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Fall: The Rape and Murder of Innocence in a Small Town

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I am not normally one who is very keen on true crime stories. There is certainly nothing wrong with this genre, it just doesn't happen to be my cup of tea. In spite of that, `Fall' by Ron Franscell is a compelling account of a horrible incident.

The story interested me in part because it occurred in my hometown of Casper, Wyoming. I was also acquainted with one of the victims (years later) and know some of the others mentioned in this account. Even if I didn't have a personal connection, I would have to say that this book is very good. It is not good just for the story, but also for lessons that can be learned from these events.

It deals with the abduction of two sisters from a convenience store in small town America in 1973. One of them was thrown from a bridge into a canyon and killed instantly. The other one was raped and then thrown into the same canyon. She survived in part because she was driven to let her mother know what had occurred. Ironically, she ended up dying at the same spot 19 years later.

This book is important in telling the story of the potential dangers even in a relatively safe town, raising awareness so hopefully others may be safer in the future. It also brings to light problems with the criminal justice system that can cause more unintended suffering for victims. I recommend this book.

Below is a column that I wrote about this situation that was published in the Casper Star-Tribune on August 22, 1992 entitled, `The Possibility of Parole Can Kill'.

The death of Becky Thomson Brown is an agonizing loss for her family and friends.

Society always loses when it is robbed of a person of outstanding character and stature. Such a loss is greatly magnified when it is caused directly by a villainous act or indirectly when such a deed sets in motion a chain of events, culminating in calamity.

As many in Wyoming are well aware, Becky and her sister Amy were the victims of what was undoubtedly one of the most brutal crimes ever committed in the state. The two young sisters, 11 and 18, were abducted from a Casper convenience store in September 1973. Undeniably, the older girl was raped; both were thrown from the Fremont Canyon Bridge into the depths of the gorge below.

Young Amy did not live through the terrible fall. Amazingly, with injuries that could easily have been considered fatal, possessing an inner strength seldom demonstrated by the rest of us, Becky defied death and crawled from the murky depths of that canyon, summoned assistance, and eventually recovered to point the finger of guilt at the diabolical culprits who perpetrated this heinous crime.

In contradiction to her apparent near-miraculous recovery, the experience bound Becky in her own private hell for 19 years, until she died in a fall at the same fateful spot on the last day of July. This unfathomable irony led Natrona County Sheriff Dave Dovala to comment after her death: `She was raped and murdered 20 years ago, but she died last night.'

Although this remarkable young woman battled back from that terrible nightmare, her victimization did not end. A part of the system worked in this case. The police, prosecutor, trial judge, and the jury all did their jobs. They investigated, tried, and convicted the culprits of this impalpable crime.

Unfortunately, other elements of the system did not perform so well.

Several doddering octogenarians compromising a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court whimsically struck down the death penalty in the mid-1970s. This resulted in a sentence reduction to life imprisonment for the two child rapists/murderers. It is hard to conceive of a more fitting punishment than death for the type of vermin who could commit such unspeakable outrage.

As Wyoming lacks a statute providing for life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, even that option was unavailable for the new sentencing in this case. For more than a decade the terrible nightmare has recurred every time these deviate child killers have appeared before the parole board. On these occasions, Becky was forced to relive the horror, and experience the resurgence of her personal hell.

If society has any responsibility to its members, it is first to seek retribution against those who choose to violate every principle of human decency, and secondly, to avoid being itself guilty of compounding the trauma of a crime committed against a person. It is difficult to see how either duty was fulfilled here.

The chance that either of those guilty of this outrage will ever be released before they are themselves doddering octogenarians is rather slim. However, the system continued to subject Becky to the spectre of that possibility with annual parole board hearings.

Certainly the eventuality of their release becomes a matter of ever greater concern as the prison becomes increasingly overpopulated with those incarcerated for much lesser offenses, many of whom could be easily dealt with by some other means. (A large percentage of the inmate population is of a much higher caliber and may not appreciate even being housed with their ilk.)

A teenage girl was savagely traumatized and brutalized. Her younger sister was murdered outright. Every facet of her person was violated.

There is no way that such an atrocity could have been prevented from permeating her entire being. But society must face the fact that the effects of this ruthlessness may have actually been exacerbated by the very system entrusted with the eradication of this kind of social blight.

Few will ever have to experience such viciousness. Becky not only experienced, she survived, and lived for almost two decades afterward. Her contributions to the lives of those who knew her is difficult to overstate.

We must not allow her death to be in vain. We must demand that such abhorrent evil be punished swiftly and appropriately. If the perpetrators of such infamy must be allowed to live, let it be not only without the possibility of freedom, but without further emotional and spiritual assault on their victims and the victims' families.

