Tunnel Vision

“Vivid prose plunges the reader into the politically fraught, self-contained world of a military base” and a chilling true case of triple murder (Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine). Carlton “Butch” Smith... Read more

“Vivid prose plunges the reader into the politically fraught, self-contained world of a military base” and a chilling true case of triple murder (Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine). Carlton “Butch” Smith was a troubled teenager who’d been kicked out of school for aggressive behavior. His parents lived at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and when Butch was home with them, his life was fairly normal. But that all changed on August, 24, 1981, when Butch’s sister, aunt, and cousin were found slain in his parents’ house. It was a horrifying crime that shook the Marine base community, not to mention the Smith family—especially when Butch was named the prime suspect. In Tunnel Vision, reporter and true crime author N. P. Simpson delves into this young man’s harrowing past. She also provides a detailed chronicle of the grisly murders and the complex case that followed—a case of conflicting confessions, a mysterious second suspect who was never found, and difficult questions of jurisdiction between military, state, and federal courts. Less