Our
very own Jane Alexander's remarkable story is now on the bookshelves. For
the hundreds, if not thousands, of CAH members that have worked with Jane over
the past 5 years and have wondered about how she came to be involved in the
victims rights arena, now is your chance to get to know all the fascinating
details.
Approximately three years ago, a local newspaper, the Pacific
Sun, ran a front-page cover story about Jane Alexander, CAH Vice-President and
Jan Miller, CAH President, and their separate but eventually co-mingled
stories.
A local author named James Dalessandro saw the article and was
totally entranced with the idea of writing a book. Dalessandro felt that
Jane's story should be told. Jane and Jim met and before Jane knew it, the
book was a "go".
In 1983, Jane Alexander was a
sixty-one-year-old widow and mother of six children who lived in Marin County,
California, with her romantic partner, Tom O'Donnell. A family friend for
twenty-five years, Tom had captivated Jane with his carefree lifestyle and
charming personality. He helped her through her grief after her husband's
death and promised her a happy future.
But on October 23, Jane's aunt, Gertrude
McCabe, was found brutally murdered in her San Jose home. And the killer,
Tom O'Donnell, fled with over $10,000 of Jane's cash. Soon she discovered
that he had bilked her out of more than $200,000 of equity in her home, which
she was about to lose.
With little forensic evidence to support an
arrest, Jane Alexander worked diligently to bring her aunt's murderer to
justice. For thirteen years, she fought through the bureaucratic red tape
of the criminal justice system even as she struggled with bankruptcy. She
would not stop until her former lover was behind bars.....this is her story.
(taken from the inside cover of
"Citizen Jane")
During the course of writing this book, Jim enlisted the
assistance of an accomplished writer friend of his, David Mehnert. David
spent countless hours with Jane pouring over facts of the murder case and Jane's
life and assisted Jim in writing this true crime story.
The book "Citizen Jane" takes you along on Jane's tumultuous and, often
times, frustrating journey through the criminal justice system. It
relates the total shock and denial that all victims go through when they receive
that life-altering phone call or knock at the front door, to sitting in the
courtroom and hearing the jury foreman's words, "Guilty or first degree
murder!"
For those interested in reading Jane's
story, click on the cover image above to order through Amazon.com. This
book is a true inspiration to the many survivors of such a tragedy to NEVER GIVE
UP! Get educated about the criminal justice system and then get going on
your own fight.
