't realise this and is convinced of John Button's innoence.
Blackburn assumes quite a lot in the text and is very convincing of it. She assumes everything that Eric Edgar Cooke and some of the other people think and do. She describes in detail his many attacks on his victims where she has retrieved the information of what he did to them from official autopsies but this can only tell you what he did not what he was thinking or any intricate actions he committed. In the case of the other people, Blackburn would be able to interview the victims or anyone involved who are still alive but she interviewed them so long after the events that they would only be able to give her very broad or vague descriptions of what happened whereas in the text she tells it in detail. Yet nobody knows exactly what Eric Edgar Cooke was thinking as he never interacted with anyone about his feeling and was hanged long before Blackburn could interview him. Therefore she would only be able to assume what he was thinking and using this to her advantage she was able to make him seem a dark and dangerous person that the reader would be repelled by.
I have realised all this and even though i seem to be making Eric Edgar Cooke seem innocent i am not. I am quite wary about what Blackburn is trying to do (make John Button look innocent and Eric Edgar Cooke guilty) and don't want to completely believe what she describes but i also don't want to believe that Eric Edgar Cooke was innocent either because he was found guilty of many crimes and hanged for them. Therefore i believe that Eric Edgar Cooke most probably did commit all those crimes and John Button may have been innocent but i just didn't want to be sucked in by Blackburn.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book quite a while ago now, just after it was first published and enjoyed it enough that when I knew there was a more recent version out, I bought it. For me, it's probably the one of the absolute best true crime books I've read in my many years of reading widely in the genre. There's such detail of not just the crimes and the court cases but the people involved from Eric Cooke, the killer, and his family, to all the many victims and their families, John Button, and Daryl Beamish, the two men wrongly accused of two of Cooke's murders. This attention to detail leads one along step by step and crime by crime in a thrilling and heartclenching trip to the end of the book. Estelle Blackburn gets inside the head of Eric Cooke so well that one can almost imagine that she knew him. It's an outstanding piece of work and highly deserving of the awards it's received.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Have read it a few times, and it fascinated me, as well as angered me to learn about the amount of tunnel vision that the police have when it comes to "getting their man". I have been lucky enough to work with John Button this year on the Innocents Project in Perth WA snd he is an amazing man, so dedicated to helping others who are in the same situation as he was not so many years ago.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very good overview about how one man could change two lives for the worse. When he tried to write the wrong by confessing NOBODY released the two wrongly convicted men. It sounds ridiculous but it's truth. Thankfully they had people who believed in them and the science to back up their innocence. Hopefully they will be able to enjoy the years of freedom they now have.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible story of a terrible injustice and what journalism at its best can achieve.

[Peter Devenish · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one who reads this true account could doubt that the author, Estelle Blackburn, is an investigative journalist of the highest order. A one-woman seeker of justice, she analyses and details to an almost microscopic degree the evidence against Western Australia’s most notorious serial killer who, when captured, openly admits – almost boasts about - his crimes. Further, she doggedly examines his claims of other killings for which two wrongly convicted men were imprisoned. For those like me who lived through the hot summer of the killing spree, the book brings back unwelcome memories of the time when Perth changed from an open, easy-going, far-flung town to a small city whose citizens became gripped overnight with the necessity to secure the safety of their homes and lives. The book also highlights the questionable practices of police procedures and the judicial system of the time.

[Richard Danks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very thorough, well researched and exceptionally detailed, continuous descriptions of the many horrific, gory and gruesome murders, rapes etc of Edgar Cooke. I must confess, I got so far and just couldn't take any more brutal , blood-thirsty events described one after the other.
I found it somewhat sickening and depressing filling my mind with the activities of this deranged man. It seems that many reviewers enjoyed the book and I would not discourage anyone who likes this kind of real life story

[Sandy Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Cooke stole the innocence of Perth, Western Australia. Although it was the capital city of the state, it still proudly thought of itself as a large country town.
Born with a birth defect, Eric Cooke was hated by his father from the moment of his birth and was physically and mentally abused about by him and then bullied by the kids at school. It festered him a resentment that eventually led to murder. At the same time he was a kind man who often bought the kids in his street lollies and was known to help out anyone by giving them his last dollar if they needed it. He also admitted to any crime he committed once he was caught, even one’s the police didn’t suspect him of.
The book is extremely well written and shows the desperation of the police to solve the crimes, the fear in the city Eric Cooke created (and was proud of) and the heartbreak of John Button falsely accused of one of the crimes.
Definitely a must read book.

[Maxine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling reading.

Compelling reading. I was about 11 during "that" summer, living in Shenton Park not far from the subway. What a scarey time, so many names I know so well. Recommended reading for most, especially those who remember t hese times, answered a few questions, clarified a lot for me. Read it in one sitting.

