Maria Tanasichuk was loved by her sister, Sharon, her dear friend, Darlene, and her son, B. J., until his tragic death. Then, Maria went on a mysterious trip, and she was never seen again.

Maria's marriage to David was happy at first, but misery soon eclipsed any love they had for each other as David's violence and drug use sucked up all of their money. David was a hoplophile; guns and other weapons populated his house. He killed animals with his bare hands, then strung them up near school yards for kids to be horrified by. People who knew him and crossed him tended to end up dead or missing. He even had the words, Death Dealer, tattooed on himself in the Greek language. 

Detective Cummings was determined to put a stop to David's wild behavior. He tried to sweet talk David into confessing to Maria's murder even though she was missing and no body had been found. Twenty hours of conversation with him yielded no such result. Finally, the investigative team brought cadaver dogs from Maine (MESARD) to search the wilderness surrounding David's home for Maria's remains. The team had to wait for weather conditions to be favorable for the dogs to catch the scent of decay. A few inches of grass growth and spring weather were optimal. Then, the handlers and dogs started their morbid task.

Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice by Kate Clark Flora, 2014

• Kate Clark Flora's web site
• Books on serial killers
• Search and Rescue Dogs