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The Stranger She Loved: A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and an Almost Perfect Murder
In 2007, Dr. Martin MacNeill―a doctor, lawyer, and Mormon bishop―discovered his wife of 30 years dead in the bathtub of their Pleasant Grove, Utah home, her face bearing the scars of a facelift he persuaded her to undergo just a week prior. At first the death of 50-year-old Michele MacNeill, a former beauty queen and mother of eight, appeared natural. But days after the funeral when Dr. MacNeill moved his much younger mistress into the family home, his children grew suspicious. Conducting their own investigation into their mother's death, the MacNeill's daughters uncovered their father's multiple marital affairs, past criminal record, and falsified college transcripts he used to con his way into medical school. It would take six long years to solve the mystery of Michele's murder and secure a first-degree murder conviction against the once prominent doctor. New York Times bestselling author Shanna Hogan delves into the high-profile case, unmasking the monster beneath the doctor's carefully concocted façade.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2015
188 people are currently reading
1597 people want to read
About the author
Shanna Hogan
14 books100 followersA New York Times bestselling American non-fiction author and journalist. She was best known for writing the book Picture Perfect about convicted killer Jodi Arias.
In 2005, Hogan graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University.
Hogan was awarded the 2009 Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year.[9] She was also awarded "Journalist of the Year 2011" by the Arizona Newspaper Association.
Hogan lived in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, Matt LaRussa, and son Zander.
She was an adjunct professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
She died September 1, 2020 after being found unresponsive in her swimming pool after a fall.
In 2005, Hogan graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University.
Hogan was awarded the 2009 Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year.[9] She was also awarded "Journalist of the Year 2011" by the Arizona Newspaper Association.
Hogan lived in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, Matt LaRussa, and son Zander.
She was an adjunct professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
She died September 1, 2020 after being found unresponsive in her swimming pool after a fall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
March 5, 2016
This was an interesting read. I live not far from where this all happened and I remember reading about it in the newspapers. It was nice to read the whole story and what ended up happening in the end. It was a little repetitive in that the author used the phrase "...she said in later years." about a million times (I'm exaggerating on the million, but it was A LOT!) Maybe there aren't many ways to convey that someone said something later, it just seemed to be in there all the time. The MacNeill family, the subject of this book, are LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). So am I. The author brings up a few things to do with church and the temple that are not accurate. I guess they are not super important to the story, but it bothered me that she didn't check these details to make sure they were accurate. She talks about the family attending services on Sunday at the temple and how while at the temple Dr. MacNeill taught a Sunday school lesson. This can't be accurate as temples are not open on Sundays, Sunday school is not taught in temples. Anyway, just a few little details that I felt she could have easily clarified - it wouldn't have been hard to do since she was apparently interviewing many people in Utah who were LDS, not to mention she lives in Arizona and there is a high number of LDS members there as well. The idea that she couldn't take a minute to confirm she had these details correct makes me wonder if there is anything else about the story and what really happened that she didn't get right.
October 16, 2015
Another great read by Shanna Hogan. I can only hope that she continues this way and by that I mean perhaps not writing so many books but taking her time to research and write a book. All the books she has written so far are excellent ones. It takes time to write a good true crime book but there are some authors who write tons of books and many of them not very good ones. I prefer quality over quantity.
I think most readers prefer it the first way but some of the authors choose the money instead of quality.
This means at least in my case I am not as eager to buy just any book anymore because I liked another book of an author. I've been burned too many times but so far with this author 3 books and all were excellent.
At first after I read a few chapters I wondered why were the reviewers so positive? What can possibly happen now but the reviewers had it right this time. And a lot can happen. It's the real world. Crazy stuff.
Highly recommend.
I think most readers prefer it the first way but some of the authors choose the money instead of quality.
This means at least in my case I am not as eager to buy just any book anymore because I liked another book of an author. I've been burned too many times but so far with this author 3 books and all were excellent.
At first after I read a few chapters I wondered why were the reviewers so positive? What can possibly happen now but the reviewers had it right this time. And a lot can happen. It's the real world. Crazy stuff.
Highly recommend.
April 20, 2015
This is a terribly fascinating story. A Mormon doctor/lawyer is accused of murdering his wife of almost 30 years. Turns out he is not legitimately either a doctor or a lawyer, has had a long string of affairs, and has met a pretty young thing he just wants to fuck. Add in some incest/sexual abuse and how can this not be a compelling story?
Unfortunately it is terribly written. I mean terribly. And then the last chapter really takes any journalistic credibility away from the author. It is very clear what her bias is.
Definitely worth a skim if you're into then mur-mon (murdering Mormons) genre but there are definitely better written true crime books out there.
Unfortunately it is terribly written. I mean terribly. And then the last chapter really takes any journalistic credibility away from the author. It is very clear what her bias is.
Definitely worth a skim if you're into then mur-mon (murdering Mormons) genre but there are definitely better written true crime books out there.
February 17, 2025
3.75 Stars
May 3, 2017
Don't ask me why I picked up this book at the library.......the title makes it sound like a "bodice ripper" (I would rather read the back of a cereal box) but then I saw it was true crime, so I thought I would give it a try which was probably a mistake. The story sounded interesting but when I was about two chapters into it, someone "peaked into a drawer" and I wondered where the proofreader was. These types of errors were repeated throughout the book which is the kiss of death for me.
