However, like all states, we have seen our fair share of bad folks, including these 10 infamous Kansas serial killers and homicides that won't soon be forgotten. Jimmie was shot, and Debbie was shot in addition to being drowned in the bathtub. Both killings involved a home invasion, and both involved the occupants being executed with a firearm. Sarasota forensic supervisor Michael Gorn told McGath that footwear impressions could be as reliable as fingerprints. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation lab had pulled partial DNA from the men's femurs and teeth. "[5] The pair was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 30, 1959, for the Clutter murders, and were executed by hanging on April 14, 1965. Joe Giasone, a 30-year veteran of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, said the agency has 32 cold cases, ranging from the 1959 Walker murders up to a 2019 missing boater. I dont know if these were only rumors or how thoroughly they were investigated. In Florida, several larger departments - including Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami-Dade - have such teams. The bodies of the two men executed for the 1959 murders of a Kansas family that became infamous in Truman Capote's true-crime book In Cold Blood were exhumed Tuesday in an effort to solve slayings of a Florida family killed weeks later. Some believed it was an act. The slaying of . Since 2004, multiple detectives had sought answers in DNA. Its theorized that the outlaws were interested in dumping the car they were currently using, and when they learned the Walkers were in the market, proposed an exchange. In the end, though, the couple drove back, pausing at the ranch barn to pick up cattle feed. There are countless other rumors about other individuals or groups who could have committed these crimes. Myers could not imagine it being anyone else either. He had no criminal record. Or maybe it was a home invasion that, for a second time, ended in slaughter. There came a point that his older sister, Novella, couldn't handle going anymore. The Herald-Tribune gained unprecedented access to investigators' files, which span more than four decades. Myers had grown up around people devastated by the family's deaths, relatives who also made trips over the years to the sheriff's office, who visited Christine's and Cliff's graves and held them close. However, based on the personal items that were stolen, Katherine Ramsland, of the University of Pennsylvania, finds Smith and Hickock unlikely and instead suspects that the killer knew at least one member of the Walker family. All Rights Reserved. Florida analysts spent the equivalent of 44 full lab days that first year poring over evidence, making 2,920 fingerprint comparisons and conducting ballistics tests on more than 75 guns. Herbert Clutter, 48, his wife, Bonnie, 45, their daughter, Nancy Mae, 16 and son Kenyon, 15, were bound hand and foot and gagged. But within weeks, Sheriff Boyer's attention turned - for a while - to two other suspects accused of murdering a family 1,600 miles away in a Kansas farm town of 270 called Holcomb. Im going to go over a few of the main suspects, then tell you a little bit about my own personal theory. Stanley was committed to an asylum soon after the murders. Indeed, the Walker family killings are given several pages in In Cold Blood, the author dismissing any connection. The notes for the planned book ran to 8,000 pages. However, the best suspect at the time was possibly Curtis McCall, a man described as a troublemaker with a history of violence. Christine, his half-sister, was dead - beaten, raped and shot with two different handguns. Join Mike and Gibby for this 'Best Of' episode as they discuss the facts of the murders and walk through the various suspects. Within hours, a crush of cars crawled down the shell road just to see where the family had lived. An interview with Joe Berlinger, director of 'Cold Blooded'. The town is small, comprising just a few thousand people, and residents enjoyed the relative peace that comes alongside that. This peeved Myers. When officers arrived, Herb Clutter, 48, lay sprawled on a mattress in the basement, stabbed, his throat slashed and a shotgun charge fired to his head. Together, they interviewed hundreds of locals and the investigators working on the case. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. [7] Spencer's confession was "determined to be cleverly constructed from real murders written up in newspapers and true-crime novels that he liked to read. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. Christines high school majorette uniform was gone, as was Cliffs pocketknife. The taking of these items from the crime scene is suggestive that the killing was directly targeting Christine and the family rather than the tragic results of a home invasion. Hickock had once said his philosophy was to "leave no witnesses.". Myers felt like he was ricocheting between theories, like a pinball. When Don discovered the bodies of the Walker family, he was heartbroken and terrified. He meant that agency officials didn't want to expose their bungling and lack of commitment. He was referring to the Walkers' three hound dogs in the yard - just another stray detail he picked at, worried over. But Jimmie didnt die. Yes! Now, Myers asked her, "What I don't get is, how did they get in the house with the dogs sitting there?" He dove deep on the murders in 2019, the