The Book
Eight Drops of Blood is the forthcoming true crime novel about the murders of Kim Camm and her small children, Bradley and Jill, in rural Georgetown, Indiana on September 28, 2000. Former Indiana State Trooper David Camm, husband to Kim and father to Brad and Jill, was arrested three days later. The case has divided the community, with many (if not most) people in Southern Indiana and the Louisville, Kentucky area believing David Camm to be guilty.
The Indiana State Police, David Camm’s former co-workers and friends, zeroed in on him as the prime suspect in the slayings. They failed to chase down other leads, mainly because they relied on the expertise of Rob Stites, who they believed was a nationally renowned blood spatter analyst. Rob Stites told police and prosecutors that David Camm’s t-shirt had traces of so-called High Velocity Impact Spatter, which meant that he was standing within four feet of his daughter when she was shot.
Unbeknownst to police and prosecutors, Rob Stites was not an expert. He was an office assistant for the actual expert hired to review the crime scene. Within 36 hours of Stites arriving in Southern Indiana, David Camm was arrested based on the guesswork of a forensics novice, even though 11 men asserted that David Camm was playing basketball with them at the time of the murders.
Eight Drops of Blood is a narrative nonfiction true crime novel. It incorporates an asynchronous chronology in order to keep the readers informed of details that the characters within the tale did not know at the time.
Details of the Camm murders have appeared on 48 Hours, Dateline NBC, and Nancy Grace. The media coverage of the case painted David Camm as an adulterer, child molester and murderer.
Eight Drops of Blood is an indictment of the system that put David Camm behind bars. The police and prosecutors twisted evidence to fit their narrative. Jailhouse informants traded made-up confessions for sentence reductions. False experts offered false testimony, and a career criminal that forensics tied to the scene became the star witness for the prosecution.
Eight Drops of Blood is a true crime book that shows sometimes the true crime lies in the methods of police and prosecutors.
The Crime:
September 28, 2000 in was a typical fall day for a typical suburban family. Mom, overworked and underappreciated, struggled to juggle her career and get the kids to school and after-school activities. Dad enjoyed coffee in the morning, long lunches, and basketball after work with friends.
This day, however, would turn tragic as someone followed Kim Camm home and murdered her and her children. Somehow, someone had snuck into this tiny community, killed the family, and escaped unseen.
David Camm was playing in a weekly basketball game at his church. Eleven men saw him playing basketball from 7:00 pm until 9:20 pm that night. During that time, his family would be shot to death.
When David Camm arrived home from basketball, he discovered his family had been slain. His wife and daughter had been shot in the head. His son had a single bullet wound to his chest. David Camm claims to have tried to perform CPR on his son and then called the Indiana State Police for help.
David’s uncle, a retired cop, was across the street, and David ran to get him for help. David's uncle saw that the family was gone, and that he and David needed to secure the crime scene, which was washed in blood.
And that is where the story begins.
ALSO BY TONY BAIZE
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Eight Drops of Blood:
How a few bungling cops, questionable experts,
and three overzealous prosecutors got
a murder case wrong again and again
by Tony Baize
and
Robert W. Graham
PO Box 4828
Frankfort, KY 40604
