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Burn, Judy, Burn
Twenty-three-year-old Steven T. Judy gloried in being "the star" of television. He loved hearing the sound of his own voice on radio. His name was splashed in dynamite headlines on the front pages of newspapers across the state of Indiana and it thrilled him — he clung to every word. When he walked, he threw his head back and pranced, like the grand stud of the stable. His deep-set blue eyes danced from side-to-side, making sure everyone's attention was on him.
To achieve his stardom, Judy committed the worst crime Morgan County, Indiana, had ever known. He beat, raped and strangled to death a young mother, and then drowned her three small children. When he was apprehended, reporters and TV news crews began following him around like he was the second coming of John Dillinger, a man Judy was said to have idolized and historically the state's most notorious criminal. But even Dillinger, the bank robbing 1930s FBI public enemy No. 1, was never accused of such heinous crimes.
The morning of April 28, 1979 started out like a morning of any other day, with Terry Chasteen on her way to drop off her children at a baby-sitter’s before going to work. Little did any of them know this would be the last morning they would see.
Terry, a warm and caring mother, was a happy, life-loving young woman and a God-fearing person. She didn’t deserve to be raped and strangled; and her innocent young children certainly didn’t deserve to die. They’d hardly had a chance to know life before theirs were cruelly snuffed out.
Steven T. Judy was sentenced to death by electrocution by a Morgan County, Indiana, jury for his horrible crimes. Many people wondered why Terry Lee Chasteen and her three small children were murdered on the banks of White Lick Creek in Morgan County — the man who killed them had managed to slip through the system and should never have been allowed back on the streets.
Their murderer was a young man who was considered a dangerous boy at age 10, and a criminal sexual psychopath by age 13. Why had Indiana Central State Hospital released him, and was God taking a nap on the morning of April 28, 1979?
To achieve his stardom, Judy committed the worst crime Morgan County, Indiana, had ever known. He beat, raped and strangled to death a young mother, and then drowned her three small children. When he was apprehended, reporters and TV news crews began following him around like he was the second coming of John Dillinger, a man Judy was said to have idolized and historically the state's most notorious criminal. But even Dillinger, the bank robbing 1930s FBI public enemy No. 1, was never accused of such heinous crimes.
The morning of April 28, 1979 started out like a morning of any other day, with Terry Chasteen on her way to drop off her children at a baby-sitter’s before going to work. Little did any of them know this would be the last morning they would see.
Terry, a warm and caring mother, was a happy, life-loving young woman and a God-fearing person. She didn’t deserve to be raped and strangled; and her innocent young children certainly didn’t deserve to die. They’d hardly had a chance to know life before theirs were cruelly snuffed out.
Steven T. Judy was sentenced to death by electrocution by a Morgan County, Indiana, jury for his horrible crimes. Many people wondered why Terry Lee Chasteen and her three small children were murdered on the banks of White Lick Creek in Morgan County — the man who killed them had managed to slip through the system and should never have been allowed back on the streets.
Their murderer was a young man who was considered a dangerous boy at age 10, and a criminal sexual psychopath by age 13. Why had Indiana Central State Hospital released him, and was God taking a nap on the morning of April 28, 1979?
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
374 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 11, 2026
This is difficult to read due to content, especially because it really happened. It was interesting to read names of people I know or used to know.
July 20, 2016
Bought this copy (Thanks Shauney xx) This one has been on my wish list for years. Yee Haw
Update July 17 2016.
Began reading yesterday and on the first pages it showed graves of victims with names and who killed whom.
I hate that! I was so pissed of. I thought I had skipped it like I always skip the prologues in true crime books and I began with the chapter called Steven Judy's childhood. Sounds good right? No! because on the first page she tells what he did and to whom. Just because it is true crime it does not mean an author should not build their stories up?
Anyway I was on the verge of picking something else but read anyway. I can see why people like it. I have read 1/5th of the book. I do like that there are many pictures but I prefer them to be in chronological order so not on page 1. This book has a lot of photos which is good.
Update July 20:
Finished yesterday.. All in all I can't give it 4 stars even though I did like the second part of the book much more (even though it was quite repetitive) what happened at the start plus the fact that we got to get to know the killer but not the victim.
Update July 17 2016.
Began reading yesterday and on the first pages it showed graves of victims with names and who killed whom.
I hate that! I was so pissed of. I thought I had skipped it like I always skip the prologues in true crime books and I began with the chapter called Steven Judy's childhood. Sounds good right? No! because on the first page she tells what he did and to whom. Just because it is true crime it does not mean an author should not build their stories up?
Anyway I was on the verge of picking something else but read anyway. I can see why people like it. I have read 1/5th of the book. I do like that there are many pictures but I prefer them to be in chronological order so not on page 1. This book has a lot of photos which is good.
Update July 20:
Finished yesterday.. All in all I can't give it 4 stars even though I did like the second part of the book much more (even though it was quite repetitive) what happened at the start plus the fact that we got to get to know the killer but not the victim.
March 16, 2024
Steven Judy is the subject here and the man had a mother who had a series of one night stands and a father who was a frequent prisoner. Steve committed his first rape at thirteen and continued on his nasty ways until his visit with the electric chair at twenty-four.
The testimony of several girlfriends is quite amusing as they describe sexual marathons with the insatiable man. They believed it to be completely normal for a partner to be intimate four to five times a day. The morning shortly after the rape-murder of which he was convicted is a case in point. A witness spoke of having had intercourse several times that day.
The multiple marriages, children and drug use by most of the people involved here had me wondering if there are any normal human beings with stable family lives in existence.
Burn, Judy, Burn is only an average read.
The testimony of several girlfriends is quite amusing as they describe sexual marathons with the insatiable man. They believed it to be completely normal for a partner to be intimate four to five times a day. The morning shortly after the rape-murder of which he was convicted is a case in point. A witness spoke of having had intercourse several times that day.
The multiple marriages, children and drug use by most of the people involved here had me wondering if there are any normal human beings with stable family lives in existence.
Burn, Judy, Burn is only an average read.
January 19, 2019
Excellent True Crime With Riveting Details
I was not familiar with Steven Judy and the havoc he imposed on his victims but, but after reading about Judy’s crimes my belief in the Death Penalty is reaffirmed!
I was not familiar with Steven Judy and the havoc he imposed on his victims but, but after reading about Judy’s crimes my belief in the Death Penalty is reaffirmed!
October 21, 2024
an ok read
A case I knew little about previous to reading this book.
An interesting read in parts although not particularly written well .
A case I knew little about previous to reading this book.
An interesting read in parts although not particularly written well .
January 15, 2016
A great read. Deeply researched, heavily illustrated throughout, and written in a clear style -- no frills. Well worth a look if you are interested in the biography of an extremely dangerous man.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews