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Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty
A haunting tale of teenage murderers, mistaken identity, and a brutal justice system "In the tradition of Truman Capote 's In Cold Blood , Kunerth's Trout is seductive, repulsive, and compelling. I read it in one sitting. How fascinating is Trout ? I begged my wife to read the first ten pages, and she, too, was hooked."--Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of A Social History of Modern Florida "Kunerth skillfully provides a narrative, dramatic understanding of adolescent immaturity, the tragic consequences when it goes awry, and the chilling disconnect between our social constructions of adolescent immaturity and the harsh consequences awaiting teens in our criminal justice system."--Robert Kinscherff, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology On a cool Pensacola night in January 1991, just a few minutes before midnight, three teenagers pulled up to the Trout Auto Parts store. Patrick Bonifay, his body coursing with adrenaline, entered the store clad in a ski mask carrying a loaded gun, intent on carrying out a poorly laid plan. Little did he know that it was his life--as well as the lives of his companions--that was about to be forever changed.
Bonifay, Clifford Barth, and Eddie Fordham were hired to kill Daniel Wells by Robin Archer, who blamed Wells for losing his job nine months prior. The plan was orchestrated by the then-twenty-seven-year-old Archer, who allegedly promised his seventeen-year-old nephew, Patrick, a suitcase full of money after the job was done. But Wells had called in sick that night, and an innocent man was covering his shift.
In this shocking and thought-provoking volume, Jeff Kunerth recounts the events of that fateful night, the swift investigation of the murder, the trials and sentencing of the teens, and their subsequent lives within the Florida court and penal systems. Kunerth uses the story of the Trout Auto Parts murder and the lives of these boys to explore varying aspects of troubled adolescence, impulsive actions lasting but moments, and the national trend of trying juveniles as adults in court.
They were boys every teenager can identify with and circumstances every parent fears. Their story provides a disturbing, sad, and compelling inside look at the dynamics of individuals--not yet adults, but no longer children--who commit senseless, impulsive crimes. Trout is that rare book that continues to haunt you long after you've finished reading it.
Bonifay, Clifford Barth, and Eddie Fordham were hired to kill Daniel Wells by Robin Archer, who blamed Wells for losing his job nine months prior. The plan was orchestrated by the then-twenty-seven-year-old Archer, who allegedly promised his seventeen-year-old nephew, Patrick, a suitcase full of money after the job was done. But Wells had called in sick that night, and an innocent man was covering his shift.
In this shocking and thought-provoking volume, Jeff Kunerth recounts the events of that fateful night, the swift investigation of the murder, the trials and sentencing of the teens, and their subsequent lives within the Florida court and penal systems. Kunerth uses the story of the Trout Auto Parts murder and the lives of these boys to explore varying aspects of troubled adolescence, impulsive actions lasting but moments, and the national trend of trying juveniles as adults in court.
They were boys every teenager can identify with and circumstances every parent fears. Their story provides a disturbing, sad, and compelling inside look at the dynamics of individuals--not yet adults, but no longer children--who commit senseless, impulsive crimes. Trout is that rare book that continues to haunt you long after you've finished reading it.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 20, 2012
Well, this book certainly does give readers something to think about regarding our criminal justice system and the treatment of juveniles within it. Unfortunately, it doesn't do so in a straightforward, unbiased manner. Yes, I feel sympathy for children who grow up in horrible conditions. Yes, I like to hope that redemption is possible. However, I felt this book went a bit too far in its portrayal of the teen-aged perpetrators. Sure, their lives were less than ideal growing up, but that doesn't change the fact that they ended a man's life, changing the lives of his wife and children forever in addition to their own. Surely their victim and his family deserves more sympathy than they do? While I do agree that those not considered adults yet in the matters of voting, military service, taxes, etc. shouldn't be treated as adults by our justice system, neither should their crimes be made less of because of their age. The author says that he agrees with this statement, but I don't feel as if his writing backs it up.
I absolutely agree with him that teen-aged brains, as "parents and teachers have known forever" (and as the author states over and over--and over) don't work on the same levels as adult brains. As such, they often can't think things through to their inevitable consequences--however, there are still consequences, whether they've anticipated them or not. I agree with the author's premise that children do not belong on death row. Only people with the mental capacity to fully understand the finality of what they've done should receive that punishment, if indeed anyone should. That part of his argument I did not dispute.