same year he closed about two-thirds of his 130 cases. A while later, Cliff and the children were invited to stay at the McLeods for dinner, but he declined, wanting to get home to his wife. In a recent interview, retired Sarasota Lt. Dario Valente recalled speaking with one of Boyer's chief investigators, who told him that while one of the Kansas killers denied the Walker murders, another confessed. Consequently, investigators have stated that Smith and Hickock still remain the most viable suspects. Oct 24, 2019. The FBI had purged the "In Cold Blood" killers' palm prints - a crucial loss, as a fingerprint examiner told McGath the faucet print used to exonerate the men was actually a partial palm print. "I put a lot of faith in that," said Ron Albritton, a retired Sarasota detective and distant cousin of Cliff's who oversaw the inquiry through the 1980s and 90s. She read a report that the pair sold two dolls to a minister in Louisiana for $1.50 in gas money after they had left Florida. Police theorized that they had been grabbed and used to wipe the blood off the killer or killers. A family of four was killed in Florida five weeks after the murder of the Kansas family featured in Truman Capotes In Cold Blood.More than six decades later, a brother fights for answers. So, if youre looking for a publication that will keep you up at night, True Crime Detective is the perfect choice! Capt. Cliff and Jimmie were slumped in the corner, and upstairs, Debbie lay in a blood-filled bath. interactive scene of 1959 walker family murdersgriffin park demolishedgriffin park demolished Each new detective who came along just couldn't get to the last piece of the puzzle. Somebody was inside but ignoring his calls. Alongside the items missing, there was also a significant amount of evidence left at the scene by the culprit. So unfortunately, we can't really tell anything from these DNA results. Through the years there have been almost 600 suspects but to this date, the case remains unsolved. At some point that day, Smith and Hickock bought items at a Sarasota department store, just a few miles from the Walker home. About a month before the Walker family slaying occurred, the Clutters were killed in their Holcomb, Kansas home by Perry Smith and Richard Dick Hickock. In 1959, the Walker family was getting ready to spend their second Christmas together as a family of four. But depending on what time he went to dinner, its possible that he was unaccounted for during the time of the massacre. In 2010, however, over 50 years after the crime, the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office took another crack at the Walker family murders case. He realized something must be wrong in the house and took the decision to enter, cutting through the screen door. But national clearance rates have sunk. She also was there when he spoke with former Det. They'd found blood spattering the heels of Christine's suede pumps, surmising she'd used them as weapons. Evidence is the exact same in both cases. It was quiet, which was odd as the family was known to rise early. The . He'd made a promise. Recently, she'd told Myers she'd found a picture of Hickock with two small marks on his chin. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Though he is thought to have committed several murders, he was only actually convicted of one. In this photo taken Oct. 19, 2009, the former home of the Herbert Clutter family is seen in Holcomb, Kan. Fifty years ago, the home was the scene of the brutal murder of Clutter, his wife Bonnie . They were seen a dozen times on the way. 1959. memorial page for Clifford "Cliff" Walker (16 Oct 1934-19 Dec 1959), Find a Grave Memorial ID . Christines car wasnt parked in its usual spot, where it would have been most convenient to unload the groceries. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes kicked out of CPAC, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Biden team readies new advisory panel ahead of expected reelection bid, At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, House Democrats unhappy with White House handling of D.C.'s new criminal code. interactive scene of 1959 walker family murders. On December 19th, 1959: The entire Walker Family was shot to death as the suspect left the home, Christine walker was home at the time of the attack to fight off her attackers as police believe that she was raped and shot, her husband; Cliff Walker was also shot as he came home along with their three year old son Jimmie and Debbie, who was two years old was drowned in the family's bathtub. "However," the release said, "DNA testing seems unlikely to provide conclusive evidence one way or the other.". The waitress reported all of this to the police, but didnt provide a name for the man. The Clutter murders were the topic of Truman Capote's 1965 best-selling true crime book In Cold Blood. After calling out and making further attempts to ascertain the problem, Daniel looked further around the property. One of them had a scratched face. Smith stopped Hickock from raping a young woman in the Clutter attack. The public looked at Smith and Hickock as serious suspects for the Walker case, and their whereabouts at the time suggest that their involvement isnt impossible. Herbert and Bonnie, and their children, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 15, died from shotgun blasts to the head. Police hope genealogy sites will help solve more cold cases, Colombia