Sara Gruen, whose 2006 novel Water for Elephants sold 10 million copies worldwide, has devoted countless hours and more than $500,000 of her own money trying to prove the innocence of Charles Murdoch, who was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder in the early 1990s. I wrote about it for New York Magazine and The Marshall Project. Sara Gruen and Lottie Bell, Charles Murdoch’s daughter, in 2016. Digging Through Case Files. Sara Gruen is still sick, and Charles Murdoch is still in prison, possibly for a crime he had nothing to do with. “How Sara Gruen Lost Her Life.” New York Magazine, 24 Mar. "I just finished devouring your WATER FOR ELEPHANTS," he wrote, adding, "Oh man, it was AWESOME!” Gruen ‘s quest to prove Charles Murdoch ‘s innocence began way back in 2015 after she received a fan-mail letter from him in the mail. The experience nearly ruined her life. tldr; Author Sara Gruen received a letter from Charles Murdoch, a prisoner in a US prison, who was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder. The letter was from Charles Murdoch. In the meantime, she was frustrated with her lawyer’s apparent lack of progress, especially considering his fee had far exceeded the original estimate of $78,000. Meanwhile, Murdoch made enemies with some members of the Aryan Nation while in prison, who in turn sent some of their un-incarcerated lackeys after Gruen, believing Murdoch … Both of their futures hinge on the decision of the court. The Marshall Project has laid out a stunning piece on Sara Gruen, best-selling author of Water For Elephants. According to a riveting in-depth article in Vulture penned by Abbott Kahler, a journalist and long-time friend of Gruen’s, Gruen began to research Charles Murdoch’s case. You may doubt that on occasion while reading fiction, but to prove the point, we present an article about Water for Elephants author Sara Gruen’s fight to free a man she believed was wrongfully convicted.. For six years, Sara Gruen has sunk all her time and money into trying to get a court of appeals to hear additional evidence on Charles Murdoch’s case. Sara Gruen, author of the bestselling novel Water for Elephants, was left broke and “seriously ill” because of her obsession with freeing a man accused in a murder case, her friend has said. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. “A Bestselling Author Became Obsessed With Freeing a Man From Prison. Truth is stranger than fiction. 2021. My friend and Water for Elephants author Sara Gruen spent six years trying to free a wrongfully convicted man from prison. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for Chuck Murdoch in Michigan (MI). What she found convinced her of the man’s innocence. Background Checks