A Silence of Mockingbirds: The Memoir of a Murder

On June 3, 2005, three-year-old Karly Sheehan, daughter of divorced parents Sarah and David Sheehan, was beaten to death. Convicted in the case was Sarah's boyfriend, Shawn Field. Although Karly showed signs of abuse shortly after Sarah met Shawn, and a concerned daycare worker reported as much to the Oregon Department of Human Services, "a continuum of failure" caused the case to fall through the cracks. The author (also a journalist) knew Sarah when Sarah was a student at the school where Zacharias was a substitute teacher, and for a short time Sarah lived with the Zacharias family. Yet the author lost track of Sarah, and Karly had been dead for two years before Zacharias learned of the murder. Though pitched as a memoir, Zacharias never recounts meeting Karly, and much of the material comes from interviews, though not with Sarah or Shawn. Chronologically unclear, melodramatic (e.g., When the author hears of the tragedy, she exclaims, "Oh, dear God. Dearest. God."), and repetitive, Zacharias's telling of Karly's truly tragic story seems exploitative and sensationalist. Nevertheless, the author poignantly highlights the problem of underreported child abuse, and points to the Oregon State Legislature's unanimous passing of Karly's Law%E2%80%94which made it mandatory for caseworkers and law enforcement officers to notify authorities of suspected victims of abuse%E2%80%94as an example for the rest of the nation. (Apr. 1)