Rattlesnake Romeo by
Joy Wellman
pbk out May 05
(Kensington Books)
at £6.99
Fifteen year old Valessa Robinson had a difficult relationship with her
thrice-divorced mother Vicki and she missed her dad. She was also
lonely, so fell deeply in love with nineteen year old Adam Davis, who'd
served jail time for auto theft. Valessa began to spend all of her spare
time with Adam and his nineteen year old friend Jon Whispel, doing
drugs with them and eventually muttering that she would like to kill her
mum.
The following day, Vicki went missing and was eventually found face
down in a garbage bin close to Jon Whispel's house. She'd been stabbed
to death.
The brutal murder divided the people of Florida. Vicki's friends were
adamant that Valessa was to blame and wanted her tried as an adult.
Meanwhile, Valessa's defence lawyer - and her caring father - pointed out
that she was a young girl who'd been manipulated by two streetwise men.
They also noted that the layout of the house disproved Jon Whispel's
claim that he'd watched from Valessa's bedroom as she and Adam killed
her mother in the kitchen. But by then he'd already been given a reduced
sentence for testifying at the other teenagers' trials.
Did Jon Whispel play a more active role in this unfortunate woman's
death? Did Valessa take the blame in order to protect the man she hoped
to marry? Despite the unpromising downmarket title, Joy Wellman has
written an intelligent and insightful book.
Rattlesnake Romeo by
Joy Wellman
