In past cases, forensic profiler Andrew Hodges decoded documents that pointed to the truth of the Nicole Simpson murder in Los Angeles, the Jon Benét Ramsey “kidnapping” case in Colorado, and the mysterious disappearance of Natalie Holloway in Aruba. His cutting-edge psycholinguistic method, “thoughtprint decoding,” shows how killers leave unique mental messages behind much like fingerprints. Now, in As Was Done Unto You, he turns his attention to a lengthy and revealing email written by murder suspect Amanda Knox, accused of killing her college roommate in Perugia, Italy, on November 1, 2007. In those five pages, Hodges—an experienced psychiatrist—found that Knox had unknowingly confessed to the brutal crime in great detail. Between the lines her email represented a secret narrative—the whole story.
In this eye-opening study of one of the 21st century’s most controversial murder cases, Dr. Hodges cites passages from Amanda’s memoir, Waiting to Be Heard, to corroborate the confession found in the Nov. 4 email. He also delves into the shady backgrounds of Kercher’s killers, identifies Amanda as the ringleader of the “gang of three,” and places the brutal crime in the context of Halloween night in party-town Perugia. Readers will learn that Amanda is obsessed with vampirism, sex, drugs and rock’n’roll—but secretly driven by a shocking trauma. She does unto Meredith “as was done unto her.”
Dr. Hodges’ ground-breaking investigative technique shows how criminal investigations will be conducted in the future as police detectives learn to utilize the most capable part of the human mind. This new way of profiling can lead investigators to perpetrators while explaining motives. By decoding psycholinguistic messages phrase by phrase, word by word, detectives can uncover the hidden agendas that motivate murderers.
