The Clutter Murders: Fifty Years Later
Fiftieth Anniversary of Holcomb Murders in Kansas
Nov 14, 2009
The entire town of Holcomb, Kansas was stunned when, on Nov. 15, 1959, four members of the quiet farming community were brutally murdered. The story of the murders reached national acclaim when they caught the attention of Truman Capote, who wrote the famous novel In Cold Blood about the Clutter murder case.
The Murders that Shocked the Nation
The slayings of Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and two of their teenage children, Kenyon and Nancy, seemed without sense or motive. The victims were found bound, gagged, and shot to death in their isolated farm home. The crime baffled the police, who at first believed the killer must be someone close to the Clutter family.
A nationwide manhunt for the killers ensued. The investigation seemed to reach a dead end until one of Richard Hickock’s former prison mates named Floyd Wells stepped forward. He told police he thought that Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith might have planned to rob the Clutter farm home upon their release from prison. Following this lead, the police soon apprehended the pair of fugitives near Las Vegas, Nevada. The murder appeared to have been motivated by robbery. The two were acting on a false lead in believing Herbert Clutter kept money in his home safe. The botched robbery erupted into violence and the two decided to leave no witnesses.
The Media and Arrival of Truman Capote
A headline about the murders in the little Midwestern town made its way into the New York Times, where it caught the interest of Truman Capote. Acting as a journalist for the New Yorker, he made a trip to the location with his childhood friend Harper Lee to research the crime. His research developed into the famous novel In Cold Blood . The bestselling book and the publicity surrounding it formed a permanent connection between the town and the crime that exists even today.
Capote spent six years researching the novel, which was published in 1966. The work, praised as his best, took a toll on him. He had formed an emotional bond to one of the two criminals, Perry Smith, whose upbringing had been similar to his own. Though there was no question of their guilt, it was nevertheless difficult for him to see them executed. The experience of writing the book caused a lasting depression, which may have contributed to his growing alcohol and drug addiction in later years.
The Town of Holcomb Today
The sleepy little town of Holcomb, Kansas does not seem a likely place for a brutal murder. Driving through it today, one sees a very small community of little more than 2,000. There are the ordinary small town sights of a school, a park, several stores, and a sprinkling of rural farm homes. The residents are accustomed to curious tourists asking about the Clutter murders and the location of the home where the murders took place.
The Clutter home, on Oak Avenue, stands near the tracks at the far end of a residential street on a road that leads out of town. There isn’t much to see, as the Clutter home has been totally remodeled until it bears no resemblance to the stark white farmhouse in old photographs. A “no trespassing” sign stands at the front of a long driveway, so the curious can only get a glimpse of the house through the trees.
Though tolerant and accustomed to being a tourist attraction because of a grisly crime, some Holcomb residents wish the book had never been written. In recent interviews from an article in the Associated Press, it was discovered that for many, the sadness has never completely gone away. Others resented the exploitation of the victims by numerous books and movies about the murders. To the people who live in Holcomb, the marking of the anniversary brings back memories of their friends and neighbors whose promising lives were cut short by the intrusion of two total strangers. Funds were recently raised for a memorial to the Clutter family, which was dedicated in Holcomb Community Park.
Midwest Murders: The Clutter Murder Case
In Cold Blood — The Novel and Film Adaptation
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