Dan Mitrione - Suddenly Gone. The Kansas Murders of Serial Killer Richard Grissom

MITRIONE HAS PRODUCED A RIVETING and remarkably detailed study of four of the most ruthless murders in Kansas criminal history. He has blended talent, experience and extensive factual information a web of intrigue and suspense.

Theodore OLeary, Reviewer, ret. Kansas City Star

Dan Mitrione offers a fascinating look into one of the most vicious killers of our time A GREAT READ.

Andy Hoffman, author of Family Affairs, The Stalking of Diane Newton King

No doubt here, this is a true-crime keeper. This is the kind of fact-based book that pulls no punches. Suddenly Gone is terrific and terrifying. Mitriones debut is A HEARTSTOPPER.

Gregg Olsen, author of Mockingbird, Bitter Almonds, Abandoned Prayers

In Suddenly Gone, Mitrione brings to life a compelling, gripping story that will hold your interest for hours.

Gera-Lind Kolarik, author of Freed to Kill, I am Cain, Prisoners of Fear

Mitrione gives readers an insiders perspective on these horrendous crimes and the relentless pursuit of justice. His extensive knowledge of the business of crime and punishment WILL KEEP READERS TURNING THE PAGES.

Carol Soret Cope, author of In the Fast Lane

An Addicus Nonfiction Book

1995 by Dan Mitrione. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information write Addicus Books, Inc., P.O. box 37327, Omaha, Nebraska 68137.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

ISBN # 1-886039-23-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mitrione, Dan.

Suddenly gone : the Kansas murders of serial killer Richard Grissom / Dan Mitrione.

p. cm

ISBN 1-886039-23-2 (trade paperback: alk. paper)

1. Serial murdersKansasCase studies. 2. Serial murderersKansasBiography. 3. Grissom, Richard, 1960- 1. Title.

HV6533.K3M57 1995 95-31805

364.152309781675dc20 CIP

Printed in the United States of America.

To Henrietta and Janet
for their unwavering
support and patience.

Writing this book involved interviewing many people, and I wish to thank all who contributed. Id like to emphasize my appreciation to those who felt the impulse to retreat from painful memories of this story, but who overcame their fears and trusted me to tell their stories.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the police investigators, forensic specialists and prosecutors who assembled an incredible circumstantial case and shared their insights and memories with me. In particular I must thank the mainstays of the investigation. Detectives Ken Landwehr, Bill Batt and Pat Hinkle, who unselfishly committed hours of personal time to insure that I had the facts necessary to tell this story thoroughly and accurately. These officers are some of the most dedicated and professional individuals I have ever worked with, and I thank them for their invaluable contributions. A thanks to Walt Coffey for sharing some investigative material and his insights with me.

I must thank Rod Colvin and Tom McFarland at Addicus Books for not only recognizing the importance of this story and taking on the project, but also for their unwavering support and guidance along the way. Their experience proved to be the guidepost needed to see me through the various stages of this project.

I wish to thank the victims parents and family members for working through the pain and sharing their unique insights and emotions with me. It was precisely through their openness and their loving memories of Terri, Christine, Theresa and Joan that I learned about these very special women. It is a gift I will always cherish.

T his is a true story. The account I present has been carefully reconstructed after going over more than 1,700 pages of investigative reports and court transcripts as well as physical evidence. Ive also interviewed everyone whom I believed could contribute information about this case. If key individuals were missed, it was not due to oversight, but to either scheduling changes or individuals reluctance to talk about the case.

None of my efforts to make contact with Richard Grissom has produced results. I have written him numerous times, asking for interviews, and Ive made attempts to reach him through his court-appointed attorneys. He has, however, remained unwilling to provide comment or meet with me.

For reasons of privacy, five individuals in this account have been assigned pseudonyms. The names Sherry Cash, Karen Marshall, Jessie Barnes, Joe Collins and Ruth Silvers are not real.

Dialogues in the text were reconstructed from interviews as well as from police reports and court transcripts. As in most homicide cases, some individuals have differing memories of the same events. When such conflicts occurred, I based my narrative on considered judgement of the differing claims.

On several occasions while writing this book, I was asked why I chose to write about this case. My answer has always been straight-forward and simple. From the time in 1989, when I first saw a missing person poster of Joan Butler, I felt drawn to this story. I stared at that poster for several minutes, memorizing details, unable to say exactly why I was so moved by Joans picture.

I followed the news accounts about Joan and those pertaining to Theresa and Christine as they became the lead stories on the evening news for several weeks. As years passed and the stories became old news, personal interest in their story never waned. If anything, I felt a certain need to tell their story as truthfully and accurately as possible.

It is impossible to write an account such as this without becoming emotionally involved. I have trouble reconciling that the young lives of several, loving women were cut short by a ruthless killer whose senseless motives might never be understood. It is difficult to not be affected by the sorrow and grief that have invaded the lives of the families and friends left behind. In truth, hundreds of lives were instantly affected by the kind of unthinkable acts committed by a serial killer.

I continue to take an occasional journey into the rural areas of Johnson and Douglas counties, where some authorities believe Grissom may have buried the bodies of his victims. I drive along dirt and gravel roads, looking and listening. Sometimes, I stop and stare off into distant fields and try to convince myself that just maybe a message or a sign of some sort will bring news of the missing women.

However, at the end of each journey, I deal with the unsettling reality that I may never know the whereabouts of Joan, Christine and Theresa.

I took on this project, knowing that the young women in the case were dead. Many of the details will always rest with them.

D.M.

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that is still!

Alfred Lord Tennyson

F or most of the evening of June 6, 1989, Terri Maness, clipboard in hand, made her way door to door, canvassing the residents of her town house complex on East Lanston in Wichita, Kansas. The air was cool, a welcome reprieve from the scorching daytime temperatures already invading south-central Kansas two weeks before the beginning of summer. Terri wore a light, summer dress, a bright, flower print reflective of her warm, spirited character. An energetic young woman, in her mid-twenties, she stood around five-feet-five inches, and had thick, curly brown hair, wide, brown eyes and a well-proportioned figure.