Beyond Cold Blood: The KBI from Ma Barker to BTK

by Larry Welch

Ma Barker and Pretty Boy Floyd once shot their way across the state, and Bonnie and Clyde were known to travel within its borders. Between 1933 and 1938, thirty bank robberies occurred in Kansas, while livestock thefts also grew at an alarming rate. Little wonder, then, that pressure was brought to bear on the state legislature to create a Kansas counterpart to the Texas Rangers or FBI.Larry Welch, tenth director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, now provides readers with the first history of that agency, spanning the years 1939-2007. His account includes, among other things, detailed case studies of the KBI's participation in the high-profile arrests of serial killers Francis Donald Nemechek of western Kansas and Dennis Rader, the infamous BTK of Wichita. His taut chapters also highlight the relentless investigators, dedicated forensic scientists, crime analysts, and everyone else who has labored on behalf of the KBI's pursuit of justice. They take readers behind the headlines to reveal how KBI agents played a key role in capturing Richard Hickock and Perry Smith of In Cold Blood fame, and consider other high profile cases such as Gary Kleypas's murder of a Pittsburg State student and KU student Shannon Martin's killing in Costa Rica.Born between the Great Depression and World War II as a select group of ten investigators, the bureau's earliest assignments reflected the needs of the bank robbery, homicide, gangsters, livestock theft (especially cattle rustling), and narcotics (notably "marihuana weed"). Welch shares the episode that established the KBI in the public eye, an attempted 1941 bank robbery in Macksville where two escapees from Lansing prison refused to surrender and died in a Main Street shootout with KBI agents. He then brings readers up to the activities of today's staff of 300—including a Cold Case Squad and state-of-the-art forensic labs—as it tackles the scourge of the new century, methamphetamine, and cybercrime, including child pornography and identity theft. Readers will thrill to the persistence and ingenuity evidenced by these accounts of bringing infamous criminals to justice—and even exonerating the wrongly convicted. Beyond Cold Blood blends true crime and institutional history to make must reading for all aficionados of danger.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2012

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Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know many of the cases and people involved, so that makes it very surreal. There were times I wished he had gone deeper into the case rather than naming names. More of in inside glimpse than what was read in newspapers but still more superficial than expected. Many parts were dry and when about to give up something interesting or numerous was said.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Welch is a very respected figure among the Kansas law enforcement community. Beyond Cold Blood is a down to earth chronology of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. This book highlights the inception of the bureau and moves along to touch on some of the agency's biggest cases. I was especially interested in the chapter on Sheriff Matt Samuels. Mr. Welch was, and I'm sure still is, personally connected to Sheriff Samuels' family as illustrated in the book. The depth of Mr. Welch's emotion gives weight and importance to that most unfortunate circumstance. Anyone interested in Kansas history and/or true crime should definely pick up this book.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted there to be more of the investigative part to the stories but it was mainly a recap of the famous cases in Kansas. Don't get me wrong-still fascinating and sick but not what I was looking for at this time.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The details about the various cases was very interesting, but the rest of the book was pretty dry.

I get the impression that this book is written for people with a direct tie to Kansas law enforcement, or the KBI.