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Markham hailed from the opposite side of the country:  Modesto, California, where he had grown up a junkie, and his drug of choice:  Fast cars.  More than a few tickets for speeding and street racing did he have under his belt, all as a juvenile.  Remembering those days, he pushed the pedal down further, watching the needle of the rented sedan slide past the 60MPH line and smiling at the memories.

As soon as his smile broadened, he recalled why they were driving into Livingston County, Kentucky, to the area called the Land Between the Lakes and the smile dropped off his face.

The Beast of LBL had claimed its first, second, third, and fourth victims, not twenty-four hours ago.

Livingston County Sheriffs, Park Rangers, KY State Police, even the local FBI field office had been at the site since two in the morning of the day before, studying it, collecting evidence and forming conclusions.  Unlucky for him, they had also been contaminating the scene, most likely.

The area they were headed to was a tourist mecca this time of year.  It was right around the time when the leaves turned orange and fell off the trees, making a beautiful carpet of oak and spruce under foot, but just before winter came with a vengeance straight out of the Bible.  Every year the Land Between the Lakes region was packed with campers and vacationers galore, but some enterprising few always arrived early to get the best spots.  One such choice area was just off of the camping trail, he had been informed, about five-hundred yards off the path, between a lackadaisically babbling brook and heavy tree cover.

That was where the recreational vehicle had been found.  And the victims.  Well, three of them, anyway; the fourth had been found up a tree deeper in the forest.

A Park Ranger recalled helping a family of four—young husband and wife and two children, a boy of about eight and girl of five—find that particular spot three days ago.  He could recall they were in a brand new recreational vehicle with Florida plates.  The man was a lawyer or a doctor, he couldn’t remember which; the wife was a stay-at-home-mom.  The kids were the cutest things, so he recalled the record stating.

Around 0050 hours by his watch, the Park Ranger had heard a commotion of some sort and had gone to investigate.  Animal sounds (howls and screeches) could be heard in the general direction of the family’s RV, along with what had sounded at the time to be human screams and loud banging.

Upon his arrival (roughly 0054-0055 hours) he witnessed the front door (screen) to be partially torn from its moorings and the lower pane of the front-right window to be shattered.  Due to the nature of the RV’s condition and the sounds formerly heard at the location, the Park Ranger drew his weapon and investigated, at which time he encountered the scene within and called the sheriff.

Markham had read the reports—one report for each investigating organization—many times.  He had scanned every page, every paragraph, every sentence and every word for the slightest trace of cop disbelief, of a police officer or federal agent’s note of disdain for the scene or a witness, and he had found none.

The reporting officers and agents truly believed that something out of the ordinary had happened in that trailer.

Upon arrival at the trailer, I (Sheriff’s Deputy Philip Douglas, ID # 7754) did see the screen door and window busted.  While no blood was seen on the outside, there was a large pool inside the door.  Just inside the door and within the pool of blood was a severed left arm (from hand to mid-biceps) belonging to Mrs. Young.  I observed from the doorway Mr. Young lying partially against the RV’s rear wall, partially in the kitchenette.  I could not discern the position or placement of the Young children from the door.  I was ordered at that time to await the arrival of the Sheriff.

Some of the accounts were written better, some worse.  Not all of them had the flair for the written word that he had seen in others.

At roughly 0100 hours I received a call at my home about a potential multiple murder.  I arrived on-scene roughly 0120 and did observe the RV in the state previously dictated by Park Ranger Milton Weinstein and Sheriff’s Deputy Philip Douglas.  Upon close examination of the scene within, I was able to locate the dismembered bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Young, as well as Bradley Young, the male child.  Megan Young, the female child, was not located.  A Cinderella pajama shirt was found, partially torn in four places, and lying in the rear of the trailer on the outside, found by Sheriff’s Deputy Alfred Myers.

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