Detective Writer

How Writing Can Be Therapeutic Much More Than Expected!

How Writing Can Be Therapeutic

By Sally Barrilla

“Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change,” by Julia Cameron.

As a self-proclaimed bookworm and self-published author, writing actually saved my life. No, I don’t mean that figuratively. Writing truly saved me. And because of that experience, I believe that if you have challenges, there is power in verbally expressing your feelings through the written word.

Growing up as the daughter and granddaughter of Ecuadorian immigrants who worked hard to provide the best life possible for me and with Spanish as my first language, I did not realize how much writing would help me process my circumstances. When I first attended school, I recall struggling to communicate with teachers and classrooms, being unable to respond back to anyone who spoke to me in English, and having a difficult time reading or writing because I only knew Spanish. I was in regular classes but receiving extra help and through time, my teachers helped me learn English through the guidance of short stories, adventure and mystery books, essays, and of course Disney shows, films, and music! I realized that through words, there is so much potential, imagination, and creativity to be had.

I cannot tell you how many times I found myself excited reading a book, unable to contain my joy at discovering what would happen next–imagining that one day I would hold my own novel and a little girl would read my work and picture herself as an author too as I had done when I was young. Whenever anyone asked me what I aspired to be when I grew up, I would always say “A writer. I want to be an author and publish 1,000 books.” I didn’t know how long it would take, nor how many obstacles I would have to face, but I was willing to face it all to accomplish my dream. Sometimes, I would receive joyful cheers but more often, I was told to seek a more “Serious” career choice or at least to find a job on the side to support myself so I wouldn’t be a struggling author living on ramen noodles in NYC. I know, what can I say? Latinos are very resourceful, I guess. I can’t say they were wrong though, it is best or at least recommended to be able to support yourself but always strive to achieve your ultimate goals.

Aside from obtaining the money to publish, the other challenge was not knowing what I would ever write about. In 2009, I encountered horrific bullying when I entered middle school for the first time. I wasn’t as strong mentally, physically, or emotionally as I wish, but I took the traumatizing experience as my inspiration to write. My first novel, The Doctor: The Toxic Combination of Love, Hatred, and Revenge is Served was based on a fictional version of myself, a woman who looked exactly like me but was a total badass. Detective Sasha Thomas is a woman who has gone through quite a bit of trauma in her life and faced many people who betrayed her and made her feel small. I decided to write her story because I wanted to finally release all of my past hurts, tears, and bitter moments where I considered myself a failure. The deeper I dove into her story, the more I realized just how alike Sasha and I really are.

Writing Sasha’s story began to heal me mentally and emotionally in more ways than one because while I originally thought she and I were completely different aside from our similar looks, I learned that is not the case. Being a trauma survivor, bullying took so much from me: my confidence, self-esteem, self-love, and especially my self-respect- just like they did for Sasha. For three years, my life was in absolute hell but the only thing that helped me overcome it, aside from having a guidance counselor to talk to, was writing. I journaled every single thing that went through my mind. Whether it was good or bad, I wrote it all down. Although I never actually discussed out loud what went down during those three years, writing it, for me, was enough.

During my last few semesters in college, a professor in my fiction writing course had this prompt for us: “If there was another version of you, perhaps in another universe, how would they be? Would this individual be the opposite of you or would they be the same as you? How do you picture it?” I honestly can’t express how much fun I had with that prompt and how much it helped me unpack myself. At first, I only wrote a couple of paragraphs, but I just knew there was more to be said so I kept writing. Pretty soon, a short story assignment transformed into a fifty-plus page paper that my professor said, “Sally this is not a short story, this is a book!” At that moment, I made the choice to just go for it and give this opportunity my all, despite being in between classes, part-time jobs, and the pandemic, buckled down and started writing.

Upon finding New Degree Press thanks to a fellow author friend, I was able to finally accomplish my dream of publishing a novel. The moment you are able to sit back and view that everything you strove to achieve has arrived is such an intense feeling that I can hardly describe it in words. Writing is an absolute game changer and perhaps one day, it can ensure you tell your own story like I did.

