I've intentionally not edited Ivy's photography. She called it "moody photography," and while I'm tempted to restore some of these images, I feel doing so might take away from her original artistic vision. I think she loved the darkness, the shadows, and the atmosphere they created. (All photographs in this collection by Ivy Brook Walker) Ivy Brook Walker during one of her night drives through Birmingham, Alabama and Five Points South (2016) Driving at night helped her unwind. What inspired the night drives, she told me, was the many trips we had taken at night when she was little. From the time she was just two-years old  until she was about six or seven years old, night drives were our tradition. Every Friday and Saturday night, usually around 7 p.m., we’d get in the car and go out to eat or to the movies. At the time, I was attending Jeff State and UAB, so I spent a lot of time in the Five Points South area. I loved it there. During the day, when I didn’t have ...

I think one of the eeriest stories I have ever heard was the story of Reyna Marroquin, a pregnant woman from El Salvador who vanished in the 1960s in New York. Her mummified body was found in a barrel 30 years later, inside a Jericho, New York, home. Detectives finally cracked the case in 1999. They say her married lover, Howard Elkins, a retired businessman, did it to cover up the affair and pregnancy from his wife. Elkins took his own life when he was confronted about the crime. The haunting story has been the subject of several true crime documentaries. I did not investigate this case, but it's an unforgettable story and a cautionary tale for women who sometimes find love in unfortunate places. Howard Elkins & Reyna Marroquin When a mummy with a fetus inside is found in a barrel in a New York home, detectives uncover the identity of a beautiful immigrant who vanished three decades before. Reyna Marroquin A Nightmare in America When Reyna Marroquin arrived in New York in 1966...

Originally Published: June 24, 2014   Original Publication: Examiner.com | Birmingham Examiner Byline: Author/Traciy Curry-Reyes;  Section: Crime & Courts Exondia Salado, aka Exondia Jaye Salado, was an African American woman who was convicted of shooting, dismembering, and barbecuing her Afro-Dominican husband, Manuel Emilio Salado, aka "Manny Salado," in 2007. Police say Exondia Salado was jealous and angry that her husband was going to leave her for another woman in the Dominican Republic. She was arrested for his murder in 2008 and convicted in 2011, according to News 6. Exondia was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. *Some documents refer to Exondia as Exonida. Exondia J. Links Salado case background: Exondia Salado was living with her husband, Army reservist Manuel Salado, in their Oklahoma City home in 2006. Exondia had met the Dominican man in a club off base years prior. The two hit it off and became lovers , then later married. Accord...

Originally Published: August 20, 2014  |  Original Publication: Examiner.com |Birmingham Examiner (AL) Author/Byline: Traciy Curry-Reyes;   Section: Movies Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story is a fact-based movie based on the true story of Susan Wilson and Steven W. Glover. The movie Video Voyeur aired on Lifetime Television on Monday, January 21, 2002, according to The New York Times. The movie was advertised as based on a true story. Video Voyeur stars Jamey Sheridan, Dale Midkiff, and Angie Harmon as Susan Wilson. File Photo The truth finally becomes apparent as she notices that her trusted neighbor and good friend seems to know some very intimate details about her, leading Susan to wonder if it is just her imagination or simply paranoia. Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story is based on the shocking video voyeurism crime that occurred in Susan Wilson's home in Monroe, Louisiana, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That's when Susan Wilson discovered that Steven ...

Article Originally Published: May 19, 2014    Original Publication: Examiner.com | Birmingham Examiner  Byline: Author Traciy Curry-Reyes; Section : Movies A Stranger To Love is an original CBS movie based on the true story of James McDonnell. A Stranger To Love first aired on Sunday, March 24, 1996. Occasionally, A Stranger To Love airs on the Lifetime Movie Network and the Hallmark Channel. The true-story family drama is directed by Peter Levin and written by Richard Leder. Beau Bridges, Tess Harper, Pam Dawber, and Billy Forester star in the movie, The New York Times reports.  A Stranger to Love movie based on a real case A Stranger To Love : What's It About? Adam, a restaurant owner and chef, loves his life and his family. But tragedy strikes after Adam is robbed during a carjacking. When a dead body turns up in the local river, he is declared dead. But a few years later, his family begins to believe that they may have buried the wrong person, and that Adam c...

Originally published: June 20, 2016 Original publication: Examiner.com – Birmingham Crime Examiner | Section: Crime & Courts Byline: Traciy Curry-Reyes Lyntell Washington, a missing pregnant teacher from Louisiana who was later found dead, was killed by her married lover, Robert Marks, 39, an assistant principal at a middle school, WGRZ   reports. The 40-year-old Baton Rouge mother was shot and dumped in a sugar cane field, investigators say. Baton Rouge authorities were alerted that something was wrong after Lyntell Washington's three-year-old daughter was found walking around a parking lot aimlessly. When detectives arrived at the 11832 Newcastle Avenue location, the toddler, who was not harmed, told them that her mother was in the lake and that "Mr. Robbie" had hurt her. Mr. Robbie turned out to be Robert Marks, AKA Robert Javontie Marks, an assistant principal at the Brookstown Magnet Honors Academy middle school. Lyntell Washington's daughter last saw her...

Movies Based on True Stories History Timeline I began researching crime and movies in the 1990s and was the first to archive movies based on true stories, matching those stories to the real people who made headlines. (screenshots below of my archived websites. 2000 Created The Movies Based on True Stories Database at Geocities.com.   Movies Based on True Stories original site GeoCities 2000 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 In 2009, Geocities.com announced they were closing. I moved all of my original research from Movies Based on True Stories/Index2000 to Blogger.com and changed the name to Movies Based on True Stories Database. I maintained that site until 2013-2014. Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 2013-2014 Version page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22        2013--2015 Began writing crime and movie news fo...