Gertrude McCabe, 88, was brutally killed in San Jose. Her niece, Jane Alexander, 61 in 1983, decided to find her beloved aunt’s killer. Jane Alexander’s story has been made into a movie called “Citizen Jane”.

Jane Alexander’s boyfriend, Tom O’Donnell, has been staying with her for three years before Gertrude McCabe was killed. One after McCabe’s death, O’Donnell disappeared from Alexander’s life.

Tom O’Donnell cheated Alexander of her money. He lost $200,000 in equity in her home when he mis-used it in bad investments. O’Donnell took $10,000 from Alexander as his self given parting gift before he left her.

O’Donnell was convicted for cheating Alexander of her money. O’Donnell was sentenced to 4 years in prison for that. It took a total of 13 years before Alexander could help her prosecutor build up a strong case against O’Donnell in the murder of Gertrude McCabe. O’Donnell was convicted for the murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

“Citizen Jane: A True Story of Money, Murder and One Woman’s Mission to Put a Killer Behind Bars” is Jane Alexander’s autobiography published in 1999.

Jane Alexander and Jan Miller helped to set up “Citizens Against Homicide” to help families of murdered victims. Jane Alexander died at the age of 86, on Dec 14 2008. “Citizens Against Homicide” lives on to help others.