A doctor and his family are the model couple....a "Leave it to Beaver" family but secrets abound in this less than perfect picture. And then the wife is found dead in the bathtub under strange circumstances. The book examines the double life of the doctor......a liar, cheat, manipulator, arrogant bastard who is having a torrid affair with a woman named Gypsy. Everything falls apart in his world when his children decide that he killed their mother and set out over the years to prove it. It certainly appears that he was guilty and he is finally brought to trial. But,frankly, it was a very weak circumstantial case and if I had been a juror, I would have had reasonable doubt. Being a lying and cheating husband does make one a killer but the jury saw it differently. End of story. Not a total waste of time but certainly nothing special.
A doctor and his family are the model couple....a "Leave it to Beaver" family but secrets abound in this less than perfect picture. And then the wife is found dead in the bathtub under strange circumstances. The book examines the double life of the doctor......a liar, cheat, manipulator, arrogant bastard who is having a torrid affair with a woman named Gypsy. Everything falls apart in his world when his children decide that he killed their mother and set out over the years to prove it. It certainly appears that he was guilty and he is finally brought to trial. But,frankly, it was a very weak circumstantial case and if I had been a juror, I would have had reasonable doubt. Being a lying and cheating husband does make one a killer but the jury saw it differently. End of story. Not a total waste of time but certainly nothing special.
January 8, 2025
Listened to on audio.
About a guy who obviously had something going on mentally for years and somehow pulled off elaborate lies (to get Army benefits, to get into medical school, to steal identities, etc etc etc). Ultimately getting caught in his extensive web of lies by his own children and his murdered wife’s family. Bravo for them not giving up!
Hadn’t heard of this one before.
Girlfriend is definitely culpable! She was a real character. Anyone interested in her deserves the drama.
About a guy who obviously had something going on mentally for years and somehow pulled off elaborate lies (to get Army benefits, to get into medical school, to steal identities, etc etc etc). Ultimately getting caught in his extensive web of lies by his own children and his murdered wife’s family. Bravo for them not giving up!
Hadn’t heard of this one before.
Girlfriend is definitely culpable! She was a real character. Anyone interested in her deserves the drama.
September 7, 2022
My last Shanna Hogan book!
She really was a talented author, I feel sad every time I think about her death. She was obviously talented.
Martin MacNeill was a dude with problems. Lots of problems. I think the main one being that he was probably a psychopath. He possibly murdered multiple people (if he can be believed, which is hard to do) and he was a giant fraud and liar. He was not a nice guy.
Martin had an image to uphold, one that involved money and status. Somehow he fooled everyone around him, except for his in-laws. They held onto evidence of his perfidy for thirty years. When Martin's wife, Michele, ended up dead in a tub, the family knew without a doubt that Martin was the murderer.
I think the biggest surprise in this story was that Martin's daughter's also knew he was a murderer and they were determined not to let their mother's death go unpunished. Alexis, his youngest daughter was pretty remarkable.
Highly recommend all of Shanna Hogan's books if you like true crime. Pam War did a great job with the audiobook.
She really was a talented author, I feel sad every time I think about her death. She was obviously talented.
Martin MacNeill was a dude with problems. Lots of problems. I think the main one being that he was probably a psychopath. He possibly murdered multiple people (if he can be believed, which is hard to do) and he was a giant fraud and liar. He was not a nice guy.
Martin had an image to uphold, one that involved money and status. Somehow he fooled everyone around him, except for his in-laws. They held onto evidence of his perfidy for thirty years. When Martin's wife, Michele, ended up dead in a tub, the family knew without a doubt that Martin was the murderer.
I think the biggest surprise in this story was that Martin's daughter's also knew he was a murderer and they were determined not to let their mother's death go unpunished. Alexis, his youngest daughter was pretty remarkable.
Highly recommend all of Shanna Hogan's books if you like true crime. Pam War did a great job with the audiobook.
January 20, 2016
Wow, that's the first thing that came to mind as I read through this book. This is the first murder trial I followed from start to finish, rushing home from work to flip on the TV and see what had happened or to watch live action from the courtroom. I had never read a book by Shanna Hogan before, though her other books are on my to be read pile, but when this one arrived I had to read it right away, as this case has never left my mind. The story has it all, a seemingly perfect family, mom a former beauty queen described as kindness itself, dad a brilliant man a doctor and a lawyer, four beautiful biological children, and later they even opened their home to four more girls from Ukraine. But beneath the surface things are not as perfect as they seem. Abuse, fraud, infidelity, mental illness, drug addiction, suicide, cold blooded murder and my favourite a woman named Gypsy (yes that's her real name). When Michele MacNeill is found dead in her bathtub, it is at first ruled a natural death, most likely a heart attack or an overdose of pain pills following her recent plastic surgery. But those who knew and loved Michele believed it to be murder at the hands of her husband Martin. Michele's sister and her oldest daughter Alexis begin to investigate what really happened and begin to uncover so many dark secrets about the one time respected doctor and bishop. The story is very well told, Hogan does an excellent job presenting the facts of the case, without bogging the reader down with details. It was easy to keep the pages turning, I read it in a little over a day and could not put it down at times. The MacNeill family's story is both tragic and inspiring, despite the many setbacks they suffer somehow the children remain bonded to each other which proves how great their mother's influence was and that good can truly trumph over evil. This is the first book of Shanna Hogan that I have read, but I now am greatly looking forward to reading her previous books and cannot wait to see what she will be writing about next. I know this is a book and a story that will stay with me for a long time.