Murder Mystery Game/StoryTime: North Star Boys Edition!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to spice things up a bit, I am going to introduce an Asian American content group/band I am pretty fond of, the North Star Boys. I have never done this before, but considering we are now in a new year, I wanted to start our first January post with a bit of fun, or at least I hope it’s fun. I will state this story is completely FALSE and purely for laughter and perhaps I will write more in the future. Please let me know in the comments your thoughts and opinions, DETECTIVES! Now, let us begin with this story: FAKE murder mystery edition.

“The North Star Boy Murder in LA Edition

Part 1”

By Detective Writer

It was a mildly chilly afternoon on Saturday, January 28th, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. The North Star Boys consists of members: Justin Phan, brothers Oliver, and Sebastian Moy, Darren Liang, Ryan Nguyen, brothers Kane, and Ty Bray – who is also known as Manager Ty, and Regie Macalino. The boys were relaxing and lay down in the living room of their brand-new home for the next several months before heading to the Asian supermarket also known as H Mart so they could gather items for their highly anticipated and famed Saturday night for drinks and movie night. Justin decided to go upstairs to his room and play one of his favorite video games, “Valorant,” Darren got hungry and went to the kitchen to heat up some leftover spicy chicken ramen, Sebastian and Kane chose to go to their rooms and stream on Twitch, Oliver walked over to the table to work on some music, Manager Ty was out for a few meetings, Regie was watching tv, and Ryan got a little bored so he took a mini nap on the couch. A few hours passed and it was already 6:30 P.M. PST (Pacific Standard Test).

Manager Ty drove back to the house after having a meeting in San Diego. Upon his arrival, he called for the boys to come together in the living room because he had an announcement to be made.

“Boys, I have some very important news to tell you. So, as you know we are taking a break for a few days before we go back to the Philippines next month. But seeing as how we have been chilling for a bit, I have an idea for a new video but first, I want you all to go to H Mart, get snacks, food, and anything you need and I will explain in more detail when you return,” said Manager Ty. Not thinking too much of Ty’s request, the boys gathered together and drove off in several cars to the nearest H Mart. The boys got their items, paid, and drove back to the house. Their media team, Angel and Bae told the boys they would stay behind and just relax since there was no rush to record anything yet. When they returned, they encountered quite a surprise.

Manager Ty was on the ground and unconscious. He was flat on his back and on top of him, there was a note.

The note stated “A brand new video idea: murder mystery with a twist. One of you may or may not be my killer but try to figure out what happened to me.”

“Really, what the heck? We gotta solve a fake crime now?” asked Regie.

“Sounds like it, great should be fun,” said Justin.

“Come on, boys you heard the man, let’s solve a fake murder,” said Oliver.

“Nah, one of you could be a damn killer, I’m going solo,” said Ryan.

“This should be cool,” said Kane motioning to the media team filming the group. The North Star Boys then began to form a large circle, realizing that anyone of them could have been the mysterious “Killer.”

“This is gonna be a long night, Stars,” said Justin as he looked into the camera.

PART 2 COMING SOON!

I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want more game times! I hope you liked it, DETECTIVES and North Star Boys! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

The Boy in the Box Has FINALLY Been Officially Identified!

Hey there and happy holidays, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER is here to tell you about a case that has finally reached a breakthrough! The murder of the child formerly known as the “Boy in the Box,” whose actual name is Joseph Augustus Zarelli.

Now, a few posts earlier I discussed this case and the link is here, but before, the boy was not identified until 65 years after his body was first discovered on December 8th, 2022.

Joseph Augustus Zarelli was born on January 13th, 1953 and he passed in February 1957, when he was only four years old. Now, what I am able to reveal here is a bit graphic so please feel free to skip forward if you do not wish to hear the details of this boy’s murder.

When Joseph was found, his body displayed signs of severe malnourishment, he had surgical scars on his groin and ankle, he had an L-shaped spot under his chin, and his hair had been cut very short. He was also nude. Although the police had opened the case on February 26th, 1957, and his fingerprints were taken, he was not identified until after 60+ years.

