Graham County Sheriff’s Office Detective Diane Thomas flew from Arizona to Towanda, Pennsylvania, to investigate the babies’ deaths. (Photo courtesy of Martha Hendrix.)
Diane Thomas dons a lab coat and latex gloves and examines the remains of a third dead child. (Photo courtesy of Graham County Sheriff’s Office, Safford, Arizona.)
The box that Diane Thomas opened and searched contained two smaller boxes with the remains of one of the babies. (Author photo.)
This x-ray shows the skeletal remains of two of the babies. (Author photo.)
This x-ray shows the curled up skeleton of one baby, which, when found, appeared to be nothing more than a pile of dust and bones. (Author photo.)
This x-ray proves that the mummified remains of one baby were those of a full-term infant. (Author photo.)
Graham County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bruce Weddle, who flew to Towanda, Pennsylvania, with Diane Thomas, was instrumental in getting the babies’ mother to admit that the babies were hers. (Photo courtesy of Martha Hendrix.)
Dianne Odell posed for this photograph shortly after talking to Diane Thomas and Bruce Weddle on May 18, 2003. (Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania State Police; Towanda Barracks.)
Odell was still wearing her Rite-Aid uniform when Pennsylvania State Police took her photo on May 18, 2003. (Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania State Police; Towanda Barracks.)
This mug shot of Dianne Odell was taken shortly after she admitted to her role in the deaths of three of her children. (Photo courtesy of New York State Police; Liberty Barracks.)
Diane Thomas snapped this photograph of Robert Sauerstein, Dianne Odell’s paramour, before questioning him. (Photo courtesy of Graham County Sheriff’s Office, Safford, Arizona.)
These photographs were taken by a New York State Police trooper after a junk dealer in Bethel, New York, discovered the remains of a fetus inside a blue suitcase—a fourth dead baby that would eventually be tied to Dianne Odell. (Photo courtesy of New York State Police; Liberty Barracks.)
Investigator Paul Hans, of the Sullivan County, New York District Attorney’s Office, worked closely with veteran District Attorney Steve Lungen to secure evidence in the Odell case. (Author photo.)
Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Robert Rowan was also instrumental in putting together evidence in the Odell case. (Author photo.)
New York State Police Senior Investigator Thomas Scileppi got Dianne Odell to admit that three of her dead children had made sounds, which meant they were alive when they were born. (Author photo.)
These two excerpts from a statement Investigator Scileppi took from Odell on May 19, 2003, clearly show her signature next to his. (Author photo.)
Roy Streever was the first New York State Police investigator to interview Odell. (Courtesy of Corinne Streever.)
Sullivan County District Attorney Steve Lungen and the courthouse where he prosecuted Odell. (Lungen photo courtesy of Susan L. Parks; author photo of courthouse.)
Court TV set up cameras inside this Sullivan County, New York courtroom to broadcast the Odell trial in December 2003. (Author photo.)
Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals connected to this story.
PINNACLE BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Copyright © 2006 by M. William Phelps
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Pinnacle and the P logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7860-2695-1
Sleep in Heavenly Peace Page 39