The Garden City Telegram

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Clutter murders a case that will not be forgotten

Published 11/13/2009 in Local News

By RACHAEL GRAY

rgray@gctelegram.com

It may have been the time period or the location of the murders.

It may have been who was killed and the reason — or lack thereof — that their lives were taken.

It may have been who killed them or the flamboyant author who told the story of the crime and how a small town in Kansas dealt with it.

Although it's for different reasons, the Clutter murders, approaching their 50th anniversary, are never forgotten.

The story of the Nov. 15, 1959, murders of Herb Clutter, his wife, Bonnie, and children Nancy and Kenyon, was internationally immortalized by Truman Capote in the 1966 book, "In Cold Blood." The book has sold millions of copies, has been translated into many languages and has been the inspiration behind critically acclaimed films.

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the murders, journalists and photographers once again are flocking to the area, if not in person, by phone. In a part of the country where some say they want to forget the murders, the constant national attention, fueled by the anniversary, makes the crime and people involved impossible to shake from memory.

For some, Capote's book is the reason the Clutter murders live on. For others, it's the stories that didn't get told — the story of the family and each of their individual lives — that keep the tragedy etched in their minds. And for others, it's a combination of the events and circumstances surrounding Nov. 15, 1959.

The story untold

Capote's book, heavily criticized by some local residents who think it's an inaccurate depiction of the events, is the story of the murders and the murderers, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, and not those who died, said Margaret Meyers, Garden City storyteller and writer. But the reason the story lives on throughout the community, Meyers said, is because of who died.

Meyers became involved in the Clutter Memorial Committee because of Bob Rupp, who goes to Meyers' church. Rupp was Nancy Clutter's boyfriend at the time of the murders.

Meyers said she found out Nancy had been baking pies with young 4-Hers earlier that day and that Herb had opened his home to his daughter's guests.

"They were such exceptional people. To have lost them that way, it was hard," Meyers said.

She said "In Cold Blood," for many locals, is difficult because of the way Capote focused on the killers and not the Clutters.

"The hardest thing for the local people is it's not really the story about the tragedy here, it's about the tragedy of those two lives of the murderers. That's why it has such an enduring presence," she said.

She said the book that placed emphasis on the murders may have replaced the memories of the victims.

From her time knowing Rupp and others close to the Clutters, Meyers thinks some aspects of the Clutters' lives or details surrounding the murder may not have been accurately portrayed in the book, creating negative sentiment for the book.

The portrayal of the Clutters as only victims, and not representing their lives, has been a sensitive subject for many.

In September, in order to better preserve the accomplishments of the Clutter family and their individual lives, a memorial was created for the family in Holcomb. Rupp helped spearhead that effort.

"There hasn't been anyone to come out of Holcomb in the last 50 years who's accomplished the kind of things Herb Clutter accomplished in his lifetime," said Rupp, who speculated Herb Clutter could have further contributed positively to the area, state and nation.

Meyers said the transition from the safe 1950s into the volatile 1960s may have something to do with the staying power of the story.

"It occurred in 1959 in a sleepy, little Kansas town. It's the classic 'everything's safe' mentality. A lot of people didn't lock their doors," she said.

"It was such a random, odd act that they ended up choosing this particular family. It taught everybody that no one's really safe. No matter how quiet your town is," she said.

It was particularly hard for the people of Holcomb, who were shocked at the crime and at the same time mourning the Clutter family.

"They were so shaken," she said.

Accurate account

For Dolores Hope, a former Garden City Telegram reporter who hosted Capote and his colleague, Harper Lee, author of "To Kill Mockingbird," when they came to Garden City to work together on "In Cold Blood," the book is an accurate depiction of the events that led up to the murder and the events after.

Hope said Capote's book accomplished what he had intended to do — to tell the story of how a small town handled a crime so severe — and to give insight into the background of the murderers.

"To me, he gave an accurate account of what happened. He was an excellent writer," Hope said.

She said his notes for the book were extensive, with Capote conducting interviews and Lee taking meticulous notes.

"He worked so hard on the book and did a tremendous amount of research. It consumed him. It wrung him out," she said.

Hope's husband, Clifford Hope, was the attorney for the Clutter estate.

"The main local criticism is that he was writing about the killers, not the Clutter family, which was what he sought out to do," Clifford Hope said.

Dolores Hope said the book wouldn't be a true Capote book had he written it with the family as the focus.

"In Cold Blood... it was about the murders, not the murdered," she said.

For locals, it was the weight of the crime that doesn't allow them to forget the Clutter murders, Dolores Hope said.

"Why (Hickock and Smith) had to kill them, I don't know. It was so pointless," she said.

She said the crime was one that was so violent, it shouldn't have happened here, to those people, under those conditions.

"When you think of the multiple murders, of wiping out the whole family in the house... it should never have happened. The Clutters were good people," she said.

Crimes unmatched

Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue, in his 25 years with the sheriff's office and 13 years as sheriff, hasn't seen a crime in the county of the magnitude that matches the Clutter murders.

Bascue said there have been two murders in Finney County in 2009, so far, with one conviction and the other one set for trial.

"We have some years with no murders. Never four, and never four at a time," he said.

Bascue said the nature of the crime was rare in the Clutter case.

"With the murders around here, the victim and the murderer usually know each other or have some sort of connection," Bascue said. "For the killers to drive all the way from Eastern Kansas, it's very rare."

He said a a quadruple-homicide wouldn't be as shocking today, adding that it was the time period that gave the crime such impact.

"You just hear more about tragedy today," he said.

Bascue said "In Cold Blood," both the book and then later movies derived from the book or Capote's life, keep the Clutter murders on the minds of people.

"It's more on the minds of people outside of Garden City and Finney County than it is the people who live here," he said.

Bascue has collected the police reports, evidence logs, crime scene reports, witness and defendant statements and newspaper clippings in blue binders that sit in the sheriff's office. It's for when people come in specifically wanting to know about the case, he said.

And most of them have been student groups or people who live outside of Finney County, who want to know about the crimes, he said. As long as people who were alive at that time are here, he said, the Clutters will be remembered for more than just their tragic deaths.

Here, the Clutters are remembered for who they were, not what happened, he said.

"It will be forever ingrained in the people who knew the family," Bascue said.

Telegram staff writer Shajia Ahmad contributed to this story.

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