Washed in the Blood

by Shelton L. Williams

Washed in the Blood is a page-turning read about the time--early 1960s--and place--Odessa, Texas--during its rowdy oil boom days when violence often rode the range. It is at once an examination of local mores and foibles, piety and hypocrisy and an inside-look at the famed 'Kiss and Kill' murder of a 17-year old would-be actress, Betty Jean Williams, whose ghost is said to haunt the Odessa High School campus to this very day. And it is a courtroom saga starring the late trial super-lawyer, Warren Burnett, along with a verdict that some think stood the blind Goddess of Justice on her head. What Shelton Williams has wrought here is worth both your time and your money. Larry L. King, author, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Psychology, Social Commentary, History

188 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because Shelly Williams was my Political Science professor at Austin College (Class of ’82) and I did not know the story of his cousin, Betty. Shelly is not only highly professional and great at his job, being an inspiration to generations of Poli Sci students, but is also a thoroughly nice man and a pleasure to know, so I just had to buy his book.

I found this book fascinating on so many levels. When I was in Texas from ’78-82 I assumed that the Wild West was long gone but this book proves that its legacy was still very much alive in the 1960s.

Although the book is concerned mainly with a murder and was written because of it, Shelly has done a wonderful job of putting it into its historical and social context. He explains how Odessa society worked at that time and the family, societal and inter-school dynamics that enabled it to play out in the way that it did, as well as the deep and long-lasting impact the murder and trial had on the town, the state, the country and the people involved. Shelly himself was one of those, of course, because the victim was his cousin and they were close. I don’t think Shelly realised until he wrote the book just how important the murder and subsequent trial were to so many people.

This is an important book because it highlights the pain that young people go through, particularly girls. This is borne out by the feedback Shelly has had from school counsellors, who use it to demonstrate to troubled youngsters that life changes but that suicide is final.

This true and very tragic story is told in a non-journalistic way; it comes across as a regular guy telling a story about his family. That’s not to say it is not well written – it is – just that it feels very real and you can feel his pain as he writes. Shelly is very honest in his writing and we get to read the good and the bad memories, as well as some very personal ones that some writers may have shied away from; all this adds to the book’s value.

Shelly has gone to great lengths to explain the importance in Odessa at that time of football (American football that is), which was such a huge influence on the majority of people in the town that it is almost a character in the story - it certainly had a strong influence. He has not restricted himself to the murder and the social scene of the time in this book, he has commented on the mores of post-war America, racism, sexism, family dynamics and the emerging changes of the 1960s. This contributes to its importance as a historical document.

The victim, Betty Williams, is well described as a very troubled young woman, though one with boundless energy, intelligence, sensitivity and a zest for life. Having read her story it is so sad that she never had the opportunity to achieve her potential, as she may have been able to use her emotional turmoil in her acting career, had she got that far.

The book I have is the second edition and Shelly has added a chapter at the end giving examples of feedback he received after the first edition was published. This is itself fascinating and an appropriate addition to this potted history of Odessa in the early 1960s and the ‘Kiss and Kill’ murder itself.

Thank you, Shelly, for sharing this story with us. May Betty rest in peace.

Five stars all the way.

[Christena · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I came to think of churches as social institutions that served to preserve the social values of the core membership of the church and not a place to commune with God."

I have been wanting to read the full story around the Kiss and Kill murder from the early 1960s. Author Shelton Williams hinted at this true story in his Covey Jencks Mystery series. These kinds of stories appeal to me in some morbid way but not really morbid. I just find history like this more appealing than anything else.

In the Covey Jencks Mystery series, Williams would give snippets of the story that left me wanting to read more of this story tied to a girl named Betty. Washed in the Blood is the book to read if you are a fan of the true-crime genre. It is noted that Williams states at the beginning of this book it is not a true-crime book and it is not. Washed in the Blood is a trip down memory lane told quite well in honor of his cousin, Betty.

The chapters in this quick read are the ideal mix in telling this story. The mix is dealing with the murder, the trial, to the memoir background. Readers will get a lot of memoir context on Williams. You get snippets of the West Texas towns of Odessa and Midland having their own personalities tied to the oil industry. Williams offers glimpses into those personalities that make up both of those towns.

The best heart-wrenching chapter of this little book is the letter to Betty summarizing what had happened after her death. Williams' book is an ideal legacy to Betty’s story.

As a side note, I did some sleuthing and discovered the guy that killed Betty died in 2019. I just couldn’t help myself from wanting to know what became of him.

