What do you think?
Rate this book
Mosaic Pieces: Surviving the Dark Side of American Justice
Mosaic Surviving the Dark Side of American Justice
Wes Skillings
Mosaic Pieces is a nonfiction narrative about a murder, investigation, trial, and conviction in the 1970s you might call the centerpiece of three generations of family history. The murder case itself is fascinating—if only because of what had been learned in the aftermath of the trial at which twenty-year-old Kim Lee Hubbard was decreed guilty in Williamsport, Pennsylvania of the murder of twelve-year-old Jennifer May Hill.
Jennifer had been dead in a cornfield, according to the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy, for as many as nine days in the unseasonably warm and dry weather of that October. And yet the body on the autopsy table “was as fresh as if she had died just the day before,” according to the man who picked up the body and later embalmed it. It was just the beginning of a litany of discrepancies in evidence and testimony presented at the trial, as well as questionable investigative practices. The murder may have occurred on an Indian summer day in October 1973, but the story begins some forty-five years before with the compelling lives of Joe and Dorisann Hubbard leading up to their marriage and the tragedies and difficulties throughout their lives together.
About the Author
Wes Skillings is a published writer of a book about traumatic brain injury (A Matter of The Story of C.B. Miller) available through Amazon and B&N in soft and hardcover as well as on Kindle and Nook. Skillings has received numerous Keystone Press Awards from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA)—fifteen of them over his last eleven years in the business and eight of them first place in the state in their respective categories in news and feature writing. He served in the US Army, including a year in Vietnam as an intelligence analyst. Upon his return to the states, where he was on special assignment with the Defense Intelligence Agency, he married his wife, Mary, then went on to earn a BA in English and a minor in creative writing from Mansfield University. They have two adult married children, Pamela and Jeremy, and a nine-year-old grandson, Benjamin.
Wes Skillings
Mosaic Pieces is a nonfiction narrative about a murder, investigation, trial, and conviction in the 1970s you might call the centerpiece of three generations of family history. The murder case itself is fascinating—if only because of what had been learned in the aftermath of the trial at which twenty-year-old Kim Lee Hubbard was decreed guilty in Williamsport, Pennsylvania of the murder of twelve-year-old Jennifer May Hill.
Jennifer had been dead in a cornfield, according to the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy, for as many as nine days in the unseasonably warm and dry weather of that October. And yet the body on the autopsy table “was as fresh as if she had died just the day before,” according to the man who picked up the body and later embalmed it. It was just the beginning of a litany of discrepancies in evidence and testimony presented at the trial, as well as questionable investigative practices. The murder may have occurred on an Indian summer day in October 1973, but the story begins some forty-five years before with the compelling lives of Joe and Dorisann Hubbard leading up to their marriage and the tragedies and difficulties throughout their lives together.
About the Author
Wes Skillings is a published writer of a book about traumatic brain injury (A Matter of The Story of C.B. Miller) available through Amazon and B&N in soft and hardcover as well as on Kindle and Nook. Skillings has received numerous Keystone Press Awards from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA)—fifteen of them over his last eleven years in the business and eight of them first place in the state in their respective categories in news and feature writing. He served in the US Army, including a year in Vietnam as an intelligence analyst. Upon his return to the states, where he was on special assignment with the Defense Intelligence Agency, he married his wife, Mary, then went on to earn a BA in English and a minor in creative writing from Mansfield University. They have two adult married children, Pamela and Jeremy, and a nine-year-old grandson, Benjamin.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 17, 2022
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 4, 2022
a very informative, interesting book
...i am a true crime fan and have read many books on the subject...i was especially eager to read mr. skillings book as the events had occurred locally...i live approx. 20 min from williamsport, went to nursing school in sayre, pa (very close to the author's hometown), worked in the williamsport hospital, allen e. ertel was my attorney for several years (it was a non-criminal matter), and i personally knew some of the people involved in the investigation, prosecution & defense, etc...at 11yrs of age, i was close in age to the victim...i was living in my parents' home in milton, pa (approx. 30 min south of williamsport) & don't remember hearing of this tragedy at the time of its occurrence...i devoured this book...i feel that mr. skillings presented the events, discrepancies & various people involved in a thorough manner...he wrote in a manner that was easy to follow & easy to understand...i feel that he was non-judgemental in his presentation of the facts & he even included opposing opinions...the book was a smooth, interesting read that kept my attention - it was very hard for me to put it down...i now plan on checking out kim hubbard's website...
