The Effects of the Clutter Family Murder
On the night of November 15th, 1959 Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter were brutally murdered in their Holcomb, Kansas home. This quiet town of Holcomb was not accustomed to this type of crime and it was a shock to each and every town member. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote displays this tale in a work that is nonfiction but yet describers this horror in an imaginative fashion. Capote is able to convey a hardworking farm rancher in Herb, a mentally unstable Bonnie, an innocent, all-American Nancy, and a boyish Kenyon. Having a background on the Clutter family makes this reading of the murder that much more intense. Truman Capote conveys that this act of murder not only affects the culprits, but the family of the victims and their community as well.
The two people responsible for the Clutter murder were Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Through the writing of Capote the reader is able to feel a sense of paranoia in Perry that starts before the crime is committed and then intensifies after the fact. “Dick waited, ate some jelly beans, impatiently gunned the motor, sounded the horn. Was it possible that he had misjudged Perry’s character? That Perry, of all people, was suffering a sudden case of “blood bubbles”?” (Page 54) Dick, on the other hand, has quite the opposite outlook on the murder than Perry. Dick rarely dwells on what happened that night and stays constantly distracted by other activities. Dick shows no remorse or interest in the murder of the family while Perry cannot keep away from the newspaper and television reports. This obsession that Perry has with the murder leads to his ultimate break down and confession.
Paranoia is a very common side effect that one gets when committing acts of crime. Paranoia can be the result of a long term mental disability or can be brought on after the crime has been committed. In a survey conducted in MatteawanStateHospital by the Assistant Director John Lazkron paranoia proved to be prevalent in many homicidal patients. Of one hundred fifty patients those who committed crimes with this condition having been long-term was around thirty two percent, while those who developed paranoia after the act was around twenty seven percent. Research was conducted of those twenty seven percent and showed that the patients that developed paranoia because of their acts were motivated to murder because of robbery, sex crimes, revenge, and jealousy. Even though Truman Capote never states that Perry had a mental disorder the reader is lead to believe that the murder of the Clutter family took a great toll on him.
Paranoia isn't the only side effect associated with murder; devastation is expected among family members of the murder victims. Beverly and Eveanna Clutter are the eldest two members of the Clutter family. Old enough to live on their own, the two were not present in the Clutter home on the night of the homicides.Very little was written by Capote about the two sisters other than the wedding of Beverly Clutter to Vere English. The wedding was set for a later date but with the sudden deaths in the family Capote infers that Beverly decided to have the wedding because all of the distant relatives would be in town for the funeral. Beverly contradicts this information however saying that she wanted to shine a light in the darkness of the funeral event.
The fact that the entire Clutter family had to experience a funeral and a wedding in the same weekend must have been hard on everyone. Beverly, nowseventy years old, just wants to remember the happy experiences spent with her family.
“English and her sister, Eveanna Mosier, 68, have declined all interview requests through the years, and they still won't talk about the killings. However, for the first time, the sisters recently granted interviews and touched on their family's portrayal in Capote's book. They are determined to keep their parents' legacy alive, although they prefer to do so within their family rather than publicly. Just as their parents did, they have shied away from the limelight.”
There are many different outlets that families choose to sort through the emotions that accompany the loss of a relative. Beverly was able to cope with the loss of her parents by making a scrapbook that held old photographs and memorabilia left behind from her family. Many people dealing with the loss of a loved one need others to relate to. The website MuchLoved Community was started for those who need to talk about what they are dealing with are able to blog with others. The advancement of technology makes it possible for persons not wanting to see a psychiatrist to be able to have other mechanisms to deal with their struggles.
Families of the murder victims are not the only ones to suffer; the community suffers as well. During the time of the Clutter murder the town of Holcomb, Kansas did not have a population of over two thousand people. Holcomb has the small-town atmosphere where neighbors are more than just neighbors and there are no such things as strangers. On November 16th, 1959 the news of the brutal murder that occurred the night before had spread to members among the community. Shock was the first reaction to accompany this news, next was paranoia. The townspeople of Holcomb were terrified at the thought of having a mysterious murderer in their presence. Rumors spread like wildfire through the town, especially at the local hangout Hartman’s Café.
“One rumor originating in Hartman’s Café involved Taylor Jones, a rancher whose property adjoins River Valley Farm. In the opinion of a good part of the café’s clientele, Mr. Jones and his family, not the Clutters, were the murderer’s intended victims.” (Page 113)
In In Cold Blood Capote was able to analyze the reaction of certain members in the community that were close to the Clutter family, especially Nancy. Nancy’s close friend, Susan Kidwell, gives her testimony:
“The sound of our footsteps frightened me more than anything, they were so loud and everything else was so silent. Nancy’s door was open. The curtains hadn’t been drawn, and the room was full of sunlight. I don’t remember screaming. Nancy Ewalt says I did-screamed and screamed. I only remember Nancy’s Teddy bear staring at me. And Nancy. And running…” (Page 60)
This murder was a tragic event to both Susan Kidwell and Nancy Ewalt, who were the ones to first investigate the Clutter home. The community came together as a whole, with over one thousand people in attendance, at the Clutter family funeral.
Today the town of Holcomb, Kansas still mourns over the events that took place that night of November 15th. In a recent article written about the town today it is expressed that many of the residents resent the attention given to the town.
“Though tolerant and accustomed to being a tourist attraction because of a grisly crime, some Holcomb residents wish the book had never been written.” The murder of Heb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter had an everlasting effect on all those present in the town of Holcomb, where the family was loved and respected.