''Echoes in the Darkness'' is the title of a 1984 book by crime writer Joseph Wambaugh which also became a made-for-TV movie in 1987. The book details the lurid tale of the murder of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

teacher Susan Reinert and her two children in 1979. The case captured national media attention. Both her boss, high school principal Jay C. Smith, and her lover and colleague William Bradfield were convicted, although Smith's conviction was later overturned, because of police and prosecutorial misconduct in the case. ''Echoes in the Darkness'' was adapted into a made-for-television mini-series in 1987. The television production starred

Treat Williams Richard Treat Williams (born December 1, 1951) is an American actor, writer and aviator who has appeared on film, stage and television in over 120 credits. He first became well known for his starring role in the 1979 musical film '' Hair'', and la ...

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author and narrator of films, theatre, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Cro ...

, Stockard Channing, Peter Boyle, Gary Cole and Robert Loggia, and was directed by Glenn Jordan. The chief investigator, John J. Holtz of the Pennsylvania State Police, later admitted having accepted $50,000 from author Wambaugh.William C. Costopoulos, Principal Suspect: The True Story of Dr. Jay Smith and the Main Line Murders (Philadelphia: Camino Books, Inc., 1996), 240, 245, 264. The money was provided on the condition that suspect Jay Smith be arrested.

References

1987 non-fiction books Non-fiction books about murders in the United States Books about trials Books with cover art by Paul Bacon William Morrow and Company books {{crime-book-stub