KS - Clutters' killer Dick Hickock's book found

jezebel.com:

In Cold Blood Subject Wrote His Own Just-
Discovered Book, Which Truman Capote Kept Secret

Good article which discusses and quotes from a WSJ piece (sub only):

Richard Hickock, one of the two Kansas murderers whose trial and life was chronicled in Truman Capote’s genre-shifting In Cold Blood, also wrote his own book with a Kansas journalist; it was never published and though Capote knew about it, he never once mentioned it in his notes.

Even Capote scholars didn’t know about Hickock’s manuscript [....] beginning as handwritten pages mailed to the journalist Mack Nations who compiled it into book form and tried to get it published before it ultimately vanished.
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Much more at the link.
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DM picture-fest:

Did author Truman Capote hide the real truth behind 'In Cold Blood'? One of the
killers' memoirs says the murders were a paid hit and not a burglary gone wrong

Thanks for the link. That's certainly interesting. Dick Hickock says the murders were a paid "hit" job? Hickock always struck me as the most dishonest of the two, so this sounds like him trying to lessen his culpability. More likely it was as they determined - a prison pal gave them bad information. Herb Clutter had no safe and kept his cash in the bank. When they realized how badly they had screwed up, they panicked and killed the family so there would be no witnesses. Just a poorly planned robbery gone wrong with tragic consequences.

Can definitely see, though, how Dick would have gotten help writing something like this. Of the two, he seemed to have a big ego and was the fast talking con-artist. He was notorious for manipulating, using and abusing people, including his own parents. Textbook sociopath with absolutely no feeling for other people. It would be interesting to read the book as it would give some insight into his personality, but I would take most of it with the proverbial grain of salt.

Really pathetic that he makes light of killing the family, bragging about the gory details. What a sorry he was. Not sure why, but I always felt the most sympathy for Kenyon Clutter, poor kid. Had to listen to them kill his own father before his own death. Just a horrible crime against very kind, good people.

More links:

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/in-cold-blood-killers-lost-memoir-what-we-know-w472860

Link from Rolling Stone article about fact checking Capote's work

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...hat_the_new_yorker_s_fact_checker_missed.html

Probably just an as-usual faulty sense of deja vu here, but I seem to recall the "Hickcock said it was a hit" info from long ago. Did this ring a bell with anybody?

wfgodot said:

Probably just an as-usual faulty sense of deja vu here, but I seem to recall the "Hickcock said it was a hit" info from long ago. Did this ring a bell with anybody?

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Kind of. I also recall reading long ago that Hickock had worked on his own book while in prison. May have been Capote who said that. Also recall he and Perry were no longer communicating while in prison, not surprising. He didn't like Perry working with Capote on the book.

http://people.com/crime/in-cold-blood-detective-alvin-dewey-son-opens-up/
Nov. 18 2017

[h=1]In Cold Blood Detective's Son Reflects on Brutal Case, Relationships with Capote and Harper Lee[/h]

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For the first time ever, in a new documentary, Paul Dewey is sharing his experiences growing up so close to the bloody case that inspired the book that inspired a genre.

“I was 9 when all this happened,” he tells PEOPLE. “I vaguely remember folks looking for dad because the murders had happened and he was out of town.”

Paul’s first-ever recounting will be featured in Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders, a two-part documentary airing on SundanceTV this Saturday and Sunday as part of the network’s “True Crime Weekend” marathon.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the four-hour Cold Blooded docuseries features new information about the case, never-before-seen footage and photographs and, for the first time, on-camera interviews with Clutter family members.

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dotr said:

http://people.com/crime/in-cold-blood-detective-alvin-dewey-son-opens-up/
Nov. 18 2017

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Just finished watching the first part. It was very good, with some interviews with local people, friends and family of the Clutters. At the same time, it reminds me of how accurate Capote was in his book. With others telling the story of the murders and investigation, its the same as Capote related it.

There are good interviews with Paul Dewey, also with friends of Kenyon and Nancy Clutter, also with their cousin who was close to Nancy. It humanized the Clutter family, gave a better look at what they were like, the background of the family and community, etc. Very well researched, lots of old photos, family home videos, etc.