Dory Maust
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Woman tells region serial killer's story
BY MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
mkwiatkowski@nwitimes.com
219.662.5333 | Sunday, September 21, 2008 | 10 comment(s)
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Dory Maust parallels her life to that of convicted serial killer David Maust to show contrast -- and some similarities.
David Maust was institutionalized by his mother when he was 9. Dory Maust was sent to boarding school at the
same age.
David Maust was sexually molested. Dory Maust said she was raped.
"I started thinking the demographics don't matter," Dory Maust said. "You go through things in life with a
million-dollar credit card or scraping for money with a can of beans...It was then that it hit me: You can say
whatever you want to say about the choices we make in life. We all feel pain the same, and it is our choice what we
are going to do with it."
Dory Maust, who married a distant relative of David Maust, wrote a nonfiction book chronicling the tormented life of
the convicted killer who eventually committed suicide in a Lake County Jail cell. The Pennsylvania woman also is
filming a documentary.
Fifty percent of the proceeds will be given to Stand Up for Kids, a national nonprofit organization that offers
outreach programs for children in trouble, Dory Maust said.
She said she hopes telling David Maust's story will prevent at least "one more David from pulling the trigger."
Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray sentenced Maust in 2005 to three consecutive life sentences without
parole for murdering Hammond teens James Raganyi, 16, Nicholas James, 19, and Michael Dennis, 13.
Maust pleaded guilty to the murders, skirting the death penalty. He committed suicide about a month after
sentencing.
Besides the Hammond teens, Maust also killed James McClister in 1974 in Germany and Donald Jones, 15, of
Chicago, in 1981.
Dory Maust said she was contacted earlier this year by David Maust's brother, Jeffrey, about helping him write a
book about David.
The author decided against working with Jeffrey and teamed up with David Maust's attorney, Tom Vanes.
Vanes provided Dory Maust with information, including a 1,255-page autobiography that David Maust had written
during the last two years of his life. Hammond police officer Ron Johnson also provided insight.
The author said she tightroped between telling David Maust's story and paying homage to the victims who lost
their lives.
"I went through the worst time of my life," she said. "I felt like every night when I went to sleep, I had five boys
outside of my window crying for me to tell the truth. I had another boy sitting beside me begging for the same thing."
In her book, Dory Maust discusses the killer's hallucinations, multiple suicide attempts and how he begged Cook
County officials to keep him in prison. She pulled in a team of psychologists to diagnose him.
Her book is complete, but in a rewriting stage, she said. It should be published within the next year.
"I've been raped, I've been beaten and I've been suicidal," Dory Maust said. "And, after writing David's story, I
couldn't be more at peace."
On the Web
Visit www.nwi.com to see video footage of David Maust's murder confession to Hammond police. The clip is part of
Dory Maust's documentary on the serial killer.
BY MARISA KWIATKOWSKI
mkwiatkowski@nwitimes.com
219.662.5333 | Sunday, September 21, 2008 | 10 comment(s)
NWI Photo Store
Dory Maust parallels her life to that of convicted serial killer David Maust to show contrast -- and some similarities.
David Maust was institutionalized by his mother when he was 9. Dory Maust was sent to boarding school at the
same age.
David Maust was sexually molested. Dory Maust said she was raped.
"I started thinking the demographics don't matter," Dory Maust said. "You go through things in life with a
million-dollar credit card or scraping for money with a can of beans...It was then that it hit me: You can say
whatever you want to say about the choices we make in life. We all feel pain the same, and it is our choice what we
are going to do with it."
Dory Maust, who married a distant relative of David Maust, wrote a nonfiction book chronicling the tormented life of
the convicted killer who eventually committed suicide in a Lake County Jail cell. The Pennsylvania woman also is
filming a documentary.
Fifty percent of the proceeds will be given to Stand Up for Kids, a national nonprofit organization that offers
outreach programs for children in trouble, Dory Maust said.
She said she hopes telling David Maust's story will prevent at least "one more David from pulling the trigger."
Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray sentenced Maust in 2005 to three consecutive life sentences without
parole for murdering Hammond teens James Raganyi, 16, Nicholas James, 19, and Michael Dennis, 13.
Maust pleaded guilty to the murders, skirting the death penalty. He committed suicide about a month after
sentencing.
Besides the Hammond teens, Maust also killed James McClister in 1974 in Germany and Donald Jones, 15, of
Chicago, in 1981.
Dory Maust said she was contacted earlier this year by David Maust's brother, Jeffrey, about helping him write a
book about David.
The author decided against working with Jeffrey and teamed up with David Maust's attorney, Tom Vanes.
Vanes provided Dory Maust with information, including a 1,255-page autobiography that David Maust had written
during the last two years of his life. Hammond police officer Ron Johnson also provided insight.
The author said she tightroped between telling David Maust's story and paying homage to the victims who lost
their lives.
"I went through the worst time of my life," she said. "I felt like every night when I went to sleep, I had five boys
outside of my window crying for me to tell the truth. I had another boy sitting beside me begging for the same thing."
In her book, Dory Maust discusses the killer's hallucinations, multiple suicide attempts and how he begged Cook
County officials to keep him in prison. She pulled in a team of psychologists to diagnose him.
Her book is complete, but in a rewriting stage, she said. It should be published within the next year.
"I've been raped, I've been beaten and I've been suicidal," Dory Maust said. "And, after writing David's story, I
couldn't be more at peace."
On the Web
Visit www.nwi.com to see video footage of David Maust's murder confession to Hammond police. The clip is part of
Dory Maust's documentary on the serial killer.
NOTE: Dory's husband is NOT related to David Maust as the Associated Press and other sources are claiming. IF there is a
relation it is so distant they don't know about it; that was the original quote.
relation it is so distant they don't know about it; that was the original quote.