FL FL - Clifford & Christine Walker, both 23, & 2 kids, Osprey, 20 Dec 1959

[Richard]

Cliff & Christine Walker on their wedding day.

Cliff & Christine with their children, Jimmie and Debbie
All four were murdered on 20 December 1959

LINK:

Unsolved Mysteries: The Walker Family Murders

Were the Murderous Duo of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood Responsible for the Slaughter of a Second Family?

truecrimedetective.co.uk

 

[iulia]

Bodies of murdered couple exhumed in Florida could unlock a 64-year-old mystery

Family members hope that analyzing Christine and Cliff Walker’s bones could determine who killed them and their children in a case linked to the notorious “In Cold Blood” killers.

www.tampabay.com

[...]
The exhumation had been successful, he said, and the Walkers would likely be the first to be run through the office’s new CT scanner. It creates a three-dimensional reconstruction of the body’s skeleton and will give investigators a better picture of their injuries.

Clark said their bones would also be sent to a private lab to identify and remove Christine’s and Cliff’s DNA from the mixture found in 2019 in Christine’s underwear. That would allow scientists to tease out the genetic code of the sperm cell so it could be uploaded to common ancestry websites to find relatives. In 2021, detectives in Montana identified the killer of a teenage couple in 1956 with genetic genealogy and a single sperm cell. So it was not inconceivable.

Clark said the DNA tests performed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation have excluded Hickock and Smith in his mind, and he does not expect the new tests to show anything different. But McGath isn’t so sure. She has doubts about all of the Kansas City testing based on the contamination found in the earlier examinations. She’s not ready to rule out the In Cold Blood killers.

Clark doesn’t know how long it will take for the latest results, or even if they will produce answers. But he sounded confident.

“That’s how we’re going to solve this,” Clark said. “It’s probably our best shot.”

 

[Ursamajr]

In 2021, detectives in Montana identified the killer of a teenage couple in 1956 with genetic genealogy and a single sperm cell.

Science is absolutely fascinating!

 

[Richard]

Richard "Dick" Hickock, Kansas State Prison 1960

While on Death Row following his conviction (along with Perry Smith) for the 1959 murder of the Clutter family in their Kansas home, Dick Hickock wrote a diary and also a number of letters in hopes of getting his story written in book form. He spoke with Truman Capote in interviews for Capote's best selling book "In Cold Blood", but was not as forthcoming as his partner in crime, Perry Smith.

His diary and letters mysteriously disappeared and Kansas officials did not want any discussion or criticism of their successful investigation and prosecution of the case. However, copies of Dick's letters and notes made by his "co-author" formed the basis of a recent book titled "And Every Word is True" by Gary McAvoy.

LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Word-True-Gary-McAvoy/dp/0990837602

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for the Walkers - it's now 64 years.

https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/the-brutal-murder-of-the-walker-family

 

[Richard]

Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, the "In Cold Blood" guys who murdered the Clutter family in Kansas 15 November 1959. Were they the killers of the Walker family a month later in Florida? Although they never admitted to murdering the Walker family, a number of similarities to the Clutter family murders and coincidental factors such as their presence in the area tend to suggest their involvement.

 

[Richard]

This coming 20 December 2024 will mark the 65 year anniversary of this unsolved murder of 4 members of the Walker family.

 

[longthymelurker]

This coming 20 December 2024 will mark the 65 year anniversary of this unsolved murder of 4 members of the Walker family.

I wonder what happened with the DNA tests that are mentioned in a post above.

 

[longthymelurker]

Bumping for the Walkers - it's now 64 years.

https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/the-brutal-murder-of-the-walker-family

View attachment 471164

Jimmy is Clifford’s mini-me!

 

[December]

I hope somehow this case is solved. This family deserves justice.

I have a friend who was a majorette. She found her old uniform in a manilla envelope! Her uniform didn't have a skirt, but still it shows these kind of outfits can be placed in smaller places than one might think. I read up thread the marriage certificate was with some items that the family had. I don't know if the family has the majorette uniform, but i thought i would share my friend's experience.

 

[Richard]

Next month this unsolved murder case will be 65 years old.

 

[longthymelurker]

Wonder if the DNA has been tested with all these recent cold case closures due to updated testing. I would absolutely contribute to a fund for the family DNA to be tested and checked against the system.

 

[Richard]

Bumping this thread up. This unsolved murder of four happened over 65 years ago.

 

[bluestsocks]

I very much still believe they were murdered by a local who knew Christine, be it closely or casually. I know DNA work takes a long time and genetic genealogy also takes a long Time, so I remain hopeful that there will be an answer in time. I just hope it’s soon enough for any living relatives to have the answer and find closure of whatever kind they can.