The Edge of Malice: The Marie Grossman Story

The Edge of Malice is a 360-degree examination of one particular crime and its aftermath. Marie Grossman stopped by a Burger King on her way to watch her son at a sporting event. That simple decision turned out to have life-altering implications for her and two black teenagers and their families. Richard Thompson and Christopher Martin (pseudonyms) needed to make some money to buy drugs. Their way of making money was to rob people. As Marie pulled up to the drive through the two teenagers approached her car. Richard Thomas pointed a gun at her and told her to let him into the car. Rather than acquiesce to his demand, she hit the gas pedal. Whether by accident or on purpose, the gun discharged, and the bullet entered Marie\’s jaw. This book looks at that crime and its implications for Marie and the two teenagers. The author is a lawyer who represented Marie in a civil lawsuit filed against Burger King and the franchise owner. The book, written years after the crime and subsequent trials, is broken into three parts. The first part deals with the crime and the search for the perpetrators. The second part deals with the criminal and civil trials. The last part provides updates on Marie and Richard Thomas after Richard had served nine years of his sentence. The middle part of the book presents a behind the scenes look into both the criminal side of our justice system and the civil side as Marie seeks changes and reparations for her injuries. As thorough as the book is in covering this incident, it misses the mark regarding sentencing disparities. A woman was shot in the face and suffered life-altering injuries as a result. There\’s no question that both teenagers deserved time in prison. Richard Thomas cooperated with the police and the prosecutor, plead guilty, and testified against his friend. He received a sentence that could have kept him locked up for thirty years. Fortunately for him, he served only nine years of his sentence. His friend, Christopher Martin, chose a bench trial, claiming no involvement in the crime. He provided alibi witnesses. The judge didn\’t buy the alibi witnesses. He sentenced Christopher Martin to serve three concurrent sentences of ten to thirty years, meaning that he is still in prison and won\’t have an opportunity for release until he has served at least thirty years. If you spend any time reading about our criminal justice system, you know that there are people who have committed heinous crimes that have received sentences that are a fraction of what Christopher Martin received.

This is not the usual true story about a murder. In fact, there\’s no killing at all. This book delves deeply into a crime, however, and a terrible one at that. Marie went to the drive through window at a Burger King one evening, on the way to see her son\’s wrestling match. This perfectly ordinary event was shattered by the arrival of two young men who approached her window and shoved a gun in her face. They wanted to force her to go to a bank and withdraw as much cash as possible. Marie didn\’t want to submit. A minute later, the gun exploded, and a bullet exploded through Marie\’s face. Had the bullet traveled in any pathway other than the one it did, likely, Marie would have died. But it crashed across her jaw and mouth, leaving her jaw hanging. Surgery after surgery would follow, but she would never taste again, and speech would always be difficult. The two young men were caught and sent to prison, but Marie could not accept this as the end. She told a lawyer,\”I keep thinking that if I don’t do something, they’ll never make their restaurants safer. Sometimes it takes a lawsuit to force a corporation to make needed. changes. What do you think?” What transpired is a lengthy legal battle. The questions about who was to blame, and whether Burger King owed any responsibility to Marie, are complex. Burger King did not even own the store. Security guards had been hired, although not at the time when Marie visited the drive through.

I was impressed by the author\’s story telling skills and how easily his words flowed. Marie Grossman is an interesting woman thoroughly relatable on many levels. Richard Thompson was a good young man who made some bad choices which had a seriously detrimental affect on his future plans. Unfortunately, many schools give winning athletes a pass on scholastic grades over playing sports. Had that one teacher not failed him I wonder how Richard\’s life would have turned out. Perhaps not good, as his entitled attitude might have caused problems. And drugs certainly would not have helped. I imagine Marie must have many friends. She comes across as someone immediately likeable, trustworthy, intelligent and warm. Still, I can\’t imagine going through all of the physical pain she endured, probably still endures, more than 3 decades later. She is one tough lady, that\’s for sure! Classy, determined, formidable. Time just flew by as I read this engrossing story today. It kept my attention from beginning to end. Although I feel bad for the years of physical and mental pain Marie and her loved ones experience, the ending brought a much needed closure and release for all.

This is the thought provoking story of what Marie Grossman went through, and how her life was forever changed, by a quick run through a drive-thru. The author handled the intricacies of Marie\’s life changing events with skill and compassion. I loved the fact that the author brought forth the backgrounds of the two men committing the crime and gave a deeper understanding into their lives as well. A bonus is that I previously lived in NE Ohio and enjoyed the references to places I knew. I enjoyed every page and look forward to reading the next book by this author!

This is a story of a woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She\’s robbed and accidentally shot in a Burger King drive-thru. Not just shot, but shot in the face/jaw. This is her story, not of bringing the culprits to trial, as the police did find them, but of the little guy going after a big company. The court scenes were very detailed as well as the information about the case. I couldn\’t put it down.

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