...i am a true crime fan and have read many books on the subject...i was especially eager to read mr. skillings book as the events had occurred locally...i live approx. 20 min from williamsport, went to nursing school in sayre, pa (very close to the author's hometown), worked in the williamsport hospital, allen e. ertel was my attorney for several years (it was a non-criminal matter), and i personally knew some of the people involved in the investigation, prosecution & defense, etc...at 11yrs of age, i was close in age to the victim...i was living in my parents' home in milton, pa (approx. 30 min south of williamsport) & don't remember hearing of this tragedy at the time of its occurrence...i devoured this book...i feel that mr. skillings presented the events, discrepancies & various people involved in a thorough manner...he wrote in a manner that was easy to follow & easy to understand...i feel that he was non-judgemental in his presentation of the facts & he even included opposing opinions...the book was a smooth, interesting read that kept my attention - it was very hard for me to put it down...i now plan on checking out kim hubbard's website...
Read
December 12, 2025Mosaic Pieces by Wes Skillings is a gripping narrative nonfiction that examines the dark and often flawed side of the American justice system. Through the lens of a 1970s murder case in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Skillings weaves a story that spans generations, blending investigative detail with compelling family history.
Skillings masterfully highlights discrepancies, questionable investigative practices, and the human impact of a legal system under strain, creating a narrative that is both informative and emotionally engaging. The story of Kim Lee Hubbard and Jennifer May Hill transcends a single case, offering readers insight into the broader societal and systemic forces at play.
A deeply researched and thoughtfully written work, Mosaic Pieces is essential reading for true crime enthusiasts, social justice advocates, and anyone interested in the interplay of law, ethics, and human resilience.
Skillings masterfully highlights discrepancies, questionable investigative practices, and the human impact of a legal system under strain, creating a narrative that is both informative and emotionally engaging. The story of Kim Lee Hubbard and Jennifer May Hill transcends a single case, offering readers insight into the broader societal and systemic forces at play.
A deeply researched and thoughtfully written work, Mosaic Pieces is essential reading for true crime enthusiasts, social justice advocates, and anyone interested in the interplay of law, ethics, and human resilience.
November 14, 2023
Excellent reexamination of a terrible crime
In spite of the awful, sad crime that involved the death of a child, I truly enjoyed the subject matter of this book. The author lays out a plethora of material that brings into question the guilt or innocense of a man that did the time. I was only a year old when this happened, but I grew up within a few miles of the events, and I lived next door to a prominent subject mentioned in the early chapters. That person and their family played a big part of my life growing up, I NEVER had any idea of the ties to this sad story. Perhaps this made it all the more interesting to me. Ultimately, the prosecution did an all around lousy job of investigating this heinous crime, the sad truth is, the guilty person(s) likely walked free...
In spite of the awful, sad crime that involved the death of a child, I truly enjoyed the subject matter of this book. The author lays out a plethora of material that brings into question the guilt or innocense of a man that did the time. I was only a year old when this happened, but I grew up within a few miles of the events, and I lived next door to a prominent subject mentioned in the early chapters. That person and their family played a big part of my life growing up, I NEVER had any idea of the ties to this sad story. Perhaps this made it all the more interesting to me. Ultimately, the prosecution did an all around lousy job of investigating this heinous crime, the sad truth is, the guilty person(s) likely walked free...
June 10, 2023
The first 9 chapters are pretty strong. They're straight reporting. The book falls apart in the latter half. I grew up in South Williamsport, but was only vaguely familiar with the case. I guess the author's hypothesis is correct.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews