In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences, by Truman Capote, details the 1959 murders of Herb Clutter, a wealthy farmer from Holcomb, Kansas; his wife, Bonnie; his sixteen-year-old daughter, Nancy; and his fifteen-year-old son, Kenyon, and the aftermath (ISBN 0679745580). Capote claimed that he had created a new type of book, the non-fiction novel, by applying traditional literary conventions to crime reporting. Critics debate whether Capote in fact invented this type of writing. Truman Capote photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Truman Capote (September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American writer. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Holcomb is a city located in Finney County, Kansas. ...

Capote learned of the quadruple slaying from a news article in The New York Times. He decided to go to Kansas and write about the murders, even before the killers, Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith, were captured. He brought his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee with him. Together they interviewed the locals and the investigators. Capote and Lee took thousands of pages of notes, and Capote spent years working on the novel. The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. ... Harper Lee (born Nelle Harper Lee on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama) is an American novelist, best known for her 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. ...

The story was originally published in serial format in The New Yorker magazine in 1965. It was published as a non-fiction novel in January 1966. The New Yorkers first cover, which is reprinted most years on the magazines anniversary. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ...

The story was made into a successful film. See In Cold Blood (film) The 1967 film In Cold Blood was based on Capotes novel of the same name. ...

The 2005 film Capote describes the events in Truman Capote's life during the writing of the book. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote, Catherine Keener as Harper Lee, Mark Pellegrino as Dick Hickock, Clifton Collins, Jr. as Perry Smith, and Chris Cooper as Alvin Dewey. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Capote is an Academy Award-nominated 2005 biographical film that follows Truman Capote (portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) on a writing assignment for The New Yorker in a small Kansas town where he investigates the gruesome murders of a local family. ... Hoffman in Capote Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... Catherine Keener in a publicity still for Being John Malkovich (1999) With Jake Gyllenhaal in Lovely & Amazing (2001) Catherine Cathy Keener (born March 26, 1960 in Miami, Florida) is an American actress. ... Chris Cooper Christopher W. Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American film actor. ...

The story

The book weaves a complicated psychological story of two parolees who together commit a mass murder, an act they never would have been capable of individually. The book also paints a detailed picture of the victims, and the effect the crime had on the rural community in which they lived.

The Clutters

The story begins in Holcomb, a rural community in western Kansas, and with the Clutter family. The patriarch, Herbert, was a widely respected and successful farmer and dedicated Methodist who abstained from alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. He was a pillar of the community and built his home and business from scratch. He employed as many as eighteen farm hands, all of whom reportedly admired and respected him for his fair treatment, good pay, and bonuses. The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-kukhūl الكحول = the spirit, the chemical.) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Nicotine is an organic compound, a pyrrolidine-like alkaloid found naturally in the nightshade family of plants, such as tobacco and tomatoes. ... Flash point N/A RTECS number EV6475000 Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Caffeine, or theine, is a xanthine alkaloid found in the leaves and beans of the coffee tree, in tea, yerba mate...

His four children, three girls and a boy, were universally admired in the community. The two eldest, Eveanna and Beverly, had moved away and started their adult lives. The two younger children, Nancy (age 16), and Kenyon (age 15), were high school students and still lived at home. Clutter's wife, Bonnie, a member of the local garden club, had been incapacitated with depression and physical ailments since the births of her children. Clinical depression is state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ...

On November 15, 1959, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy and Kenyon Clutter were bound, gagged, and murdered during a robbery.

The murderers

Two ex-cons on parole committed the murders and robbery. They had heard from a fellow prisoner, who had once worked for the Clutters, that there was a safe at the ranch that never had less than ten thousand dollars in it. The information was false; Mr. Clutter never kept cash and did all his business with checks. Parole can have different meanings depending on the context. ...

Richard "Dick" Hickock (age 28) was a lifelong con man. He had above average intelligence, with an excellent memory and a knack for charm and persuasion. His childhood was relatively normal, with poor but stable parents, but he was nonetheless a sociopath; he subjected family and friends to the consequences of a lifetime of petty crimes, always returning home for acceptance, a job and another chance in life, and then repeating his criminal behavior. His forte was check fraud and petty theft. He relished the act of running over dogs in the road and harbored (and acted upon) pedophilic desires for young girls, but claimed at all times to be completely normal. A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ... Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder which is often characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. ... Check kiting is any sort of fraud that involves drawing out money from one bank account that does not have sufficient funds to cover the check. ... Everyday instance of theft: the bike which fits on this wheel has disappeared In the criminal law, theft (also known as stealing) is the wrongful taking of someone elses property without that persons freely-given consent. ... Pedophilia (Am. ...

Perry Smith (age 31) was a son of rodeo performers. Half Cherokee Native American and half Irish American, short and dark, he was partially disabled from a motorcycle accident and in constant pain from poorly healed leg bones. He, too, was of above average intelligence. He was artistically and musically gifted and enjoyed performing for others. His life, however, was tragic; his father abandoned the family, and his alcoholic mother, as well as his brother and sister, committed suicide. He had frequent nightmares of beatings at the hands of nuns and caregivers while in the various orphanages in which he was, to a large extent, raised. He had suffered constant rejection since childhood, although he never exhibited cruelty toward others. He often spoke of his grade school principal, who stood back and watched as the school bully twice his size attacked him; when he won the fight, the principal spent the following months making his life miserable. The only fights he got into at that school were for defending the victims of the same bully. Steer roping Rodeo is a traditional folk North American sport with influences from the history of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and American cowboys. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... An Atsina named Assiniboin Boy Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. ... Irish Americans are residents or citizens of the United States who claim Irish ancestry. ... A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. ... This article needs cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Suicide and culture be merged into this article or section. ... A nightmare is a dream of particular intensity and with content that the sleeper finds disturbing. ... Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... An orphanage is an institution dedicated to caring for orphans (children without living parents). ...

