honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:46 p.m., Thursday, October 9, 2008

Story based on Hanauma Bay killing comes to Lifetime TV

Advertiser staff

Canadian author Linda Spalding's unusual relationship with a woman convicted of the 1978 slaying of Lawrence Hasker at Hanauma Bay is the focus of a Lifetime Television movie at 6 p.m. this Sunday.

"Murder on Her Mind," which is based on Spalding's 2006 book, "Who Named the Knife," stars Chandra West and Annabeth Gish.

Spalding was a juror in the trial of Maryann Acker but was kicked off the jury because she was late one day. She believed for years that her absence led to the conviction of Acker, a schoolteacher who was already convicted of another murder in California when the Honolulu trial began.

After rediscovering her lost diary of the trial, Spalding befriended Acker, who was in prison in California. "Who Named the Knife" is the story of that friendship.

The Advertiser interviewed Spalding about her book and the experience, running a story on Oct. 26, 2007.