[Ewb555 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is based on the gruesome true story of a murder that happened in
Odessa, TX, where I happen to live. I actually got to meet the author Mr. Shelton who is the cousin of the girl who was murdered. It was very interesting to learn about this story, and to think that the guy who murdered her still lives here in town. Kind of creepy........lol

[Rox Burkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Shelton Williams shares his memories of life in the 1960s in Odessa, Texas, focusing on his relationship with his cousin Betty Jean. Family and friends called him Shelly growing up. His family lived on one side of town, and Betty Jean’s family lived on the other. Consequently, they attended different high schools which competed in sports, especially football. Shelly’s school was the more affluent Permian, and she was at Odessa High School. These kissing cousins were a year apart in age but friends and family. They played, went to family events, and talked about many things growing up. They shared confidences about their difficult fathers, acceptable or unacceptable societal standards, religion, music, movies, and sex. Betty loved theatre, and Shelly thrived on football.

Author Williams takes readers on a journey that reveals the events and times looking back after 60 years with a focus on Betty Jean’s death at seventeen. Her murder certainly impacted those who knew her, but the tragedy of her short life continues to this day. The journalists of the times, across all media, focused on Mack Herring, who committed the crime. Over the years, Shelton Williams interviewed countless people to assemble Washed in Blood. The individual accounts represented in this story provided memories, thoughts, and insights into Betty’s hopes, dreams, and questions on being both accepted and unique at the same time.

Like today, Football and Texas went together like peanut butter and jelly. Mack Herring was a handsome football player with connections of both family and friends. Betty and Mack were considered a couple for a short time. They had broken up when he killed her on his family’s property. It was appalling to learn Mack was found not guilty due to temporary insanity. She reportedly asked him to kill her. He committed a brutal act but never paid the price.

Washed in the Blood is a stunning recount of life in small-town Texas and a devastating event. The photographs included between the pages complement the author’s descriptions and highlight the norms of the times. I recommend this personal memoir if you are a fan of true-crime narratives, the inequities of the 1960s. pre-hippie idealists, or women’s rights with the unvarnished truth.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Washed in the Blood gives Betty Williams, the victim of the 'Kiss and Kill' murder, a voice!

Washed in the Blood is an excellent and heartfelt tribute to the author's cousin, Betty Williams, who was tragically killed at the age of 17 by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Mack Herring. The book is a memoir of the cousins growing up together in the West Texas oil patch of Odessa during the 1950s and early 60s, where football was KING and anything else not worthy of notice. It was on the cusp of the hippie counterculture and before women's lib. It is a tale of a young man and woman coming-of-age, a shattering of innocent belief in our justice system, and a ghost story. I was utterly enthralled by Shelton L. Williams' unfolding tale of the events of that time, now 60 years in the past.

The newspapers, radio, and television of the time focused on the young man that ended Betty's life. Here, the author tells the victim's side of the story, at least what he knows of it, including his personal memories and involvement in the events surrounding his cousin's death; he was there after all. Her death continues to resonate with young women even today.

After Betty's death, Williams continued to pursue the answers to questions that remained after the investigation and the trial about what and why things had gone as they did. He talked to an astonishing number of people that may have held a piece to this enduring puzzle. His method of relating this story made it feel like these events had happened only yesterday. I appreciated how he identified the different individuals involved at the time, their roles, and his thoughts at the time and, now, years later, after a lot of thought and life experience has made their impact. Many were just kids from school and friends he or Betty hung out with or dated. Her death affected so many more people than you'd suppose until you stopped to think. And the impact is still felt today.

Washed in the Blood presents the reader with a sharply focused picture of life at that time and in that place, but it is a near-perfect reflection of the concurrent and broader society. He delineates the double standards of conduct acceptable and expected of women, girls, men, and boys. His research into Betty's life also reveals some of the impacts that those differences had on her, himself, his family, and so many other lives.

At just under 200 pages with accompanying photos and illustrations, this book could be read in just one enthralling sitting. I recommend WASHED IN THE BLOOD to readers who enjoy gritty, honest memoirs, coming-of-age tales, true crime stories, and those set in West Texas in the early 1960s.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life/Lone Star Book Blog Tours.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a true crime (and ghost story) lover, I am quite surprised I've never heard of the Kiss and Kill Murder that took place in Odessa, Texas in 1961. This book is written by Shelton L. Williams, who also happens to be the cousin of the victim, Betty Jean Williams.

Williams has done a fantastic job of not only keeping the reader entertained as they turn the pages, but with the heartfelt telling of the story itself. While reading this story, it brings back memories of books I've read in the past that focus on Texas football in particular (i.e. Friday Night Lights) and how very much that "football culture" takes centerstage in certain cities in Texas (i.e. Odessa). Having Williams' POV on this case, and frankly the culture at the time considering it was before the talk of women's rights was a thing, is what cemented this story for me.

It makes me sad and angry, to say the least, of how the attention of this case, during the trial especially, was on the individual who killed Betty instead of Betty herself and what was done to her. But in writing this book, I truly believe that Williams has given us, women in particular, something back. He has given Betty something back - her story. If in the end, all we are, are stories - then let it be in truth and memories.

