Emotionally-charged true story of abduction, murder

LOCAL

St. Louis Jewish Book Festival

Emotionally-charged true story of abduction, murder

BY PATRICIA CORRIGAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT

Lisa R. Cohen admits up front that her book is tough for some people. After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive (Grand Central Publishing, $25.99) is about the abduction and murder of a 6-year-old boy that took place 30 years ago in New York City. Still, Cohen cites good reasons for reading the book.

"The book is a tale of triumph, of inspiration and of humanity — everyone who reads it says so," says Cohen. "In the book I pay homage to what I call 'quiet heroes' — people who persevere, but who shy away from publicity. These people are more heroic than anyone else."

Among the heroes in the book are Etan's parents, Julie and Stan Patz, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart GraBois, a rookie FBI agent on her first case, two informants and a young boy. They all worked to put serial child molester Jose Ramos in jail. Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguys, Goodfellas and Casino, hails Cohen's book as "an engrossing detective story" and "a powerful lesson in humanity tested and triumphant."

Cohen, 51, will speak at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 11.

She is an Emmy Award-winning television producer with over 20 years of network news experience at both ABC and CBS News. She also teaches journalism/television production at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Cohen grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Philadelphia. She is married and lives in New York City.

Cohen took time recently to talk about After Etan, which took her five years to write "with breaks."

How did you get involved with this story?

In 1990, it was the first big story I produced for PrimeTime Live. I had never been a crime story producer, but this assignment threw me in the middle of an interesting cultural clash of people that coalesced into a team working to help put away this guy.

You have spent almost 20 years with this story, producing three different programs for television and then writing the book. What was that like?

This is one of those stories that you could never make up, a story that kept taking new turns, adding new chapters. I realized that I needed to write the book to raise public awareness, maybe in some way help the case. Civil charges found Ramos responsible for Etan's death, but Ramos has not been convicted on criminal charges. He is eligible for parole in 2012.

Was it difficult to write a book on such a disturbing topic?

I made a conscious choice to stay way from the bad guys. I did not want to immerse myself in the life of Ramos, so I chose to focus on the heroes, the people who I find so inspiring. Writing the book was hard in another way.

What way was that?

When I started writing, I figured I was ahead of the game, that I had done most of the research already. I was wrong.

How so?

I had almost 30 years of material to look at, and I ended up immersing myself in countless court documents, testimonies, police material and FBI accounts. I also interviewed hundreds of people. I felt honor bound not to take liberties, not to make mistakes. I felt I had this duty to tell the story.

Talk about all the Jewish connections.

I'm Jewish. The Patz family is Jewish. At one point, there was a suspicion that Etan's uncle, a respected rabbi in New Jersey, had taken the child to Israel. Stuart GraBois is Jewish, a man profoundly proud of his roots. Both informants are Jewish, and one said his motivation for risking his life was his anger that Ramos claims to be a Jew.

How did this little boy's abduction and murder in 1979 change how parents protect children?

Cases like Shawn Hornbeck and Elizabeth Smart, cases where a child is abducted by a stranger, are so rare — Etan actually had met Ramos before he was taken. But before Etan, parents had one set of rules for their children. Afterward, everything changed. This was a moment in time when suddenly parents could imagine what could happen — because it had happened.

What is your next project?

I am working on a long-term documentary following one extraordinary woman who spent a year fighting — and beating — breast cancer, which then inspired her to take on the American health care system.

Lisa R. Cohen

WHO: Author of "After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive"

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11

WHERE: The JCC Staenberg Family Complex in Creve Coeur

HOW MUCH: $12 or free with a series ticket ($60)

TICKETS: 314-442-3299 or www.brownpapertickets.com