Silent Scream: Yvonne Mason
Reviewed by Fran Lewis
In a world that has changed so much, where young people go missing daily, this novel reminds us that we need to warn our young women and young men to always be on the alert for sexual and social predators. The lives of so many families changed in 1972 when Gerard Schaffer, serial killer, whose twisted and maniacal mind decided to take the lives of young women he felt were unworthy of living. Comparing these young women to whores, he would trick, lead, and deceive these girls by leading them into his lair. Gerard Schaffer, a man of superior intelligence, believed in his own mind that what he did was right. He felt justified in his killings and bragged about them to anyone who would listen.
Pamela Sue Wells and Nancy Ellen Trotter were his first victims to get away. As a Deputy Sheriff, Gerard Schaffer, used his position of power and authority to terrorize these two girls by claiming he wanted to teach them a lesson. The lesson being not to hitchhike with strangers. He felt that they were nothing more than whores who needed to be taught a lesson. Handcuffing by girls and hanging them from different trees with a noose around their neck, he left them hanging from the trees. He took them to Hutchinson Island a remote place, which he thought, would be their final resting place. He told them the evils of hitchhiking and he would be back with men who would sell them to slave traders.
Little did he know that Nancy Ellen Trotter with everything she had would manage to get out of her noose and get help for herself and Pamela Sue Wells.
Although he was fired from his position this did not stop his reign of terror. Charged with two counts of aggravated assault, he did not seem to be fearful of the consequences he might face because of his actions. Although arrested and put in jail for only two months, the Judge D.C. Smith released him and helped to set off a chain of killings that would span many counties in Florida and other states too.
Throughout this graphic novel, this reviewer read of the heinous mutilations, decapitations and dismemberments inflicted on Shaffer’s victims. The list of victims and crimes seemed endless.
Trying to convince everyone he was mentally insane and should be sent to an institution, was not only a ploy of Schaffer to try and get out of going to prison for life, but one more way this reviewer realized just how evil and cunning this man was.
Although, there were many who interviewed him in jail, and many who corresponded with him and wanted to try to write his story and listen to his words, none was as powerful as those of the victims that were silenced by him.
Georgia Jessup, Susan Place, Collette Goodenenough, Barbara Ann Wilcox, Nancy Leichner, Pam Nater, Nancy Trotter, Pamela Wells, Carmen Hallock, Leigh Hainline, Elise Farmer, Alice Briscolina, Belinda Hutchins and those that we do not know about, this is your chance to have your Screams Heard forever. Having no regard for the pain he inflicted upon you, not amount of remorse for what he did and using the media for more than 30 years to tell his sick and twisted stories and taunt the families of his victims, your voices will now be heard and his will forever be silenced.
When Gerard Schaffer finally got his just rewards in prison, an inmate silenced his human voice. He used his knowledge of the law and his skill to write appeals and more to rat out his fellow inmates and try to get the courts to allow him to be set free.
In order to really understand and know just how twisted; insane and sick this man was, you need to read this book and make sure that their messages is sent aloud and clear to all young people.
To the real heroes of this story Philip Shailer, the Broward State Attorney, Judge Trowbridge who presided on the bench, was relentless, and made sure he would never go free, the girls thank you. To all of the detectives on this case, to Jack for his diligence and hard work investigating these killings and to all of those in law enforcement that made sure that this sick and twisted man did not go free, we the victims of Gerard Schaffer yell loud and clear: THANK YOU!
To the victims of Geralr Schaffer:
A special Eulogy to the Victims:
From Fran Lewis
Your families gathered with great attitude
To come and honor you
To share the sweet recollections
And express their gratitude
You were a great example
Of the way one should live
Your generous and loving spirits
Were the greatest gifts you could give
You took each day as a challenge
Exactly as it came
Your spirits remained steadfast
Life and its ups and never made you change
Your families would often would marvel
At the strength and determination found in you
How much we will miss your courage
How fearless your attitude
Life is a fragile thing
And it can change within an instant
Nothing is safe from the effects of change
No person or possession we’re given
The only things we can hold forever
Are the memories of you in our hearts
The love you bestowed upon us on earth
Before it came time for you to depart
Goodbyes are not forever
And nor is this the end
When the angels came to call you away
They led you to a play to of peace to stay
The empty spaces in our hearts that is left behind
Within this world we all know
Reminds us just how we must cherish each day
And how precious our time is before we go
MAY YOUR VOICES BE HEARD AND YOUR SCREAMS NEVER SILENCED! MAY THE SOUL OF GERARD SCHAFFER KNOW NO REST AND BE TORTURTED UNTIL ETERNITY.
