Angela Dove: Award-Winning Writer

Debi’s mother, Jacqueline “Jacque” MacDonald, was desperate for answers. But Detectives were at a loss, and the investigation stalled.  Jacque knew she had to find her daughter’s killer, but what could one woman do? Jacque began to acquire the most important education of her life:

• How do homicide investigations work?
• How can private citizens aid investigators?
• How can a family “sell” its worst nightmare to the media in order to flush out a killer?

Jacque fought a losing battle and came out victorious. Her crusade to find justice for her daughter directly resulted in the capture, arrest, and incarceration of Debi’s killer nine years after the murder. Along the way, Jacque began a television show profiling cold cases across California’s Central Valley. “The Victim’s Voice” is now broadcast to over two million homes, and Jacque was recently honored with the nation’s top award for victims’ advocacy: The National Crime Victims’ Service Award.

While Jacque gradually became a hero, Debi’s widower walked a tragically different path. Investigators worked diligently to locate any possible suspects in Debi’s case, and their search always led them back to Harold Whitlock. “No matter where we looked, all roads led back to Harold Whitlock,” recalls Ray Taylor, one-time lead investigator for the case. This suspicion echoed through California’s Central Valley and even within Debi’s family. Harold’s friends and relatives watched as a man once highly respected as intelligent, funny, and fiercely loyal gradually sank into guilt, anger, and self-destruction. The life and death of Debi's widower offers a poignant contrast to Jacque’s spirited and heroic journey.

    This book also unveils the intriguing homicide investigation at the heart of the story:

• the amazing efforts of law enforcement officers and their personal struggles with the case they say “haunted us like no other”;

• never before released investigative facts;

• the redemption of a most unlikely and recalcitrant informant; and

• the drama and intrigue of the perpetrator’s arrest and subsequent legal battles. 

While portions of this story have been profiled in national television shows and magazines, there has never before been a complete telling of these events—until now.

My name is Angela Dove, and I bring to this project a unique insight into its characters and events: I was the last person to see Debi Whitlock alive. She was my stepmother, and the man long-suspected of her murder was my father.

When I began writing a version of this story—a short inspirational tale of a mother’s undying resolve to find her daughter’s killer—I had no idea what I was getting myself into. During my research into Debi’s case, I uncovered the incredible body of evidence against my father. Suddenly, a far more profound and complex story emerged. No Room for Doubt is an authentic view of how one violent crime reverberated through a family, through a community, and still continues to change lives.