July 24, 2017
I can't resist the true crime shelves at the library. {{Hangs head in shame.}}
The story itself is compelling--sociopath 'doctor' fools nearly everyone for decades, then burns it all to the ground for the love of a fellow sociopath-- named Gypsy, of all things.
I appreciate the research and effort, but the clunky writing made it a slower read than it needed to be. I don't know why true crime is so often like that--as if authors are paid per irrelevant tidbit.
The story itself is compelling--sociopath 'doctor' fools nearly everyone for decades, then burns it all to the ground for the love of a fellow sociopath-- named Gypsy, of all things.
I appreciate the research and effort, but the clunky writing made it a slower read than it needed to be. I don't know why true crime is so often like that--as if authors are paid per irrelevant tidbit.
Want to read
February 25, 2018عنوان مغري ولكن الداخل يوجد جريمه قتل وبحث وحورات امريكاني ممله اتهرشت في افلام كتير
ولاحتي نجمه ولا حتي ريييد
واسف للازعاج
ولاحتي نجمه ولا حتي ريييد
واسف للازعاج
June 28, 2023
“The Stranger She Loved: A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and An Almost Perfect Murder” is a true crime nonfiction book that focuses on the 2007 high-profile murder case involving respected doctor and Mormon bishop Martin MacNeill and the murder of his wife of thirty years, Michele.
The book consists of an author’s note, fifty chapters and an afterword.
The book begins on April 11, 2007 with fifty-year-old Michele MacNeill’s dead body being discovered dead in the bathtub at home in peaceful community of Pleasant Grove, Utah by her youngest daughter Ada followed by her husband, Martin MacNeill. After Martin had Ada run to get help by his next-door neighbor, Michele’s body is removed from the bathtub and CPR is started. Prior to Michele’s untimely death, the MacNeills’ kept to themselves with Martin working as a doctor and Michele being a stay-at-home mom to their eight children. Martin’s anger when emergency staff perform lifesaving efforts worries the neighbors and Martin suggests that Michele may have overdosed on pain pills after a recent face-lift.
Police officers are surprised when Martin says that he’s a doctor and he knows that Michele is dead. Upon taking Michele to the hospital, the doctor doesn’t understand how she is still unresponsive if she was unconscious for only fifteen minutes. Foreshadowing of Martin’s true nature are shown when it’s revealed that although Martin told police that Michele was on taking several pain pills a day, he told a doctor colleague that she was down two pills a day.
Author Shanna Hogan writes about Michele’s childhood in Concord, California as one of seven children. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom while her father worked various sales jobs, struggled with alcoholism, and was absent from his kids’ lives. As a teen, Michele was smart and popular. Being raised in the Mormon faith, Michele planned to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah after graduating high school. Between modeling jobs and beginning college, Michele lived in Mission Viejo with her family. While attending and Mormon singles mixer event, Michele meets Martin.
Martin’s background is completely the opposite of Michele’s in that he grew up in Camden, New Jersey exposed to extreme poverty, mental illness, abuse, alcoholism, and death. His father was twenty-three years older than his mother and after his parents divorced, she worked as a prostitute and all of his siblings died due to suicide. Although Martin is an attractive young man, he is mentally unstable with mood swings from manic to paranoia. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teen, he studies psychology and psychiatry in order to learn how to manipulate those around him.
Martin joins the army; however, he is eventually discharged due to his mental issues. Upon leaving the army, Martin is introduced to the Mormon religion through missionaries, but his mission term is ended after a few months due to his erratic behavior.
Despite his mental illness, Martin had goals to become a doctor while also engaging in extreme, risky behavior such as committing check fraud. After being arrested, Martin pleaded guilty by reason of insanity due to his previous diagnosis of schizophrenia, but he’s deemed mentally fit to stand trial. Despite being smart, he’s also a con artist. When he meets Michele, his sole purpose was to possess her and soon, he controls all aspects of her life.
Michele mistakenly views Martin’s obsession for love and worries when Martin threatens to kill himself if they break up. Although many family members and even the Mormon bishop warn Michele against dating Martin, they get married, and he succeeds in distancing her from her friends and family. After Michele’s mother (Helen) discovers that Martin has mental illness, she expresses concern to her other daughters that Martin might kill her someday. Helen finds signs of further treachery by Martin after finding a briefcase with stationery and seals which she decides to save for later use.
The couple eventually become the parents of four children (Rachel, Vanessa, Alexis, and Damian) while Martin jumps from university to university until he is able to find work as a doctor in Utah.
By all appearances, the family is perfect and the MacNeill children share fond memories with their parents. Eventually, Martin goes to law school where he graduates but doesn’t pass the bar. The more successful Martin becomes, the more condescending and bragging he becomes around others. As the MacNeill children grow older, they have no reason to believe that he’s not the man he presents himself to be.
