Pure Land: Annette McGivney

February 9, 2018 – In her new book, Pure Land, author Annette McGivney chronicles the decade she spent covering Japanese hiker Tomomi Hanamure’s 2006 murder. The 34-year-old was killed on her birthday near the picturesque waterfalls on the Havasupai Reservation in the Grand Canyon. A Native man, Randy Wescogame, was convicted of her murder.

McGivney followed the case as Southwest regional editor for Backpacker Magazine but couldn’t quite explain why she was unable to let go of the histories that brought Hanamure and Wescogame together. Then, as the Flagstaff-based author and journalist was midway through researching the book, her own past came roaring back into her life and refused to be ignored.

More:

Backpacker: Freefall: Murder in the Grand Canyon
Santa Fe Reporter: 3 Questions
I Am Pure Land