There are not enough stars to give this book. I would give this five stars and five more for the outstanding and amazing author who wrote this important novel. 
My true crime Silent Scream has gotten a face lift and just in time for the latest review by fellow author Sheri who is also a nurse and works for a group of lawyers. Below is her review:
Why do serial killers intrigue us so much? I've always been drawn to the criminal mind for some reason, especially if it has to do with the mind of a serial killer.
I've watched documentaries on the likes of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Son of Sam, The Zodiac Killer , etc. However, I have never before come to know such a sick twisted perversion, as the psyche of serial killer Gerard John Schaefer.
I've just finished a book detailing the heinious serial killings perpetrated by Gerard Schaefer in the the south Florida area from 1966 through 1972.
Schaefer has been linked by physical evidence to murders of at least 34 young women but only convicted for the disappearance and double murders of Susan Place age 17 and Georgia Jessup age 16. He received life in prison for this particular crime.
He's been known to admit, while in prison, to as many as 80 to 110 killings. He could possilby be one of the sickest psychopathic serial killers there ever was.
He's claimed at various times to have perpetrated his cunning assaults on 3 different Continents and had sadisms and sexual perversions that would make other serial killers look like angels of mercy.
The particular book that I read was written by Yvonne Mason and entitled Silent Scream. Not only is Yvonne an accomplished Bounty Hunter and Author, she is also a very special and dear friend to me.
I met Yvonne when I was looking for volunteer writers on my MySpace page Write in the City. She often did daily blogs for our page and I came to know her as a gifted author who believed in "paying it forward" by sharing her literary talents and helping others.
Yvonne Mason
So comes time for me to "pay it forward" by giving this gift to her. A review of her Masterpiece Silent Scream that is currently being used as a resource to teach law enforcement officials throughtout the country the mechanisms, manipulations, and paraphelias that serial killers like Schaefer have the propensity to exhibit.
Yvonne Mason brilliantly exposes the psyche of the sadisticly gruesome brutal serial killings of Gerard Jonh Schaefer across south Florida. Not only does she allow you to venture into the taboo world of Schaefer and his paraphelic obsessions, but she gave every victim that met their final fate with Schaefer a voice to be heard.
She exposed their silent screams for all to hear so that the young women who were robbed of the lives may now rest in peace and that their families may find some closure through her story and tribute to them as well.
She tells the saga of how a trusted law official who took an oath to serve and protect abused that privilege by turning the tables with his badge and power. Using them in a way to manipulate and lure young women into desolate swampy areas that became his playground of torture and sexually perverted games. Only to repeatedly mutilate and desecrate the corpses for his twisted sexual gratification going back again and again to their graves and collecting trophies of his kills.
The one thing he never planned on was the escape of two of his victims that led to his ultimate demise.
Mason takes you through the circus event of the media and court during the trial and conviction of Schaefer. Once convicted his shenanigans don't end with his incarceration.
His narcissistic behaviors continue to gain him attention and noteriety long after the trial ends. He befriends other serial killers in prison such as Ted Bundy and Ottis Toole, known cannibal and confessor of the kidnapping and beheading of Adam Walsh.
While in prison Schaefer continues to whet his appetite for his twisted sexual deviant behaviors by penning stories under other pseudo names with the help of his ex high school girlfriend, Sondra London.
These stories take you deep into the mind of Schaefer as he relives some of his gruesome killings by labeling them as ficition. You can almost taste the fear of his victim in an excerpt in the book detailing one of his killings.
