J R Elias

Pushed J R Elias

It was one push. One of the most controversial murder cases of the 21st century began the moment Amber Hilberling, a pregnant teenager raised in affluence, pushed her husband Josh inside their 25th-floor apartment living room. Amber watched in horror as Josh fell into a window, which collapsed on contact, then plummeted through the Tulsa sky to his death. Amber's claim of self-defense against a longtime abuser was quickly drowned out by the aggressive public campaign Josh's family and friends launched. The media adopted their storyline without question - portraying Amber as a mentally-ill killer, Josh a "gentle giant" and victim. Hate websites launched, calling for Amber's execution. Strangers harassed her family. The Tulsa World newspaper mocked her "fitted jackets, full makeup and a mane of blown-out blonde tresses." The State of Oklahoma charged Amber with murder and prosecuted her with troubling tactics the state supreme court later blasted as "dubious." The pressure drove Amber, soon a new mother to a baby boy, to the edge. In Pushed, J. R. Elias, an award-winning journalist turned attorney who worked on the case, pulls back the curtains and shares the gripping full story: prosecutorial misconduct, the explosive behind-the-scenes dramas, lies, adultery, greed, the devastating effect of irresponsible media, the disturbing twists of the murder trial, and the toll the grueling case took on many lives. Just after he finished the book, the already-tragic story reached a shocking and heartbreaking conclusion, captured in a newly-added Epilogue. Neither the public nor the jury has ever heard the full story. Until now.