Submerged How a cold case condemned an innocent man to hide a family's darkest secret

Investigative journalist Levin movingly relates the unfortunate sequence of missteps that plagued the 1993 case of the murder of small-town Indiana teenager Rayna Rison. Thirty years on, the case has received unrelenting press coverage and is still the subject of continuing debate. While Levin suitably memorializes the victim, his focus is on what followed: a miscarriage of justice that led to a wrongful conviction. He minutely chronicles all aspects of the sprawling investigation that he asserts was grievously beset with errors due to police misconduct, personal vendettas, and inconsistent case management. Levin's analysis also describes how incompetent defense counsel and judicial failure further skewed Rayna's case. The author proffers a convincing reinterpretation of events, an alternative theory about the true perpetrators, and suggestions for how the case should have been adjudicated. He also clarifies the dizzying number of actors, events, and time lines with supplemental material, including photos, maps, and relationship matrices. The intrepid true-crime enthusiast will appreciate these helpful addenda when corralling extraneous details and following some of Levin's complex but passionate reasoning.