Death Trap

Written by M. William Phelps

Narrated by Kevin Foley

A loving father and his new wife set out to pick up his kids for a scheduled weekend visit-but never suspected they were walking into a death trap.

A handwritten note instructed Alan and Terra Bates to enter the back door of his ex-wife's Alabama home. A day later their charred bodies were found hundreds of miles away, wrapped in blankets, in a burned-out car's trunk on a desolate Georgia road.

At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement officials found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors, and the couch missing. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Along with her new police-officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781494576233

M. William Phelps

Crime writer and investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the author of twenty-four nonfiction books and the novel The Dead Soul. He consulted on the first season of the Showtime series Dexter, has been profiled in Writer’s Digest, Connecticut Magazine, NY Daily News, NY Post, Newsday, Suspense Magazine, and the Hartford Courant, and has written for Connecticut Magazine. Winner of the New England Book Festival Award for I’ll Be Watching You and the Editor’s Choice Award from True Crime Book Reviews for Death Trap, Phelps has appeared on nearly 100 television shows, including CBS’s Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, The View, TLC, BIO Channel, and History Channel. Phelps created, produces and stars in the hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, now in its third season; and is one of the stars of ID’s Deadly Women. Radio America called him “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.” Touched by tragedy himself, due to the unsolved murder of his pregnant sister-in-law, Phelps is able to enter the hearts and minds of his subjects like no one else. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community and can be reached at his website, www.mwilliamphelps.com.

Reviews for Death Trap

[RoseTinker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good book, the author drags you in to the story, it's like you are there witnessing everything.

[bellafoxx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On February 16, 2002 authorities responded to the report of a fire, they arrived to find a burned out car with two bodies in the trunk. It was Alan and Terra Bates, they had been murdered by Alan’s ex-wife, Jessica McCord and her husband, Jeff McCord, a police officer in Pelham, Alabama. Jessica wanted full and permanent custody of their children, without having to comply with the court ordered visitation allowed to Alan, she had already spent time in jail for disobeying the judge, and Jessica was used to getting what she wanted.Incredibly detailed account of the lives of the involved parties, Phelps details the long custody battle, Jessica’s total disregard for the court and her manipulation of the children to paint herself as the good mom and Alan the evil abandoning father. Phelps brings the facts to life and we get to know the people through his research and in-depth interviews and correspondence with friends, family and even Jeff McCord. I recommend this book.

[bella55075 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

i never received this book so I can not review

[marlene9nl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds me of Ann Rule's writing and that is not a compliment!



It seems I am the only one who got really annoyed reading this book. I mean yes there are people who got annoyed because the way it was written but I do not see anyone who was annoyed for the same reason i was.


Okay Let's have it out. Why does Mr Phelps feels the need to constantly tell us how bad Jessica mcCord is and what an angel Alan Bates was.
It felt like Ann Rule because she has the same annoying habit.

Come on. We all know people are not all bad and not all good and it gets so irritating when you read it on every page. Sometimes more than once per page.

I am sure Alan ws a good guy but boy was he a pushover. Even dropping his friends because his wife was jealous?

Comment by his best friend) "And then Alan called one day. It was a total surprise. "Listen.. I..I Jessica said it is okay that we talk"

Mr Phelps also ridicules her story that she claimed to have a very abusive background. Even though it later appears this was true. (Not that that matters cause that doesn't excuse murder))
It sucks really cause I liked this book but when someone tries to prove a point and does that in nearly every sentence, it's no fun.

yes I am sure she is bad but I want to come to this conclusion on my own thank you.

I think I just prefer a little bit more neutrality from my true crime writers.

[senorag163 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Death Trap tells the horrible story of the murder of Alan and Terra Bates by Alan's ex-wife and her policeman husband. Why? To keep him away from his own children, no other reason. Terra just happened to be with Alan and was considered collateral damage. Four bullets into each victim and then they were put in the trunk of their car, driven to a remote area and the car was set on fire.How can a mother kill the father of her children just to keep him from seeing them? How can a husband who is a police officer sworn to protect and defend, help his wife commit this crime? These questions will probably never be answered since both parties involved, Jessica and Jeff McCord see nothing wrong with what they did and still lay blame everywhere but on themselves.My thoughts:This is one of those books that makes you shake your head and say how could this woman have gotten to this point and not be stopped? How could a husband be so controlled that when his wife says "We have to kill him" his answer is "Ok?" So many people were witnesses to this crazed woman's antics yet she still wasnt stopped. Her family lied to protect her and wound up in jail as well. Not for a second did Jessica McCord stop and think of her children and what her actions would mean for them. They are now without father and mother.This book was written in a style that made it read like a fiction novel. Many true crime books are like reading textbooks and don't flow like a novel. This one does. The writing makes it an easy and enjoyable read, the facts make you sick to your stomach.

[merrymary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well-told tale of cold-blooded murder, and the people involved. The victims, Alan and Terra Bates, were good people who loved each other and loved Alan's daughters. The perpetrators, Alan's ex-wife Jessica McCord and her new husband Jeff, were amoral and willing to put their own wants above anyone, including the children. I found the unfolding of the crime to be chilling and sordid. Jessica couldn't bear to lose anything to Alan ever, and Jeff went along with whatever Jessica wanted in order to keep peace. The justice system is held to an unflattering light, as Jessica was able to stall, lie, and evade court orders and contempt charges. Alan and Terra were too trusting of the justice system and unaware of the lengths Jessica would go to win. The account of the piecing together of evidence and the step-by-step process of the trials put the entire affair in focus and perspective.My main complaint of the story is that the writer puts a little too much of himself into the narrative. He comments from time to time on Jessica's lies, her transparent attempts to manipulate the lawyers and so on. All true, but the comments are too personal, too venomous. Editorial detachment would have worked better.