Based on five years of investigative reporting and research intoforensic psychology and criminology, Erased presents anoriginal profile of a widespread and previously unrecognized typeof murder: not a ?hot-blooded,? spur-of-the-momentcrime of passion, as domestic homicide is commonly viewed, but acold-blooded, carefully planned and methodically executed form of?erasure.? These crimes are often committed by men withno criminal record or history of violence whatsoever, men leadingfunctional and often successful lives until the moment they killthe women, and sometimes children, they claimed to love. Asurprising number go on to kill a second or even third wife orgirlfriend, often in exactly the same way. In more than fifty chilling case studies, Marilee Strongexamines the strange and complex psychology that drives thesekillers?from the murder a century ago that inspired the novel An American Tragedy to Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, JeffreyMacDonald, Ira Einhorn, Charles Stuart, Robert Durst, MichaelWhite, Barton Corbin, and many others. Erased also looks athow these men manipulate the legal system and exploit loopholes inmissing persons procedures and death investigation, exposing howeasy it can be to get away with murder.