A Picture Perfect Kid

Carol Guy
Zumaya Publications (2003)
ISBN 1894869885
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (5/06)

The picture perfect kid was what neighbors and friends called Joshua Allen Wolf. So the big question would be - What happened that would make him kill his beloved grandmother Carol Lindley? That is what this book strives to figure out.

Joshua came to live with his grandparents when he was about 8 yrs old. In fact, more times than not he would refer to them as mom and dad. Joshua's mom Lori suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. This left Joshua and his sister, at many times, neglected and dirty. Since Joshua wanted a stable life, he asked Carol and Bill Lindley if he could live with them. They readily agreed.

Through interviews with family members, police reports and court transcripts, Joshua's story unfolds. On May 6th Joshua shot his grandmother in the head. Two days later he poured gasoline on her and in various parts of the house and tried to burn it all up.

Stephen Wilson, Joshua's attorney tried to plead a case of mental illness partly because of his childhood with his mother. The prosecution would have no part of that saying that in trying to cover up the murder, Joshua knew full well what he was doing.

Anyone who enjoys true crime books will think this one is superb. Even though not all the questions are answered, there is still a lot of information here to digest. “A Picture Perfect Kid” is a comprehensive detailed book about a murder that was planned in detail, one of which the murderer thought he could get away with. The victim and the rest of the family could never have contemplated it happening.

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