However, on November 30th, 2022, thanks to genetic testing and forensic genetic investigation, the Philadephia police department discovered that he had been the child of a prominent family from Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The boy’s body had been exhumed twice to obtain DNA, once in 1998 and another time in 2019. The police continue to investigate further and will update the public on any more information they find.

I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Kenneka Jenkins!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mysterious case that has immensely frightened many people in Rosemont, Illinois for numerous years, the death of Kenneka Jenkins.

Kenneka Jenkins was a 19-year-old woman who attended a party with a few friends at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare hotel in Rosemont, Illinois in room 926. On Friday, September 8th, 2017 at 11:30 P.M., the party had begun. However, witnesses at the party recalled seeing Jenkins acting strangely, swaying back and forth, and drinking cognac but she wasn’t seen taking any other drugs or marijuana. At 3:20 A.M. Jenkins was shown on camera footage staggering alone near the front desk.

Around one hour later, Jenkins’ friends called her mother, Teresa Martin to help search for Jenkins. She arrived at the hotel at 5:30 A.M. and knocked on many guests’ rooms until a hotel employee complained to 911. Although no one had seen or heard from Jenkins for a few hours, the hotel management staff said they could not provide any video footage to her loved ones until Jenkins was officially reported missing to the police. At 1:15 P.M., Jenkins was reported missing to hotel management. While at first, the camera footage didn’t show anything; however, at 10 P.M., the police saw footage of Jenkins stumbling around the hotel.

Security footage shows Jenkins stumbling as she walks around.

There is a video in which she is having difficulty standing on her feet and repeatedly hits the wall. If you do not wish to view it, DETECTIVES, please feel free to skip ahead.

Kenneka Jenkins was found inside the walk-in freezer within the walk-in cooler that was inside a barely used hotel kitchen. I will not show you the photo of Jenkins’ body in the freezer as it may be a bit distressing. Jenkins was found lying face down on her side with one shoe off. She had a small cut on her foot. She was pronounced dead on Sunday. The coroner’s autopsy report revealed that her blood alcohol was 0.112, she didn’t have any illegal drugs in her system, and she had an unprescribed medication that treats headaches and epilepsy – topiramate. Lesions were also found inside her stomach and there was evidence of brain swelling but neither condition was associated with her death. The police did not suspect foul play but they confirmed their investigation was not complete.

Although Jenkins’ family attorney filed a $50 million dollar lawsuit against the hotel, to this day, the reason why or how Jenkins got inside the freezer remains a mystery to this day. What do you think happened, DETECTIVES?

I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Kendrick Johnson!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mysterious case that has puzzled Georgia for many years, the death of Kendrick Johnson.

Kendrick Johnson was born on October 10th, 1995, and passed on January 11th, 2013. He was a student at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia. His body was found inside the school’s gymnasium, headfirst in the center of a vertical rolled-up wrestling mat. Students found his body while trying to climb up the mats. The autopsy stated that Johnson died from positional asphyxia, a lack of being able to breathe properly due to an unusual position of the body. His case was ruled an accidental death. Authorities believed that Johnson had gotten stuck or fallen in the mat while trying to get his shoes and died there since he was barefoot when his body was discovered.

Kendrick Johnson was shown in security footage entering the gym prior to his death. I will not be showing you the image of Johnson’s body, DETECTIVES as it is very distressing. On June 15th, 2013, further investigation revealed that there were traces of blunt force trauma to his soft tissues and right neck which speculated that Johnson’s death may not have been accidental but actual murder. Johnson’s family has filed suits to open more investigations and while the case has been reopened and closed numerous times, they continue to remain hopeful the truth will be revealed soon. What do you think happened, DETECTIVES? Do you believe it was murder or accidental?

Murder Mystery Storytime: Elisa Lam!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mysterious case that has spooked California for many years: Elisa Lam’s death.

