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'In Cold Blood' Case Files Now Online

Kansas Historical Society

The inmate case files for convicted murderers Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock and Perry Edward Smith have been added to Kansas Memory, the Kansas Historical Society’s online archives of photographs, manuscripts, and government records.

In 1959, Hickock and Smith were convicted of murdering Herb and Bonnie Clutter; their daughter, Nancy; and son, Kenyon, at the family’s home in Holcomb, Kan. The men lived on death row at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing before their execution by hanging in 1965. The murders inspired Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.

The case files contain correspondence with prison officials and family members, clemency petitions, newspaper articles, and legal documents. Items of interest include last meal requests, fingerprints, and execution witness lists.

See Hickock's file.

See Smith's file.

When she's not out making lattes in her mobile coffee bus Sunflower Espresso, Kate Hutchens is a fill-in host for KMUW. She has worked in broadcast journalism at KFDI, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and at KMUW as Morning Edition host, which she did until March 2017.