With One Shot: Family Murder and a Search for Justice

On March 1, 1970, the lives of Marcic (adult learning and leadership, Teachers Coll., Columbia Univ.; Love Lift Me Higher) and her family were thrown into chaos when the author's uncle, LaVerne Stordock, was shot and killed. Stordock's second wife, Suzanne, confessed to the murder, pleaded insanity, and was released from a mental institution within 11 months. But many questions remained about that night. Why were Stordock's stepson David's fingerprints on the rifle? Why did Suzanne use a sniper rifle she had no experience shooting? Why did she call the sheriff's home rather than office to confess the crime? Decades later, Marcic and her cousin Shannon began looking more closely into the case, reviewing evidence, digging up documents, and interviewing David, Suzanne, and other family members. The author indulges in some wild speculation reimagining the night of the murder, but there will be no doubt in readers' minds that the case was poorly investigated and that strings may have been pulled in high places to protect either Suzanne or her son from the consequences of their actions.