After Cable TV Triumph, Rancho Mirage Author Set to Unveil Gripping True Crime Saga

C.J. Wynn, a North Dakota native now residing in Rancho Mirage, has completed her latest book, set to be published in April. The journey took four years, marked by challenges posed by a global pandemic and personal self-doubt.

Wynn’s new work, titled Miles of Destruction: A True Story of Oil, Greed, Lust, and Murder, explores a complex murder-for-hire scheme involving oil industry businessmen. It recounts the chilling story of James Hendrickson, who was sentenced to two life sentences for two murders in 2016.

The book spans 446 pages, meticulously detailing the crimes and their investigation. Wynn undertook extensive research, traveling thousands of miles and interviewing survivors, family members, detectives, and experts.

“I gathered about 40,000 pages of information, which took an additional year to analyze,” Wynn shared. Her master’s degree in psychology allowed her to delve deeper into the human motivations behind the crimes.

“I’ve always been interested in the human psyche—what makes people tick,” she explained. Writing has been a lifelong pursuit for Wynn, influenced by her mother’s love for true crime classics and the Lifetime movies she enjoyed as a child.

Her passion was ignited after watching a Dateline episode featuring a murder case in her hometown, prompting her to write her first book. Determined to see if she had a knack for true crime writing, Wynn has since established herself in the genre.

This is Wynn’s second book, published through Black Lyon Publishing, following her debut, Wilder Intentions, which took 18 months to complete. Both books are featured in true crime docuseries on Oxygen.

The subjects of her first book, Cynthia and Richie Wilder, are showcased on a new episode of Snapped, airing Sunday. Wynn is also interviewed in a series called A Plan to Kill, focused on the Hendrickson case, which aired on December 22.

Currently, Wynn is reveling in the excitement of her upcoming release and has not yet contemplated her next project. “I just finished this literally on December 1, and I’m excited for it to come out,” she said, hinting at a potential future venture into fiction.