A combat engineer in the Korean War, and winner of the Bronze Star, he was unhappy with his lack of promotions, because, he said, his commanding officer didn't like him. By this time, he had begun to develop antisocial tendencies and frequently got into fights. He was noted by coworkers as excelling to a high degree of skill in any job that he did. The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (the war has not ended officially), was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ...

Smith was Hickock's opposite in many ways. He was quiet, shy, introverted, and had a hard shell forged from a lifetime of abuse, rejection and perceived injustices. He had a facade of arrogance built on his self image, which didn't match what those around him saw. He eventually entered into crime with a man who picked him up hitchhiking, eventually landing himself in prison, where he met and was befriended by Hickock. Abuse is a general term for the misuse of a person or thing, causing harm to the person or thing, to the abuser, or to someone else. ... See also Hitch hike for other meanings Hitchhiker in Luxembourg, 1977 Hitchhiking (also called lifting, thumbing or hitching, Thumb up a ride) is a form of transport, in which the traveller tries to get a lift (ride) from another traveller, usually a car or truck driver. ...

He suffered from enuresis (bedwetting), which is a very common childhood characteristic of serial killers. There is no indication, however, that he started fires or tortured animals, the other two components of the so-called MacDonald triad. Bedwetting (or enuresis) is involuntary urination while asleep in bed. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... For the album by Def Leppard, see Pyromania (album) Pyromania is an obsession with fire and starting fires, in an intentional fashion, usually on multiple occasions. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg is an infamous and rarely used torture device. ... In psychology, there are three major personality traits in children that are said to be warning signs for the tendency to become a serial killer. ...

Partners in crime

A large part of the book involves the dynamic psychological relationship of the two felons that gave birth to a terrible crime. Hickock was the mastermind who recruited Smith to do the dirty work. He seems to have misjudged Smith, however, because of his made-up prison tales, as a natural born killer. In truth, neither had committed murder before, but competed with each other over their criminal boldness.

Hickock's idea (hatched in prison) was to commit the robbery, leave no witnesses, and start a new life in Mexico with the proceeds. They both had dreams of fleeing wherever they were, at the time, and starting a new life elsewhere. This article is about witnesses in law courts. ...

Their parole agreement forbade the two to associate or use alcohol, which they did anyway. They broke into the Clutters' house shortly after their release, but found no substantial amount of money there. Smith was the one who actually killed the family, but interestingly enough, prevented Hickock from raping Nancy. They then went on a whirlwind tour of Mexico and the U.S. Parole can have different meanings depending on the context. ...

Hickock's former cellmate, who had unwittingly inspired the crime, told his warden that he thought Hickock was the murderer after hearing of the crime over the radio. The tip led to the duo's arrest in Las Vegas, Nevada, about six weeks after the murders. Nickname: The Entertainment Capital of the World Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

Trial

The trial was held at the Finney County Courthouse in Garden City, Kansas from March 22 to March 29, 1960. The judge, jury and lawyers had known (or known of) the victims. The judge, Roland H. Tate, denied a change of venue, noting that several ministers in the area were preaching against capital punishment in their sermons. Finney County (standard abbreviation: FI) is a county located in the state of Kansas. ... Garden City is a city located in Finney County, Kansas. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in Leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Use of the death penalty around the world. ...

The prosecution, led by Logan Greene and Duane West, based its case on confessions made prior to trial, matching boots in the custody of the accused to footprints found at the crime, and stolen items linked to the crime. Hickock had broken down and confessed under questioning, and Smith had eventually done the same after being told his friend had given him up (they were interrogated separately).

Smith and Hickock pled temporary insanity. Local GP's, along with an expert psychiatrist who volunteered his skills, evaluated the accused, who were pronounced sane, as they understood the nature of their crime while committing it. In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ... A general practitioner (GP) or family physician (FP) is a physician/medical doctor who provides primary care. ... Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... Sanity is a legal term denoting that an individual is of sound mind and therefore can bear legal responsibility for his or her actions. ...

Smith and Hickock's lawyers filed (failed) appeals based on the judge denying a change of venue and preventing the accused from traveling to the state hospital for psychological evaluations. An appeal is the act or fact of challenging a judicially cognizable and binding judgment to a higher judicial authority. ...

After five years on death row, Smith and Hickock were executed by hanging for their crimes just after midnight on April 14, 1965 at the Kansas State Penitentiary. Hickock, then aged 33, died first at 12:41 a.m., and Smith then aged 36, died at 1:19 a.m. The gallows from which they were hanged is now in the collection of the Kansas State Historical Society. Hanging is a form of execution or a method for suicide. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ...

See also

• New Journalism

New Journalism was the name given to a style of news writing and journalism by Tom Wolfe who, when having trouble writing an assignment, sent his editor an unstructured narrative letter rather than the tight piece usually expected of a journalist of that time. ...

External links

• Slide show of Holcomb, then and now
• Clutter family murders
• Photos of Kansas and Capote