“Joe Strupp writes with a reporter’s instinct and a historian’s appreciation

for detail. He takes the reader on a riveting, personal journey as he peels

Death on St. Charles Street

Death on
back multiple decades in search of the catalyst for a gruesome multiple
killing that’s been shrouded in secrecy and shame for years.”
—Lauren Bright Pacheco, veteran TV producer and host of
Murder in Oregon and Murder in Illinois

On July 29, 1962, four of Joe Strupp’s relatives were found shot to death in
their South Dakota home.
The killer: Joe’s great-uncle, John Bowman.
The victims: Bowman, his wife, and their two teen-age sons.
The result: a shocking tale of simmering tensions, mixed motives, and deadly
outcomes that still harbors a mystery–why did it happen?
When Joe first heard about the tragedy 20 years ago, he began a long and
intense investigation into the family secret that revealed a tangled history
of mental illness, alcoholism, and still-unanswered questions as to why this
horrific crime occurred.
Why did a quiet, frustrated father with no history of violence kill his family in
cold blood and then take his own life, leaving no note of explanation?
Why did the priest who administered last rites leave the church soon after?
Why was the killer allowed to leave a mental hospital after years of troubling
incidents?
And why did Joe’s family keep it secret for 40 years?

Joe Strupp, an award-winning reporter for 35 years, has worked in newspapers,

magazines, television, radio, and the Internet, including decades on a variety of

Joe Strupp
crime beats and criminal cases on both coasts, with two stints in New Jersey,
where he remains on the staff of the Asbury Park Press.
His writing has appeared in MediaWeek, San Francisco magazine,
NJ Biz, New Jersey Monthly, Salon.com, and Poynter.org. He has
interviewed the likes of Rupert Murdoch, George W. Bush, Ben
Bradlee, and O.J. Simpson, and spoken on Fox News, MSNBC,
NPR, Voice of America, ABC News, and Sirius XM Radio.
Joe is also the author of three previous books: Killing Journalism:
How Greed, Laziness (and Donald Trump) Are Destroying News
and How We Can Save It, The Crookedest Street, and A Long Discovering my family’s murderous secret
Walk Home.

Joe Strupp
$15.95

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ISBN 978-1-7330875-5-1
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