This image is the cover for the book While Innocents Slept

While Innocents Slept

“A suspenseful, well-researched account of the life and trial of a man accused of smothering his babies for the insurance money.” —Kirkus Reviews

In 1981, the daughter of Garrett Wilson—a man prone to money problems and extramarital affairs—apparently succumbed to sudden infant death syndrome. In 1987, remarried and blessed with a new child, Garrett suffered another loss when his infant son also seemed to fall victim to SIDS. The tragedy remained inexplicable to everyone—except for his wife, Missy . . .

Seven years later, Missy, who was now divorced from Garrett, made shocking accusations that her philandering ex was a baby-killer. For Garrett, who had married a third time and fathered another child, his sordid history as a womanizer and a thief finally caught up with him . . .

Did Garrett trade his children’s lives for the payoffs he could expect from their $190,000 insurance policies? Or was he the victim of a scorned wife who held seething fantasies of revenge, and a scapegoat for obsessive prosecutors and bloodthirsty public? A stunning investigator into unimaginable crimes and medical mysteries, While Innocents Slept will disturb and outrage you . . .

Praise for While Innocents Slept

“One of the most chilling and evil characters in the . . . history of true crime writing.” —Carlton Stowers, Edgar Award–winning author of To the Last Breath

“A riveting read that I could not put down.” —Robert K. Ressler

Adrian Havill

Adrian Havill is the author of The Mother, The Son, And the Socialite: The True Story of a Mother-Son Crime. He has also written several biographies, including The Last Mogul: The Unauthorized Biography of Jack Kent Cooke, Deep Truth: The Lives of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Man of Steel: The Career and Courage of Christopher Reeve, and contributed to Juice: The O.J. Simpson Tragedy. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Georgiana. They have two children.