Becky, your life was far too short! You gave much to many while you were here. May you now finally be at peace.

Many of you may recall a groundbreaking book titled "In Cold Blood" by famed author Truman Capote.
Written in the early 1960s, Mr. Capote claimed to introduce a new and compelling way of writing nonfiction, a technique he dubbed as the "nonfiction novel."
Actually, the term was misleading because it seemed to imply that the writer is embellishing the truth with fabrications from his or her imagination. That wasn't true - every fact reported in the book was accurate.
Instead, a better way to define the "nonfiction novel" is that is a factual account told in a way that uses the novelist's skills for constructing a story and adding vivid details.
The term most definitely fits "Fall", Ron Franscell's haunting book about the small-town abduction of two sisters in 1973 (Mr. Franscell's neighbors and friends). The abduction culminated in a rape and murder at a bridge that spanned over a 110-foot gorge. Both girls were thrown from the bridge. One survived. The other was traumatized for the rest of her life.
The effect of a crime this horrendous does not begin with the heinous deed, and end with a jury verdict. The sheer immensity is a mental infection that lasts for generations - in unspeakable torment for the victims and their families, in shock for a community, in macabre fascination and disgust for those who learn about the crime through the media.
In a style similar to "In Cold Blood", Mr. Franscell captures, from start to finish (if there is ever a finish), this terrible saga. He went to enormous lengths to provide vivid and unforgettable narrative, from extensive interviews with one of the murderers, to spending a night under the bridge on the 30th anniversary of the crime.
There's one important difference with Mr. Capote's book; in "Fall's" case, the author knew the victims. That heart-rending relationship to the story is evident throughout the book.
The end will floor you. If it was fiction, no one would believe it could happen.

FALL reaches out to everyone who cherishes the unique attributes of life in a close community, and to those who understand and accept that relationships which develop over generations--don't simply end, regardless of the circumstances. And FALL speaks just as powerfully to those who practice law anywhere in the criminal justice system in America, as well as the legislators who enact our statutes at both the State and Federal level.

FALL provides a hard-hitting yet poignant chronical of a senseless event perpetrated by two sociopaths who outdistanced an overburdened and often too lenient system. Ron Franscell avoids aggrandizing either the victims or the criminals, but focuses on the impact of this tragedy on the community where he grew up, and the people, like he, who--three decades later--are still conflicted by the terrible act.

The manner in which FALL is written is a tribute to the author's integrity, and the reader reaps all of the benefits. FALL goes beyond a must read. It should be placed in our homes in a prominent location to remind us of everything that is right with our system of justice--and everything that isn't.

Ron Franscell has penned an exceptional book. This story touched me very deeply. I've read numerous true-crime books where the hunt for the killer is the driving force. In Fall, we see how such a horrendous and cold blooded murder affected not only the family of the victims but the entire town of Casper Wy. I lived in Wheatland Wy. for a short time as a child and understood how devastating such a shocking crime could be.

This story brought home how violence touches everyone. It was sometimes not an easy read, but in the end, well worth it.

Ron Franscell draws you into the story of a tragic crime from the first few opening pages all the way to the last words. It was a book that I completed in two nights because it was hard to put down. Ron is able to allow you to feel, see, smell, hear all the events happening with his descriptive writing. He brings you into the lives of the victims as well as into the lives of the two sociopaths who committed an unspeakable crime against two innocent children. Fall is a remarkably well-written book, fully deserving of a 5-star rating.

Fall so vividly describes the town I grew up in, I was there again. . As I read, I heard the train, I could smell the refinery, I felt the wind whipping at my hair. I remember the night those girls were kidnapped. I wasn't on the bridge that night, but Francell made me feel as if I were. I felt the pain, the anguish and the fear of those two girls.

This book takes the reader into the heart of evil, unbelievably human. It also takes the reader to the heart of good and innocence and a family so tragically hurt. I couldn't put it down. It is so very real.

Please read this book!! It is a deeply moving account of how life suddenly changed in our town, how it could in any town.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Unfortunately it is a sad and heartbreaking story. However, you should not let that deter you from reading this excellent true crime story. Ron's writing style will keep you interested and involved with this tale from start to finish. When I got to the end of the book I actually wished it had been longer. He draws you into the story and the lives of the 2 victims in such a way that I wished I could have learned more about them. His description of the town, the neighbors, the heroes and the villains will make you feel like you were growing up in Casper, Wyoming as the story unfolded.