Elisa Lam was born on April 30th, 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was known to be a blogger calling herself Ether Fields on Blogspot. In January 2012, Lam blogged about her struggles with mental health, feeling lost with no sense of direction, and having a relapse that caused her to drop a few classes at the University of British Columbia. Lam had been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder; however, she was given a few medications to cope. She did not have a history of self-harm or suicide attempts. Although Lam did not always take her bipolar meds and would occasionally suffer hallucinations and one time, she was hospitalized for a strong episode.

When she arrived in California on January 26th, 2012, Lam was traveling by herself on the Amtrak and buses. She checked into the Cecil Hotel on January 28th, two days later. She was supposed to stay in a shared room but her roommates said that she had moments of “Odd behavior.” Therefore, she was moved to her own room two days later. She had also attended a live taping of the Conan show in Burbank, California but security escorted her off the property for disruptive behavior. Lam was scheduled to check out of the hotel on January 31st but when her family did not hear from her, they immediately traveled back to Los Angeles to find her.

However, there was a recording of Lam inside the hotel elevator on January 31st in which she is seen repeatedly leaving and entering the elevator numerous times. The footage lasts about two and a half minutes. She appears to have pressed every button and makes unusual gestures. If you don’t wish to view this video, DETECTIVES, please feel free to skip ahead.

While there have been several theories as to what happened to her in that elevator, of course, no one truly knows.

On February 19th, 2013, Lam’s body was found inside one of the Cecil Hotel’s water tanks by a hotel maintenance employee. Hotel guests were complaining of the water having poor taste, black color, and low water pressure. On February 21st, the LA coroner reported that Lam’s body was discovered nude, with no evidence of sexual or physical assault, bloated and moderately decomposed, and she had a little bit of alcohol in her system but no recreational drugs. To this day, no one knows what happened to Lam or why she was in that tank. Despite her story becoming very well known, it continues to remain a mystery to this day. What do you think happened, DETECTIVES?

Unsolved Disappearances: Asha Degree!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved disappearance: the case of 9-year-old, Asha Degree.

Asha Degree was born on August 5th, 1990 in Shelby, North Carolina. She had an older brother, O’Bryant who was born in 1989. He was ten years old when his sister disappeared. Both children had a childhood centered close to the church, school, and family. Asha Degree’s parents had worked regular jobs so when school was over, the siblings would let themselves in. At the time of her disappearance in February 2000, Asha was in the fourth grade attending the Fallston Elementary School and going on a three-day weekend.

On February 13th, 2000, the kids went to church and came back home. Around 8 P.M., the kids went to sleep. However, about an hour later, the power went out in the neighborhood due to a car accident that occurred nearby. Asha’s father, Harold came to check on the kids around 12:30 A.M. on February 14th, 2000, which is when the power came back on. He came back to check on them again around 2:30 A.M. and the kids were still asleep in bed in their shared room.

O’Bryant remembered hearing his sister’s bed squeak but he thought she was trying to make herself more comfortable. For an unknown reason, Asha packed her bookbag and walked out of her home. She was wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt and white pants. Despite the heavy rain, she was walking along the North Carolina state highway 18, and a truck driver and a motorcyclist spotted her, they tried to talk to her but she ran away into the woods near the highway. When her mother woke up a few hours later, Asha was already gone and the police were immediately called.

When police dogs could not pick up Asha’s scent and her mother, Iquilla could not find her in the neighborhood, only a mitten was found but Iquilla that did not belong to her daughter. On February 15th, candy wrappers, a pencil, a marker, and a Mickey Mouse-shaped hair bow were discovered in a shed that was confirmed to be hers. On February 16th, her mother found that in Asha’s bedroom, she was missing a pair of blue jeans with a red stripe, her favorite clothes. On August 3, 2001, Asha’s bookbag was found near Highway 18 in Burke County during a construction project. It was wrapped in a plastic bag. The contents contained a “New Kids On the Block” t-shirt and a Dr. Seuss book. Several years after she disappeared, a photo of Asha was placed as to how she may have appeared as an adult.

Although, there have been multiple leads, unfortunately, they have not been successful. Asha Degree has not been seen since the night she disappeared but her family still holds hope that she will come back and is still out there. Where do you think Asha could have gone? Why did she leave her home in the middle of the night? Why did she run away when people tried to talk to her? What do you think, DETECTIVES?

