True crime journalists and authors Douglas Walker and Keith Roysdon co-wrote a book titled, “Cold Case Muncie.” At the Carnegie Library May 14, the authors shared comments about their findings as well as a Q&A session with the audience.
The event was free to the public and did not require a library card. Multiple articles written by Walker in the past inspired “Cold Case Muncie” and other books previously published together by these authors. Concluding the event, copies of some of their books were available for purchase and people had the opportunity to get them signed by the authors.
“Over the course of 10 years, over 30 articles about Muncie and a little beyond were written,” Roysdon said. “The most recent book focuses on the surviving family members of people who were killed from the 60’s and on.”
“Cold Case Muncie” revisits many cases that Walker and Roysdon previously have written about in past articles or books, but many of these cases are not likely to be solved. Due to many years passing since the original incident, necessary details and evidence fade away. There is a saying about these cases that Roysdon quoted, “the colder it gets, the colder it gets.”
The book was written with interviews from the victims and their loved ones in hopes of finding resolution one day. Some interviews were redone as the stories got revisited if the people were still around and willing to talk.
“These things really live on in the minds of the [loved ones],” Roysdon said.
One of the cases the book covers is a story of a father who tried to find justice for his son who was murdered, the authors shared. In his interviews with the authors, he shared many interesting details about his own life story. The father passed away a year ago, and unfortunately never got to see any resolution to his son’s case.
Sharing the cases one more time in writing is important to the authors, as this may be the last time some of them are going to be put in writing.
The cases chosen for the first book, “Wicked Muncie,” were found by going through case files. Roysdon said they would look through the stacks of murder files and find the thinnest file folders to read further into and focus on.
“Each murder file would have not only the initial reporting on the murder, but also subsequent people being charged for the crime and being tried or convicted…” Roysdon said. “The thinnest files plainly didn’t have any of those later stories.”
They would then learn as much as they could about these cases and keep trying to learn more. So far their books have not led to a case being solved, but an article a while back got a few responses from people in the community that may have had useful information about a person and event related to an old case.
Mary Lou Gentis, recently retired from the Muncie Public Library. She was curious about one of the older missing person cased and wondered if there was any more information that came of it.
“I think I am more interested in the more historic cases, than the current (this century) things,” Gentis said. “I kinda like to think back.”
Paperback and hard copies of the book can be purchased online through Amazon, and digital versions can be found on multiple other book sites.
Contact eliana.marker@bsu.edu with any questions, comments or concerns.
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