New errors are discovered in 'In Cold Blood'
The 'true crime' book by Truman Capote, which has long been plagued by charges of inaccuracy, was accused anew of factual errors after old Kansas Bureau of Investigation files were discovered.
The 'true crime' book by Truman Capote, which has long been plagued by charges of inaccuracy, was accused anew of factual errors after old Kansas Bureau of Investigation files were discovered.
Truman Capote鈥檚 true-crime classic 鈥淚n Cold Blood鈥� is coming under new scrutiny after evidence surfaced that disputes aspects of Capote鈥檚 narrative.
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Capote鈥檚 1966 book tells the story of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, who killed farmer Herbert Clutter, his wife, and two of Clutter鈥檚 children. 听
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New findings by the听Wall Street Journal听question key facts in the narrative. In the book, Capote writes that one Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent went to the farm where one of the suspects lived, but newly discovered KBI documents state that four agents went, according to the Journal. In addition, Capote says that after receiving word of the possible whereabouts of one of the alleged murderers, the KBI sent an agent to the farmhouse right away. According to the KBI files, the bureau waited five days.听
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The documents were taken home by a KBI agent, Harold Nye, and are now the basis of a lawsuit between Nye鈥檚 son, who expressed intent to release them or sell them, and the KBI, who says the papers are their property.
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This isn鈥檛 the first time the accuracy of 鈥淚n Cold Blood鈥� has been called into question.
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Capote called the book about the 1959 murders 鈥渋mmaculately factual鈥� in an interview with the听New York Times, but various reporters and writers have听claimed听over the years that 鈥淏lood鈥� has numerous inconsistencies. In his biography 鈥淐apote,鈥� writer Gerald Clarke claims that the last scene in 鈥淏lood,鈥� in which detective Alvin Dewey meets a friend of one of the Clutter daughters, was completely fabricated. Changes were also made between the book鈥檚 initial publication in The New Yorker and its release in hardcover, including the number of churches in the town and the times of day at which certain events happened.
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听Former KBI director Larry Welch pointed out that the rigid rules we have today for how factual a nonfiction book needs to be weren鈥檛 in place when Capote was writing 鈥淏lood.鈥�
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鈥淚n this day and age, we can't even recreate the proper context for these events,鈥� Welch听said听in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.听
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The KBI and 鈥淭o Kill A Mockingbird鈥� author Harper Lee, who assisted Capote with his investigations, both declined to comment for the WSJ article.