Articles
The Cray Divorcé – Phoenix Magazine, September 2018
A decade ago, Dwight Lamon Jones was a stay-at-home dad living in a million-dollar Scottsdale home. What caused him to snap and murder six people? Just before dawn on the morning of Monday, June 4, 2018, Phoenix Police Department SWAT officers, dressed in armored vests and black tactical gear, swarmed the Extended Stay America hotel […]
Desert Desertion – Phoenix Magazine, July 2018
Stranded in the desert near Crown King, Mick Ohman had no cell service and no water. What he did have: bagel chips and a full bladder. Navigating the rugged path down the mountain, Mick Ohman felt his Honda CR-V sputter and go slack. The engine was still running, but not delivering power to the wheels. […]
Another Dead Soldier – Phoenix New Times, June 2016
Luis Mariscal Munoz called the Phoenix VA Health Care System to say he wouldn’t be coming in to work. He drove to a shooting range at the Table Mesa Recreation Area off Interstate 17 and parked. At about 6:30 p.m., having walked about 70 feet from the car, he put a borrowed nine-millimeter handgun to […]
Her Other Victim – Phoenix New Times, February 2016
Seated in the waiting room of his empty Phoenix office, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi appears beaten and battle weary. Since gaining notoriety defending convicted murderer Jodi Arias, Nurmi has lost 75 pounds, and his clothing drapes loosely on his deflated frame. Yet, at 6-foot-2 and still rotund, he remains an imposing figure. Clasping both hands […]
Let It Glow – Times Publications, December 2013
More than 250,000 twinkling, multicolored Christmas lights varnish Lee Sepanek’s Phoenix home—one of the Valley’s most ornately decorated residences of the holiday season. Strings of bulbs drip from the towering trees above a lawn of shimmering snowmen, stars and Santa Clauses. Beaming reindeer adorn the roof, while red and green animatronic figurines flit and frolic […]
Dead End – Times Publications, October 2013
The dingy white box trailer baked beneath the afternoon sun in the parking lot of an Avis Lube and Oil near Indian School Road and 36th Street in Phoenix. It had been abandoned there by an unlikely murder suspect—Chad Norris, a Valley businessman and married father of four. For two days police had discreetly trailed […]
Lost in the Desert – Times Publications, September 2013
The searing summer sun bore down on Roger Sargeant as he staggered along the dusty path in the barren southern Arizona desert. He had been wandering alone for hours without water or shade, the intense heat leaving him weak and severely dehydrated. His skin was burnt and emaciated, his lips shriveled and white. Consumed with […]
Dog Gone Crazy, Times Publications, July 2013
Just one more shredded couch cushion or urine soaked rug and Karey Bohmer was going to have to make a difficult decision about her crazy cat. For years, Snookee, a 6-year-old Calico, had been moody and aggressive. She sneered and fought with Bohmer’s three other cats, scratched her owners, destroyed property and constantly sprayed outside the litter box. After trying everything to […]
Confessions of True-Crime Junkies – Times Publications, May 2013
In addition to being The Valley Times executive editor, Shanna Hogan is a true-crime author who is writing a book on the Jodi Arias case. While reporting the story, she discovered an interesting phenomenon taking place at the courthouse—trial watchers consumed with real life murder mysteries. These are their stories.
The Stranger Beside Her – Times Publications, March 2013
Cindy White reached across the bed to caress her husband, her fingers trailing across the cold, vacant sheets. He wasn’t there. Springing up, she shouted his name. “Richard, Richard.” She darted down the hallway and climbed the stairs of the luxurious mountainside estate she and her husband had leased for the past six weeks. The […]
