Serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards died of natural causes in prison in 2011, before he could face execution by lethal injection. But long before his arrest, his daughter, April Balascio, had suspicions about her father that would eventually reveal his dark secrets.

Growing up, Balascio remembers her father’s obsession with murder mysteries and detective stories.

 Edward, who worked as a handyman, often inserted himself into local investigations, gaining the trust of law enforcement wherever the family lived. There were also frequent, unexplained relocations.

“Kids aren’t stupid,” Balascio told PEOPLE magazine, describing how her family would move in the middle of the night without warning. Even as a child, she knew something wasn’t right.

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Discovering the Truth

Balascio’s suspicions stayed with her for decades. In 2009, as a 48-year-old mother of three, she finally decided to investigate her father’s past. Haunted by doubts and concerns from her childhood, she searched online for cold cases in towns where the family had lived.

One case stood out: the 1980 disappearance and murder of two teens, Kelly Drew and Tim Hack, in Watertown, Wisconsin. The couple, both 19, had vanished after a wedding reception, and their bodies were found months later, stabbed and strangled.

 Balascio vividly remembered her father working at that venue and fleeing Watertown with the family just two days after the teens went missing.

Determined to follow her instincts, Balascio contacted detectives working on the reopened case.

DNA Confirms Edwards is the Killer

Three weeks after her call, authorities delivered shocking news: Edward Wayne Edwards’ DNA matched evidence from the “Sweetheart Murders.”

“I started hyperventilating,” Balascio said. “Because that was the moment it really hit me that my dad was the horrible, horrible person that I’d always suspected him of. I just never had the proof.”

But the discovery brought no relief. Instead, Balascio was overcome with shame, guilt, and grief. “I didn’t want anyone to know,” she admitted. “I had guilt by association. I thought people would think, ‘Like father, like daughter.’”

A Serial Killer Confesses

Once in custody, Edwards confessed to more murders. He admitted to the 1977 killings of another young couple in Ohio, Judith Straub and William Lavaco, who were shot to death for no apparent reason. 

The most shocking admission, Edwards revealed that in 1996 he murdered his own son, Dannie Boy Edwards, for an insurance payout.

Balascio’s courageous decision to investigate her father ultimately brought justice to his victims. However, she still struggles with conflicting emotions.

“There is the guilt of not turning my dad in sooner or trying to report him,” Balascio said. “Then I live with the guilt that I turned my father in. [Both feelings are] incredibly strong.”

Sharing Her Story

In her memoir, Raised By a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father, Balascio shares her harrowing journey of uncovering her father’s crimes. Released on December 3 by Gallery Books, her story sheds light on the emotional toll of growing up with a murderer and finding the strength to seek the truth.