It's hard to ignore, however, the fact that the author was clearly on the side of the juvenile offenders as he researched and wrote this book. He gives us more detail about their lives than is probably necessary, while sticking to mere bare bones information for everyone else. We hear a lot about what the boys are thinking and feeling throughout. We even read what the detectives and prosecutors are thinking--and inevitably, what those adults are thinking is how they can best use the system to get around the rights of the teens and prosecute them with every inch of the law. This really bothered me. Is that honestly what those men were thinking? The author of this book calls it "creative nonfiction" in his "notes on sources" section in the back. Which part did he get more creative with, the juveniles, or the adults?
Overall, this book certainly does make the reader re-evaluate our criminal justice system and how it regards minors. I just wish it did so in a more balanced manner.
I absolutely agree with him that teen-aged brains, as "parents and teachers have known forever" (and as the author states over and over--and over) don't work on the same levels as adult brains. As such, they often can't think things through to their inevitable consequences--however, there are still consequences, whether they've anticipated them or not. I agree with the author's premise that children do not belong on death row. Only people with the mental capacity to fully understand the finality of what they've done should receive that punishment, if indeed anyone should. That part of his argument I did not dispute.
It's hard to ignore, however, the fact that the author was clearly on the side of the juvenile offenders as he researched and wrote this book. He gives us more detail about their lives than is probably necessary, while sticking to mere bare bones information for everyone else. We hear a lot about what the boys are thinking and feeling throughout. We even read what the detectives and prosecutors are thinking--and inevitably, what those adults are thinking is how they can best use the system to get around the rights of the teens and prosecute them with every inch of the law. This really bothered me. Is that honestly what those men were thinking? The author of this book calls it "creative nonfiction" in his "notes on sources" section in the back. Which part did he get more creative with, the juveniles, or the adults?
Overall, this book certainly does make the reader re-evaluate our criminal justice system and how it regards minors. I just wish it did so in a more balanced manner.
July 5, 2012
I read Trout in a single sitting, it was engrossing. It is about four Pensacola teens who impulsively committed a murder during a robbery in the early 90's. While only one of them was actually guilty of murder, they received harsh sentences. The author details the crime, then proceeds question the use of the death penalty on teenagers.
I found myself incensed with some of the injustices, particularly in Texas, that have occurred in our inconsistent justice system toward creatures whose still-developing brains make them are in fact -somewhat retarded. North Carolina even executed a 14 yr old!
The author is objective, and it does not attempt to victimize the culprits. Their crime is awful. However, in presenting such clear wrongdoing the crime becomes a generic example to study juvenile delinquency. The result is that you both dislike them and pity them simultaneously.
Until we better understand that teens are not physically able to control themselves and reason the way an adult does, we cannot help teens make better choices or keep others safe from their crimes. This book inspired me to think differently about the way we teach, punish, and think about adolescence.
I found myself incensed with some of the injustices, particularly in Texas, that have occurred in our inconsistent justice system toward creatures whose still-developing brains make them are in fact -somewhat retarded. North Carolina even executed a 14 yr old!
The author is objective, and it does not attempt to victimize the culprits. Their crime is awful. However, in presenting such clear wrongdoing the crime becomes a generic example to study juvenile delinquency. The result is that you both dislike them and pity them simultaneously.
Until we better understand that teens are not physically able to control themselves and reason the way an adult does, we cannot help teens make better choices or keep others safe from their crimes. This book inspired me to think differently about the way we teach, punish, and think about adolescence.
September 8, 2018
Easy to read and very informative as to how the USA has dealt with juvenile delinquency. Kunerth was able to write an interesting read of a tragic situation.
January 23, 2020
Very sad book!
October 7, 2020
Extremely sad book.
April 5, 2023
Interesting take on teens and the justice system.
July 28, 2025
Wordpress Is Justice Served: https://isjusticeserved.wordpress.com...
September 29, 2012
Y’all, true crime is chilling. Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens and the Death Penalty by Jeff Kunerth is absolutely no exception. This book chronicles a crime committed by teenagers in 1991 Florida. The book also explores the nuts and bolts of how minors can be treated as adults in the court system.
Patrick Bonifay, Cliff Barth and Eddie Fordham killed a man at Trout Auto Parts at the urging of a slightly older friend who had recently been fired. One particularly gruesome factor of the crime was that they didn’t even kill the intended target! Billy Wayne Coker was killed instead of Daniel Wells (who had called in sick).
The details of how Patrick (the main instigator), Cliff (accomplice) and Eddie (getaway driver) carried out the deed are covered. I found Trout to be extremely well written. It read very much like a typical crime novel versus non fiction. Jeff Kunerth’s writing skills definitely impressed me.
