New Book Penned By Police Sergeant Tells Of Two Murder Cases - 'Through The Rain' Details Two Murders, Cases' Effect On Marriage

    KANSAS CITY, MO, March 28, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The true story of two murdered children who captured the hearts of the Midwest - and the dedicated detectives who fought to find their killers.

In a motel room on the east side of the city, a little girl is brutally murdered by her mother's sadistic boyfriend for failing to know her ABCs. The family disappears, along with the child's body, and the scene of the crime spans over 1,000 miles. Despite the lack of a body, the detectives of the 1020 Squad obtain a conviction but it will take another eight long years before the little girl's remains come home to rest. In a twist of fate, the 1020 Squad no sooner closes the final chapters of this case when the headless body of a tiny girl is found discarded in a makeshift dump site in the woods Sgt. David Bernard and the 1020 Squad will work over four years, following 1,500 leads and conducting the single largest area canvass in the history of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department before finding the true identity of the seemingly orphaned little girl known only as "Precious Doe".

Through the Rain is a candid and touching account of the painful impact that these brutal murders had on Sgt. Bernard, his family and the KCPD's 1020 squad. It chronicles the all too frequent stories of child abuse, failed social services, a flawed court system, and battered women who sacrificed their own children to shield their abusive lovers, echoing the same preposterous explanations of "...but I love him". It is the story of a family, a group of committed volunteers and a community who reached out to embrace Angel Lea Hart and Erica Michelle Marie Green aka Precious Doe and give them in death the humanity and affection they so desperately deserved in life.

As a mother and former police sergeant, Marla Bernard is a firm believer that nothing is more precious than one's children. When her husband, police sergeant David Bernard, began working the case of a murdered five-year-old girl, it put Marla Bernard's faith to the test. She chronicles her husband's struggle with two unrelated murder cases involving children and the tests the cases put on their faith and marriage in her new book "Through the Rain: A True Crime Memoir of Murder and Survival" (published by AuthorHouse).

In "Through the Rain" Marla Bernard describes two harrowing murder cases that captured national attention - both involving young girls - in great detail, from the crime scenes to the evidence. In between detailing the cases, she shifts her focus to her home life and describes the encumbering effect the cases had on her family.

An excerpt from "Through the Rain":

"The DNA results came in two weeks after David picked up another notorious murder case involving, yes, another murdered little girl. God deliver us-here we go again. There was no time to absorb the impact of finding Angel Hart. Another precious little girl was murdered and he'd carry her on his back until he could get her case solved. This time the burden would nearly kill him."

Marla hopes her book will not only make readers more appreciative of law enforcement, but also that it will instill a sense of faith, reminding readers there is still good in humanity.

"This is the story of two mothers who literally threw their children away and of other women who cared for the children, fought to give them an identity, dignity and a voice in death because they were denied these in life," Marla says.

"Through the Rain"
By Marla Bernard
Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 288 pages | ISBN 9781491863824
E-Book | ISBN 9781491863831
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author
Marla Bernard is a former police sergeant, a passionate victims' right advocate, writer and public speaker. She received her Master of Arts with honors from Baker University. She serves as adjunct faculty for a national university where she has written several criminal justice courses. Her work has been published in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and she is currently writing her second book. Marla Bernard and her husband, retired police sergeant David Bernard, reside in Kansas City near their two children and three grandchildren.

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