Someone Has To Die Tonight

by Jim Greenhill

Lords Of Chaos

It was big news in Ft. Myers, Florida when an abandoned historic building was destroyed by vandals in a spectacular blast.  Behind it lay the Lords of Chaos, a band of teenage misfits led by Kevin Foster, 18, a vicious hatemonger who idolized Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and was known as "God" to his five-man gang.

Vortex Of Violence

The explosion was only one episode in a month-long crime spree that began with vandalism and theft, escalating into what a local sheriff later called "a vortex of bloodlust and arson."  The rampage culminated in the brutal shotgun murder of high school band director Mark Schwebes, 32. Police busted the gang before they could unleash a planned racist mass murder at Disney World--but their leader wasn't done yet.

Compulsion To Kill

Author Jim Greenhill conducted extensive interviews with Kevin Foster on Florida's Death Row. In an astounding development, Greenhill was solicited by the prisoner and his mother Ruby Foster to arrange the killings of three witnesses, leading to a new case against Foster in 2002. Here is the chilling inside story of how a pack of teenage losers found a way to succeed--at murder.  .  .

16 Pages Of Shocking Photos

Praise for Jim Greenhill and Someone Has to Die Tonight

"Fascinatingly lurid  . . . insightful and well written. . . . Greenhill has brought the light of excellent reporting and emotional insight to the brooding darkness that consumes fringe-dwellers at virtually any high school."
--Mike Clark, The Durango Herald (Durango, CO)

"Recommended reading. . . . True crime in the strictest sense . . . the most factual account possible of the events of that stormy April."
--Jay MacDonald, The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)

"Greenhill, a big fan of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, did his hero proud . . . the most detailed true crime you will read."
--Sam Cook, The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)

"Meticulously reported and carefully crafted, a major debut."
--Gregg Olsen, bestselling author of Abandoned Prayers

"Riveting and gut wrenching."
--Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, bestselling author of On Killing

"A searing look, by a true journalist, behind a sordid tale of murder and deception--a real page-turner."
--M. William Phelps, author of Murder in the Heartland

"An extraordinary book . . . compelling . . . it accumulates force as it rolls along and winds up flooring you with the sheer power of Greenhill's reporting."
--Bob Norman, The Daily Pulp

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction

445 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was fascinating to me because I grew up in Ft Myers and my father employed the grandfather of one of the four boys. The writing however jumped around a lot and got bogged down in a little too much detail.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been a really good book especially with the topic. I felt that it jumped all over the place in the first half. When I got to the second half of the book it picked up and I wanted to read more.

[Mike O'brien]

My roomate at military school wrote this book and I'm just starting it. Here I go Jim! Good so far ...

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating and tragic 1990s murder case from Ft. Myers, Florida, featuring a group of teenage losers who form a would-be gang and go on a short but deadly crime spree. I felt that the writing style (sentence fragments, stream-of-consciousness, etc.) sometimes distracted from the narrative, but there's no denying the amount of research that went into this book. It held my interest throughout.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gut wrenching true murder committed by four teenagers. One teenager was a classmate in music and band class who helped kill his teacher Mark Schwebes.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lords of Chaos was a group of teens in Fort Myers, Florida that went on a week-long rampage that ended with them shooting and killing a local teacher. Before the shooting, they had set fires, stolen and vandalized cars, robbed a diner and blown up the historic Coca Cola building in Fort Myers. Mark Schwebes, the teacher they killed, was an ex-marine and a beloved band director for Riverdale High School. Mark caught the teens as they were planning to vandalize the high school. Because he had seen them and could identify them, the decision was made that he had to die that night. The teens called Information and got his phone number and address. The plan was that one of the boys who knew Mr. Schwebes would ring his doorbell and when he answered the door run. Kevin Foster would hide in the bushes and when he saw Schwebes, would shoot him with his shotgun. That’s exactly how the murder played out with Schwebes dying immediately from a gunshot to the head. The boys had absolutely no remorse over their actions and were planning on more death and destruction in the future. The 4 teens (Kevin Foster, Pete Magnotti, Derek Shields, and Chris Black) couldn’t keep their mouths shut and bragged about killing the teacher. Eventually one of their friends went to the police and turned them in. Jim Greenhill does a great job with background information about each of the boys and their families. Kevin Wilson and his mother come across as particularly crazy and even attempt to bribe Greenhill to shoot some of the witnesses against Kevin. The Fort Myers police did a terrific job on the investigation of this crime and I’m glad that 3 of these teens will never be released from prison.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal true crime. Meticulously researched and compelling narrative. The story of seemingly normal teenagers from good homes going way off track, all for a sense of belonging and acceptance by a budding sociopath. Like the best true crime drama, The Stranger Beside Me by Anne Rule, Greenhill has a personal link that isn’t revealed until the Afterward. Blew me away!

[Kee Ables]

It starts out slowly, but picks up. It's a sad story, but interesting.