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About Texas Crime Stories: Vol 1, Riding Herd on the Lawless

This blood-chilling true-crime anthology peels back the curtain on some of Texas’s most disturbing and unforgettable criminal cases. From cold-blooded murder to unspeakable betrayal, each story dives deep into the hearts of both victims and perpetrators, unearthing the truths buried beneath public headlines and official accounts. The book opens with “The Bible Thumping Dark Angel,” an unsettling account of Baptist minister Matt Baker, a man of God whose charm and community standing masked a sinister capacity for deception and murder. Through relentless investigation and damning testimony, Baker is revealed not as a grieving widower but a calculating killer who drugged and smothered his wife, perhaps even responsible for his own daughter’s death years earlier. From there, the narrative descends into the grotesque with “The Malevolent Mommy,” the decades-spanning case of Annie Laurie Williams, a seemingly ordinary 1950s mother who committed one of Texas’ most grisly crimes—murdering and dismembering her two young sons. The story follows her through arrest, conviction, prison escape, and eventual capture, weaving in rare interviews and haunting community memories that linger long after her death. Subsequent chapters continue to unearth the unexpected, such as “Dialing From Death Row,” where a serial killer uses a smuggled cell phone to threaten a powerful Texas senator, exposing shocking lapses in prison security. Each case is told with journalistic precision, blending firsthand accounts, investigative breakthroughs, and psychological insight to reveal not just what happened, but why. Texas Crime Stories by Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Riggs is more than a compilation of murders and violence—it’s a deep dive into the complex intersection of human depravity, law enforcement tenacity, and the fragile line between good and evil. These stories remind us that in Texas, the truth is often stranger—and far darker—than fiction.