In 2005, Martin grows weary of his marriage to Michele and his mood towards her swings from cruel to kind. During two affairs in 2005, Martin confesses to one mistress that he was responsible for killing several of his family members. During Martin’s second affair with Gypsy Jyll Willis, woman twenty years younger than him, he confesses that he’s having an affair because his life and marriage was boring. Hogan provides extensive background information on Gypsy who was raised as a Mormon then becomes an LVN but also ends up as a divorced teen mom.
Gypsy quickly falls in love with Martin and although he initially says that he’d never leave Michele, shortly after turning fifty, he begins to exercise and goes tanning which leads Michele to believe he’s having an affair. In an effort to make Gypsy his wife, Martin moves his family to a new city despite Michele expressing not wanting to move. The more time Martin spends with Gypsy, the more he wants to no longer be with his wife and newly adopted daughters. When Martin experiences an unknown problem with him toe that is swollen and get progressively worse, he tells his family and church members that he has not long to live due to a diagnosis of terminal cancer in his toe while he tells co-workers and Gypsy he is dealing with other medical ailments.
Michele realizes Martin is having an affair when he chooses to celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary with his mistress out of town. When Martin stops in Nevada to borrow his daughter’s car, she has Alexis help her confirm her suspicions of his cheating. When Michele confronts Martin about a possible affair, Martin returns to Nevada, berates Alexis, and spends the night at Alexis’ home to convince her of not having an affair. Upon Michele confronted Martin with Gypsy’s identity, he justifies knowing her by saying that she’s a nurse he works with.
Martin convinces Michele to get a face-lift as a as a gift while Michele views the surgery as way to save their marriage. Martin sets Michele up to have surgery performed by an out of town recently board-certified plastic surgeon. With Michele’s surgery scheduled for twelve days later, Martin prepares to have medications Michele will need following the face-lift much to the surprise of their older daughter Alexis. When seeing a doctor prior to the surgery, it’s discovered that Michele has mild hypertension and depression. Despite the doctor saying she should delay the surgery so she can get her medical conditions under control, Martin convinces Michele to go through with the surgery.
After the surgery, Alexis is horrified when she learns that her father has overmedicated her mother. Michele tells Alexis that says she no longer wants to be left in Martin’s care and asks Alexis to help her recover from the overmedication. Once Michele is able to see following her face-lift, she tells Alexis that if anything happens to her, make sure it wasn’t done by Martin. Martin is annoyed when Michele continues to question him about contact with Gypsy and tries to make amends by saying he wants to take her on a cruise. After a surgery follow up visit with Martin and Michele and seeing that her mother is recovering well, Alexis returns home to Nevada.
The details are provided on the events the occurred on the day of a Wednesday, April 11, 2007. While Martin takes the girls to school before going to work, adopted daughter Sabrina finds it odd when Martin says Michele wasn’t feeling well. Alexis has a call with her mom in which she sounds hopeful. There is a gap in Martin’s whereabouts from 9am-11:30am, which was later determined to be the time that Michele was killed. Martin sets a plan in motion in which he leaves voicemails implying that Michele is doing too much and needs to rest.
When Alexis calls her father and he responds that they’re doing CPR on her mother, Alexis knows instantly that her father murdered her mother. Since Martin is vague about what led to Michele’s death, it is ruled as an accidental death. Michele’s mom and sister are told of Michele’s death through acquaintances. When Michele’s mother calls Martin, he hangs up on her. Martin quickly removes all signs of Michele living in the house and schedules a funeral a few days after her death.
Shortly after her mother’s death, oldest daughter Rachel resigns from her job into order to be a full-time caretaker for her four younger sisters. Martin says everyone should get on with their lives and hires a nanny (aka Gypsy) to move into his house.
Martin puts a plan in place where her stages an accidental “meeting” at church with his daughter Rachel with a woman who later becomes the nanny for Martin’s daughters who is actually his mistress Gypsy. When Alexis confronts her father about bringing his mistress into his home, he bans her coming to the home or communicating with her young sisters. He tells his other children that Alexis is disowned from the family and asks the children to help select a nanny.
Alexis decides to used devious means to save her sisters and exposed her father as a murderer. Martin’s mood swings range from loving Alexis to banning her from the house. Gypsy is soon moved into Martin’s home and is introduced to his daughters as their nanny. With Michele dead, Gypsy and Martin transition into a romantic relationship and Gypsy introduces him to her parents. Gypsy’s parents are pleased that Gypsy has found such a successful professional and religious man although he controls the relationship.
A wedge is eventually created between Martin and his children as well as between the MacNeill sisters and their brother. To wipe away her tax debts, Martin convinces Gypsy to commit identity theft and fraud using the identity of his adopted teenage daughter Giselle.
Through the assistance of a new FBI investigator, Alexis, Rachel, and Linda work together to solve the mystery of Michele’s murder. The investigators eventually discover that Martin lied about his higher education, having mental illness, and was getting disability illegally from the Veterans Benefits Administration for over thirty-five years.
Martin and Gypsy are eventually arrested for identity theft and fraud. Martin is sentenced to forty-eight months in federal prison while Gypsy is sentenced to twenty-one months in prison. While Martin is in prison, he makes friends and is given the nickname of “Doc.” While in prison, both Martin and Gypsy are stripped of the medical credentials and are left penniless.
While the MacNeill sisters band together after their mother’s death, Damian is the sole supporter of his father and fixates on death and experiences severe depression. Although family members resort his troubling behavior and social media posts about wanting to kill without remorse, nothing is done and in the end, he commits suicide.
