Episode 13: The Clutter Family Murders Part 1
On November 16, 1959, headlines across the country read, “Four in Family Slain.” People were shocked as they read the details. Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and two of their children, Nancy Mae and Kenyon Neal, had been found dead the day before. Who could have killed this family, very much respected in their community of Humboldt, Kansas?
It wouldn’t be until the end of December that an arrest would be made. Then, in early January, authorities announced the arrest of Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith for the horrific murders. But who were these men who gained international fame once Truman Capote wrote his book, In Cold Blood?
In this episode, we explore the family of Richard Eugene Hickock, a seemingly normal family with no criminal element. What motivated him to kill?
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The Clutter Family Murders Part 1
Source: The Kansas City Times, 16 Nov 1959
Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock (1931-1965)
The members of the Clutter family found murdered in their home. Herbert and Bonnie had two daughters who no longer lived in the home.
Source: The Kansas City Times, 16 Nov 1959
Source: The Kansas City Times, 4 Jan 1960
Source: The Kansas City Times, 26 Mar 1960
Walter Samuel Hickock
Source: Find a Grave
The wedding details for Frank Hickock and Madeline Barben, including all the gifts they received.
Source: Lawrence Weekly World, 11 Aug 1892
Source: Wyandotte Commercial Gazette, 4 May 1867
Source: Stafford County Republican, 30 Jan 1908
Barben quadruplets grave located at Clinton Cemetery in Clinton, Kansas.
Source: Find A Grave
Obituary of George Pulaski Hutsell, great-grandfather of Dick Hickock
Source: Luther Register, 23 Feb 1915
Obituary of Jesse Theodore Hutsell, Dick’s maternal grandfather.
Source: The El Dorado Springs Sun, 3 Aug 1944
Obituary of “Lissie” Hosey Hutsell, mother of Jesse Hutsell, great-grandmother of Dick HIckock.
Source: The Daily Oklahoman, 12 Dec 1952
Luther Methodist Church (Oklahoma), likely in the 1910s or 1920s.
Source: Sharon McAlister
Luther’s main street (right along the Ozark Trail) in the 1920s.
Source: Sharon McAlister
Luther, Oklahoma today
Source: Sharon McAlister
Adelaide, first cousin once removed of Dick’s. She was the daughter of Georgia Hutsell.
Source: Sharon McAlister
Mary Elizabeth Truett (1830-1907), Dick’s second great-grandmother. She married Major George Washington Hutsell in August 1850 in Whitesville, Georgia.
Source: Find A Grave