I met Jeff McArthur 25 years ago. We were kicking around various Lincoln theater companies and I can tell you that Jeff is a natural storyteller. Recently he focused those talents by publishing a book titled Pro Bono - the 18 Year Defense of Caril Fugate.
The name Caril Fugate strikes a chord with anyone with parents who grew up in the Midwest. She was tied to a series of eleven murders committed by Charlie Starkweather in 1958.
The murder spree paralyzed the Midwest. The National Guard was called in by local law enforcement, the schools let out early, whole families slept in the same bedroom hoping to find safety in numbers. No matter who you talk to, what town they lived in the story was the same: there wasn't a cold drink or a shotgun left to buy in town.
When Starkweather was finally apprehended his 14-year old girlfriend, Caril Fugate, was travelling with him. The killing spree started two days after she had tried to break things off with Charlie.
After he was apprehended one of Starkweather's most famous quotes was to say "When I go to the electric chair, I want Caril Ann
Fugate sitting on my lap."
Pro Bono tackles the legal manuverings to defend Caril Fugate. It's a book that takes on the question of whether she was kidnapped or a willing accomplice. Authored by my friend, Jeff, the grandson of the attorney appointed to the case by the court it's a delicious read. One I recommend whole-heartedly.
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