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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
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 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...
January 8, 2026
Mosaic Pieces: Surviving the Dark Side of American Justice is a meticulously researched and deeply troubling nonfiction narrative that exposes how investigative failures and courtroom inconsistencies can shape and distort lives for generations. Wes Skillings approaches the story with journalistic discipline, carefully assembling evidence, testimony, and historical context to reveal a case riddled with unanswered questions and procedural flaws.
What gives Mosaic Pieces its lasting impact is the way the book extends beyond the crime itself. By tracing the lives of multiple generations affected by the conviction, Skillings transforms the narrative into a broader examination of justice, memory, and institutional accountability. The restrained prose allows the facts to speak for themselves, making the discrepancies and injustices all the more unsettling. This is not sensational true crime it is a serious, humane reckoning with the consequences of a broken system.
What gives Mosaic Pieces its lasting impact is the way the book extends beyond the crime itself. By tracing the lives of multiple generations affected by the conviction, Skillings transforms the narrative into a broader examination of justice, memory, and institutional accountability. The restrained prose allows the facts to speak for themselves, making the discrepancies and injustices all the more unsettling. This is not sensational true crime it is a serious, humane reckoning with the consequences of a broken system.
January 8, 2026
Mosaic Pieces: Surviving the Dark Side of American Justice is a haunting and meticulously documented examination of a case that exposes how fragile truth can become once it enters the justice system. Wes Skillings weaves together three generations of family history with the chilling details of a 1973 murder investigation riddled with contradictions, questionable forensic conclusions, and troubling courtroom testimony. What elevates this book beyond standard true crime is its journalistic rigor and moral restraint. Skillings does not sensationalize tragedy. Instead, he patiently assembles the evidence, allowing readers to confront the uncomfortable possibility of injustice on their own terms. This is a powerful, sobering read for anyone interested in wrongful convictions, investigative failures, and the long shadow such cases cast over families and communities.
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 - 5 of 5 reviews