I recommend this book to all my fellow true crime readers and to those interested in the culture of the early 1960s, football madness, etc.

[Mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the Author

[Lone Star Literary Life · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Lone Star Blogger Team average rating: 4.5.

[Ophelia Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

In October, 2012, I heard Shelton Williams review his book, Washed in The Blood, at the Books inThe Basin event in Odessa, Texas. While this is not a pleasant book, it chronicles a part of the history of Odessa. In 1961, Mack Herring, a student and football player at Odessa High School, killed Betty Williams, a former girl friend. Betty, a highly emotional and theatrical girl, was also a student at Odessa High School. Betty was depressed because she had failed to get the part that she wanted in a high school play. She had also broken up with Mack. She asked several boys to kill her and they laughed at her because they did not believe she meant it. When she asked Mack, he agreed. Betty left a note saying she hoped that he would not be punished for the murder because she had begged him to kill her. Warren Burnett, an Odessa lawyer, defended Mack in a sanity hearing, a trial in Winkler County, an appeal trial in Beaumont, Texas and finally before the Texas Supreme Court. Mack Herring was declared Not Guilty in each procedure on the grounds of temporary insanity. Shelton Williams, the author, was a cousin and close friend of Betty. Shelton was a student at Permian High School in Odessa. Shelton went on to graduate from Permian, the University of Texas and earned a PHD from John Hopkins in political science. He has taught for many years at college level, but was never able to completely overcome the effects of this traumatic event in his young life. At las he decided a couple of years ago to write a book about the murder. He returned to Odessa, researched every account of both the murder and the trials that were available and interviewed former teachers, friends , etc. Washed in the Blood was published in 2007 and is currently being produced as a movie.

[Buffy Rochard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by the victim’s cousin, this is more of a dull coming-of-age tale of his growing up in Odessa rather that a true crime story about the murder. (In his defense, *any* coming-of-age story set in Odessa will necessarily be boring.)

If you’re from Odessa, the memoir might hold vague interest for you, but I can’t imagine anyone else being bored enough to trudge through it, and it’s hardly more than a pamphlet.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washed in the Blood by Shelton L. Williams is a haunting memoir/biography of the events before, during, and after a murderous suicide, dubbed the Kiss and Kill Murder, in Odessa, Texas, in the early 1960s. What really happened to Betty Jean Williams out at that stock pond? Did she really ask her so-called boyfriend, Mack Herring, to kill her? Was this a murder or a suicide, or maybe both? Shelton “Shelly” Williams knew Betty and all the other players in this story because he was there. He is Betty’s younger cousin, and many years after that fateful circumstance and subsequent trials, Shelly wanted to describe what he remembered and interview others, perhaps finally allowing his cousin to find some peace and maybe offering a little glimpse into who she really was during her short life.

The author’s descriptive account of people and events from so many years ago reads more like a gripping fiction, but it is, in fact, a thrilling true-life account of a young girl's life and death, complete with photos, first-hand contributions, the author’s familial connection and recollections, plenty of court room drama, Betty’s own writings, and a watery crime scene called Dead Girl’s Pond that can still be visited today near Odessa, Texas. Who was Betty Williams, and why did she want to die at the tender age of 17? What kind of person would agree to kill her at her request, knowing he would face the consequences of murder? Does Betty’s ghost still haunt the high school she attended in Odessa, specifically the theatre and maybe the field house?

Shelly attempts to answer all these questions, and more, in this well-written tribute to his cousin, friend, and confidante, whom he still misses to this day. “Dear Betty, I miss our talks in the old Oldsmobile.”

As a prolific reader of almost all genres, I have long held a macabre fascination with true crime, and while Washed in the Blood is more of a biography and not the standard true crime story, it is now a memorable and eerie addition to my collection. A crime was committed, and a young girl ended up in a way too-early grave, leaving more questions than answers. Shelly presents a truly heartbreaking tale about a teenage girl who was often too promiscuous for such a small community to handle and who had big dreams of becoming an actress far away from Odessa, Texas, and her troubled household. According to Shelly, Betty had real acting talent, a clear and steady worldview, and the desire to be liked and taken seriously as a woman and an actress. Unfortunately, most in her community, high school, and family either didn’t see any of this about Betty or refused to see it. Shelly seemed to know Betty quite well, but even he didn't know how badly she wanted to die or why.

“The court proceedings made her into a different person―a sad, despondent, weird person―and who she really was seemed lost forever. Slowly, over time, a more balanced view of Betty is coming into view.”

Shelly’s writing style is a great mix of serious and humorous, even in such a dark tale as Washed in the Blood. The author obviously wanted and needed to tell this story, for himself and perhaps for teenagers struggling with the label of social pariah. Betty’s story is a cautionary tale and a type of eulogy for a young girl who chose to achieve her dreams of reaching the stars through death rather than living out her earthly potential. In death, Betty remains a shining star to the people who remember her and to those who read this remarkable memoir/biography or venture to Odessa in West Texas, where they can still hear all about Ghost Betty and maybe even see her if the timing is just right.

