Show Notes
IN COLD BLOOD (PART 2): PERSONS UNKNOWN — THE CLUTTER MURDERS, ALVIN DEWEY, AND THE HUNT FOR PERRY SMITH
The Clutter family is dead. Holcomb, Kansas is in shock. And for 6 weeks, investigators have nothing: no suspects, no motive, no real leads.
In Part 2 of Crimery’s 4-part In Cold Blood series, host Jennifer Novotney follows the story into its most unsettling section: “Persons Unknown.” This is where Truman Capote’s book stops being only about the murders — and starts becoming a study of fear, suspicion, obsession, and the men who did it.
This episode explores the horrifying discovery of the Clutter family murders, the collapse of safety in Holcomb, KBI investigator Alvin Dewey’s desperate search for answers, and the 6-week stretch where the killers remained unknown. Then the story turns: a prison tip changes everything, and the hunt for Perry Smith and Dick Hickock begins.
But this episode goes deeper than the investigation. It also explores why Capote made Perry Smith the emotional center of In Cold Blood — and why that choice still disturbs readers today.
In this episode:
- The discovery of the Clutter family murders
- Why Holcomb, Kansas stopped trusting itself
- Alvin Dewey and the weight of a case with no answers
- Floyd Wells, the prison tip, and the break that changed everything
- Perry Smith’s childhood, trauma, and the controversy around Capote’s sympathy
- Dick Hickock, the planner behind the crime
- Why “Persons Unknown” is one of the most psychologically unsettling sections of In Cold Blood
If you’re reading along, this episode covers Part 2: “Persons Unknown” and sets up Part 3: “The Answer.”
Host: Jennifer Novotney
Show: Crimery
Website: crimery.show
Buy the "In Cold Blood" here: https://amzn.to/4sCZUj2
KEYWORDS
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, Clutter family murders, Persons Unknown, Perry Smith, Dick Hickock, Alvin Dewey, Holcomb Kansas murders, Herbert Clutter, Nancy Clutter, Kenyon Clutter, Bonnie Clutter, Floyd Wells, true crime podcast, literary true crime, Jennifer Novotney, Crimery
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Legal: Everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Content may include descriptions of violence. Listener discretion advised.
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