Webb: Happy birthday, Brenda Keller

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.

What a journey it’s been. I remember the first time I saw your headstone at the Dover cemetery. A few days earlier, I felt drawn to Dover and your story. That was 1996, and I was a sophomore in college. By that point, you’d been gone for a little more than four years.

For several days, I thought about you, remembering the terrible story of your death. It was all over the news, and my father talked about it. I can still see him shaking his head. “Of all places, Dover,” he said.

I remember driving into Dover. I’d probably been there before, but I don’t remember it. I tried to pinpoint the site of the crime. I drove backroads, dirt roads and desolate blacktop roads for hours. I eventually gave up and drove into the cemetery, finding your resting place quickly. It does stand out, after all.

Life drifts on, especially when you’re young. After that chilly Sunday nearly 30 years ago, I didn’t see you for more than a year. The next visit came in November 1997. I remember it because it was the day my first serious relationship ended. I was devastated.

I left our house in Burlingame and headed for Dover with Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Let Her Cry” blaring over and over. Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to your headstone, tears streaming down my face, and told you what happened. Of all the people, you were the one I wanted to talk to, even though we never met.

As they do, the years passed. I stopped by to see you numerous times, but writing about you didn’t cross my mind until I was in grad school. As I’ve written in this space previously and shared with you many times, I finally realized why I kept coming back: You wanted me to tell your story.

Here we are seven years later. It’s a journey that included more than 70 interviews and thousands of police, court and Department of Corrections files. It took nearly three years to track down people who knew your killer. There were trips to Tulsa, Lawrence, Burlington, St. Joseph and dozens of other places. And it took nearly two years to write and edit.

I designed the book cover myself. All those years in newspaper and that journalism degree finally paid off! When I showed your Mom and Dad, they smiled and said they love it. The title was difficult. I tinkered with it for hours, but it came to me in a dream. I’m guessing you had something to do with that.

Happy birthday, Brenda.