Now the killer turned to Debbie and shot her too. Cliff, 25, lived with his wife Christine, 24, and their two young children, Jimmie, 3, and Debbie 1. Gossip created a lot of fruitless investigations. He'd had an alibi for most of the evening, she explained. In any case, a family was wiped out in the most terrible circumstance, and the killings remain yet another dark and unsolved stain in Floridas long and inglorious criminal history. Perry Smith, 31, and Richard Hickock, 28, met as petty thieves serving time at the Kansas State Penitentiary. Could those dolls have been for Debbie? He cried as he told his story. Capt. Perry Edward Smith (October 27, 1928 - April 14, 1965) was one of two career criminals convicted of murdering the four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, United States, on November 15, 1959, a crime that was made famous by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. Cliff was ambushed and killed by gunshot. A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. It is therefore believed that Smith and Hickock may have gained entry to the Walker home on the pretense of selling their car. As the sun set shortly after 5 p.m. on December 30, 1959, a driver stopped a 1956 Chevrolet . Still, it's a shame that the DNA test was inconclusive, because "Smith and Hickock did it" wasn't a terrible theory. Cliff and another ranch hand, Don McLeod, headed off to hunt. There was no shortage of suspects. 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). The Clutter murders were the topic of Truman Capote's 1965 best-selling true crime book In Cold Blood. In He went on a killing spree in 1959, confessing after his capture. However, records and witness accounts collected by Kansas and Florida investigators show several factual contradictions in Capote's account. Could the two men behind the infamous Clutter family murders have killed the Walkers as well? A ranch worker for the Palmer Ranch, McLeod started his morning by getting ready, and then travelling to the home of his coworker Cliff Walker. Capote personally thought it was unlikely that the two were responsible for the Walker murders. McCall underwent three separate polygraph tests, and during each one, the suspect was so nervous that they all ended inconclusively. Cliff didnt take the time he would ordinarily take to unload the cattle feed he had bought in town before going inside. December 19, 1959 was no doubt a day like any other in Osprey, FL. interactive scene of 1959 walker family murders. They found nothing. A woman came to police claiming that Butch had confessed to her about murdering the family, and also tried to hide bloody clothing in her presence. Keep in mind that over 500 suspects have been questioned since 1959. McLeod passed a polygraph and was quickly eliminated in any case. The Walkers and their two toddlers were murdered on December 19, 1959 in Osprey, Florida. Chilling crime scene photos within the book. A similar circular print had been found in blood near Christine's body and at the Kansas scene. Capt. how many kids does jason statham have . Join Mike and Gibby for this 'Best Of' episode as they discuss the facts of the murders and walk through the various suspects. Out of bullets, he took her to the bathroom, where he had filled the tub. He had initially believed the family had simply slept in, amused as his friend was also known to be a habitual early riser. This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 12:07 (UTC). Blood evidence suggests that he wasnt killed by the first bullet and that the assailant continued to shoot at him while he crawled over to be next to his fathers body. It was quiet, which was odd as the family was known to rise early. Evidence is the exact same in both cases. On the night of the murders, at least seven men had been fishing at a nearby creek. There have been minor developments in the case in the years since the scent went cold. Or maybe it was a home invasion that, for a second time, ended in slaughter. The assailant covered little Debbies face with Jimmies hat and shot her in the head, failing to kill her. Her captain, she said, wanted a DNA connection. Consequently, investigators have stated that Smith and Hickock still remain the most viable suspects. Over the past decade, though, the Walker family murders have taken on another chilling dimension, as the prime suspects are, at present, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Cliff Walker wanted to trade in the family car for a 1956 Chevrolet, a two-tone . Truman Capotes wildly popular book In Cold Blood was written about the crime, and is considered the first real true crime novel. A chilling account of two murders with multiple victims. Clark said he still hoped to get Christine's DNA, to clear up longstanding confusion. Considering how far away the Walkers lived, and the fact that Christine stopped to put air in the tires, its likely she would have arrived home around 4. With Hickock and Smith long dead and now reburied, though, its likely their connection to the Walker murders will remain strictly hypothetical. Several problems. It doesnt seem like thats what happened to me. A Miami Beach detective discovered that the day before the murders, the pair had checked in at a motel there, paying $18 for a week's stay. And Pat promised her he would make sure to keep it alive, to fight for a resolution. I dont know if these were only rumors or how thoroughly they were investigated. They had decided to unearth Christine from her grave in the next month. In 2010, however, over 50 years after the crime, the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office took another crack at the Walker family murders case. ; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; additional terms may . Baby Debbie, they found in the bathtub, facedown in 4 inches of water, also shot in the head. Now, Myers asked her, "What I don't get is, how did they get in the house with the dogs sitting there?" These polygraph machines were outrageously unreliable and werent administered by experts, but DNA eliminated all suspicion when they tested the semen in 2005 and McLeod didnt match. I am a freelance long-form writer who writes on true crime, politics, history and more. Behind many closed doors, kerosene lamps and frying pans flew. Sarasota forensic supervisor Michael Gorn told McGath that footwear impressions could be as reliable as fingerprints. McLeod also fell under suspicion. Despite what Capote asserted at the time, subsequent investigations have since revealed holes in Hickock and Smiths alibis, and some experts have asserted that polygraph tests of the era were notoriously unreliable. Smith's tooth returned a female DNA profile - that of the examiner who analyzed the bones. interactive scene of 1959 walker family murders interactive scene of 1959 walker family murders on June 16, 2022 on June 16, 2022 interactive scene of 1959 walker family murders. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Cliff was shot in the face immediately, followed by Jimmie, the young boy eating a lollipop hed been bought as a treat. In 2012, their bodies were exhumed to have DNA extracted to . Learn more about the murder scene by using the interactive graphic below. The pair got away with a radio, a set of binoculars, and less than $50. She fought viciously, using her high-heeled shoes and staining them with blood, even making it out of the house before being dragged back inside. Cliffs cousin Elbert Walker came into town for no reason the day after the murders. Christine, 24, bubbly and spirited, hung back with McLeod's wife. McGath stopped calling Myers. Capote's book detailing the Kansas crime would come out in 1966. The order of killings of the family members down to the way they were killed. The town is small, comprising just a few thousand people, and residents enjoyed the relative peace that comes alongside that. So when he called one day in late August 2022, she responded. First published on February 6, 2023 / 12:00 PM. He and Kimberly McGath went back to 2007, when she expressed an interest in the languishing Walker file. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Shell casings were found at the site, but the murder weapon was never retrieved. Months later in 2013, McGath was at her desk in Sarasota reading a report on the DNA from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their two youngest children, Nancy and Kenyon . The . The ex-cons thought that the Clutters, who owned River Valley Farm in Holcomb, Kansas, had a safe containing $10,000 in cash in their house. Myers leaned forward and rested his arms, sun-splotched from decades overseeing orange groves, on the table. The discovery was interesting as it would be unlikely that a stranger to the area would know the shed. If it werent for the DNA, I would certainly find Uncle Elbert the most suspiciouswhy would he have randomly arrived in town that very day? Hickocks former cellmate had worked for the Clutters, telling him that the father, Herb Clutter, kept a large amount of cash on the premises. On June 7, 2021, agents with the South . In the early hours of November 15, 1959, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock entered the Clutter family home in Holcomb, Kansas. 2. According to the sheriffs department, the Walkers had been considering buying a car of the exact make and model that Hickock and Smith had stolen. But the Walker murders had consumed detectives, then spit them out, for half a century. With the possible perpetrators in the Walker murders dead - the "In Cold Blood" killers were executed in 1965; Tooker suffered a heart attack while playing the violin in 1963 - there is scant possibility of an arrest. She also was there when he spoke with former Det. It worked. In December of 2012, it was announced that Smith and Hickocks bodies would be exhumed to match their DNA to semen samples taken from Christine back in 1959. In the end, though, the couple drove back, pausing at the ranch barn to pick up cattle feed. 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 . After lunch, they went to the McLeods. A boat crashes at a bridge near Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, on February 24, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach, according to the South Carolina Attorney General in documents . A Florida Department of Law Enforcement serology supervisor confirmed the news to McGath and apologized. Theyd only been married for five years. Not to mention this type of slut-shaming and victim-blaming has prevented real justice in our system for generations. Im also active on Twitter. While the killers were still at large, legendary writer Truman Capote learned of the killings and decided to write about the slaughter, traveling to Kansas alongside childhood friend Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mocking Bird. It was cold, but not expressly so, and he was headed to meet his friend and co-worker Cliff Walker to go hog hunting. 2023 www.heraldtribune.com. "Go ahead, dig her up," Myers told him, for a second time. The Walker family and the utter family. Some thought he was in love with Christine. Hickock and Smith slaughtered the Clutter family on November 15, 1959 in Holcomb, Kansas, about 34 days before the Walker family homicide. Maggie Murdaugh Facebook. But Myers observed that letting the case languish, passing it from one detective to another and failing to exhume Christine 15 years ago to obtain her DNA, as he and his sister had asked, had cost the agency more money and delayed the results. While police officially believe that Smith and Hickock remain the best suspects in the cold case, its worth noting that the marriage license was eventually returned to the family when a relative included it in items that were given to Cliff Walkers niece. He used to live there. 1959 murder case. "The morning of the murders all bus drivers were told to avoid that street due to the caution tape scene. 1. "You get an arrest occasionally. If you nenjoyed this story, please consider purchasing my book: Nordic Noir: 14 Unsolved True Crime Cases available now at Amazon. The folks at the gas station told him the Walkers were dead, and they took him to the house where he fell apart. Working at the scene, police began to search the home for evidence and soon discovered that items were missing; some of them seem quite bizarre. Smith owned black engineer boots with a Cat's Paw rubber cushion sole, featuring circular pads, a little smaller than a quarter. Through the years there have been almost 600 suspects but to this date, the case remains unsolved. One by one, Kenyon, Nancy, and Bonnie were executed with a shotgun blast to the head. They wondered if this could be some sort of revenge killing. The infamous killers hanged for the murders of a Kansas family may have also been responsible for the deaths of another family in Florida. Writing on true crime, mysteries, politics, history, popular culture, and more. But cold cases, too, pose a conundrum. There came a point that his older sister, Novella, couldn't handle going anymore. 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. He noted the family car was not in its usual position, and there were both a cut log and Christmas gifts laying on the porch. Giasone wasn't sure why previous leaders didn't pursue additional testing 10 years ago. Tennessee has its own rough past, drenched in murderous stories that will keep you locking your doors. Oct 24, 2019. "Do you realize, in December, it's going to be 64 years?". Worrying that the family had succumbed to a gas leak, he broke in . Murderpedia. At some point the assailant moved her body to the living room and made attempts to clean up the scene. In 2019, Clark was able to test the stain again. The only information we have about Christines romantic life comes from tabloids, so we should obviously take this with a grain of salt. Just a few months after the massacre, bloody clothing from the Walker home was uncovered in a shed not far away. 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. The best piece of evidence they obtained was the semen sample left behind from Christines rape, though that kind of bodily fluid was of no use to police in 1959. It was among Florida's oldest unsolved crimes on record, notorious for its brutality, as well as for a pool of suspects that numbered over 600. She had no hard feelings, she said, but wished the sheriff's office had allowed her to keep pursuing the men. This article was originally published in the Tampa Bay Times. The duo entered the home through an unlocked back door and searched for the safe, the family remaining asleep. But I dont know. The conclusions drawn from the existing evidence are astonishing but probable . She sifted through thousands of pages, looking for the original DNA test of Christine's underwear that had detected a male suspect - a result detectives had leaned on for years. Clifford and the children had been ambushed, the young father on his back in the living room, still wearing his straw cowboy hat, a bullet hole in his right eye. Unable to find a safe, they obliterated all four members of the Clutter family. Arriving at the house when Christine was alone, she wouldnt have suspected their real intention. Some think Christine called one of them on the phone from the McLeod residencethis could have been their way in. 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. "[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. "This case don't want to be solved," he said. But the next morning, they vanished. Hopes of solving 1959 quadruple murder cold case are dashed as police fail to connect 'In Cold Blood' killers with slain Florida family. He said detectives have no physical evidence, so far, connecting Hickock and Smith to the Walker murders, no fingerprints. Forty-seven years after Perry Smith and Richard Hickock were hanged for murdering a Kansas familythe crime profiled in Truman Capote's historic book, "In Cold Blood"they are under . Equally, Smith prevented Hickock from carrying out a rape at the Clutter Farm, whereas Christine was assaulted before her execution. Cliff and Jimmie were slumped in the corner, and upstairs, Debbie lay in a blood-filled bath. Both had relatively minor items stolen. There was a store, a gas station, a firehouse, a bank, a post office and little all else. He'd been able to make this trip only because his wife of 51 years, whom he cared for at home in Lake Placid, was in rehab after a fall. Just days before Christmas 1959, the Walker family was murdered in their small Sarasota County home, a case that became one of Sarasota's most notorious unsolved crimes. But they both knew that DNA had so far muddled the picture. It is said that he complained to psychiatrists about homicidal tendencies. 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