PARKERSBURG - Local author Dave Morehead continues to document the macabre side of the Mid-Ohio Valley and surrounding areas in a sequel to his popular book, "Death is No Stranger."
The new installment, "Death is No Stranger: The Sequel," documents six grisly cases spanning several decades of area history. Whether writing about a serial killer who seduced and murdered multiple victims in the 1930s or a disturbed college student in the 1990s with a lethal obsession for his closest friend, Morehead digs into the details of the cases.
Morehead said he wrote the sequel, in part, because the first book was widely popular, selling out in both the hardcover and paperback printings. But that wasn't the only reason. The simple truth is that there were more stories to tell, he said.
"I wrote the sequel because the first one did tremendously well. It was printed in both hardcover and paperback and both printings sold out," he said. "People wanted more. They couldn't get enough."
When they were making the news, the cases captured headlines and the attention of the public. Through his research of public records, newspaper articles and other documents, as well as interviews with the key players, Morehead explored the stories behind the stories.
One of those stories involved a man who became known as "The Bluebeard of Quiet Dell." Morehead writes about the case of Harry Powers, who killed five people and buried them in a ditch behind his garage in the 1930s. Morehead details how Powers began corresponding by mail with two women, convincing them he was an eligible bachelor who would care for them. Eventually he kidnapped the two women, as well as the three children of one of the women, and held them in cells in the basement of his garage before brutally slaying them.
"With one, he spent eight hours before death came to his victim," Morehead writes.
Morehead details the investigation, arrest, interrogation and trial of Powers, including how police beat Powers during interrogation and how the killer maintained an icy demeanor in the courtroom. Powers was eventually hanged.
"Thus was the life and story of Harry F. Powers brought to an end, being looked upon as the most hideous crime ever committed in Harrison County," Morehead writes.
The details of the cases take center stage and every story includes photographs.
In the book, Morehead also writes about the case of Jack Stephen Hart, who was convicted of killing two men, burying one in the woods and throwing the other down a well on property owned by his family in Pleasants County. After being convicted and imprisoned, Hart also was involved in an escape that resulted in the death of a West Virginia State Police trooper. Morehead said the story is one of the most well-known cases in the Mid-Ohio Valley, encompassing an extensive crime spree that involved theft and murder.
Other stories in the book include a mother who "brought home her son, a serial killer, so she could lay beside him in death," and the true story of a beat cop's fight for his life on the streets of Parkersburg while facing down enemies within his own department.
Morehead also writes about the murder of Sharee Petry, a college student who was killed by her obsessed best friend, Dennis Rydbom, and left in a storm drain in Marietta.
In addition to his crime writing, Morehead worked at DuPont for more than 35 years and created his own consulting company. He has taught at the college level and authored other books, including "A Place Grown Quiet: 300 Years of West Virginia History."
Morehead's book will be available at Trans Allegheny Bookstore in Parkersburg.
