Herb Clutter Case Study

Alvin Dewey was happy that they caught them since he’s been trying to catch these guys for a month. Later, the KBI were assigned to their suspects and interrogate them in separate rooms. Dewey was interrogating Smith and asking him all this questions about what happen. Smith tells him how it started. Perry Smith says that “The door was unlock. A side door. It took us into Mr. Clutter’s office” (Truman 236). This shows that Dick and Perry went inside to Mr. Clutter office, they were waiting in dark and looking for the safe but the safe was know where to be found. When they encounter Mr. Clutter, they took him to the office and ask him where the safe is. Mr. Clutter said that he didn’t have safe. It made Dick yelled at him and had a knife towards Mr. Clutter. Mr. Clutter gave them money that was about thirty dollars but they wanted more so they went upstairs to see who is awake. Mrs. Clutter keep saying that they don’t have a safe at all and saying that Mr. Clutter was telling the truth. Then Perry told Dick that your friend Floyd Wells lied to you about the safe. But Dick was too ashamed so he decided to tie them to their bed. After the KBI had interrogate them and they found their story to be similar but there was one information that was told differently. In the book In Cold Blood it says that “The only serious discrepancy being that Hickock attributed all four deaths to Smith, while Smith contended that Hickock had killed the two women” (Truman 245). This shows that both of Dick and Perry blamed on each other for the crime they committed to the KBI. Dewey could not forget the suffering they been through. He hoped to see them

Mr.Hickok soon takes the stand to announce that his son wasn't right in the head after an accident he had been in but was contradicted by his son’s theaving before the accident . After him was Dr. Jones who stated that he believed that only Hickok knew right from wrong and Perry was developing a mental illness and he murdered the Clutters without an apparent motive. Both Richard and Perry were found guilty of 4 counts of first degree. The murderers were taken to Death Row or ‘The Corner’ a room which everyone was confined a small room with a cot,a toilet, a basin, and light bulb that never went out . Another person on death row was Lowell Lee Andrews (Andy), who the men became very close to and Perry was very jealous of , murdered his entire family and tried to blame it on a robbery. He was hung on a very cold night the guards even took Andy’s glasses . Before Andy was hung Perry wanted to take his own life in another way...starvation. He refused to eat and was being forced fed after five days of starving

The town had trouble understanding who would perform such a crime, and why they would do that to a family that represented everything that people respect. Everyone that surrounded the Clutters becomes a suspect including the unlikely Bobby Rupp. A thorough murder investigation takes place where the Police believed that robbery was the motive. As the townspeople continue their “Christian Duty” of cleaning up after the crime, Capote transitions to Perry’s journey the Mexico. Perry struggles with his role in the murder saying that “There’s got to be something wrong with somebody who’d do a thing like that” (p.131). He mentions that he still thinks of the killings, and is trying to distance himself from the crime. Dick’s thoughts, on the the other hand, don't change; he thinks of himself as a totally normal person. This chapter shows that Dick, Perry, and the town of Holcomb are all affected by the loss is the Holcomb family in different ways. Immediate effects of the murder were shown and the psychological trauma is experienced by several characters.

The murders changed everything. They consumed the town, obliterated everything known, burning the familiarity and safety that existed in the tight knit community. When cleaning up the Clutter house, everything that was familiar in their house was burned, eliminated: “They acquired additional fuel for the impending fire--blood-soiled bedclothes, matresses, a bedside rug, a Teddy-bear doll” (Capote 78). The fire is a metaphor for the town. The town is being destroyed,

In Ozark, Missouri on Monday, June 16th, a 911 call was made about a fire. When officials arrived to the scene, the Clemons family were not present. During the same day, Arron Clemons (left) called 911 saying he was in that fire, where he was then taken to a hospital. While he was there, a statement was made to the police saying that “he had tied up his wife and set fire to the house after she died,” as well as saying he "taped his wife's whole body to a pole by wrapping her around her feet, knees, butt, jaw and head with boxing tape in the basement.” On Tuesday, June 17th, Bailey Clemons (right) was found in the burned remains of the house with a sock in her mouth and a belt wrapped around her neck, as well as being found near a pole with

They also talked to people in town who were known to have grudges against the Clutters, but all of them turned out to have alibis for the night of the murderer. The hired help and his family who lived next door reported to not have heard any gunshots, which seemed suspicious. However the KBI determined the barn would have blocked the sound of the shots, and since the family also had alibis, they were dismissed as suspects.

Herb is a devout Methodist and actively participates in his church congregation. He, along with his family “did not smoke, and of course did not drink … and were inclined to avoid people who had” (Capote 10). This illustrated how innocent and pure his and his family’s intentions are. The Clutters never try to take advantage of or harm others, but always try to help them. Nancy even spends her last day alive giving piano and baking lesson to children from school. To the village of Holcomb, the Clutters may have been considered an innocent and charitable family. However, this lifestyle that Smith and Hickock envy is what motivates them to murder the Clutters.

