"Claudia Revealed" by Daniel Keyes, summary

Daniel Keyes’s documentary novel, "Claudia Unmasked," was published in 1986. Written at the intersection of crime reporting and psychological research, this book tells the story of an investigation into a series of high-profile crimes and an attempt to penetrate the confused mind of a woman who took the blame for someone else’s crime. The author explores the mechanisms of human memory, where stress and schizophrenia give rise to false memories.

Ohio’s Bloody Winter

In February 1978, a severe snowstorm engulfed Ohio. On the outskirts of Columbus, Deputy Sheriff George Nance discovered three bodies in a private cottage. The victims were Mickey McCann, owner of the Eldorado Mickey’s nightclub, his mother, Dorothy McCann, and dancer Christine Herdman.

All three victims had been shot in the head with a.22-caliber pistol. The house was in disarray: mattresses had been overturned, items had been thrown out of closets, and the basement walls had been torn apart. Investigators found sixteen shell casings, two intact bullets, a purse handle shattered by a bullet, and scattered peanuts at the crime scene.

Detectives Howard Champ and Tony Rich led the investigation. The press quickly picked up the story, dubbing the unknown criminal the ".22-Caliber Killer." Investigators pursued various theories: McCann’s gambling debts to Las Vegas gamblers, divisions of influence between the Dayton and Cincinnati syndicates, and jealousy-fueled conflicts. However, weeks of searching failed to uncover any leads.

False confession and investigative dead end

In March 1978, 26-year-old Claudia Elaine Yasko approached patrol officers William Brinkman and George Smith at a 24-hour diner. She stated that she feared for her life because her live-in boyfriend, Robert "Bobby" Nowatney, and his friend, Deno Politis, intended to kill her. She added that she knew details about Mickey McCann’s death.

Detective Howard Champ searched Claudia’s apartment on South Wilson Avenue, finding the psychotropic drugs Haldol and Cogentin, as well as unregistered weapons. At the station, Champ questioned Claudia for nine hours. She provided precise details that only someone present could have known: a broken purse handle, spilled peanuts, a blue bowl in the sink, and a deflated sock on McCann’s foot.

Her story, however, was full of absurdities. Claudia claimed to have seen four dead bodies, confused the positions of the bodies, and ultimately claimed to have held the gun while Bobby pulled the trigger.

Despite the controversy, Prosecutor James O’Grady charged Claudia Yasko, Bobby Nowatny, and Deno Politis with aggravated murder. They faced the death penalty. Judge Richard Ferrell set Claudia’s bail at $450,000. Attorney Lew Dye took over Claudia’s defense, citing her diagnosis of latent schizophrenia.

Lew Dai deployed the resources of the Playboy Foundation, enlisting editor Bill Helmer and private investigators Russ Million and Lake Hadley. Psychiatrist Byron Stinson testified in court that Claudia had been prone to fantasizing since the age of 14 and readily assumed any role to please her interlocutors.

New victims and the arrest of the real killers

While Claudia was incarcerated at the Marysville Women’s Correctional Facility, the Ohio shootings continued. In April 1978, 77-year-old Jenkin T. Jones was shot to death in Licking County. In May, Reverend Gerald Fields was killed in Fairfield County, followed by Jerry and Martha Martins in Columbus.

A ballistics analysis by the Bureau of Criminal Identification established that all nine men were killed with a single Steger Luger.22-caliber pistol. While in prison, Claudia was physically unable to commit the final crimes. In June 1978, Prosecutor George Smith dropped all charges against her, Nowatny, and Politis.

In December 1978, Joseph Ennick was murdered outside his garage. Five days later, 38-year-old Gary James Levingdon attempted to use Ennick’s stolen credit card at a Vulco department store and was arrested.

Detectives Jerry McMenemy, Sam Womeldorf, and Sergeant Bill Steckman conducted the interrogation. Gary confessed to the attack on Ennick and admitted that he and his older brother, Thaddeus Charles Levingdon, had committed the entire series of murders.

Gary’s wife, Deline "Dee" Levingdon, agreed to cooperate with the investigation under a guarantee of immunity. In 1979, both Levingdon brothers were sentenced to multiple life terms in prison.

The search for truth and the writer’s investigation

In July 1982, Daniel Keyes met with Claudia Yasko. She wanted the writer to document her story and help her overcome painful memories. The first interview took place in November 1982 in her apartment, where a cleaver hung above the door to protect against burglars.

Daniel Keyes spent over two years researching the case, conducting hundreds of interviews with participants, lawyers, psychiatrists, and police officers. Dr. Byron Stinson explained to Keyes that Claudia’s condition causes her to develop lush fantasies that completely replace reality during panic attacks.

The writer interviewed McCann’s ex-girlfriend, Mary Slatzer, Sergeant Bill Steckman, Deno Politis, and Claudia’s exes, Jim Stahl and Phil Gary. Steckman was creating a special "bunker" within the police force to analyze evidence and coordinate the work of five departments.

Keyes discovered that Gary Levingdon had gone to use Ennick’s stolen card on the advice of his wife’s lawyer, Harry Bowles. The lawyer sought to secure the criminal’s arrest without risking Delaine’s life.

Solving Claudia’s Mystery

Overcoming Claudia’s psychological barriers presented a challenging challenge for the author. Gradually, Keyes reconstructed a picture of her past life: the gang rape at Fort Bragg in 1970, her involvement with the destructive religious sects "The Path" and "The Brotherhood of Lost Souls," her drug use, the death of her friend Vicki Hancock, and her relationships with men.

After a series of interviews, Claudia revealed the secret of her knowledge. In late January 1978, Gary Lewingdon came to the apartment she shared with Bobby Nowatny and slept on the couch after a severe snowstorm.

In early February, Gary visited Nowatni again and discussed with him a plan to rob and murder Mickey McCann. Claudia overheard this conversation from the kitchen.

On the eve of the crime, Claudia let it slip to her friends Lenny White, nicknamed "Pigman," and Ginger at the Kahiki restaurant that the man with the letter "M" would soon die.

Driven by fear, a religious idea to pray for the dying, and a desire to verify the reality of what she had heard, Claudia persuaded her friend Brady B. to take her to McCann’s house on February 12, 1978.

They arrived at the scene just after the killers had left. Upon entering the house, Claudia saw the victims’ bodies. She examined the furnishings, and Brady forced her to search Christine Herdman’s body for hidden drugs.

The shock of what she saw and the fear of reprisal forced Claudia to suppress these events from her memory. Later, during her interrogation by Howard Champ, the real impressions of her visit to McCann’s house became mingled in her mind with fantasies and a desire to conform to the investigator’s expectations.

By helping Claudia piece together the timeline and pray for the dead, Daniel Keyes helped her find peace. In 1984, Claudia married a criminal defense lawyer, leaving the nightmares of the past behind.