true crime

Thirty years later, unsolved Springfield Three case still instills fear

The Springfield Three. Those three words are nothing but fear for those of who grew up in southwest Missouri in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s one of the most fascinating crime cases you’ll read about, and I’ve written about it twice in this space (Part I and Part II). To recap, Stacy McCall, Suzie Streeter […]

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Webb: Grade school one of final pieces to puzzle in book about Brenda Keller

“Brenda would have walked down this hall. She would have sat in this classroom, listening intently as her favorite teacher taught her first-grade class.” Those thoughts and dozens of others ran through my mind a few weeks ago when I toured the Dover Grade School for my book about Brenda Keller. Though I’ve been in

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A letter to Brenda Keller on the 30th anniversary of a tragic day

Hey, Brenda. As you know, today is a big day. It marks 30 years since you left this life for the afterlife. Since I last wrote you on your birthday, I’ve started writing the rough draft about your life and what happened to you on that tragic day, Oct. 19, 1991. I recently thought about

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Webb: The story behind the book I’m writing about Brenda Keller

October 1991. I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. I remember that year because it was a difficult one. My parents’ marriage was falling apart, my grades were as bad as they ever got, and I was your typical irritable, moody teenager. The highlights included being fired by my father and

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Webb: A letter to Brenda Keller on what would have been her 41st birthday

Hey, Brenda.  It’s probably a little odd getting a note from me. After all, I didn’t know you. But I’ve written my dad several times since he died in August, and I know he reads them. I figure you’ll read this, too. You would have celebrated your 41st birthday today. That seems hard to believe.

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Webb: Brenda Michelle Keller case has lasting impact, hope

Every night, I walk to every door and window in the house, often twice, checking to see that they’re locked. Sometimes, I look in closets and under the bed. I’ve been doing this meticulously for five months now. It’s not a coincidence that I’ve followed this routine since the day I started researching 12-year-old Brenda

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The Springfield Three, Part II: Things like this do happen here

“Things like that just don’t happen here.” That sentence is the definition of innocence. It’s been a mantra in small towns and communities in the Heartland for decades. It’s also extremely naïve. Our fascination with true crime began to grow after a gruesome crime in the last place and during an era you’d least expect

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