Fatal Destiny named 2013 Police-Writers.com Book of the Year. The brutal death of Dr. Pam Basu and forcible taking of her car on September 8, 1992 is the singular incident, which defined carjacking. Her senseless killing was truly the murder reported around the world. From CBS, NBC, and ABC to CNN and FOX News, People and Time Magazines, her death touched off a media frenzy. The outcry over Doctor Basu’s murder brought thunderous applause from members of her community when they were told the suspects could face the death penalty. But the cries for justice continued and her death became the catalyst for House Bill H.R. 4542, The Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992. President George H. W. Bush signed that bill into law in the presence of members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police on October 25, 1992. The case continues to make national news, as suspects pursue appeals and challenge legislation and court rulings. The crime has been cited in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, New York Times, London Times, The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and others. The media has referred to the Basu carjacking as the case that won’t go away. The crime stands as a lead case cited in legal documents, court cases and dictionaries. It has been cited as a primary case in West’s Encyclopedia of American Law and Webster’s Online Dictionary. Howard County Police Officer Jody Tookey (first officer on the scene of the crime) said, Two days after the murder I sat down to dinner and suddenly became sick. I couldn’t touch my food, because I could only see her (Pam’s) body lying there in the road. Sometimes my stomach still turns. I had nightmares for days. i saw the victim standing in the roadway asking me for help. She would yell at me to do something and her child would cry. In the days before the first trial I had the nightmares again. I still have horrible dreams, but not as often. People tell me I’ll always have them. Yet, this hideous killing held a double twist that seemed more suited to a Hollywood Thriller. Pam’s husband, Steve, while videotaping her departure, captured the images of the two men who would moments later brutally beat and drag to death his loving wife. And, she lived and died in a town called Savage, Maryland.
