Ernie W. Webb III

An excerpt from ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’ on the 35th anniversary of Brenda Keller’s passing

Leave a Comment / true crime / By Ernie W. Webb III

Note: The following is an excerpt from Chapter Two, “Moving to Dover,” in “Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, faith and forgiveness in a small Kansas town.” Oct. 19 is the 35th anniversary of Brenda Keller’s shocking death. This chapter provides background on the Keller family moving to Dover and on Brenda. Brenda Keller inherited the best of […]

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Christa Pike is proof the death penalty has its place

Leave a Comment / crime, death penalty / By Ernie W. Webb III

Colleen Slemmer was 19 years old when she was tortured, beaten, cut and taunted for nearly an hour before being murdered with a chunk of asphalt. I started this blog with Colleen’s name because she’s been a sidebar for weeks now in stories about her gruesome 1995 murder. The “main” story has been that of

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August 5 will always be a difficult day

Leave a Comment / dad, death / By Ernie W. Webb III

I always figured my father would go down in a blaze of glory, perhaps a fiery car accident because of his penchant for driving far too aggressively, or hell, even in a fight. This was, after all, the man who went toe-to-toe with a guy 20 years younger than him at a Spangles. But, life

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June 12, 1984: A formative moment of my youth

1 Comment / dad, dads, death / By Ernie W. Webb III

June 12, 1984. It was a warm, sunny day in Lebanon, Missouri, with a relatively cool low temperature of 66 and a somewhat toasty high of 85. Our family (Dad, Mom, brother, our collie Jody) and I had just moved from Joplin, and we were settling into yet another fixer-upper my father stumbled across while

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A Maui drive we’ll never forget

4 Comments / Maui / By Ernie W. Webb III

Technology is great … until it isn’t. That’s all I can think after Siri took my wife and I on the “quickest” route from Paia, Hawaii, to our hotel on the western shore of Maui. Two hours (15 miles) and accelerated heart rates later, I doubt either of us will every fully trust our iPhones

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Sharing an excerpt from ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’ on Brenda Keller’s birthday

3 Comments / death, faith, true crime / By Ernie W. Webb III

Brenda Michelle Keller would have been 47 years old today. She left this life more than 34 years ago at the age of 12, but most people will never have the impact she’s had on myself and others in her far-too-short life. Like many folks, I think of Brenda often, particularly on her birthday and

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Twelve Days of Christmas 2025 finale: So much for the handy gene

Leave a Comment / Christmas, dad / By Ernie W. Webb III

Hard-working. Stubborn. Relentless. Competitive. Honest. All traits passed down through the years to the Webb men. Those I have. Good with their hands? Not so much. That’s been a long-running joke in my marriage, though I’ve managed to fix a washing machine twice and a few other repairs in the last 13 years. Typically, however,

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Twelve Days of Christmas 2025, Part XI: Giving McAllen a chance

Leave a Comment / Christmas, newspapers / By Ernie W. Webb III

It’s funny how things change with age. At 26, being separated, living 14 hours from home and struggling in the workplace felt utterly hopeless. Now, at 49, I often think “Dude, you could have just quit your job and moved in with your dad back in Kansas.” Hindsight, of course, is 20-20. It would have

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Twelve Days of Christmas 2025, Part X: Dad’s last mug shot and nearly being Californians

Leave a Comment / California, dad / By Ernie W. Webb III

A few thousand dollars, and life looks completely different. That thought runs through my mind every time I think about my parents and the beginning of their lives together. Dad and Mom met in San Diego in the mid-1970s, not long after the old man finished his last stretch behind bars, largely because his boss

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Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IX: An excerpt from Chapter 12 of ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’

Leave a Comment / true crime / By Ernie W. Webb III

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 12, “My Strawberry is Gone,” of the bestseller “Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, faith and forgiveness in a small Kansas town.” You can order the book online. Once Bob finished his message, the service moved to the cemetery to the south and just off Douglas Road, less than a quarter

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