Years pass without Michele’s murder being resolved. In an effort to move on, Alexis becomes a doctor, gets married, and changes her last name. In prison, Martin keeps to himself and doesn’t speak much on his wife’s death. Gypsy is released from prison and starts trying to rebuild her life by burying all her love letters Martin wrote her while in prison.
Martin is released from jail and returns to Pleasant Grove home which worries Alexis and her family. After four years of extensive research, Martin is finally arrested for Michele’s murder. Although Martin is broke, he is able to find legal representation pro bono since his lawyer is sure of Martin’s innocence. Former prisoner cellmates and others testify against Martin and the details of Michele’s murder are eventually revealed.
After Martin is convicted, he attempts to commit suicide but is stopped. When family members hear about the suicide attempt, they are glad the attempt was unsuccessful, so Martin is forced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In the afterword, author Shanna Hogan writes of the remaining MacNeill children and Michele’s sister Linda’s crusade to bring Martin to justice for committing murder. Hogan remarks that there was no point in interviewing Martin since he was a pathological liar and a sociopath with no way to confirm his abusive childhood leading to murderous, deceitful behavior. The book ends with Hogan providing a theory of how she thinks Martin may have killed Michele.
Two interesting facts I learned from reading this book was that while other states required twelve jurors to try a case, Utah requires only eight jurors and that Utah is one of three states that allows jurors to pose questions to witnesses. During the process, each question is vetted by the judge before being read to the witness.
The book consists of an author’s note, fifty chapters and an afterword.
The book begins on April 11, 2007 with fifty-year-old Michele MacNeill’s dead body being discovered dead in the bathtub at home in peaceful community of Pleasant Grove, Utah by her youngest daughter Ada followed by her husband, Martin MacNeill. After Martin had Ada run to get help by his next-door neighbor, Michele’s body is removed from the bathtub and CPR is started. Prior to Michele’s untimely death, the MacNeills’ kept to themselves with Martin working as a doctor and Michele being a stay-at-home mom to their eight children. Martin’s anger when emergency staff perform lifesaving efforts worries the neighbors and Martin suggests that Michele may have overdosed on pain pills after a recent face-lift.
Police officers are surprised when Martin says that he’s a doctor and he knows that Michele is dead. Upon taking Michele to the hospital, the doctor doesn’t understand how she is still unresponsive if she was unconscious for only fifteen minutes. Foreshadowing of Martin’s true nature are shown when it’s revealed that although Martin told police that Michele was on taking several pain pills a day, he told a doctor colleague that she was down two pills a day.
Author Shanna Hogan writes about Michele’s childhood in Concord, California as one of seven children. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom while her father worked various sales jobs, struggled with alcoholism, and was absent from his kids’ lives. As a teen, Michele was smart and popular. Being raised in the Mormon faith, Michele planned to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah after graduating high school. Between modeling jobs and beginning college, Michele lived in Mission Viejo with her family. While attending and Mormon singles mixer event, Michele meets Martin.
Martin’s background is completely the opposite of Michele’s in that he grew up in Camden, New Jersey exposed to extreme poverty, mental illness, abuse, alcoholism, and death. His father was twenty-three years older than his mother and after his parents divorced, she worked as a prostitute and all of his siblings died due to suicide. Although Martin is an attractive young man, he is mentally unstable with mood swings from manic to paranoia. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teen, he studies psychology and psychiatry in order to learn how to manipulate those around him.
Martin joins the army; however, he is eventually discharged due to his mental issues. Upon leaving the army, Martin is introduced to the Mormon religion through missionaries, but his mission term is ended after a few months due to his erratic behavior.
Despite his mental illness, Martin had goals to become a doctor while also engaging in extreme, risky behavior such as committing check fraud. After being arrested, Martin pleaded guilty by reason of insanity due to his previous diagnosis of schizophrenia, but he’s deemed mentally fit to stand trial. Despite being smart, he’s also a con artist. When he meets Michele, his sole purpose was to possess her and soon, he controls all aspects of her life.
Michele mistakenly views Martin’s obsession for love and worries when Martin threatens to kill himself if they break up. Although many family members and even the Mormon bishop warn Michele against dating Martin, they get married, and he succeeds in distancing her from her friends and family. After Michele’s mother (Helen) discovers that Martin has mental illness, she expresses concern to her other daughters that Martin might kill her someday. Helen finds signs of further treachery by Martin after finding a briefcase with stationery and seals which she decides to save for later use.
The couple eventually become the parents of four children (Rachel, Vanessa, Alexis, and Damian) while Martin jumps from university to university until he is able to find work as a doctor in Utah.
By all appearances, the family is perfect and the MacNeill children share fond memories with their parents. Eventually, Martin goes to law school where he graduates but doesn’t pass the bar. The more successful Martin becomes, the more condescending and bragging he becomes around others. As the MacNeill children grow older, they have no reason to believe that he’s not the man he presents himself to be.
In 2005, Martin grows weary of his marriage to Michele and his mood towards her swings from cruel to kind. During two affairs in 2005, Martin confesses to one mistress that he was responsible for killing several of his family members. During Martin’s second affair with Gypsy Jyll Willis, woman twenty years younger than him, he confesses that he’s having an affair because his life and marriage was boring. Hogan provides extensive background information on Gypsy who was raised as a Mormon then becomes an LVN but also ends up as a divorced teen mom.
