Convenient Suspect

A Double Murder, a Flawed Investigation, and the Railroading of an Innocent Woman

By: Tammy Mal

Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

On Thursday, December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son, Alex, went missing from their Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, home. Four months later, when their bodies were found in a lonely patch of woods, the police would launch a three-year investigation leading to the arrest of Patricia Lynne Rorrer - a young mother who had never met either victim - as the monster responsible.

In what would become Pennsylvania's first use of mitochondrial DNA in a criminal case, Patricia Rorrer was quickly tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. But did the jury make the right decision? Is Patricia Rorrer truly guilty? As new evidence continues to surface, including allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and evidence tampering, that question requires an answer even more.

With a subject matter and storytelling style reminiscent of the hit podcast Serial, Convenient Suspect will appeal to a wide audience. The audiobook reveals information never before made public - information gathered directly from more than 10,000 official documents, including Pennsylvania State Police reports, FBI files, forensic lab results, and the 6,500-page trial transcript. Through four years of intensive research, countless interviews with those involved, and hundreds of letters, phone calls, and personal visits with Patricia Rorrer, the truth about the evidence used to convict her can finally be revealed.

©2017 Tammy Mal (P)2017 ListenUp Audiobooks

It's worth the read

I couldn't stop listening to it. It was a very interesting and a very sad story.

"Quote. End Quote"

I actually really enjoyed the book. Well written and researched. I'll be honest in saying I did find the the constant "quote and end quote" around every line of dialogue kind of disruptive. It took away from the flow of the book and got downright annoying in some sections. I really liked the reader though, and perhaps there were reasons the book was read like that? I listen to many true crime books and this was the first where I noticed this issue. Other than that niggle it was a good book, and sure does make you wonder about the way the investigation was handled.

Quote great book unquote

Loved the story it hit close to home. Well written also. I don't know if it's actually written in the book or not but all the quote unquote made it hard to listen to at times. Otherwise great book

Counting Hairs and Re-examining a Flawed Case

What a book and crime/legal case! I ordered the Audible book yesterday afternoon and could not go to bed until I had listened all the way to the end, then listened again to the concluding segments from chapter 20 on again this morning. Tammy Mal has masterfully described the characters and their relationships, examined the evidence and case files and reports in depth, and counted the hairs and the holes in the prosecution's case against Patty Rorrer, resident of North Carolina, for the murder conviction in the case in Pennsylvania of Joann and her baby. The first use of mitochondrial DNA for a case in Pennsylvania with contaminated samples by either at crime scene or in the labs and in very recent years the FBI reports that the lab results and reports prior to 2001 may be flawed in 90 percent of the cases.

The investigators in North Carolina may have problems also with chain of evidence and pushing possible witnesses to backtrack on statements.

Whether you watch process for juries, prosecution, defense, or appeals, or just the news, this book should be as much an eye-opener for the reader as it was for the author. People should be appalled that the evidence may have been scrambled or has been misplaced or destroyed. How many cases are having problems with the "Brady rule"?

Counting hairs--you got to read the book!

"Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry"

Very very one sided

All evidence supporting guilt was glanced over while all other evidence was questioned as a huge sweeping conspiracy. “As with Andy’ is not a defense. There seemed to be a lot of diverse evidence against her. And when the hair was tested after the case and matched to patty, the author argues ‘why was the victim’s dna not also on the hair’. What a stretch, very biased

Great great great until...

this was great until midway through. the author started with QUOTE - UNQUOTE. For nearly everything. it was not needed. It ruined the whole book in the audible sense. Very irritating. I was totally into the story. what a shame.

Interesting

I found the book to be very interesting and feel that after hearing the evidence, our legal system is flawed. But while listening, I was annoyed by the repetition of the word “quote”. I understand you are speaking as that person and could not follow along easily with all the “quotes “ thrown in to the mix. Aside from that, it’s worth the listen.

use of terms quote and end quote ad nauseam

Oh my, I pity the narrator. Seriously, use of the terms quote and end quote number in the thousands! I wonder how this audiobook ever got past an editor and producer? And now the good news, story is very good. Author discloses upfront that the expressed opinions are her own, and when they're co-mingled with facts, you get the story.

Amazing Story!!!

Wake up innocence project!!!
This book was so well done. Incredible story! The hard work of the author is evident throughout the story. The only thing annoying on audible was the amount of times the performer said quote.

Well done!

I grew up in the Lehigh Valley, however, I moved away before December 1994. I was not aware of this case until recently. The Wrong Man series about this case spurred my interest to know more details. In my opinion, Ms. Mal achieved her objective to present both sides through the evidence and court testimony. Like other reviewers, I found the "quote unquote" distracting, but it wasn't enough to give up a review star. It is evident that there has never been enough evidence to convict this woman. it is amazing how a person can be put away for life (almost death penalty) even though there is (SO MUCH) reasonable doubt about Patty Rorrer's involvement in this crime. I hope something can be done, someone can come forward to help. This woman deserves DNA testing of every piece of evidence and a new trial at the very least.