Seattle dealer in legal struggle over “In Cold Blood” case files
Sep 14, 2012, 8:32 AM | Updated: 9:55 am
Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested for the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
A Seattle dealer in literary memorabilia is at the center of a legal battle over documents from the sensational murder case that inspired the best selling book “In Cold Blood.”
The items include copies of the case file from the 1959 murders of four members of a Kansas family. Also in his possession, a first edition of the book signed by Truman Capote. The items were found in the trash in 2003 by Ron Nye after the death of his father, a lead investigator on the case.
Nye recently gave over the items to Vintage Memorabilia of Seattle for auction. The case files have never been made public and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is demanding the files back, claiming the files belong to the state, since the investigator was a state employee. The Wall Street Journal also reports that relatives of the murder victims don’t want graphic crime scene photos made public.
The Library of Congress says its large collection of Capote material does not include the case file on the murders.
Auction of the entire cache of documents is on hold but Vintage Memorabilia is offering the first edition copy of “In Cold Blood” with a starting bid of $5,000.
