In 1986, Paula Sims' first child was reported stolen within two weeks of her birth and later found dead in the woods. It was dismissed as a tragedy, a freak event. But when, three years later, her... This description may be from another edition of this product.
I loved this book. I am originally from Brighton, Illinois and this story has been a living part of my life. From the time that her first went "missing" we were thrown into the drama of a small town crime. I have read this book several times and still get chills from the readings. I personally believe that Rob had his hand in the crimes as well but that's just my own opinion. I still follow the story whenever it is highlighted and everything that is said can be tied back into the book and my actual memories. I guess you could say that I'm one of those who slows down to view the wreck.
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Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Another book was written about her, "Precious Victims" by Don W. Weber, Charles Bosworth Jr. This case was done on TLC's "Medical Detectives" and Court TV's "Foresic Files".
Insight to Post-Partum Psychosis
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
This book is a well-written, in-depth accounting of the life of Paula Sims, who suffered from post-partum psychosis exacerbated by a domineering abusive jerk of a husband. He had no respect for women, as he probably did not respect himself, and put Paula under intense pressure to meet all of his many demands before she met the needs of their children. Paula's first child, Loralei, was mysteriously kidnapped at age 13 days. Paula later admitted that she drowned her. When she had a boy, Randy, she was relieved because now her husband had a son, which he much preferred over a daughter. This took some of the pressure off of her. However, if she was busy taking care of Randy, her husband Rob warned her to hurry up, and said that HE, her husband, came first. What a guy. When Paula gave birth to another little girl, the pressures started building up, and she began having obsessive thoughts again about her baby girl. Reading in between the lines, I almost got the feeling that Paula felt subconsciously encouraged by Rob to "get rid" of the girls, and that she then would be rewarded by him as having done something good. This book conveys Paula's state of mind, and how she could commit these acts because at the time, she felt as though there were no alternatives available to her. Rob kept her isolated, she had no support system, and she was very depressed due to her circumstances (living under Rob's rigid rules), the death of her brother (to whom she was very close), and childhood sexual abuse by her grandfather. It was as though Paula never had a chance. If she had never married Rob, her life would have been completely different. I wonder how her son Randy fared after being raised by such a weirdo. I'm afraid Rob would want him to be just like him, and see absolutely nothing wrong in it.
hard to put down
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
I liked this book very much, though I didn't hold much hope for it at first. It's a riveting read, the author has a talent for holding your interest and making the book enjoyable, even though it's about a young mother, abused by her husband and who had been molested by her grandfather as a child, who murders her two infant daughters several years apart and claims each was abducted from her house under her nose. The one problem I had was about the husband. There was plenty about him up until the murders, and then he is portrayed mainly as a detective magazine fan who thinks he knows more than the cops do about solving crimes. You read that Paula confesses to the author after being found guilty of the murder of her second baby, from prison. But I ended the book feeling there was not closure in the role of the husband. I almost felt that he caused her if not forced her to rid them of their daughters. (Their son, the middle child, had been allowed to live. But, the author is so talented this was very easy to read to the last page.
Outstanding true crime: insightful, thorough, and balanced
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
The crimes were horrible and strange: two infant girls kidnapped from the same family in a two and a half year period in two different towns by a masked, gun-wielding man. That was what Paula Sims told the police. The truth is even stranger and more horrible: each baby girl was drowned by her mother, who then disposed of them. This stunning truth is contained in the last chapter of Dying Dreams, where Paula Sims, convicted of the murder of her second daughter Heather, confesses to the author about each murder and body disposal, though she denies freezing the Heather's body [there is some forensic evidence that this did happen] before dumping the body in a trash can at a rest stop. I have been reading true crime for over eight years and cannot remember any other work that contains a confession from the criminal. The rest of this book also benefits from Paula's many conversations with the author. Her life is described in much greater detail than the other book on this case, Precious Victims. She also describes several summers of sexual abuse at the hands of a grandfather and bad cases of postpartum depression after each of her daughters were born. Neither of these factors excuses her crimes, but the postpartum depression is mitigating and was never brought forth in her trial. The largest factor for her murders is plainly described here: her loveless marriage to an ultra-fussy, malcontented, verbally abusive, control freak named Rob. The most poignant moment for me was the recollection of Paula's hospital roommate describing her calling Rob and apologizing for having given birth to a girl. His attitude toward baby girls [and women in general] seems to be a contributing factor toward the murder of each child.This book is well organized and plainly written, and the author interviewed many of the people connected to this story. This is the rare true crime book that, when you have finished it, you feel as though you know who, what, where, when, how, and, most importantly, why the crime occured and all the circumstances that led up to and surrounded it. Amazingly, at the end of this book, you've heard most of those things from the criminal herself.
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