You see and feel his every incessant thought as he walks you through the torture and sheer gratification he acquires through humilating his prey.
Yvonne Mason pays tribute to each of the 10 victims that were linked to various physical evidence found at Schaefer's residence. Yes, their screams may have been silent then but she gave them a voice to tell their stories.
And hopefully they may rest in peace and their families may find the closure that Schaefer so selfishly denied them. Mason delivers an entertaining and disturbing account of his modus operandi that will hopefully help to catch other serial killers in the future.
She credits her book to the team that helped bring down Schaefer from an ambulance driver, to the investigators, prosecuters, judges, defense attorneys and finally to the man that robbed Schaefer of his last breath.
This is an excellent read that will both repulse and intrigue you. Once you pick it up it's hard to put back down.
" This book is one of the best books I have read this year. A real page turner. Once you read it you will sit back and think about everything that happened in this book really happened. Then you will have a streak of fear run through your spine. This is one book everyone who reads murder mysteries or detective novels should read. Also every author should read it as well. The serial killer Gerard Shaffer has 10 serial killers in him. It is just amazing this man was a teacher and law enforcement. Makes you wonder, that the peers of our community that should have been able to see that person was crazy. The truth is they did notice and fired him. But he would get hired somewhere else. A must read for sure. I wish I could give this more stars.”
Port St. Lucie resident Yvonne Mason Sewell, 57, has a degree in criminal justice and has written a book about a former Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was a serial killer, now published under the title “Silent Scream.”
Q. What is this book about?
A. It is about Gerard John Schaefer, a former Martin County deputy sheriff, who was convicted of killing two young women in St. Lucie County, may have killed another nine and bragged he had killed 34 young women. He was Florida’s first serial killer. He started killing young women as early as 1966, but no one knew he was doing it until 1972. He had been a deputy in Martin County for only four months. Before that he had served with the Wilton Manors Police Department but was fired. He used a forged letter to get on the Martin department. Law enforcement at that time did not communicate well with each other, and Martin needed deputies.
Q. How many people do we know he killed?
A. We know he killed at least nine. The last two bodies were found in 2007 in the Ocala National Forest, and they were the first two women he killed in 1966. That was Pamela Nater and Nancy Leichner. They vanished from Alexander Springs in 1966. Schaefer bragged about killing them, and their remains were found after he died in prison.
Q. How would he go about killing?
A. Gerard Schaefer would pick up young girls in pairs, who he would see walking about. He would take them to remote spots, such as Hutchinson Island. There he would bound and gag them, then hang them from a branch. They would be made to stand on a ladder or tree root, very precariously. Then he would proceed to torture, rape and mutilate one while the other had to watch and scream silently; hence the name of my book. He wasn’t finished when he killed them. He would bury them, and later return, dig them up and commit sex acts on them. When the bodies started deteriorating, he would chop them up and throw away the heads. He said that was the way to commit a perfect crime.
Q. What finally caught him?
A. In July of 1972, Nancy Trotter and Pamela Sue Wells had hitchhiked through Florida, and were at Jensen Beach. Schaefer was in his patrol car, saw them and told them hitchhiking was against the law. He said he would take them to the beach the next day. His wife was gone to the dentist. He picked them up and took them to Joe’s Pointe, then a wild area on Hutchinson Island. He bound and gagged them, and left them standing on mangrove roots with ropes around their neck. He was so confident he told them his name. But he didn’t kill them and went away. Sheriff Robert Crowder of Martin County thinks he may have left something he needed for the crime and went to get it. The girls managed to escape. Nancy Trotter ran down A1A and was found; Pamela Wells fled into the Indian River.
Q. What happened then, was that the end?
A. No. He had to resign but the judge let him out waiting trial and he killed two more women. Eventually, he was arrested, tried and convicted of murdering at least two women, and sent to Raiford, where he was killed by an inmate for informing on other prisoners.
