I've been reading up on Charles Starkeweather lately.

Man, what a fucked up story that is. One thing I can't figure out is Fugate's role in the whole thing. She claims she was a hostage, but Starkweather says that's bullshit.
Either way, why do all the freaky kinda stories come out of Nebraska? It seems when it happens on the plains it's just a little more scary.

not that it's based on fact, but i loved sheen and spaceck in that. damn, they were young.

It's always "Based on" the story of Starkweather and Fugate.

But I haven't seen it.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0404456/

http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/streiber/273/gein_cf.htm#


The idea for the movie "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" came from his case. And, he used to baby sit children in his small town.:scared:

for that matter.

These spree killers alway seem to be in the prairies.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107619/


Murder in the Heartland.

It sticks pretty much to the facts.

I was a youngster when that happened and lived in Lincoln. I remember school being let out early one day and we had to have rides home. Then the sheriffs posse came on horseback combed the field across the street from my home. It basically locked down the town.

I rode with my daddy in the front seat of his car to the grocery store and a loaded gun was between us on the front seat.

The people that were murdered were well known and that seemed to cause more hate. Also when Charlie murdered people – he stayed on the scene and would watch tv, fix food etc. No big rush to flee, and no set pattern. Who is next? Everybody was wrapped in fear.


There are several books – a few with a different twist.

Charlie was executed in the electric chair. That had a huge turn out. People parked on the streets for miles. Horns blasted and people cheered when his life ended.

What more do you know?

Most of it took place in Lincoln and Charlie and Carol were both from Lincoln. The first murders were Carol’s parents and even her little sister. No mercy.

I remember not being allowed to go outside to play. I think people stayed home from their jobs if they could. Murders were rare and murder sprees were unheard of.. People would stop everything when the news came on the radio, hoping for a capture. Everyone knew the sheriff and many people knew or had some connection to families involved.
The lawyer that defended Charlie owned a tavern. And he would often mingle with the patrons – I am sure some good stories were told.

The photos in the books are pretty incredible. There are maybe a dozen different books about Starkweather. I need to get them out and crunch through them all again sometime.

Carol was taken to the Lincoln Regional Center after the capture. It was a state mental hospital. The rumors had her pregnant. And more people said the pregnancy was terminated when she was in custody. She served her term in the women’s prison. There she was a model prisoner, found God, and changed her name when she was released.. moving to another state. Charlie’s family is still in Lincoln. There is even a relative (nephew?) named Charlie. Most are redheads like Charlie. Charlie is buried in Lincoln and the grave is well marked and gets its share of visitors.

I remember going with my family to the State Prison the night of the execution. Because of the crowd we parked a couple blocks away. The streets were lined with cars in every direction. People walked up and down the row of cars talking to their friends and neighbors. Somebody put a blanket on top of our car and put me on the car roof so I could see things better. People brought food and car radios were loud.

Last year when I was visiting my older brother we had our usual late night talks and wanted to know more about what happened during that time. My brother didn’t have much to say about it. He finally said, “I liked Charlie, Charlie was my friend in school and I didn’t want dad to kill him..”

I have always been fascinated by the Starkweather-Fugate case, and your personal memories are vivid.
Thanks,
mitchum

But that is what happened and the way the community reacted. Maybe that is why I am so against state sponsored death.... I think Nebraska has had two or three people executed in the electric chair since Charlie. None so notorious. A little independent shop downtown sells t-shirts and the front of the shirt has a picture of the electric chair. Caption: I'm from Nebraska- We kill people.


There is a newer book out about the murders. It is called Outside Valentine. The author is Liza Ward. Liza’s grandparents were murdered by Charlie. The Wards were a wealthy family. Mr. Ward met with the Nebraska Governor the day he was murdered. I think Liza’s father was out of state at a boarding school when the murders happened. So I am anxious to see how this book mixes fiction with the story. I am sure the events changed Liza’s life even though she has never lived here, and never knew her grandparents. The “Ward Home “ is still one of the grandest in Lincoln.

is sittin' right there
on my lap

between southern gothicism and plains states gothicism. Southern gothicism is a way of life (you've always had an uncle who dressed at a woman, mother and son romances, etc...) Whereas plain states gothicism consists of the boring and mundane interupted by some cataclymic event (one minute you're running the thresher, the next you're killing your family)

the lengths some teenyboppers will go to in order to fuck in the living room and eat potato chips for dinner...

She was a little girl in rural Nebraska at the time. She says it's the first time she ever heard or knew of pure evil.