Washed in the Blood is a great non-fiction, and it is not the first book Shelly has published that takes place in West Texas, specifically Odessa. The author has written a mystery series about the clever, fictive Covey Jencks and his many escapades that you don’t want to miss, especially since these stories mention the Kiss and Kill Murder. Shelton L. Williams knows West Texas and isn’t afraid to write entertaining stories about it, both fact and fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.

[Jean Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and Lone Star Literary for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Washed in the blood is a fascinating look at the tragic demise of a young woman in Odessa, Texas in March of 1961, months before she was to graduate from high school. Her killer was an ex-boyfriend, who at her request, drove her to a remote spot, kissed her and then shot her in the head. Her death and subsequent murder trial rocked the tight knit community.
Betty Jean’s story is told by her first cousin, the author, who explores life in football-crazy Odessa. He lays out her lower middle-class background, difficult family life and her desire to be different from her classmates. Betty Jean dreamed of leaving the dusty staid town behind when she left high school for a chance at acting. Sadly, the quirky girl didn’t get the chance. It’s an interesting look at what we like to believe was a simpler time, but was really quite complicated.
The details from the trial are a revelation in themselves. The attitudes toward girls like Betty, who flaunted social conventions are on full display, not surprising but still shocking.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a slice of Texas history told from an eyewitness. Great details of Odessa’s obsession with high school football and life in that dusty oil field town. If you enjoy true crime stories this is a great short read.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in odessa you have always heard of the theater girl that haunt OHS school. Even went to the school at night did the whole three honks things (was a staple to do). As I got older I wanted to learn her story I just knew bits and pieces of it. I think her cousin wrote this book about your her very well and detailed. He really let us in oh how Betty character was and how life was then in Odessa. I had many questions going into reading this book and afterwards just left with a few. Betty life was tragically ended to soon and her killer was free and lived to be a old man things that made make you go hmm. worth the read.

[Miss Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good re-telling of a famous tale.

I really enjoyed the true crime part, but I was rather uninterested in the football part. I think he could've left that out. Otherwise pretty insightful.

[Jaclyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the true crime aspect of this, but I didn't really like anything else about it

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned of this story while watching Investigation Discovery and knew I had to read the book. Betty's death was tragic and heartbreaking, and her story really affected me. I'm unsure who to blame for it all, which makes it harder for me to comprehend.

[Kristine Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUDIO BOOK / PRINT COMBO REVIEW. In turns, I read this book with my ears and my eyes (and you don't want to miss the print version because of the numerous photographs author Shelton Williams included). It's a very quick story, coming in at just under 5 hours of listening and 181 pages, but readers will be invested -- particularly if they know West Texas. WASHED IN THE BLOOD vacillates between being a coming-of-age, 1960s memoir, glory-days-of-football story and an exploration of, social commentary about, and reflection upon the murder of the author's cousin, Betty. With a splash of courtroom drama and eye-witness testimony thrown in for good measure.

“No one noticed that I was a completely different person.”

More than anything, this book feels personal. Writing and telling Betty's story is clearly cathartic for the author, but also clear is that closure eludes him, even years after the murder. He sometimes speaks straight to Betty, and we even hear Betty speak (via her letters). Her words are painful to hear, and Williams doesn't shy away from sharing the impact of those words on him and all the questions that linger.

Readers who've read Williams's Covey Jencks series will recognize some of the real-life inspirations for his series, and listeners may recognize the audio book narrator, Kathy L. James, from the Covey Jencks books. In WASHED IN THE BLOOD, James does a wonderful job voicing Betty, but I think I would have preferred a male narrator because this is Williams's personal story. Additionally, James' delivery is somewhat unpolished, with too many mispronounced words, uneven delivery and transitions, and decidedly NOT Texan accent. 3.5 STARS for the audio.

UPDATE 5/2022: If you're getting this book in print, there are now three versions available, and I've read all versions. I recommend the one with cover that's drawn (with the letter jacket) because the book was recently updated with new content and was newly edited. HUGE improvement, and I'd give it 4.5 STARS. Overall, this is an engaging book that covers a lot of ground and leaves the reader thinking. I think the book would translate very well to the screen -- and maybe, just maybe that will happen.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading

If you love true crime this book is a sure winner. A truly sad tale that keeps you interested from start to finish.

[Jeanie Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

being from Odessa made me want to read this story. Knowing some of the characters and the places made it a bit more personal. Sad story but part of our history.

[Tammy May · Rating 5 out of 5]

After growing up in Odessa and always hearing about a "ghost named Betty", it was awesome to learn the real story. This is a very interesting read, and the outcome is shocking.