Best American Crime Writing 2003.

Continuing with online links to articles from the true crime reporting series, The Best American Crime Writing. (Previously, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004). It is my intention to continue to present links to all those articles available from legitimate sources for this fantastic series. Below are links to the articles selected for the 2003 edition.

2003. Edited by Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook. Introduction by John Berendt

The Day Treva Throneberry Disappeared: Skip Hollandsworth, Texas Monthly
Mourning in Electra, Texas: The disappearance of a high school cheerleader uncovers closely-guarded secrets.
The Counter-terrorist: Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker
The remarkable story of the CIA agent who hunted bin Laden in the 90s and took the job as chief of security for the World Trade Center three weeks before 9/11.
The Accused: Paige Williams, Atlanta Magazine
A boy is falsely accused of killing his sister.
Mad Dogs and Lawyers: Evan Wright, Rolling Stone
A pair of dog owners go on trial for death-by-canine.
The Bully of Toulon: Robert Kurson, Chicago
After killing a sheriff's deputy, a small town bully decides to target all of his grudges.
The Last Ride of Jesse James Hollywood: Jesse Katz, Los Angeles Magazine
A kidnapping gone wrong.
My Undertaker, My Pimp: Jay Kirk, Harper's Magazine
A former undertaker takes up a career in managing a brothel.
Dirty Little Secret: Doug Most, Boston Magazine
The story of an ex-Air Force officer and his child pornography site.
The Keystone Kommandos: Gary Cohen, The Atlantic Monthly
During World War II, Germany sends commandos to the United States to cripple U.S. industry.
A Woman's Work: Peter Landesman, The New York Times Magazine.
A woman helps lead the genocide in Rwanda.
The Boy Who Loved Transit: Jeff Tietz, Harper's Magazine
What starts as a boy's obsession with transit, leads a man to steal subway trains.

For this year's edition, there were more than the typical number which were not available online.

Sex, Lies, and Video Cameras: Rene Chun, Details
What seems to be a modeling agency is a front for online porn.

Big Shot: Peter Richmond, GQ
How the limo driver of an NBA All-Star met his death.

How Two Lives Met in Death: Joshua Hammer, Newsweek
This story follows two teens lives and deaths intersected, one a terrorist carrying a bomb, and one a bystander. 

The Body Farm: Maximillian Potter, GQ
Follows the work of the professor who studies decaying bodies for a living.

The Journalist and the Terrorist: Robert Sam Anson, Vanity Fair
Daniel Pearl's murder in Pakistan.

The Terrible Boy: Tom Junod, Esquire
Bullying gets out of hand.

The Enron Wars: Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair
The collapse of Enron.

Slaves of the Brothel: Sebastian Junger, Vanity Fair
A journalist looks at sex trafficking in Kosovo.

Murder on the Amazon: Devin Friedman, Men's Journal
A luxury yacht docks at the wrong harbor in Brazil.

Martin Hill Ortiz, also writing under the name, Martin Hill, is the author of A Predatory Mind. His latest mystery, Never Kill A Friend, is available from Ransom Note Press. His epic poem, Two Mistakes, recently won second place in the Margaret Reid/Tom Howard Poetry Competition. He can be contacted at mdhillortiz@gmail.com.