Afraid of the Dark by Tom Henderson (December 2009)

370 Pages of Name Dropping
Review by Kim Cantrell

Mark and Florence (Flo) Unger were teetering on the edge of divorce.  The papers were filed.  All that was left was a Final Decree.

Divorce would come in a more formal manner when Mark murdered Flo.

As a last effort to make the transition from nuclear to divorced family easier on their two boys, Flo agreed to accompany Mark and the children on a weekend getaway to the resort town of Watervale, Michigan.

It was during this holiday that Flo was discovered on Saturday morning, floating in the lake, after having suffered numerous injuries.

Was it a coincidental accident or murder?

Veteran true crime author Tom Henderson attempts to present both sides of the debate in his newest book Afraid of the Dark.  However, with the incessant name dropping attached to a long, boring history of each, this book fell flat.

I think Henderson has a great writing style; nice flow, perfect transitioning.  Yet the information overload is a heavy distraction.  The book actually becomes difficult to read.

And considering the appeal issues that will most definitely surround this case, I personally would have preferred to read it once the appeals are nearing exhaustion.

There is indeed an interesting true crime story within the book.  If you don’t mind skimming or aren’t turned off by the boring details, then you’ll want to read Afraid of the Dark by Tom Henderson.

Is Mark Unger Guilty of Murdering His Wife?

>> Warning: The following may contain spoilers!

I am not a believer in coincidences, especially when it is a murder that occurs in the process of divorce.

While I don’t believe that the evidence was there to support a first degree murder verdict, I don’t think Mark Unger is an innocent man doing time.

Although juror Robert Eggleston’s bias against the defense was blantantly exposed in his letter to the prosecution following the trial, I don’t necessarily disagree with his theory of the crime.

One simple statement was made by Eggleston that I agree with immensely and think it concludes the debate of accident vs. murder in a nice neat package; that is, “Everyone in Northern Michigan knows that you would never stay out in the rain on a windy late October night.”

Michigan is a state where winter sets in long before the Equinox, and it isn’t uncommon to see snow that time of year.

Add that single statement to the fact that it was only those related to Mark who believed in his innocence at the time of his trial.

Even the wife of the man with whom Flo had had an affair spoke kindly of her and believed Mark guilty of murder.

While the appeals process could easily result in an overturn of the first degree conviction, I have no doubt that, in a retrial, Unger would be found guilty again; this time, a second degree conviction.

This is definitely not a case of justice failing to prevail. No, Mark Unger is guilty of murder.

So many times he was told that he should move forward with his life, but his insistence of being with Flo did nothing but land him behind bars.

And forever without her.