In May 2019, I heard a story about an American Airlines Pilot who had been arrested for a triple homicide. I was working as a pilot for American Airlines at the time. I've flown with some pilots who had issues, but a triple homicide is on another level.
I did a little research and learned that this person worked for PSA Airlines, an American Airlines regional carrier. I also learned that he had been arrested at the Louisville International Airport moments before he was scheduled to work the flight as the first officer. He was still wearing his pilot uniform when he had his mugshot taken.
I didn't go much further than learning about the charges against him. Two years later, in June 2021, I heard he had been convicted. Then, in September of that same year, Dateline did an episode about the case titled The Evil That Watches. I'm a big fan of Dateline. But as I watched the show and listened to the evidence against him and his interview with Keith Morrison, I got the sense that something wasn't right.
Fortunately, the entire murder trial was filmed by Court TV and available to view online. I spent the next month or so watching every minute of that trial. When I finished it, I was convinced that he was innocent. I know that the prosecution did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
By this time, I was four months away from retirement. I had written two books—both were nonfiction narratives about aviation stories. I started to consider making this story the subject of my third book. I've always been fascinated by stories of wrongful convictions and have written extensively about them on my review site www.everythingnonfiction.com.
I did a little online sleuthing and found a Facebook group called Free Kit Martin. As it turns out, thousands of other people felt the same way as I did about his innocence. I joined the group and, in no time, was able to reach out to Kit (the name he goes by) through a prison email account.
My thinking at the time was that some well-known author surely had to be all over this story. But I was happy to learn that no one had approached Kit or his family about a book. Once everyone was on board, I was given access to a wealth of material dating back to 2012. I started writing in November 2021.
My previous books had taken between three and five years to write. Now that I was retired, I was able to dedicate as much time as I needed. I had a first draft by the summer of 2023. I contacted the family and told them there were two choices: I could publish the book myself, or I could try and find a traditional publisher. I gave them the pros and cons of each path. The family decided that I should try the traditional route first and do it myself if I could not find a publisher.
I wrote a proposal and started sending out query letters to literary agents. I started racking up rejection letters as fast as I sent them out. I was willing to give it six months to a year. The problem with doing that, however, is that there was still no guarantee that I would even get an agent, let alone a publishing deal. And if I did manage to find a publisher, it would be another year or more before the book ever saw the light of day. Meanwhile, Kit was sitting in prison, having to rely on two appeals attorneys who didn't seem all that interested in their jobs.
I decided to submit the proposal directly to WildBlue Press, a publisher known for its true crime books. I had read and reviewed a book from this publisher called Failure of Justice by John Ferak. Somehow, my proposal landed in the hands of one of the two founders of the company. Within a very short time, I had a publishing agreement, and here we are now. And soon a lot more people will learn how the State of Kentucky convicted an innocent man.
Title: I Will Ruin You: The Twisted Truth Behind the Kit Martin Murder Trial
Author: Emilio Corsetti III
Pages: 420
Genre: Crime Fiction
Moments before boarding a passenger flight on 11 May 2019 as the first officer, pilot Christian “Kit” Martin, a former army ranger, was arrested by a swarm of heavily armed officers for the murders of three of his neighbors. The arrest captured global attention as Martin’s mugshot, clad in a pilot’s uniform, spread across the internet, sparking a media firestorm with headlines such as “Monster in the Cockpit.”
A combat helicopter pilot, Kit Martin had seen his life unravel after seeking a divorce. His wife’s threatening words, “If you leave me, I will ruin your life …,” overheard by his daughter, seemed to have become a grim reality, escalating to a court-martial and culminating in a high-stakes murder trial at which he was convicted.
I WILL RUIN YOU: The Twisted Truth Behind the Kit Martin Murder Trial delves into the complex circumstances behind Martin’s story. It looks beyond the sensational headlines and legal turmoil into the heart of this controversial case.
You can purchase I Will Ruin You: The Twisted Truth Behind the Kit Martin Murder Trial at Amazon.
Emilio Corsetti III is a retired airline pilot and the author of the bestselling nonfiction books 35 Miles From Shore and Scapegoat. Emilio is a graduate of St. Louis University Parks College of Aviation. He and his wife, Lynn, reside in Dallas, Texas.
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