2008-06-08 THE DARKEST NIGHT INDEED...

In 1973 in Casper, Wyoming, the paths of two twenty something lowlifes, Ronald Kennedy and Jerry Jenkins, intersected with that of two half-sisters, eighteen year old Becky Thompson and eleven year old Amy Burridge. None of their lives would ever be the same again. Becky and Amy had just finished up some last minute grocery shopping at a local store, when they realized that they had a flat tire. Kennedy and Jenkins offered to help them and give them a ride home.

Once they were in the car, however, it was clear that Becky and Amy were going to be taken to hell and back again. The upshot is that they were abducted and ultimately driven to the North Platte River where Amy was thrown from a bridge that spanned a gorge into the river over a hundred feet below. Becky was then raped by Kennedy and Jenkins, and then she, too, was thrown from the bridge into that same river and left for dead. The only difference is that she physically survived her ordeal and lived to tell the tale.

The author divided the book into three parts. In the first part, the author takes great pains to describe the town and the people who played a part in the unfolding drama. He also paints a poignant portrait of the two girls who had been abducted and treated so cruelly by fate. He also describes the details of the events that led up to the crime, the crime itself, and its immediate aftermath.

In the second part of the book, the focus is on the prosecution of the case. Again, the author gives much detail on the individuals who were going to be involved in the prosecution of the case, as well as those who were to be responsible for the defense of Kennedy and Jenkins. The author also gives details from the trial itself, in addition to the outcome.

In the third part of the book, the author details what became of Becky Thompson and notes the impact that this singular event had on her life. He also details what happened to Jenkins and Kennedy. The reader also discovers what became of the families of the victims, the families of the defendants, and those who were involved in the trial process. He also includes portions of a memoir written by Kennedy, which the author expertly dissects and analyses. This is, however, the Achilles heel in the book, as the self-serving drivel served up by Kennedy made this portion of the book drag somewhat.

This case was big news when it happened, and it shook the town of Casper to its core. In fact, the author knew Becky and Amy, as they were his next door neighbors in Casper, Wyoming, where he grew up. He was a junior in high school at the time that the crime occurred, and he recalls the impact that the crime had on not only the community but on his family, as well. This personal connection explains the well-spring of deep sadness that resonates throughout this well-written book and speaks to the reader. Meticulous in his research, it is clear that for this author this book was a labor of love, as the author brings to life with his prose all those whose lives had been touched by this heinous crime.