Gypsy quickly falls in love with Martin and although he initially says that he’d never leave Michele, shortly after turning fifty, he begins to exercise and goes tanning which leads Michele to believe he’s having an affair. In an effort to make Gypsy his wife, Martin moves his family to a new city despite Michele expressing not wanting to move. The more time Martin spends with Gypsy, the more he wants to no longer be with his wife and newly adopted daughters. When Martin experiences an unknown problem with him toe that is swollen and get progressively worse, he tells his family and church members that he has not long to live due to a diagnosis of terminal cancer in his toe while he tells co-workers and Gypsy he is dealing with other medical ailments.
Michele realizes Martin is having an affair when he chooses to celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary with his mistress out of town. When Martin stops in Nevada to borrow his daughter’s car, she has Alexis help her confirm her suspicions of his cheating. When Michele confronts Martin about a possible affair, Martin returns to Nevada, berates Alexis, and spends the night at Alexis’ home to convince her of not having an affair. Upon Michele confronted Martin with Gypsy’s identity, he justifies knowing her by saying that she’s a nurse he works with.
Martin convinces Michele to get a face-lift as a as a gift while Michele views the surgery as way to save their marriage. Martin sets Michele up to have surgery performed by an out of town recently board-certified plastic surgeon. With Michele’s surgery scheduled for twelve days later, Martin prepares to have medications Michele will need following the face-lift much to the surprise of their older daughter Alexis. When seeing a doctor prior to the surgery, it’s discovered that Michele has mild hypertension and depression. Despite the doctor saying she should delay the surgery so she can get her medical conditions under control, Martin convinces Michele to go through with the surgery.
After the surgery, Alexis is horrified when she learns that her father has overmedicated her mother. Michele tells Alexis that says she no longer wants to be left in Martin’s care and asks Alexis to help her recover from the overmedication. Once Michele is able to see following her face-lift, she tells Alexis that if anything happens to her, make sure it wasn’t done by Martin. Martin is annoyed when Michele continues to question him about contact with Gypsy and tries to make amends by saying he wants to take her on a cruise. After a surgery follow up visit with Martin and Michele and seeing that her mother is recovering well, Alexis returns home to Nevada.
The details are provided on the events the occurred on the day of a Wednesday, April 11, 2007. While Martin takes the girls to school before going to work, adopted daughter Sabrina finds it odd when Martin says Michele wasn’t feeling well. Alexis has a call with her mom in which she sounds hopeful. There is a gap in Martin’s whereabouts from 9am-11:30am, which was later determined to be the time that Michele was killed. Martin sets a plan in motion in which he leaves voicemails implying that Michele is doing too much and needs to rest.
When Alexis calls her father and he responds that they’re doing CPR on her mother, Alexis knows instantly that her father murdered her mother. Since Martin is vague about what led to Michele’s death, it is ruled as an accidental death. Michele’s mom and sister are told of Michele’s death through acquaintances. When Michele’s mother calls Martin, he hangs up on her. Martin quickly removes all signs of Michele living in the house and schedules a funeral a few days after her death.
Shortly after her mother’s death, oldest daughter Rachel resigns from her job into order to be a full-time caretaker for her four younger sisters. Martin says everyone should get on with their lives and hires a nanny (aka Gypsy) to move into his house.
Martin puts a plan in place where her stages an accidental “meeting” at church with his daughter Rachel with a woman who later becomes the nanny for Martin’s daughters who is actually his mistress Gypsy. When Alexis confronts her father about bringing his mistress into his home, he bans her coming to the home or communicating with her young sisters. He tells his other children that Alexis is disowned from the family and asks the children to help select a nanny.
Alexis decides to used devious means to save her sisters and exposed her father as a murderer. Martin’s mood swings range from loving Alexis to banning her from the house. Gypsy is soon moved into Martin’s home and is introduced to his daughters as their nanny. With Michele dead, Gypsy and Martin transition into a romantic relationship and Gypsy introduces him to her parents. Gypsy’s parents are pleased that Gypsy has found such a successful professional and religious man although he controls the relationship.
A wedge is eventually created between Martin and his children as well as between the MacNeill sisters and their brother. To wipe away her tax debts, Martin convinces Gypsy to commit identity theft and fraud using the identity of his adopted teenage daughter Giselle.
Through the assistance of a new FBI investigator, Alexis, Rachel, and Linda work together to solve the mystery of Michele’s murder. The investigators eventually discover that Martin lied about his higher education, having mental illness, and was getting disability illegally from the Veterans Benefits Administration for over thirty-five years.
Martin and Gypsy are eventually arrested for identity theft and fraud. Martin is sentenced to forty-eight months in federal prison while Gypsy is sentenced to twenty-one months in prison. While Martin is in prison, he makes friends and is given the nickname of “Doc.” While in prison, both Martin and Gypsy are stripped of the medical credentials and are left penniless.
While the MacNeill sisters band together after their mother’s death, Damian is the sole supporter of his father and fixates on death and experiences severe depression. Although family members resort his troubling behavior and social media posts about wanting to kill without remorse, nothing is done and in the end, he commits suicide.
