Note: This story ran in the Aug. 22, 2024, edition of the Osage County Herald-Chronicle, which was the first paper I worked at as a high school student in the early 1990s and later as a sports editor during college. It was written by Sheila Curtis, who is not only a mentor (my high school […]
Note: This story ran as the centerpiece in the Aug. 9, 2024 edition of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Thank you to the Capital-Journal, especially Jack Harvel and Evert Nelson. You can purchase “Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, faith and forgiveness in a small Kansas town” at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or through Ernie W. Webb III’s website. Read
Topeka Capital-Journal’s story on ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’: Dover has never been the same Read More »
THE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT Page 1 In the summer of 1991, 12-year-old Brenda Michelle Keller decided she was going to be a better athlete. At 5-foot-5 and 112 pounds, she had powerful legs from riding her bike miles across the hilly, winding country roads in the southwest corner of Shawnee County, 15 minutes from Topeka, Kansas.
‘Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, faith and forgiveness in a small Kansas town’: Chapter One Read More »
One of the first things I realized when I started working on my capstone project in early 2017 is advances in technology weren’t always going to make the project easier. That became abundantly clear when I tried to track down Bob and Tracy Keller’s phone number. Ironically, that would have been much easier 20 years
Webb: A tough call in ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’ Read More »
“If the death penalty had been Kansas law that day, he would probably be on death row at this very moment.” It’s a quote from Bob Keller 30 years ago that I included in “Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, faith and forgiveness in a small Kansas town.” The line is in Chapter 16, “A Nobel Fight,” which
The death penalty and its role in ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’ Read More »
Why am I here? I often asked myself that at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010. I’d just moved to Tulsa, the last stop in a nomadic journalism career that included six newspapers, four states, nine cities and 12 residences in 11 years. Some of that frantic journey was about working my way
Tulsa plays an important role in ‘Goodbye, Butterfly’ Read More »
Brenda: Today’s a big one. You know that, of course – you would have celebrated your 45th birthday. It only seemed fitting to make an important announcement to celebrate: My book about your life is close to becoming reality. After seven years of research and writing, we have a tentative release date of August 2024.
Webb: Happy birthday, Brenda Keller Read More »
Hey, Brenda. Long time, no talk. I’d normally apologize for not writing sooner, but I know you see everything now that you’re on “the other side,” as your father once referred to it. I think of you and your family this time of the year. Christmas was a big event for your family, a tradition
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VII: A letter to Brenda Keller Read More »
This excerpt is from Chapter 7 of my upcoming book about 12-year-old Brenda Keller’s death on Oct. 19, 1991. The untitled book should be published sometime in 2024. As she stood in the Blake house, Tracy Keller was convinced her daughter Brenda was somewhere on the property. But alone and with no proof of wrongdoing
An excerpt from the book about Brenda Keller: ‘The search kicks into high gear’ Read More »
Brenda Keller would have been 44 years old today. On her Heavenly birthday, I’m sharing an excerpt from the book about her I’ve been working on since my last semester of graduate school in 2017. This is from Chapter 11, which focuses on the days and weeks after her tragic death, including media coverage: In
Sharing an excerpt on Brenda Keller’s Heavenly birthday Read More »
