Herb Clutter
Herb was the patriarch of the Clutter family and owner of the River Valley Farm, and a well respected man within Holcomb. He was 48 years old, a Methodist, and chairman of the Kansas Conference of Farm Organization. He was traditional, hardworking, and also generous with the surrounding town, although there are people who dislike him due to his success and uncompromising values. He is noted for having a particular aversion to smoking; the day of the murder, however, Nancy tells Susan she thinks she smells cigarette smoke on him, an indication of the stress he was going through at the time of death. A few hours before his death, he was negotiating a life insurance contract; little did he know that it would soon come into use. At the time of his death, he had been looking forward to the future because he was already well-established and he had received news that Bonnie’s depression was curable. His family was the victim of the Clutter murder. Bonnie Clutter Bonnie Clutter was Herb’s wife and the mother of Kenyon and Nancy. She was Herbert’s childhood sweetheart. Although she and Herbert no longer share the same room, they still love each other very much. She gets nervous rather easily, supposedly due to postpartum depression, and mostly stays secluded in the Clutter home. She worried that due to her condition, she would be missing out on her family’s lives. During her conversation with Jolene, she expresses sadness due to her belief that her children were too good for her and no longer needed her. Before her death, she was informed that her condition could be a physical spinal problem instead of a mental one. Nancy Clutter Nancy was the 17 year old daughter of Herb and Bonnie. Much like Herb, she is well liked and respected throughout the community, and very responsible. She is shown to be quite popular within her high school as well as the locals, and is very intelligent. She had a close friend named Susan Kidwell, and a boyfriend named Bobby Rupp. Kenyon Clutter Kenyon was the youngest child of the Clutter family. He was only 15 years old, and he shared a very loving bond with his sister Nancy. Appearance-wise, he did not look like either of his parents. Personality wise, he was his mother’s child; he was fairly introverted, and had only a few friends who were very close. He was tall and lanky, but not very athletic. Not yet interested in girls, he enjoyed working on projects alone and tinkering with machines and tools. Bobby Rupp Bobby was Nancy’s boyfriend, who she loved very much. He had stayed fairly late at the Clutter home the night of the murder, causing him to be the first prime suspect of the case. Nancy wears a gold ring from Bobby on her thumb, which she values as her most prized possession. Herbert Clutter was aware that Bobby has good character but disproved of Nancy’s relationship to him because the Rupps were Roman Catholics while the Clutters were Methodist, preventing the two lovebirds from every getting married. Bobby suffered greatly after Nancy’s death; at the end of the novel, it is revealed by Susan that he married another nice girl. Susan Kidwell Susan was Nancy’s childhood friend, as well as a resident of Holcomb. Nancy confided many of her troubles to Susan, such as her desire to keep her dad happy that conflicted with her love of Bobby. Susan informed the police about the latter part of Nancy’s last day alive. Susan was one of the first people to discover Nancy’s body, the other being Nancy Ewalt. At the end of the novel, Dewey meets Susan visiting Nancy's grave. Nancy Ewalt A fashion-conscious girl with a pretty figure, Nancy Ewalt was the reason why the Clutter’s murder was discovered so quickly. Nancy Ewalt was dropped off at the Clutter’s every Sunday to attend Church. When the Clutters did not respond to her knocks, Nancy fetched Susan and the two girls entered the house, where they first found Nancy’s body. Top to bottom: Herb, Bonnie, Nancy Kenyon, Bobby Picture Citations
Herb Clutter. Digital image. Gcpolice.org. Garden City Police, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. Bonnie Clutter. Digital image. Kansas.com. Associated Press, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. Nancy Clutter. Digital image. Imgkid.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. Kenyon Neal Clutter. Digital image. Tinyvictims.wordpress.com. N.p., 22 Dec. 2011. Web. 20 May 2015. Bobby Rupp. Digital image. Lawrence Journal World. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. |