In Colder Blood
In 1965, Truman Capote published In Cold Blood, a self-styled true account of November 15, 1959, quadruple murder of a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas. The two men who committed the crime, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, had recently been released from prison. In addition to murdering Herb Clutter, Bonnie Clutter, and their teenaged son and daughter, Hickock and Smith were seasoned con artists and cunning liars. They denied killing another family of four near Sarasota, Florida, approximately a month after the Clutter murders, despite many remarkable similarities between the two crimes. While In Cold Blood provides a fascinating character portrait of Hickock and Smith, Capote’s narrative focuses on their involvement in the Clutter family murders. There is more to their story.Chapter 1: Their Last Day of Errands Christine Walker glanced excitedly in the bathroom mirror as she hurried to get ready. Her husband, Cliff, had just surprised her with the news that it was time to trade in their 1952 Plymouth for a newer model, one with more room for their growing family. Thrilled by the prospect of getting a new car, Christine quickly changed into a red-and-white floral dress that complimented her “well-built” body and curvy, Marilyn Monroe-like figure. After a couple of quick touch-ups to her curly, light brown hair, she slipped on a pair of high-heeled shoes and started rounding up their two children. Cliff, a rugged 25-year-old ranch hand, standing about 5’10” and weighing a lean 140 pounds, was already on his way out the door. He was dressed in his typical cowboy attire of Levi’s jeans, a denim jacket, brown cowboy boots, and a white cowboy hat. It was Saturday, December 19, 1959, and with Christmas right around the corner, the Walker family planned a busy day of errands, one that would be highlighted by car shopping in Sarasota. Christine let three-year-old Jimmy wear his cowboy hat so he could look like his father, and she dressed Debbie, just a month shy of her second birthday, in a blue plaid dress.Christine looked forward to showing off Debbie’s newly curled hair, which had been styled at a beauty parlor the day before. With her friendly smile and outgoing personality, 24-year-old Christine liked meeting new people and going places, even for such seemingly mundane matters as running errands.
Aside from the inherent excitement of looking for a new car, she always enjoyed visiting the city, seeing some friends, and simply getting out of the house for a while. There was only so much that could entertain her in their small, sleepy town of Osprey, located in a rural area of Sarasota County in southwestern Florida. In contrast to Christine,
Cliff was more of an introvert, a quiet cowboy-type who had a few close friends, but mainly kept to himself and focused on his family. Well-liked by those who knew him, Cliff would “go out of his way not to offend anyone,” and a family member described him as “one of the most wonderful guys you ever met.
” Although not much of a drinker, Cliff did have one guilty pleasure: a deep-seated affinity for cigarettes. Indeed, his long-time smoking habit had such a hold on him that he would not hesitate making a special trip in the middle of the night to buy a pack of Kools, his cigarette of choice. Cliff and Christine were both from Arcadia, another small, rural town about 45 miles to the east of Osprey. They had met when Christine was still a teenager attending Arcadia High School. The former Christine Myers had caught Cliff’s eye when she was head drum majorette, leading the high school marching band at football games and proudly parading down Main Street, twirling her baton high into the air, using a technique she had perfected through hours of practice with a broomstick at home. Christine and Cliff shared love of rodeos where she often twirled rope and he tested his skills in calf-roping competitions. Their romance had quickly blossomed, culminating in their marriage in 1954 when Christine was only 19.
Although they married young and they had their share of marriage spats, Cliff and Christine maintained a strong relationship and never wavered in their devotion to each other and their children. Indeed, Christine once remarked to her mother that although her sister lived a more comfortable lifestyle and owned a lot more clothes, “she still hasn’t got what I’ve got. I’ve got a husband and a happy home.
” The Walkers lived in a small, white, wood-frame house in an isolated area at the edge of the Palmer Ranch, situated among a varying assortment of pine trees, oaks, and palmettos, about two miles northeast of town. Commonly referred to as a “line shack,” the simple, sparsely furnished “cottage” was similar to other living quarters used by ranch hands in scattered locations around the sprawling 14,000- acre ranch that bounded much of southern Sarasota County. Located off a mixed shell and dirt road that led to Highway 41 at Osprey, the house sat about 100 feet from the Seaboard Line railroad tracks. Although Cliff only earned about $ 220 a month, the family lived in the house rent-free. It was one of the perks of his job at Palmer Ranch, where he had served as a ranch hand for the past three years, proving to be a dependable, hard-working employee.
Aside from the house’s modest furnishings, a few pictures adorned the walls or otherwise decorated the interior of the home. One picture frame held a photo of Cliff on horseback, dressed in a white cowboy hat, a dark-colored, long-sleeved Western shirt, Levi's jeans, and a thick leather belt with a large buckle. Two prize ribbons jutted prominently from his hands.
Aside from the inherent excitement of looking for a new car, she always enjoyed visiting the city, seeing some friends, and simply getting out of the house for a while. There was only so much that could entertain her in their small, sleepy town of Osprey, located in a rural area of Sarasota County in southwestern Florida. In contrast to Christine,
Cliff was more of an introvert, a quiet cowboy-type who had a few close friends, but mainly kept to himself and focused on his family. Well-liked by those who knew him, Cliff would “go out of his way not to offend anyone,” and a family member described him as “one of the most wonderful guys you ever met.
” Although not much of a drinker, Cliff did have one guilty pleasure: a deep-seated affinity for cigarettes. Indeed, his long-time smoking habit had such a hold on him that he would not hesitate making a special trip in the middle of the night to buy a pack of Kools, his cigarette of choice. Cliff and Christine were both from Arcadia, another small, rural town about 45 miles to the east of Osprey. They had met when Christine was still a teenager attending Arcadia High School. The former Christine Myers had caught Cliff’s eye when she was head drum majorette, leading the high school marching band at football games and proudly parading down Main Street, twirling her baton high into the air, using a technique she had perfected through hours of practice with a broomstick at home. Christine and Cliff shared love of rodeos where she often twirled rope and he tested his skills in calf-roping competitions. Their romance had quickly blossomed, culminating in their marriage in 1954 when Christine was only 19.
Although they married young and they had their share of marriage spats, Cliff and Christine maintained a strong relationship and never wavered in their devotion to each other and their children. Indeed, Christine once remarked to her mother that although her sister lived a more comfortable lifestyle and owned a lot more clothes, “she still hasn’t got what I’ve got. I’ve got a husband and a happy home.
” The Walkers lived in a small, white, wood-frame house in an isolated area at the edge of the Palmer Ranch, situated among a varying assortment of pine trees, oaks, and palmettos, about two miles northeast of town. Commonly referred to as a “line shack,” the simple, sparsely furnished “cottage” was similar to other living quarters used by ranch hands in scattered locations around the sprawling 14,000- acre ranch that bounded much of southern Sarasota County. Located off a mixed shell and dirt road that led to Highway 41 at Osprey, the house sat about 100 feet from the Seaboard Line railroad tracks. Although Cliff only earned about $ 220 a month, the family lived in the house rent-free. It was one of the perks of his job at Palmer Ranch, where he had served as a ranch hand for the past three years, proving to be a dependable, hard-working employee.
Aside from the house’s modest furnishings, a few pictures adorned the walls or otherwise decorated the interior of the home. One picture frame held a photo of Cliff on horseback, dressed in a white cowboy hat, a dark-colored, long-sleeved Western shirt, Levi's jeans, and a thick leather belt with a large buckle. Two prize ribbons jutted prominently from his hands.
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