Years pass without Michele’s murder being resolved. In an effort to move on, Alexis becomes a doctor, gets married, and changes her last name. In prison, Martin keeps to himself and doesn’t speak much on his wife’s death. Gypsy is released from prison and starts trying to rebuild her life by burying all her love letters Martin wrote her while in prison.
Martin is released from jail and returns to Pleasant Grove home which worries Alexis and her family. After four years of extensive research, Martin is finally arrested for Michele’s murder. Although Martin is broke, he is able to find legal representation pro bono since his lawyer is sure of Martin’s innocence. Former prisoner cellmates and others testify against Martin and the details of Michele’s murder are eventually revealed.
After Martin is convicted, he attempts to commit suicide but is stopped. When family members hear about the suicide attempt, they are glad the attempt was unsuccessful, so Martin is forced to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In the afterword, author Shanna Hogan writes of the remaining MacNeill children and Michele’s sister Linda’s crusade to bring Martin to justice for committing murder. Hogan remarks that there was no point in interviewing Martin since he was a pathological liar and a sociopath with no way to confirm his abusive childhood leading to murderous, deceitful behavior. The book ends with Hogan providing a theory of how she thinks Martin may have killed Michele.
Two interesting facts I learned from reading this book was that while other states required twelve jurors to try a case, Utah requires only eight jurors and that Utah is one of three states that allows jurors to pose questions to witnesses. During the process, each question is vetted by the judge before being read to the witness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2016
Compelling, if horrifying, story. One of those where you think "you can't make these things up!" If it had been a novel you'd never buy that he got away with so many lies.
My only complaint-- details about the LDS church were wrong. Hopefully this just means she didn't think they were a big deal since they weren't central to the story and so focused on getting other things right and not that she wasn't careful about other facts. The other side of this complaint-- there was kind of both too much and not enough.... either fill in more details of people's religious lives or stop telling me whether or not a person is a Mormon. In this case it isn't relevant. Could have left a lot out rather than getting the details off.
My only complaint-- details about the LDS church were wrong. Hopefully this just means she didn't think they were a big deal since they weren't central to the story and so focused on getting other things right and not that she wasn't careful about other facts. The other side of this complaint-- there was kind of both too much and not enough.... either fill in more details of people's religious lives or stop telling me whether or not a person is a Mormon. In this case it isn't relevant. Could have left a lot out rather than getting the details off.
June 19, 2019
Amazing true story about a very sketchy doctor who also went to school to be a lawyer,although he never practiced, and was also a Mormon. There are many twists and turns and the author has a knack for keeping us on the edge of our seats. This guy is doing something shady on every page. His wife is a very likeable person and the children are also very interesting. If it wasnt for their tenacity the husband would have very likely gotten away with murder. This book held my attention from beginning to end and the trial is nicely condensed. I was starting to think the classic husband murders wife true crime books were all starting to sound the same, but this one definitely stands out from the pack. This is the third book I have read by this author and I have liked them all.
May 19, 2015
This was a quick book to read, and well written, but so very sad to read, since I knew Michele in High School. She was the beautiful, popular girl that we all wanted to be, friendly to everyone, cheerleader and Homecoming Queen. You knew that good things were in her future.
It was so sad to read that her life ended at the hands of her husband of thirty years. I was so impressed with her Daughters who were very courageous,and persistent, even through all of the obstacles they faced.
May they be able to have a happy life now, and may Michele rest in peace.
It was so sad to read that her life ended at the hands of her husband of thirty years. I was so impressed with her Daughters who were very courageous,and persistent, even through all of the obstacles they faced.
May they be able to have a happy life now, and may Michele rest in peace.
November 12, 2015
Very well written book . I highly recommend.
May 2, 2019
I binge read this in two days! Awesome!
January 10, 2024
Martin MacNeill belongs in the same category as another physician made famous by the book Fatal Vision. Jeffrey McDonald. Both of the egocentric men were convicted of murdering their wives.
Marty grew up in Camden, New Jersey in horrible circumstances, escaping into the army where he would be diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic. He spent time in prison for check forgery but later managed to graduate from medical school as an osteopathic surgeon.
Michelle Somers was raised in an idyllic smiley-faced Mormon household and was a beauty queen with a promising future. The LDS(Mormon) church believes that in order to reach the Celestial Kingdom, one must be sealed(married) to another for eternal bliss. In the words of George Carlin, "holy shit."
The image of chaste Mormons receives a devastating blow as Dr. Marty had numerous affairs with fellow LDS members, including a woman appropriately named "Gypsy." The paramour would be his final hookup. Shortly after his wife's demise, Gypsy moved into the family home as a "nanny."
The almost perfect murder would have remained unsolved if not for the tenacious sister and daughters of the victim. The doctor and his mistress are two very sick puppies.
This was my third of Hogan's true crime books and, unfortunately, the author died in a pool accident. I have one more to read and The Stranger She Loved is a great read.
Marty grew up in Camden, New Jersey in horrible circumstances, escaping into the army where he would be diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic. He spent time in prison for check forgery but later managed to graduate from medical school as an osteopathic surgeon.
Michelle Somers was raised in an idyllic smiley-faced Mormon household and was a beauty queen with a promising future. The LDS(Mormon) church believes that in order to reach the Celestial Kingdom, one must be sealed(married) to another for eternal bliss. In the words of George Carlin, "holy shit."
