News release: New book to offer update to 'A Stranger Killed Katy'
Bookstores have begun taking preorders for my newest book.
"The Long Shadow of Katy's Killer" will be published February 17, 2025, by Chestnut Heights Publishing as both a paperback and eBook. This is a sequel that updates readers on the latest developments, including two dramatic parole hearings, since 2021 when I wrote the true-crime book "A Stranger Killed Katy."
I initially considered releasing a revised second edition of the first book, but I quickly realized there was too much additional content that didn’t fit neatly into the existing structure—such as newly discovered psychological evaluations and risk assessments dating back to 2009.
For those unfamiliar with Katy’s story, I recommend first reading "A Stranger Killed Katy" for a comprehensive understanding of her life, the details of her murder, the court cases, and McCarthy’s trouble-filled years before and after his imprisonment. However, "The Long Shadow of Katy's Killer" is written in a way that re-examines old events from new perspectives, allowing readers to follow the story even if they haven’t read the first book.
You can copies of "The Long Shadow of Katy's Killer" at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and numerous other sites.
Here is the official news release.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: William D. LaRue
February 12, 2025
CHESTNUT HEIGHTS PUBLISHING SET TO RELEASE THE LONG SHADOW OF KATY’S KILLER: PAROLE HEARINGS AND OTHER UPDATES TO ‘A STRANGER KILLED KATY’
On the eve of the convicted killer’s ninth parole hearing, true-crime author William D. LaRue is again shining a spotlight on the 1986 murder of Clarkson University sophomore Katherine “Katy” Hawelka, of Syracuse, New York. On February 17, 2025, LaRue will release his latest book, “The Long Shadow of Katy’s Killer,” through Chestnut Heights Publishing.
This follow-up to his 2021 book, “A Stranger Killed Katy,” gives readers a front-row seat to startling new developments, including her murderer’s 2021 and 2023 parole hearings, where Brian Milton McCarthy clashes with commissioners who question the level of his remorse and challenge his claims that he struck Katy just one time during consensual sex.
His 2023 hearing is his longest and most intense, after McCarthy fails in his demand for a postponement so he can find a way to remove copies of “A Stranger Killed Katy” that found their way into his parole file. At one point, he complains that LaRue “wrote the book to try to make my crime look worse than it really is.” McCarthy quickly backtracks: “I don’t think you can. It was the most heinous crime, in my opinion.”
“The Long Shadow of Katy’s Killer” arrives in stores in both paperback ($11.95) and eBook ($4.99) formats.
LaRue’s first book about Katy Hawelka profiled the 19-year-old and recounted the events of August 29, 1986, when she was beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted outside an ice hockey arena on the Clarkson campus in Potsdam, New York. McCarthy, a repeat offender out on parole at the time, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder committed during an attempted rape, and he was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. His first chance at parole came in 2009; he has been denied eight times since then. McCarthy’s next parole hearing is scheduled for April 2025.
Early chapters of “The Long Shadow of Katy’s Killer” lay the groundwork for understanding McCarthy’s latest parole hearings, examining newly uncovered—and often flawed—psychological evaluations and risk assessments that he has relied upon to argue for his release. The book also devotes chapters to the emotional battle waged by Katy’s family, who present impact statements before every parole hearing to argue he should remain behind bars.
The publication of “A Stranger Killed Katy” in 2021 brought renewed national attention to Katy’s murder, drawing coverage in a two-part episode of the popular “Morbid” true-crime podcast that streamed in 2022. The book and the national podcast has helped to inspire more than 60,000 people to sign the family’s online petition opposing McCarthy’s release.
WILLIAM D. LARUE is an award-winning journalist and former reporter for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, New York, and a retired online producer for newspaper websites owned by Advance Local. A native of Potsdam, New York, he received a bachelor’s degree in English from State University College at Potsdam and a master’s degree in communications from Syracuse University. LaRue, a father of two, lives in a suburb of Syracuse with his wife, Kathleen.
THE LONG SHADOW OF KATY’S KILLER: PAROLE HEARINGS AND OTHER UPDATES TO ‘A STRANGER KILLED KATY’
By William D. LaRue. 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.33(d) inches, 150 pages, will be available in paperback (ISBN 978-1-7322416-9-5) and eBook (ISBN 978-1-7322416-7-1) formats at major online booksellers, including Amazon, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble. Publication date: February 17, 2025
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