Dastardly

By Clem Pellett

DASTARDLY is based on the following true story:Accidentally running across 60-year-old newspaper articles was how I learned details of my grandfather's murder - shot in the back seven times by a hitchhiker. From the clippings I learned the shooter was captured on April 5, 1951, the day after his dastardly deed. His arrest was followed by four years of highly contentious appeals, trials and what my grandfather's Shelby friends and relatives considered legal "shenanigans." Saving him from Montana's "Galloping Gallows" on more than one occasion, attorney Jerry J. O'Connell adroitly defended this confessed murderer, winning a life sentence. O'Connell was a Communist activist worthy of J. Edgar Hoover's personal attention. The fight between rural Montana frontier justice and McCathy era progressives captured the nation's attention. Later paroled (1969), the killer absconded, and remained at large for almost four decades. Then, in April 2009, while clearing out my mother's home after her passing, I discovered 60-year-old newspaper clippings concerning the murder. From these, I found the murderer's name and to my astonishment, I learned he had been a fugitive on the lam for almost four decades. That was it for me! The search was on! Finding this murderer became my cause celeb! Through determination, persistence and hard work! (I have to admit, a bit of serendipity as well.) A year later, success! I found the longest standing absconder in Montana history. The murderer is now back in prison. The capture of this criminal attracted worldwide attention. (A&E Biography Channel TV documentary "The Kid With the Hollywood Haircut", KIRO radio, Sky News, CBS News, CNN Justice, New York Daily News, LA Times, The Globe, Der Spiegel, to name a few) A few weeks after his capture, the piece de resistance! The media notoriety prompted a then unknown cousin to reach out and contact me. I now have an extended family that literally numbers in the hundreds!Utube Montana Justice presentationhttp://youtu.be/inGb3kIY45Y

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1515024202
• ISBN13: 9781515024200
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.6" x 6.0"