ABSTRACT
A Theory of True Crime proposes to outline the precise definitions in a specific domain to explain why and how the relationships are logically tied so that the theory gives specific predictions of what is and what is not—in this case—true crime. True crime magazine layouts of the 1930s emphasized a mixture of written text, diagrams, illustrations and crime scene photography, real, at a time when news photography in general, according to Helen Caple , was not viewed as a credible medium for news reporting. After the industrialization of the United States, execution sermons—the blueprint nonfiction murder narratives—became secularized in the form of printed tracts that were sold cheaply, and eventually led to sensational crime narratives. Seemingly fully aware of the crime they were about to commit, the alleged sex offenders waited in the kitchen for the boy or girl whom they were expecting to come out.
