Sleep, My Child, Forever: The Riveting True Story of a Mother Who Murdered Her Own Children (Onyx True Crime Ser.: Vol. 335)

By: John Coston

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Synopsis: The dark double life of Ellen Boehm, the mother who murdered her two sons—and nearly killed her daughter. Ellen Boehm, a single mom from St. Louis, Missouri, appeared devoted to her children. But in reality, she was unequipped for motherhood, financially strapped, and desperate. Within a year of each other, her sons, ages two and four, died mysteriously, and Boehm&’s eight-year-old daughter then suffered a near-fatal mishap when a hair dryer fell into the girl&’s bath. While neighbors wondered how Boehm remained so calm through it all, Det. Sgt. Joseph Burgoon of St. Louis Homicide had darker suspicions. Burgoon soon unraveled a labyrinth of deception, greed, and obsession that revealed a cold-blooded killer whose get-rich-quick scheme came at the cost of her children&’s lives. Boehm had taken out insurance policies on her children with six different companies totaling nearly $100,000. Using police reports, case documents, and photos, journalist John Coston recreates the events that led to one mother&’s unspeakable acts of filicide—and a cop&’s relentless pursuit of the truth.