I had a copy of Ron Franscell's FALL two months before I read it--delaying because I knew it was a disturbing story with a sad ending. It's about the murder of a child and the rape and attempted murder of her teenage sister at a bridge outside Casper, Wyoming in 1973. Once into the book, however, I found it fascinating and hard to put down. The author's insights into the lives of those involved made me care about the people and become interested in the town. These are marks of a good writer.

FALL is a nice balance between objective reporting and subjective storytelling. The interweaving of the different levels--physical, emotional, metaphysical--makes it simultaneously powerful and entertaining. Franscell's obvious contempt for the two murderer/rapists is understandable in the telling of a story about a crime that so suddenly and profoundly affected his hometown and his own life and worldview.

Franscell uses creative imagery effectively throughout the book. The Wyoming wind that blows through Casper "...plays the bass line in the soundtrack of local life: low, constant, moving noise always thrumming in the background." A nice analogy.

Railroads are "steel veins" that "...carried essential nutrients to build the American West..."

The suffocating adulthood sadness of Becky, the surviving victim, is thus described: "Her depression sucked her down like a whirlpool over a storm drain. No matter how much she longed to escape, the pull of it confined her in a subterranean darkness where light shone irregularly and always just beyond her grasp." We are shown a woman who is helpless in her hopelessness.

Two paragraphs on the symbolism of bridges are also noteworthy. Franscell speaks of bridges as "...unnatural paths to new places, transitions in spirit as well as geography. On a bridge we are suspended between what lies ahead and what we left behind...bridges are symbolic of change, risk, transformation..."

This story needed to be written; it is an eloquent and jolting reminder that evil is always out there--a real, living entity, just awaiting opportunity. Those who read the Holy Scriptures believe that "Satan... prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. (I Peter 5:8)" Evil came to Casper, Wyoming in 1973.

Violence does not erupt in a vacuum. Violence almost always has a backstory. Violence breeds a pernicious, soul-wrenching and insidious aftermath. The aftershocks never stop reverberating through the lives of the survivors, the lives of family members, the lives of friends. The ebb and flow of life in a community is forever changed. The stain and the memories can never be erased.

After the violent act, all of the players are stripped of their privacy and their personal stories emerge. The victims and their families are (hopefully) treated with sensitivity and respect. The perps immediately become fodder for the media, and their darkest secrets are exposed when light is shined into the creepy lives they lived.

FALL: The Rape and Murder of Innocence in a Small Town, by Ron Franscell, is the true story of a crime Franscell lived through when he was a boy --- a crime that has haunted him for 30 years. As he ruminated, his memories began to take on a life of their own and ultimately compelled him to tell the story. Franscell is a lifelong newspaperman and a successful novelist. His storytelling skills are exquisite, thus bringing to readers his personal pain and expounding upon the monstrous crime he cannot forget, the embodiment of the nature of evil.

In an interview with his daughter, Ashley Franscell (now a journalist), he says: "While it's not a current story, it has some current elements. How do we confront our fears in a post-9/11 world? How do we awake from our false sense of security and move forward? Are communities bound by their ghosts as much as their triumphs? I can assure you that in the small city of Casper, Wyoming...where all this happened, it remains a fresh wound."

Two young girls who lived next door to the Franscell family were kidnapped, brutally beaten, raped and murdered. They were stepsisters in a blended family and were very close. Amy was only 11 years old, Becky was 18. A simple errand put them in the wrong place at the wrong time and led to their demise.

Their purchases made, they clambered into their car for the short ride home. But as soon as Becky reversed her vehicle, she knew she had a flat tire. When they got out of the car, two young men approached and offered to help. In Casper, Wyoming, in 1973, if someone offered to assist "damsels in distress," the girls would be grateful, not suspicious or afraid. Small town life had not prepared Amy or Becky to protect themselves from the kind of evil embodied in the two creatures who slithered into their young lives.

Jerry Jenkins: Sociopath...with a history of arrests and time in prison; was drunk and full of drugs that night. That was his life style.

Ronald Kennedy: Sociopath...with a criminal record and a stretch in the pen. He too was drunk, full of drugs and he was the one who "wanted to meet the girls."

After a charade of "trying to fix the tire," the men said they couldn't do it and suggested that the girls leave their car so the men could drive them home. How grateful these innocents were --- yes, yes, thank you, so kind --- until Kennedy shoved a knife against Becky's rib cage and changed the world for every citizen of Casper, Wyoming, forever.

The men were arrested almost immediately. Vigilantism, lynching, assassination and a host of other punishments were whispered among some in the community, who didn't have the patience to wait for a trial. "The local daily newspaper...knew public sentiment had grown angry and vengeful...[but] the paper didn't want to inflame the barely controlled rage any more than necessary."

Franscell shares painful memories and comments upon the ongoing awareness of the girls' death:

"Blood-memory runs cold sometimes.

