Further Reading for Cameron Todd Willingham and The Oakland County Child Killer
The Skeptical Juror and the Trial of Cameron Todd Willingham
The Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit’s Most Notorious Serial Killer
Epoisode: 3
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Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Since Willingham’s 2004 execution, significant controversy has arisen over the interpretation of the evidence that was used to convict him of arson and murder.
Willingham’s case and the investigative techniques were criticized by a 2004 Chicago Tribune article. The case was discussed again in a 2009 investigative report in The New Yorker. This coverage suggested that the arson evidence was misinterpreted. According to an August 2009 investigative report by an expert hired by the Texas Forensic Science Commission, the original claims of arson were doubtful. The Corsicana Fire Department disputes the findings, stating that the report overlooked several key points in the record. The 2011 documentary, Incendiary: The Willingham Case, also explored the case.
The case was complicated by allegations that Texas Governor Rick Perry impeded the investigation by replacing three of the nine Forensic Commission members in an attempt to change the commission’s findings; Perry denies the allegations
The Oakland County Child Killer (OCCK) aka The Babysitter Killer is an unidentified serial killer responsible for the murders of at least two girls and two boys in Oakland County, Michigan in 1976 and 1977. Several theories and suspects have been named in the case, but despite all these theories, the cases remain unsolved and the serial killer has never been identified.