. If you haven't read the reviews by two law enforcement agents I am putting them below. It was quite the honor to have both Retire FBI Agent Roy Hazelwood and Retired Det. Chuck Hemp read Silent Scream. So without further adeui here is what they said about Silent Scream:
"Yvonne Mason has captured the true essence of Gerard Schaefer, a deputy sheriff who enjoyed torturing and killing young women. It is a gripping story and you should prepare to be disturbed. I guarantee that you will find it difficult to put this book down."
Roy Hazelwood, FBI (ret) author of Dark Dreams and The Evil That Men Do
When Gerald Schaefer used his badge and gun to terrorize and kill rather than protect and serve he crossed a line that not only snuffed out the lives of his victims but also affected the lives of their loved ones and the police officers charged with investigating these crimes. In her book "Silent Screams" Yvonne Mason has captured more than just the story, but has also given voices to all of Schaefer's unknown victims. I'm sure there are many. Det. Lieutenant Chuck Hemp OPPD Ret.
If these two guys who spent years in law enforcement think it is good then by George it must be good. Chuck Hemp investigated the disapperance of Susan Place and Georgia Jessup. He spent his entire career working on people like Schaefer. Roy Hazelwood began the FBI profiling department because of his involvement with Schaefer.
So come boys and girls - help me give the girls the voice which has been scream silently for over thirty years. Read their story.
Vonne
Brilliant Insanity The Latest Novel From Renowned Bounty Hunter And Author Yvonne Mason! | Yvonne Mason the author of Stan’s Story, Tangled Minds, Brilliant Insanity, and the soon to be released Silent Scream is on Renee’s Book Talk 9/25/08 on BlogTalkRadio @ 9:00 PM EDT. (347) 215-9536 |
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Release Date July 22,2008
Author Yvonne Mason
Synopsis:
Louis Reinhart has five days to live before he is injected with the lethal cocktail. Louis Reinhart has been given permission to tell the world his side of the story.
The story which was not allowed to be told in court.
The Fort Pierce Sentinel has agreed to send a reporter to interview Reinhart. However, Reinhart has been very specific as to which reporter he will agree to talk to.
Her name is Mandy McQuaid. She is a rookie reporter. This is her first job and she is stuck in the obit section of the paper. Even though the Editor is not happy about Reinhart’s request, he sends Mandy to conduct the interview.
Reinhart has his own agenda. He believes he was justified in his quest for retribution and he wants to share it with the world. Not only does he want to share it with the world, but it is very important that he share it with Mandy.
As Reinhart draws Mandy into his web of lies, and narcissistic behavior one wonders where the next bend in the road leads. What surprise, what evil will pop out to shock and amaze even the most seasoned reader.
Louis Reinhart has five days to live before he is injected with the lethal cocktail. Louis Reinhart has been given permission to tell the world his side of the story.
The story which was not allowed to be told in court.
The Fort Pierce Sentinel has agreed to send a reporter to interview Reinhart. However, Reinhart has been very specific as to which reporter he will agree to talk to.
Her name is Mandy McQuaid. She is a rookie reporter. This is her first job and she is stuck in the obit section of the paper. Even though the Editor is not happy about Reinhart’s request, he sends Mandy to conduct the interview.
Reinhart has his own agenda. He believes he was justified in his quest for retribution and he wants to share it with the world. Not only does he want to share it with the world, but it is very important that he share it with Mandy.
As Reinhart draws Mandy into his web of lies, and narcissistic behavior one wonders where the next bend in the road leads. What surprise, what evil will pop out to shock and amaze even the most seasoned reader.
The screams which have been silent for thirty four years are no longer silent. They now have a voice.
July, 1972 Nancy Trotter and Pamela Sue Wells were taken to a remote area on South Hutchinson Island in Martin County tied, gagged and hung. They were left to die.
But they managed to escape. This escape led to an investigation of a crime that before 1972 had no name. Law enforcement was in uncharted waters.
The crime serial killings.
The killer Gerard Schaefer.
Nancy Trotter and Pamela Wells were just two of the nine known and possibly as high as 34 unknown victims. They ranged from Fort Lauderdale Florida to Europe and N. Africa.
Silent Scream finally gives the victims a voice – Their screams are no longer silent and with that voice comes peace.
This True Crime book is due to be released September 2008