My little brother's window faced...Amy's house. On chilly mornings, Lance sat on his window-sill...[soaking up the morning sun]. He was Amy's age [and] to him life was [simple, routine and safe.]

But after Amy died, something black trembled inside [him] down deep where it must have been hiding, silently and still. To Lance, [her house] was now the 'murder house,' and he couldn't bear to look at it, even walking down the street. It scared him, [and 30 years later it] scares him still."

FALL is a heartbreaking story but is also dynamic, which makes it an extraordinary book. Franscell has imbued every page with exquisite Didionesque prose, perceptive analyses of the events and the persons involved, and thorough interviews and research, drawing readers intimately into the vortex of a hideous crime. His personal observations and summaries at the end of chapters/sections allow readers to share his insights. Only someone with his talent can limn the raw pain (including his own personal angst) and objectively expound on the facts of this case. In bringing their story forward, he bears witness to Amy and Becky. In his unflagging forthrightness, he brings pathos to their story and the shift in the soul of a small town. Readers cannot help but feel a visceral reaction to what happened to the girls.

FALL is a journey into the nature of evil, survival and the state of humanity when it comes to protecting life. Franscell is not naïve when he asks the tough questions that probe the twisted psyches of men who have a sense of entitlement that propels them to commit atrocious acts against innocents and society.

How could such a savage thing become part of the whole town's collective DNA? This is the story about evil coming to me, to my heart. It would have come sooner or later...whether it settles in like dust or blasts through like a tempest, we cannot avoid it. If, like gravity itself, evil is a force of nature, can we avoid a freefall over a whole lifetime? Probably not. But we can acknowledge that it's a messy world, and humans weren't intended to live behind stone walls, so we must find our place in our messy world and take action seeking justice when we find evil, rather than surrender...or not truly live at all.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

FALL: THE RAPE AND MURDER OF INNOCENCE IN A SMALL TOWN by Ron Franscell is the heartbreaking story of two young girls whose innocence was stolen from them by evil.
BARBARA LIPKIEN GERSHENBAUM
BOOK REVIEWER TBR SEE ALL MY REVIEWS

Violence does not erupt in a vacuum. Violence that leads to rape and murder changes everyone, even those only tangentially acquainted with the victims and/or the monsters that commit these crimes. The aftershocks reverberate forever in the lives of the survivors, the lives of family members, the lives of friends, and the ebb and flow of the life of a community. The stain can never be erased.

FALL: THE RAPE AND MURDER OF INNOCENCE IN A SMALL TOWN by Ron Franscell is the true story of a crime he lived through as boy. Two young girls who lived next door to his family were kidnapped, brutally beaten, raped and murdered. They were stepsisters in a blended family and these girls were very close. Amy was eleven years old child; Becky was only eighteen. Their mom had sent them to a local grocery store for a few staples.

Their purchases made, they clambered into their car for the short ride home. But as soon as Becky reversed her vehicle she knew she had a flat tire. They got out of the car and were approached by two men who offered to help them. In Casper, Wyoming, in 1973 if someone offered to help "damsels in distress" the girls were grateful ... not suspicious or afraid. Small town life had not prepared Amy or Becky to protect themselves from the kind of innate evil of the two creatures who slithered into their young lives.

The men were arrested almost immediately Jerry Jenkins: sociopath with a history of arrests and time in prison. He was drunk and full of drugs that night. That was his life style. Ronald Kennedy: sociopath with a criminal record and a stretch in the pen. He too was drunk full of drugs and "wanted to meet the girls." After "trying to fix the tire" the men said they couldn't do it and suggested the girls allow the men to drive them home. How grateful these innocents were ... yes, yes, thank you, so kind ... until Kennedy shoved a knife against Becky's rib cage and forever changed the world for her, her sister, her family and every citizen of Casper, Wyoming .

FALL: THE RAPE AND MURDER OF INNOCENCE IN A SMALL TOWN is a sad and heartbreaking story, but it is also dynamic making this an extraordinary book. Franscell has imbued every page with approachable prose; perceptive analyses of the events and persons involved; through interviews and research he has drawn readers intimately into the story. His personal observations and summaries at the end of chapters/sections allow readers to share his insights. Only someone who has the talent to expound on the facts and who has the forthrightness to bear witness to Amy and Becky, could bring this story forward and honor not only those two little girls ... but also to inform, warn and to provoke readers to think about sex crimes against women.

Ron Franscell takes readers on a journey into the nature of evil, the pain of survival and with his own words asks questions and opines on the state of humanity when it comes to protecting life against the forces of darkness.

BARBARA LIPKIEN GERSHENBAUM