The Forsaken
Based on a True Story...
In the quiet suburb of Simi Valley California in 1978, the unthinkable shattered a family forever. Twenty-four-year-old Rhonda Wicht and her four-year-old son, Donnie, were brutally slain in their own home—a place that should have been their sanctuary. Their lives were cut short in an act of unspeakable violence that left a community reeling, and a sister’s heart forever broken.
For nearly forty years, their accused killer sat behind bars—convicted, condemned, and written into history as the man responsible. But when he was pardoned in 2017, everything changed. The justice Shelley Hamilton had clung to was ripped away, leaving her not with closure, but with torment—the devastating belief that a guilty man had been set free, while her sister and nephew were left forsaken by the system that had once spoken for them.
The Forsaken is the story of darkness and betrayal—but also of resilience, love, and one woman’s refusal to let her sister and nephew be forgotten. Shelley’s voice echoes through these pages, a heartbroken reminder that sometimes, justice does not merely fail—it is undone. Her relentless pursuit is not only for Rhonda and Donnie, but for truth itself, even when the courts and public opinion are willing to turn away.
Shocking, deeply human, and profoundly moving, this book pulls readers into a decades-long struggle between memory and doubt, law and conscience. It is a reminder that behind every headline lies a devastated family… and that even against the tide of history, one woman’s love refuses to be silenced.
Coming Soon...
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
— Proverbs 31:8
Press for The Forsaken & The Oath
The Acorn Newspaper April 04, 2026
The Acorn Newspaper October 18, 2025
Murder case refuses to stay buried:
One woman’s habit of saving the forgotten leads to cold case investigation material
The Acorn Newspaper October 18, 2025
The Acorn Newspaper October 18, 2025
A murder, a pardon and a city still searching for answers: Journalist’s new book seeks truth in Simi Valley’s coldest case
Simi On Video September 1, 2022
Flo Trapani tells her story of her life from childhood through her career as a Simi Valley police officer and everything in between.
The Acorn Newspaper January 14, 2022
The Acorn Newspaper January 14, 2022
TRUE STORY - Above, Flo Trapani, left, a former Simi Valley police officer, is the subject of a new book written by local author, Alicia Doyle