wants to deport "cocaine hippos" to stop them from multiplying, Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, killers made infamous in Truman Capote's true crime classic "In Cold Blood. He implicated an old girlfriend in his confessions, speaking specifically about her in his confession for the Walker murders. The Walker family of Osprey, Florida, included father Cliff (25 years old), mother Christine (24 years old), a son named Jimmie (three years old), and a daughter named Debbie (two . The Walker family was laid to rest in Arcadia, Florida on December 22, 1959. With a little investigation, however, it was determined that so much information had been leaked to the media that any civilian could have that kind of knowledge of the crime. The long-unsolved Walker murders bore surface similarities to the . They are also the main suspects for the massacre of the Walker family in Florida a month after the Clutter murders. Most agencies, including Sarasota, do not. Capote was obsessed with the case of the . By Leonora Lapeter Anton, Tampa Bay Times, February 6, 2023 / 12:00 PM Some think Christine called one of them on the phone from the McLeod residencethis could have been their way in. He and Kimberly McGath went back to 2007, when she expressed an interest in the languishing Walker file. When they were arrested, they had a pocket knife similar to the one described as missing from Cliff Walkers body. Neither of their children ever got an opportunity to go to school or play on a sports team, or kiss a person they loved. This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 12:07 (UTC). June 17, 2022 . "It's basically a great mess," McGath said. Myers wondered how much longer he would be able to make the three-hour drive to Sarasota. But they both knew that DNA had so far muddled the picture. Only partial DNA could be retrieved, possibly due to degradations of the DNA samples over the decades or contamination in storage, making the outcome one of uncertainty (neither proving nor disproving the involvement of Smith and Hickock). Junk science was enough to clear Youmans in the eyes of authorities. It was time to give Clark, the Sarasota detective, another nudge. Christine left a few minutes before 3:30, but Cliff had some chores to finish with Don. Tooker died in the mid-sixties, and I dont believe theyve tried to salvage DNA from his long-buried remains. Authorities suspected the pair of murderingthe Walkers as well, but could never secure acharge after Hickock and Smith werecleared by the results of a polygraph test. All rights reserved. Christine asked Lucy if she could use their telephone. But the killers, who had confessed to the Kansas murders, said they'd never been to Sarasota. The house was dark as McLeod approached, but as he got closer, he saw a light flickering through the window. Lucy wasnt one to eavesdrop, so all she remembered from hearing one side of her friend's conversation was that at one point they were talking about exchanging their current car. In 2012, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office began investigating possible links between the Walker family murders and Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock, who had been convicted and executed for the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. First, he turned on "Gunsmoke" - their daily routine. They were shot one by one. "I've got mothers calling me who want to get their sons out of prison. The Christmas tragedy that fell on Osprey in 1959 was an unimaginable horror and one that by all rights deserved justice. She said one of her regular customers had got drunk at the bar one night and began crying, saying that he had killed some people in Osprey, Florida, when he was a young man and mentioned the name Walker. She believed he did occasional work about town and was a gun enthusiast. However, now Christine lay in a pool of blood at the entrance to the living room. Jimmie was curled up next to his dad, blood smeared on his clothes and in his hair, suggesting he'd crawled to his father as the killer shot him three times in the head. However, while both Smith and Hickock would be dead and buried by the time Capote released his pioneering book, they were still very much at large on December 19, 1959. Learn more about the murder scene by using the interactive graphic below. He'd played his violin - badly, according to the conductor - at a concert in Bradenton. "Do you realize, in December, it's going to be 64 years?". The name "Dardeen" resonates with the residents of Ina, Southern Illinois, who think back to a gruesome quadruple murder that took place in their sleepy hamlet in the late 1980s. They didnt find it; Herb, in reality, did all his business by check and there was no safe. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. He cried as he told his story. One assumption is that he was already waiting for her when she got there and that he was the one who was parked in her usual spot. Myers wanted to feel that way too. About a month earlier, Smith and Hickock slaughtered the four-member Clutter family in Kansas, creating the tragedy that was immortalized in author Truman Capote's 1966 true . Smith owned black engineer boots with a Cat's Paw rubber cushion sole, featuring circular pads, a little smaller than a quarter. It was hard to imagine, McGath often told Myers, in their sometimes meandering phone calls, that anyone wouldn't classify the men as suspects.