Serial killer Bobby Joe Long, the subject of my book, BOUND TO DIE, was executed at Florida State Prison on May 23, 2019 at 6:22 pm. I arrived at the prison on that day and was directed to a field across from the prison where police were heavily monitoring an anti-death penalty demonstration. It was being conducted like an old time religious revival meeting with singing and speeches that included remarks by priests and Long's son and daughter. She maintained cell phone contact with their mother, who was inside the prison waiting for Long to receive the lethal injection after 34 years on Death Row. Other witnesses in the prison included surviving family members of those murdered by Long and victim Lisa McVey, who had been allowed to live. When his death was announced, I did not have the expected sense of closure, but since I had been involved in researching, writing and speaking about this case for 24 years, I was relieved and thankful that justice had finally been served.
Anna Flowers

Bound to Die

Also available from these vendors: 

Florida Historical Society
Amazon

 

The revised trade paperback edition is available from Amazon.com and the Florida Historical Society book store in Cocoa Village, FL.

Description:   Bound to Die is the true crime story of Florida serial killer Bobby Joe Long, who was convicted of the heinous killings of nine women in 1984 in the Tampa Bay area. The first body of 19-year-old disco dancer Lana Long was found in a field on Mother’s Day with her legs grotesquely ripped apart. Six months later, the bloody rampage ended when the ninth victim was discovered. All had been tortured with ropes and savagely beaten and raped. The killer’s confession of his crimes is haunting. The vividly rendered results of his trials and appeals are equally shocking.

First published by Kensington, NY in 1995, Bound to Die was internationally recognized. It received seven mass media printings and was issued in hardback as a Doubleday Mystery Guild Book Club selection. This second edition features a new foreword on a capital case which is still considered a definitive example of excellent police detection before DNA.

Four major television presentations have been made featuring this case, with author participation.  Shortly after first publication of BOUND TO DIE, the case was featured on a segment of "Medical Detective," which has been aired sporadically for years. In 2012, Flowers was interviewed for the pilot show of "Killer Profile," aired on the Biography channel, and later that year for "Surviving Evil," in an episode called, "Nobody's Victim".  On July 1, 2014, she was filmed at her Florida home by a British production company for the show "Born to Kill?" aka "Twister" - for showing internationally on Investigative Discovery.

This is a classic Florida serial killer case involving excellent police detection before DNA, and a formidable Task Force that worked together for the first time, to apprehend the murderer.

The original book, published by Kensington, NY, (1995) was introduced at Bouchercon in Nottingham, England.  It received seven mass media printings and was a Mystery Guild Book Club selection in hard back.

Files for download: 

Image icon Full Cover