[trish petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justice

Couldn’t put this book down once I started it. So glad both innocent men finally were found, just that. Would’ve liked to have read what the reaction was from Rosemarys family toward Button once he was exonerated.

[Thebroadgrumps · Rating 1 out of 5]

The bookshelf that I put it on "gave up in despair"says all that needs to be said. Great story - woeful writing.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books was very detailed up to Cooke's execution but most of the appeal process for the two wrongly convicted people is very sparse.

[Michele Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written.

Takes me back as if I were there in the 60's! Very much recommended by me. Reads like a movie.

[Peter Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 - solid as hell

[Djandunmarra Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A non-fiction tale told as a fiction mystery. such an interesting book of Perth WA history

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book suffers from two major faults.

1 Too much information. Undoubtedly the subject matter is very well researched. The problem that can cause, however, is that (for both fiction & non-fiction) the book ends up being over-whelmed by facts and consequently gets bogged down in detail and hence becomes a boring read. I ended up skimming paras once halfway through. Each new character brought a comprehensive life history, most of which was irrelevant. A serious edit is called for.
2 As another reviewer has pointed out, many assumptions are made by the author about the thoughts and actions of people featured in the book. Things that the author could not possibly know. Over-egging the story?! One example - mention of a day starting with a beautiful dawn. Where did this info come from? The only person who could have known was the person next spoken of....with the line "....but he didn't notice this (the dawn)". OK, so if the only person there didn't notice the dawn...where exactly did the information come from?

I was also shocked by the author's attitude to the police and criminals generally. Quote '...hanging a suspect out of a window ...(to get a confession) ...which was going out of bounds a bit, but it was better to have criminals off the streets and the cops were there to do that - the end justifies the means.'

I was so appalled when I first read these lines that I re-read them several times just to be sure that I had understood what Ms Blackburn was saying. Basically, if you have a criminal record it justifies physical and emotional abuse (torture in other words) in order to get a confession just because the police 'think you did it' but don't actually have sufficient evidence to prove it. And on what basis exactly does such a coerced confession have more value than a 19 year old John Button having a confession coerced out of him? You are guilty of terrible double standards there and should be ashamed of such poor journalism.

Dangling a suspect out of a window to gain a confession does not 'justify the means'. It is corrupt behaviour by corrupt police officers, is wholly unacceptable and Ms Blackburn should say so.

Such a shame really. An interesting subject let down by over-emotive, inaccurate (made up) and ultimately tedious writing.

[Just · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book to read after my mum mentioned something about Eric Edgar Cook living on the same street as her grandmother. I was fascinated to read about how prolific a criminal he was. I knew of him but never realised quite how many violent crimes he was responsible for. Having lived in Perth for a very short time in my childhood and only going back for visits every so often I knew of many of the areas that were talked about and know of family who lived in that era or still live in the areas to this day. I found this book informative but clearly sided to the view that Eric was guilty of the crimes that Beamish and Button were punished for, however given that they have both since been exonerated of these crimes it leads me to believe that Estelle's viewpoint was correct. At times I found this book difficult to read due to the amount of information and the way it jumped around but was still keen to read it to its final conclusions.

[Heather Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, but definitely biased. Blackburn writes a gripping narrative portrayal of the chaotic events plaguing Perth in the 1950s/60s, but there's a definite slant against Cooke. And fair enough - he's a literal murderer - but it doesn't make for the most balanced crime reporting.

The maps included are pretty fascinating, especially if you live in the area.

Overall, a great introduction to understanding the social climate of the time.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overly emotive supposition bothered me. It was the West Australian history that interested me and kept me reading ( the second half of the book dragged on somewhat). Disturbing, and all so close to home. Put the fear in me to shut the windows at night! Amazing to think that only 50 years ago Belmont was pretty much the backwaters of Perth.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd go 3 1/2 stars. I had to read this book for school and found it interesting. I have not read it since and I may well feel differently about it now as it is a blatantly one-sided story. However, I do feel I was sympathetic with the victim (John Button) and having read more through newspapers, I do agree that he was wrongly accused and imprisoned.

[Karen Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

True crime book detailing the crimes of the serial killer mentioned in The Shark Net. Written quite objectively, so not really a scary book. The scariest part was the injustice of 2 men serving time for the killer’s crimes. Took a while to get through, but just made you realise how close to home injustice is.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning piece of journalism, Broken Lives paints a truly terrifying picture of serial killer, Eric Edgar Cooke. 6 years in the writing, and you can tell. Sometimes I could barely bring myself to read the next page, so gruesome were the details and so horrific was the truth. Blackburn truly created a masterpiece that changed history.

[Caleb Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broken Lives was another required reading for my year 12, once again thanks Education Department... between that and John Fowles 'The Collector' we were set for life.

Not sure what they were thinking, Broken Lives is a true story about a West Australian serial killer, Eric Cooke. The last person to be hanged in WA. Maybe the department was trying to ensure no one would turn out like him?