If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation

In April 2002, Janine Latus's youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. "Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved," it read, "but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me..."



That same spring, Janine Latus was struggling to leave her marriage-a marriage to a handsome and successful man. A...