An Undocumented Serial Killer in Somerset? Possibly.

The Murder of Martha VanHook — February 1959

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She was a young mother, a waitress known by many in the small town of Somerset, Kentucky. On the night of February 3rd, 1959, Martha Mae VanHook's lifeless body was found sprawled across Crab Orchard Road—half-dressed, still warm, and brutally beaten. At first, the scene looked like a tragic accident. But within moments, it was clear: this was no crash. This was a killing.

Strangled. Dumped. Left in the road like yesterday’s news.

The investigation led quickly to a man from her past: Frank Leaver, a one-time suitor with a violent record and a history no one seemed eager to explore too closely. Evidence pointed straight at him—her blood on his clothes, her coat in his truck, rope behind the seat, and a disturbing calm in his answers.

And yet, somehow, he walked free.

But what if Martha wasn’t his only victim?

What began as a search for her killer led to a darker revelation—a possible trail of women, nearly all waitresses, all found beaten, strangled, and discarded like roadside debris from Kentucky to Indiana. Some of them were young. Some were mutilated. Some were never named as more than “suspected.” But they shared one haunting pattern… and one shadow: Frank Leaver.

One conviction finally came in 1966, for the brutal killing of Anita Christine Barmore. By then, it may have already been too late. How many had died before? And how many more were missed?

What if Martha’s case wasn’t an isolated tragedy—but the opening act of a serial predator?

🎧 Uncover the full story in the audiobook, An Undocumented Serial Killer in Somerset? Possibly. Follow the twisting trail of missed warnings, courtroom failures, and lives cut short—when justice was too slow, and evil kept moving.

🔗 Listen to the Audiobook! Or buy it in print from Amazon!