The image of chaste Mormons receives a devastating blow as Dr. Marty had numerous affairs with fellow LDS members, including a woman appropriately named "Gypsy." The paramour would be his final hookup. Shortly after his wife's demise, Gypsy moved into the family home as a "nanny."
The almost perfect murder would have remained unsolved if not for the tenacious sister and daughters of the victim. The doctor and his mistress are two very sick puppies.
This was my third of Hogan's true crime books and, unfortunately, the author died in a pool accident. I have one more to read and The Stranger She Loved is a great read.
March 22, 2016
I picked this up randomly because it was a readers choice book, but didn't really know anything about the story. Apparently, it must have been huge a few years ago, but I don't recall hearing anything about it. This is definitely outside my normal reads, and even though parts of it were disturbing due to the subject matter, because I knew absolutely nothing of the story or what happened to Martin MacNeil, I had a hard time putting it down. One thing I hated about the author was how on the cover it says mormon doctor, etc. and she randomly keeps mentioning he was a bishop. This tends to happen with "high profile" Mormon people, even though I am sure it happens just as often with non mormon people, but it's not profiled as much. I did feel that the author told it from an unbiased view for the most part, even though in the afterword she shares her own opinion of the case. This was such a tragedy and how the victim's family fought so hard for justice. Not sure I can necessarily "recommend" this due to such a weird, disturbing perpetrator, but it definitely kept me reading.
June 15, 2016
Not my typical genre/read.
Compelling and disturbing, this tells the story of a brilliant but deeply disturbed man who murdered his beautiful, good-hearted wife. Martin MacNeill pretended to be a doctor for nearly 30 years but had never finished medical school. In fact, it appears his entire life was an act: he pretended to be a loving husband, devoted father, Doctor, lawyer, and religious man. However, he was a fraud, an adulterer, and a murderer. The story was engaging but very sad. Tragic.
My biggest complaint is that several details were inaccurate or completely wrong. Most of the inaccuracies related to the LDS faith (Mormons). Things like saying the MacNeill family went to the temple to worship on Sunday or that Martin taught Sunday school in the temple. Simple misunderstandings of my faith and yet inaccuracies nevertheless. These and a couple of other inaccuracies made me question what else the author might have gotten wrong. I do hope Michele's family was/is able to find peace.
Compelling and disturbing, this tells the story of a brilliant but deeply disturbed man who murdered his beautiful, good-hearted wife. Martin MacNeill pretended to be a doctor for nearly 30 years but had never finished medical school. In fact, it appears his entire life was an act: he pretended to be a loving husband, devoted father, Doctor, lawyer, and religious man. However, he was a fraud, an adulterer, and a murderer. The story was engaging but very sad. Tragic.
My biggest complaint is that several details were inaccurate or completely wrong. Most of the inaccuracies related to the LDS faith (Mormons). Things like saying the MacNeill family went to the temple to worship on Sunday or that Martin taught Sunday school in the temple. Simple misunderstandings of my faith and yet inaccuracies nevertheless. These and a couple of other inaccuracies made me question what else the author might have gotten wrong. I do hope Michele's family was/is able to find peace.
June 12, 2016
Okay true crime read. It is mostly interesting because it is a local story. Wealthy doctor kills wife and nearly gets away with it. He is terrible, but I'm always disgusted by the women who enable them. Girlfriends and even wife. In this case his daughters come out the heroines, by forcing law enforcement to reopen the case.
April 28, 2017
This is the first true crime story in a long time that actually deeply disturbed me. Marin MacNeil is clearly a freaking psychopath, that much was established in his childhood. Nothing he did made sense and he seems completely heartless. Gypsy is clearly a pathological liar and all I wanted to do was come through these pages and slap her. This case is going to stay with me for a long time.
May 18, 2017
Having just read Fatal Vision (Jeffery MacDonald) and this book back-to-back I'm amazed at the similarities in these guys! They are both egotistical, controlling, arrogant, perfectionist, adulterous, evil, murdering psycho doctors. They should be locked up in the same cell! The book was well written, maybe Shanna Hogan will become the Ann Rule of the next generation.
May 7, 2015
I had watched a chronicle of this case on one of the nightly newshour shows and it seemed the book left out some of the information. That coupled with the repitiveness of some of the narrative throughout the book made this an okay read for me. An interesting true crime case overall.
February 8, 2016
Martin was very accomplished, at destroying people's lives, that is. Text book sociopath. My heart goes out for the family that was victimized. The author was quite thorough in her research, making for an interesting court case.
September 30, 2021
A sad story. Many lives ruined by the machinations of a sociopath turned psychopath. Told with all of the excitement of a TV mystery.
February 5, 2016
First read of 2016 and I read it in a day and half. This is the true story of a former LDS bishop (and doctor) and his Relief Society president wife who ends up murdered by him.
September 22, 2020
*Audiobook review* The case itself was compelling enough, but the writing was a overly detailed, repetitive, and slow. It was about 100 pages longer than it really needed to be.
January 5, 2018
A brutal and fascinating look into a man and the crimes he committed, I particularly liked how the ending thematically tied together the “stranger” motif of the title
November 8, 2020
What an interesting true crime.
February 22, 2022
Bone chilling! I had never heard of this case before but couldn’t put the book down once I started. If you are a fan of true crime this is the book for you!
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