Clutter murders still haunt Kansans, 50 years later

It’s a day many local residents would rather forget.

Considering the horrific crime that occurred Nov. 15, 1959, in Holcomb, and the surreal run of publicity that followed, it’s understandable that some people would rather not revisit the day two drifters entered a Holcomb farmhouse and killed the Herb Clutter family.

But Holcomb and Finney County were indeed stuck in the spotlight for years to come, mostly because of a writer injecting himself into the local tragedy by pursuing a novel that would spawn movies and more coverage ....

Now, five decades later, people can take in a public memorial to the Clutters — Herb Clutter, a prominent farmer and community leader, his wife, Bonnie, and their children, Kenyon, 15, and Nancy, 16 — recently dedicated in Holcomb.

Not everyone embraced the new memorial. Some feared it would open old wounds.

Rather, it’s a fitting tribute to four good people slain in a senseless crime. When curiosity-seekers and others want to know about the Clutters, they can visit the memorial that speaks more to how the family lived than how they died ....

It’s impossible to extract such a painful chapter of local history. A measure of calm and innocence was lost forever, yet the community did succeed in pushing ahead.

And never will forget.