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Marrying the Hangman : A True Story of Privilege, Marriage and Murder
Marrying the Hangman A True Story of Privilege Marriage and Murder Author:Sheila Weller Early Saturday morning, October 24, 1987, Diane Pikul, well educated, attractive, assistant to the publisher of Harper's Magazine, was murdered by her husband, a successful Wall Street analyst, at their Long Island summer home. Whether her two young children, Claudia and Blake, witnessed the killing, no one else knew. Later tha... more »t day, Joseph Pikul left the children at the home of a friend he hadn't seen in years, retrieved his wife's battered body and began an astonishing 850-mile drive that culminated in his arrest later that week.
Thus begins one of the most shocking crime stories of the eighties, one that chronicles the fatal flaws in human nature and ambition. Here is the story of a young woman who had every opportunity in life. From the small Midwestern city of her childhood, to the exclusive halls of Mt. Holyoke College, to the edgy streets of New York's East Village in the 1960s, Diane Pikul's search for self-fulfillment was no different than that of many women of her generation. After a series of volatile relationships with men, her search led to the tense, unstable Joseph Pikul -- a man who could provide her with a 'picture perfect,' financially secure marriage. Diane could not have predicted, however, that his behavior would careen out of control in direct ration to her own need for independence.
The aftermath of Diane Pikul's death was no less shocking. Under indictment for his wife's murder, Joseph Pikul was allowed to keep custody of his children while free on bail. Awaiting trial, he married the mother of one of his daughter's best friends, was convicted of murder, then died of AIDS before sentencing. Pikul may have eluded final justice, but he did not escape notoriety in this much debated and socially resonant case.« less