Unsolved Spooky Mysteries: The Somerton Man!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has plagued South Australia for many years, the case of the Somerton Man. Now, just a disclaimer, DETECTIVES, if you don’t wish to see the photo below or hear about the case, please feel free to skip this one.

On December 1st, 1948, an unidentified man was found lying in the sand on the beach of Somerton Park, a seaside suburb. His head was resting against the seawall, his feet were crossed, and his legs were stretched as he lay on his back. He also was wearing a formal suit but he had no identification and no witness recognized him.

When the body was taken to the hospital, a few items were discovered with him. In his right coat collar, there was an unlit cigarette and in his pockets, second class rail and bus tickets, gum, cigar packets, and aluminum comb. Aside from having no ID, the doctor who performed the autopsy stated that the man’s foot was twisted, his liver was quite swollen, and his eye pupils were smaller than usual.

The unknown man also had a suitcase with items that had the name tags out, making it even more of a challenge to identify him. One of those items also had this note with him and there was an unknown and unsolved code with him that still puzzles police to this day. The brown suitcase was found by staff at the Adelaide Railway Station and was officially destroyed in 1986. When investigators tried to figure it out, the best result they were able to come up with, was “Ended” or “Finished.” There have been several theories as perhaps the mystery man was a spy but none had been followed out. Who was this man and what this note could have possible meant?

Unsolved Spooky Mysteries: The Watcher!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has creeped the heck out of Westfield, New Jersey, the case of 657 Boulevard Watcher!

Now, I will say there is a new show on NetFlix, DETECTIVES with the same title, The Watcher but there are a few fictionalized pieces that never actually occurred. However, let’s discuss the story a bit.

The real story began back in June 2014 when Maria and Derek Broaddus had just purchased the 657 Blvd home in Westfield, NJ. Three days before they could move in, the couple began to receive mysterious letters from someone who only identified himself as “The Watcher.” The person addressed the letters to the family as the new owners, knowing the couple’s name, reproached them for beginning renovations, and even threatened the couple’s children. The Watcher told the family that his or her family has been watching the house since the 1920s, first a grandfather, then a father, and now the new watcher. When the couple went to the police concerning the letters, the Broadduses family discovered that the house’s previous owners had received an anonymous note themselves but since they had been living there for over 23 years, they thought the letter was a simple prank and threw it out- a fact the previous owners neglected to mention.

Here is one of the creepiest quotes: “It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream.”

Over time, the Broadduses family began to receive more creepy letters that grew with threats back and forth. The family was understandably frightened for their safety that they never moved into the house. After 6 months, they put the house up for sale but had a difficult time getting rid of the home as they made it a point to warn any potential renters or buyers. In 2016, luck seemed to turn on their side when another family rented the property but soon after, another letter arrived that seemed a bit too extreme.

Here is another quote that was in the letter: “Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel sick day after day after day after day after day. Maybe the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and bicycles crash. Bones break.”

However, the family simply asked the Broadduses to install more security cameras and didn’t move out.

Throughout the years, there have been several suspects as to who the watcher could have been: neighbors, a man who played extremely violent video games under the username “The Watcher,” and even the Broadduses themselves. Maria was suspected because the DNA on the envelope was discovered to be found and Derek later confessed to New York Times that he sent letters to neighbors who were rude to him on Facebook in 2017. Although, to this day, the watcher has never been identified and the case remains unsolved. The new owners of the home have not revealed if they receive or have gotten letters from the watcher either.

Check Out My Advice for Young Writers’ Book Chat!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about my meeting with the self-publishing company that helped make my first book become a reality! The meeting was Thursday, October 20th, 2022 at 4:25 P.M. EST. But I was not alone as I was joined by another fellow author, Emma Rothman who wrote Things my Therapist Doesn’t Want Me to Say: Ten Years Post Heart Transplant. The link is available here if you would like to check it out!

I hope you like this video, DETECTIVES!

I hope you have enjoyed this video as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post and until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!