On the night of the murder, the family had gone on an outing, and was preparing to retire for the evening. . In the early morning hours of December 26, 1996, shortly after 5:00 AM, Patsy Ramsey woke up in her Boulder, Colorado home. As she headed for the kitchen she found a ransom note on her kitchen staircase (CNNLawCenter.2006). The child and a ransom note were found hours later. The local police and friends and family soon gathered at the home. The local police’s progress was hampered because there were so many people in the home; the crime scene was not secured which caused chaos with the police investigation because things were cleaned and moved around (Jenkins, 2013). Given the confusion and disarray at the Ramsey home, the crime scene became significantly contaminated. Unfortunately, the police were unable to gather proper evidence and conduct an effective investigation. Furthermore, the murder was sensationalized by the media which tangled the issues even more.

When Capote writes about the group of men who volunteered to clean up the bloody scenes at the Clutters house, he doesn’t focus a lot on the cleaning. Instead, he provides vivid images of the dead bodies and meaningful images of their ‘tainted’ belongings. First, Capote expressed dead Mr. Clutter being “pajama-clad” which shows he was in his pajamas during the killing and also emits the feeling of him being unprepared for the Perry and Dick arrival (78). Then, Capote goes on to talk about Kenyon dead body and the “couch, a relic that Kenyon had rescued and mended;” he not only says the couch was “blood-splashed”, but he also gives a little background on the couch to give it a special meaning (78). The last thing Capote talks about are the, “blood-soiled bedclothes, mattresses, a bedside rug, a Teddy-bear doll.” Ca-pote makes a list of other Clutters belongings that were also tarnish with their blood. Through this quote, Capote evokes pathos and makes us feel sorry for the Clutters because they were in-nocent people who did not deserve this tragic ending. By giving meaning and history to the Mr. Clutter’s pajama, the couch and teddy-bear, the readers grow hatred towards the killers and sym-pathy for the four

events preceding, including and following the murders of the Clutter family. Through these narratives, he evokes both horror at the acts themselves, but also pathos for not only the individual members of the family, but for the killers themselves. This is true in the descriptions of the physical attributes of Perry Smith,. “his legs were short and feet as small as a child. They almost wouldn’t touch the floor. He was a

Capote’s ability to elevate a seemingly normal Midwest American family’s life to epic proportions is powerful in that it captures in time, quite vividly, the final moments of each inhabitant of the Clutter household. Each of the Clutters are unquestionably innocent. Herb’s legendary mild manners, successful enterprises, and public presence (Herb’s intolerance of stimulants or alcohol is a part of Holcomb lore) strike a chord of sympathy with the reader. His rigidity, self-confidence, wealth, and “first-rate health condition” are all traits in which many would be envious of. Mr. Clutter, although unexceptional, becomes a paragon of morality. Nancy, talented and intelligent, shifts from being the sweetheart of Holcomb to

In Cold Blood is about Dick (also known as Richard) and Perry, two criminals who kill the Clutter family. A lesson in this text is every choice you make has consequences. The Clutter’s learn this the hard way. Like everyone else in their town, they keep their doors unlocked. This may seem harmless, but this one decision has a huge consequence. It helps aid to the death of the family. Later on in the story, Floyd Wells, Dick’s jail mate when he was first in jail, tells Dick information about the Clutter’s. They were talking about where they worked, and Floyd mentions how he worked for a wealthy family called the Clutter’s. Dick starts asking him lots of questions and pretty soon he shares the information about where the house is located, the

I believe the purpose of the Clutter’s portraits was to add dimension to their murders. When the reader discovers the generosity of Herb or the weakness of Bonnie, they begin to feel sympathy towards the family. The description of each family member also provides insight towards their lives. Bonnie was described to have severe depression. This causes the reader to feel sorry towards her, as she seems helpless. Herb was made out to be a very kind-hearted man. This is directly shown when he gives his sole resident employee, Alfred Stoecklein, the day off to take his sick baby to the doctor, even going as far to offer help from his wife and himself. The fact that someone could manage to murder a man like Herb Clutter is what shocks the town of

Our story begins in the mid 70’s, in small town Macon,Georgia. A dangerous escaped convict has the whole town and state on edge. Residents were advised to stay indoors due to the prisoner having accounts of mass murder. MPD has several squad cars patrolling neighborhoods. The twisted ways he approached his targets made it difficult for anyone to trace him. They say he tricks people into the woods and then experiments his killing methods on them, leaving nothing but a piece of clothing behind. When several uncovered tracks finally lead to the murderer, Tucker Lee, his house is horror show, too gruesome to describe his “decorations.” Some citizens refuse to listen to instructions and venture out into the barren town. Why would you

murdered and so told Acton to touch a lot of stuff in the house for