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 […]
Webb: Brenda Michelle Keller case has lasting impact, hope Read More »
“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
The Springfield Three, Part II: Things like this do happen here Read More »
Stacy McCall and Suzie Streeter had just reached a milestone. On June 6, 1992, the friends graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri. They spent the hours after commencement hanging out, partying, reminiscing and looking forward to the next big step in their lives. One day later, along with Suzie’s mother Sherrill Levitt, they
True Crime: “Springfield Three,” Part I Read More »
Thousands of people vanish every year. Many of them are never heard from again. It’s sad and awful, but it also provides true crime writers a deep pool of material. Though I’m focusing on one case for my capstone project, there are hundreds of cases to write about. Two of these cases can’t be classified
Terror times two in southwest Missouri Read More »
Dec. 7, 1988. I’m pretty sure I didn’t sleep more than a few minutes that night. What I remember the most is being terrified. That was the night the TV special “Manhunt: Live! A Chance to End the Nightmare” aired. It was two hours of riveting and fear-provoking programming that I could not stop
It began with a ‘Nightmare’ Read More »
After more than six years of the same format, “The blog about everything,” it was time for a facelift. As the final project for my “Promotions Writing” class in graduate school this semester, I’m building a public relations campaign to promote my capstone: a few chapters in books I plan to write once I’ve
Here’s to a new face Read More »
Something drew me to Dover, Kansas. On a frigid day in 1996, I jumped into my car and drove west from Burlingame, traveling through Harveyville on my way to tiny Dover, located about 10 miles southwest of Topeka. In a conversation a few days before, Brenda Michelle Keller’s name was mentioned. It was a name most of
Brenda Michelle Keller: Life beyond death Read More »
