On the morning after the murders, the bodies of four members of the Clutter family: Herbert, his wife Bonnie Jean, daughter Nancy, and son Kenyan, were discovered by a friend of Nancy's after efforts to rouse them for church had failed. In the ensuing poilice investigation it was found that the family had been murdered during the night. Telephone lines had been cut, but there was no sign of a struggle. For a long time, the police looked for a motive, but could find none because the act was committed by two transients who never even knew the Clutters.
The Clutter Family Murders-Crime and Motivation
Richard Hickock first heard about the Clutter family from a prison mate and former employee of Herbert Clutter, Floyd Wells. Wells led Hickock to believe that Clutter, a wealthy farmer, kept a considerable amount of money hidden in a safe in his home. He told this to inmate Perry Smith, and upon their release from prison, the two conspired to rob the place.
Hitchcock and Smith drove 400 miles to the Clutter home with the intent to get the contents of the safe. The two bound and tied the members of the family and demanded money. But the rumors were wrong, and Herbert Clutter did not keep his cash on the premises.
