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'In Her Prime' Tells Kathy Augustine's Story
Book Chronicles Life, Murder Of Nevada's First Female Controller
POSTED: 9:40 pm PST November 4,
2009
UPDATED: 10:59 pm PST November 4,
2009
LAS VEGAS -- A new book covering one of the darkest chapters in Nevada political history has hit the shelves."In Her Prime" chronicles the very public life and death of Kathy Augustine, Nevada's first female state controller. The story made headlines for months in 2006.Video: 
Book Explains Augustine's Life & DeathAt 50-years-old, Augustine was a political pioneer. First serving in the Nevada Assembly and then the Senate, she became Nevada’s first female state controller in 1999.Augustine’s life was marked by turmoil -- she was impeached for an ethics violation and married three times -- and her fourth husband would turn out to be her murderer.Video: Augustine InvestigationFormer Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Glenn Puit spent a year and a half writing the 300-page book. He said the media coverage surrounding Augustine’s death in July 2006 didn’t do her story true justice.“For the people who knew Kathy, there was a different person there. All of the media accounts I ever saw were not very flattering of her, and I wanted to tell the story from her perspective,” Puit said.Augustine’s death was found to be caused by succynylcholine, a paralyzing drug. Augustine’s husband, Chaz Higgs, was convicted of poisoning her. Puit said his book details this so-called perfect murder weapon and how it almost went undetected.“It’s a story that’s very close to a lot of Nevadans’ hearts. People followed Kathy and admired her, and to see what happened to her is a terrible injustice. And I felt that somebody had to tell the story and do it right,” Puit said.Augustine's death changed how law enforcement handled murder cases, since nothing like this had ever been documented in Nevada.Higgs is serving his sentence at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs for the murder of Augustine.
Book Explains Augustine's Life & DeathAt 50-years-old, Augustine was a political pioneer. First serving in the Nevada Assembly and then the Senate, she became Nevada’s first female state controller in 1999.Augustine’s life was marked by turmoil -- she was impeached for an ethics violation and married three times -- and her fourth husband would turn out to be her murderer.Video: Augustine InvestigationFormer Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Glenn Puit spent a year and a half writing the 300-page book. He said the media coverage surrounding Augustine’s death in July 2006 didn’t do her story true justice.“For the people who knew Kathy, there was a different person there. All of the media accounts I ever saw were not very flattering of her, and I wanted to tell the story from her perspective,” Puit said.Augustine’s death was found to be caused by succynylcholine, a paralyzing drug. Augustine’s husband, Chaz Higgs, was convicted of poisoning her. Puit said his book details this so-called perfect murder weapon and how it almost went undetected.“It’s a story that’s very close to a lot of Nevadans’ hearts. People followed Kathy and admired her, and to see what happened to her is a terrible injustice. And I felt that somebody had to tell the story and do it right,” Puit said.Augustine's death changed how law enforcement handled murder cases, since nothing like this had ever been documented in Nevada.Higgs is serving his sentence at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs for the murder of Augustine.
Previous Stories:
- June 27, 2007: Augustine Murder Trial To Resume
- June 24, 2007: Auction Offers Augustine Family Closure
- May 3, 2007: Son Rejects Autopsy, Thinks Dad Was Poisoned
- July 18, 2006: Kathy Augustine Memorial Scholarship Fund
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