Everything in Trout was also bumped up a notch because it was never far from my mind that these events actually occurred. I wanted to fist pump during the chapter describing how the police found the three stooges and then their subsequent questioning.
Trout also briefly covers the New York murders that spring-boarded the 1978 Juvenile Offenders Act, which allows minors to be tried as adults for committing murder. Florida followed with a similar law three years later. Very relevant, considering that two of our three model citizens were minors.
“In the summer of 1991, as Patrick, Eddie and Cliff awaited trial, the penalty for murder was execution or life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. For Patrick and Cliff, the determination of whether they would be indicted as adults for Coker’s murder was in the hands of a grand jury convened by Special Prosecutor Michael Patterson.
It would not be a difficult decision.”
Patrick Bonifay, Cliff Barth and Eddie Fordham killed a man at Trout Auto Parts at the urging of a slightly older friend who had recently been fired. One particularly gruesome factor of the crime was that they didn’t even kill the intended target! Billy Wayne Coker was killed instead of Daniel Wells (who had called in sick).
The details of how Patrick (the main instigator), Cliff (accomplice) and Eddie (getaway driver) carried out the deed are covered. I found Trout to be extremely well written. It read very much like a typical crime novel versus non fiction. Jeff Kunerth’s writing skills definitely impressed me.
Everything in Trout was also bumped up a notch because it was never far from my mind that these events actually occurred. I wanted to fist pump during the chapter describing how the police found the three stooges and then their subsequent questioning.
Trout also briefly covers the New York murders that spring-boarded the 1978 Juvenile Offenders Act, which allows minors to be tried as adults for committing murder. Florida followed with a similar law three years later. Very relevant, considering that two of our three model citizens were minors.
“In the summer of 1991, as Patrick, Eddie and Cliff awaited trial, the penalty for murder was execution or life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. For Patrick and Cliff, the determination of whether they would be indicted as adults for Coker’s murder was in the hands of a grand jury convened by Special Prosecutor Michael Patterson.
It would not be a difficult decision.”
January 20, 2012
Ok, I must admit that I love true crime novels. In loving them though, I like them to be "simply" the facts ma'am!". For some reason, there has been a rash of true crime novels in which the authors come in with a bias for/against something that the reader has shoved down their throats. Trout was no exception. Heck, the author didn't write it subliminally as I have seen in some...he sent it in blaring like a 50 piece band. The way that this book is written is that the poor misunderstood juveniles were victims of the judicial system rather than the cold blooded murder for hires that they were. Furthermore, the victim of their crimes was given approximately 1 page, if even that, in the book versus readers being subjected to every aspect, minus breast feeding status, of the upbringing of the offenders to justify the youths' actions. His family was given even less. Anyone involved in the investigation and prosecution of the offenders (and yes, they were offenders) were manipulative @$$holes set out to set these "boys" up. It took alot for me not to stop reading this book. Had I not committed to the publisher through netgalley to do so, it would have gone on my Didn't Finish pile. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the death penalty, imo, this is a poorly written book.
October 29, 2013
Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty is exactly what it says it is. It tells the story of the kids involved in the murder, and even their lives before everything changed one night. Jeff Kunerth does a great job showing the struggles of the teenagers involved. He tells the reader about everything from drugs, alcohol, murder, and theft.
The want the story is written is one of the high points, as it is easy to follow and tells you mostly everything involved in the boys backgrounds and their lives. Then the author tells all of the stories from the trial, the murder, and the execution in a beautifully written story.
One thing I did not like about this book, is that most of the events are repetitive. There are several scenes in which they have done the exact same job before or just simple hints were changed and that is where this book falls short in the long run.
Typically, I do like books like Trout, but I wasn't so high on this one. If someone is looking for an easy to follow slow paced action read, this is the one for them.
The want the story is written is one of the high points, as it is easy to follow and tells you mostly everything involved in the boys backgrounds and their lives. Then the author tells all of the stories from the trial, the murder, and the execution in a beautifully written story.
One thing I did not like about this book, is that most of the events are repetitive. There are several scenes in which they have done the exact same job before or just simple hints were changed and that is where this book falls short in the long run.
Typically, I do like books like Trout, but I wasn't so high on this one. If someone is looking for an easy to follow slow paced action read, this is the one for them.
April 23, 2016
I don't know why I've read a string of true crime books lately but this was a good one. Well written and interesting. These books are all so disturbing though. I need to read a nice, entertaining novel next, I'm starting to have nightmares!
March 16, 2013
Interesting true crime book that deals with juveniles, the criminal justice system, and the death penalty.
August 4, 2012
This true crime book explores the moral issues of giving teens the death penalty.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews