The true crime story that would become “Torture at the Back Forty” began the night after Christmas, 1983. Margaret Anderson was a divorced mother out on a date in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when she met her tragic and horrific end.

Her story would dominate the local news for the next three years as local law enforcement agencies and the Brown County District Attorney’s office worked to bring her killers to justice.

My involvement with the story began in 2004, when I began working as a co-author with Jerry Parins on his book, “Bodyguard to the Packers – Beat Cops, Brett Favre and Beating Cancer.” Jerry, who went on to serve as the Green Bay Packers’ security director, was one of the lead detectives on Margaret’s case during his career with the Green Bay Police Department. His description of the investigation is a chapter in “Bodyguard to the Packers.”

After “Bodyguard to the Packers” came out, my publisher, Tracy Ertl at TitleTown Publishing, suggested I continue on and put together a true crime book solely dedicated to the Margaret Anderson case.

As much as I thought I knew about the case from Jerry, the next year and a half of investigative work proved to be one of the more fascinating projects of my 30-year writing career.

Posted by Mike on April 13, 2009 at 9:45 AM under
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