Ann Rule | Crime writer, 83

Ann Rule, 83, a Coatesville High School graduate and true-crime author who wrote more than 30 books, including a profile of her former co-worker, the serial killer Ted Bundy, died on Sunday in Seattle at age 83. Mrs. Rule's daughter, Leslie Rule, said on Facebook that her mother had many health issues, including congestive heart failure.

Mrs. Rule's first book, The Stranger Beside Me, profiled Bundy, whom she got to know while sharing the late shift with him at a Seattle suicide hotline.

Mrs. Rule, who worked briefly at the Seattle Police Department starting when she was 21, began writing for magazines such as True Detective in 1969.

She said she was fascinated by killers' lives, going back to their childhood to find clues about why they did what they did. She attended many workshops on crime topics from DNA to arson. Local law enforcement, the FBI, and the Justice Department sometimes turned to Mrs. Rule for her expertise on serial murders.

She aided the Green River Task Force as that group sought another Seattle-area serial killer. She wrote a book about the case, Green River, Running Red.

Mrs. Rule was born Anne Stackhouse in 1931 in Lowell, Mich. Her mother was a teacher and her father, Chester R. Stackhouse, was a football, basketball, and track coach. According to her website, her grandfather and uncle were Michigan sheriffs, a cousin was a prosecuting attorney, and another uncle was a medical examiner.

As a child she lived in Coatesville as well as in Slippery Rock, Pa., and in Michigan, Oregon, and California due to her father's career. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in creative writing, with minors in psychology, criminology and penology.

- Inquirer wire services