Full Circle

A True Story of Murder, Lies and Vindication

RELEASING APRIL 2012

by Gloria Killian and Sandra Kobrin

It began as a simple robbery. A man dressed as a phone repairman knocked at the door of coin collector Ed Davies. Once inside, the stranger pulled a gun on Ed and his wife, Grace, handcuffed and hogtied the couple and opened the door for his partner. After filling six suitcases with silver and gold coins, they fatally shot Davies in the head twice and his wife once, then fled. Hours later, with a bullet lodged in her head, Grace crawled out to the sidewalk where a neighbor found her.

Eventually, the killers were found and convicted of murder. After their sentencing, one told the prosecutor that a a third year law student named Gloria Killian had masterminded the robbery. The prosecutor went after her with zeal, and she was tried, convicted and sent to jail, all the while proclaiming she knew nothing of the crime. While in jail, she began advocating for the humane treatment and release of women in prison.

Ten years later, one of the defense attorneys discovered massive exculpatory evidence, hidden documents, prosecutorial misconduct and perjury. Then Gloria Killian’s own fight for freedom began.

Full Circle tells for the first time the riveting story of a shocking murder that involves Hells Angels, misguided cops, backroom deals, profound lies, and life and death sentences. Relentless, exciting and gripping, this true story shows how a life can be ruined in a split second. Finally, Full Circle makes the terrifying point that what happened to Killian can happen to anyone.

Gloria Killian was a third year student at McGeorge Law School when she was convicted of murder. In prison she became a jailhouse lawyer, creating in conjunction with the University of Southern California the first Law Project in a California women’s prison. Since her release, Killian has become a worldwide prison activist. She is Executive Director of The Action Committee for Women in Prison. She hosts a weekly internet radio show on www.blogtalkradio.can/4justicenow.

Sandra Kobrin is a journalist, columnist, screenwriter and television producer who began her career as the youngest sportswriter at The New York Times. Her investigative stories have appeared in the Los Angeles Times as well as Newsday, ESPN, Women’s Day, etc. She writes a nationally syndicated column for www.womensnews.org, served as Managing Interactive Editor for the Los Angeles Daily News and seven other newspapers. She teaches creative nonfiction at UCLA. Kobrin lives in Los Angeles, California.

Nonfiction, 6 x 9, 320 pages
8 page photo insert
LC #2011928841, world rights
ISBN-13: 978-0-88282-376-8 (hc), $24.95