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  • Too Pretty to Live

  • The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee
  • By: Dennis Brooks
  • Narrated by: John Pruden
  • Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (165 ratings)
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Too Pretty to Live cover art

Too Pretty to Live

By: Dennis Brooks
Narrated by: John Pruden
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Summary

In this stunning true-crime thriller of Facebook, catfishing, and jealousy, a double murder begins with the click of a button.

When Bill Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth began their romance, they unknowingly set in motion a diabolical plot that would end with them murdered in their own home, Hayworth holding their mercifully unharmed infant.

Chris was a CIA agent who was concerned about Jenelle. Seeing the cyberbullying she had endured, and worried for her safety, Chris got in touch with Jenelle's protective parents and her devoted boyfriend, warning them that Payne and Hayworth were a danger to Jenelle. He got especially close with Jenelle's mother, Barbara, who thought of Chris like a son, though she had never met him. Chris claimed that surveillance of Payne and Hayworth revealed that the two of them were planning on harming Jenelle, that it was imminent, and that something needed to be done immediately. Chris promised that he would have their back if they were to act to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle's father, Buddy, and her boyfriend, Jamie, broke into the home of Payne and Hayworth and murdered them in their own home.

What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life.

Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in this strange and disturbing case.

©2016 Dennis Brooks (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Too Pretty to Live

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

There is nothing so strange as folk.

Labyrinthine tale written by the actual prosecutor of the case. He does a great job of laying out the case and taking us deep inside the minds and lives of those prosecuted.
Like in all true crime stories, we should acknowledge the victims, both living and dead.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Better to read

I was absolutely fascinated by this story. It was very detailed and dealt with a very intriguing case. However, I believe that it would be much better to read as a book rather than listen to it in audio. It was difficult to follow the extensive emails, text conversations and interviews as they were written in the very poor standard of English of the accused and lacking in punctuation which, when only listening, was very difficult to follow. I know it was important for it to be written in this way as it gave greater insight into the kind of people the accused were and were their actual words. It would have been much easier if I could have seen the emails and the names of the people speaking. No fault of the writer or narrator, though - just a book that was probably not suited for Audible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

fascinating story

Very interesting and in depth look into a bizarre case. I would have liked the narrator to be a little less robotic when reading out the emails etc but overall it was great. Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and sad story.

Fantastic narration. John Pruden kept it flowing, his voice perfect for any crime situation. Fascinating crime case.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Probably a good story but strange narration so I’ve given up!

This is probably quite a good book but it’s hard to listen to as a lot of most chapters contain emails and messages being read and for some reason that I can’t figure out, the narrator reads them seemingly without punctuation and particularly robotically.
The rest is read in a ‘grandpa telling a tale’ kind of way which is pleasant but boy the reading of the emails/message are monotonous torture. I don’t know what chapter I’m on but it feels like it’s probably at least a four digit number.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Strange and fascinating

Superb rendition of a multi-layered case. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Difficult to hit pause!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I found this interesting

I found the story very interesting, the narration was a bit dry and some of the verbatim reading of emails etc went on and on. However overall it is a worthwhile listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, but very repetitive

Whilst the emails were crucial to telling the story, many were read more than once which dragged the whole thing out.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Shared madness

Bit repetitive and took a while to get into the narration, which felt rather wooden.
The monotone narration of the email transcripts suits the bizarre content, but is awful to listen to.

What a nightmare story this is.
Brutal senseless murders born of imaginary petty trivial bullshit, born of mental illness, codependency and enablement, heightened by lack of education & awareness.
So many lives ruined by the shared madness of the Potters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed

Brilliant book, really enjoyed it. Lots of great twists. The narrator has a nice voice too. Read it in less than two days!

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