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David Paul, a Carmel resident, and Kevin McMurray, a Brewster resident, are the authors of "True Crime: Unearthing of a Serial Killer" which was released Tuesday.
The book is about the murder of Gary Stymiloski. who was killed during a traffic stop on the Saw Mill River Parkway on Feb. 24, 1985. The authors believe he was murdered by a serial killer, 30-year-old Guyanese immigrant Alex Mengel.
The day after Stymiloski's murder, Mengel kidnapped and carjacked a 44-year-old Dobbs Ferry woman who was later found dead in the Catskills. Mengel was killed two months later, when he was being transported to Westchester County Jail and tried to grab the gun of a state trooper while traveling south on the Taconic State Parkway.
Paul said he was introduced to McMurray by a mutual friend since Paul had written some screenplays that McMurray wanted to read. The duo spent three years working on the book.
"This is one of the most violent, brutal and bizarre crimes that happened in Westchester," Paul said. "This book will dispel many of the rumors."
Paul said many in law enforcement believe that state police assassinated Mengel, which Paul said is false.
"He attacked the troopers," Paul said. "The driver turned around and shot him and after his partner had been bitten."
Paul and McMurray poured through more than 300 FOIL documents as part of their research.
"It was pretty exhausting," Paul said. "This book will open up a can of worms."
The book also explores Mengel and his brother Gustav's connection to the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl from Queens in 1984. The girl's body was discovered on the Taconic in Yorktown in 1987.
Gustav Mengel now lives in Florida, where he is registered as a sex offender after being convicted of unlawful sex with a minor. At the time of the girl's disappearance, he lived six blocks from her.
Smith said they are glad they can speak for some of the victims and hope the release of their book will cause more information to be uncovered.
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