T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed Sundown at Sunrise: A Story of Love and Murder, Based on One of the Most Notorious Ax Murders in American History on + 345 more book reviews
This capable historical fiction/true crime novel tells a story which is little-known outside the rural farming community in Minnesota where the events of that tragic evening occurred, now more than a century ago, in March, 1917. In fact, many of the reviewers here note that they're from the area, and thus have an interest in local history.
The event's relative obscurity is somewhat surprising, actually, considering the fact that it's one of the most horrific ax murders in American history, reminiscent of the far-more-famous Villisca ax murders, which occurred in a small Iowa town in 1912. In that case, however, a family of six, as well as two young neighbor girls, were bludgeoned to death by an ax-wielding madman, which was almost certainly the work of a family annihilator serial killer, not a family member. In that case, the murderer was never positively identified.
"Sundown"'s author, Marty Seifert, who served as a representative in the Minnesota House for fourteen years, is a local who grew up just a few miles down the road from the murder site, which is about two miles from the town of Clements, in Redwood County. As such, he has intimate firsthand knowledge of the events that occurred that tragic day in 1917. In fact, he recalls that while passing by the old farm site as a child, his father would point to the property and tell him, "something terrible happened on that farm."
So terrible, in fact, that neighbors adjacent to the Kleeman's rented homestead reportedly got permission from the landowner to burn the house after it had sat empty for many years, in an attempt to erase any pervasive reminders of the event and to keep curious onlookers from visiting the site.
Those efforts weren't entirely successful, however. A fairly well-known YouTuber did a video about this event not long go, and toured the grounds with the current owner of the property, Alex Peterson, who purchased the land from his grandfather's estate after the latter passed away in 2020. His grandfather had initially purchased the property, consisting of about 200 acres, in 1988, so Alex, like Seifert, has vivid childhood memories of the site. His grandfather would also tell Alex the tragic story of the Kleeman family, from the time he was about twelve or thirteen.
Although Alex stated that he and his wife have performed some amateur archaeological excavations, much of the original home site remains untouched since at least the time his grandfather first purchased the property, which, locally, at any rate, has remained rather notorious. Reportedly, around the time the book came out, a team of paranormal investigators asked to conduct an investigation there, but as Alex's wife was pregnant with their fourth child at the time, which was also close to the the 100th anniversary of the event, he declined their request.
Although a motive has never been clearly established, what is known is that tenant farmer William August Kleeman, aged 31, murdered his entire family - wife, Maud, age 27, and their four young children, aged five, three, two, and just five weeks, with an ax at their rural farmhouse as they slept, and then hanged himself. Kleeman left a suicide note wherein he suggested, somewhat cryptically, that someone had broken into the house and demanded money - and had killed the entire family, aside from Kleeman himself - whereupon Kleeman subsequently hanged himself.
However, no one believed this far-fetched story: it was quickly determined by police and the coroner that William himself had killed his sleeping family. There were no signs of distress or duress, suggesting that his wife and children never even knew what hit them: how would a burglar or thief have slaughtered the sleeping family in their beds without waking them, all the while holding William hostage? - who clearly hanged himself rather than face justice and public shame for their murders.
The book is one of fiction, in that most of the events which recount the story of William and Maud are fictionalized, as is the dialogue, but it is certainly consistent with what could have occurred in the years just prior to the outbreak of World War I. What is fact is that Maud Petri was a pretty, outgoing and somewhat flirtatious young woman, by the standards of the rural farming community where she lived with her fairly wealthy parents and brother, but she was still considered a sensible and respectable girl who was well-thought of. She initially met William Kleeman, a dashing, handsome, but somewhat narcissistic and impulsive lad who had a reputation as a ladies' man, at a local dance. The two became immediately smitten with each other, their attraction mutual.
William was of far more humble origins than Maud. The son of a German immigrant, a man of more modest means with a much larger family to support, William was, in fact, at the time, working as a common farm laborer and living in a ramshackle house on his employer's property when he met Maud, although he clearly had more lofty aspirations. To his credit, he worked tirelessly to improve his lot, even if much of his effort was intended to impress Maud and her skeptical family, who were less than enthusiastic about their budding romance. Even the Petri's hired hand, who had harbored a crush on Maud since her teenage years, was unimpressed with her suitor, it appears, as he was conspicuously absent the day of their wedding, which was hosted at the Petri residence.
What else is known is that William harbored some rather odd, even somewhat disturbing quirks: he had a notorious distaste for religion of any descript, refusing to attend church services, or, at least in the novel, even enter the building - a stark departure from standard practice at the time, especially since his family were Lutherans. As previously mentioned, that included even being married at the Petri's church by their longtime pastor. He reportedly also liked to party, and was a regular at community social events, which itself may not have been untoward, but he also had quite the reputation as a playboy amongst the young women in the community, one who didn't seem in any hurry to settle down.
William was also very image-conscious and status-oriented, someone who could even be described as a pathological social climber who, at least as portrayed in the novel, constantly tried to impress people by throwing his money around. He purchased his own team of horses and buggy, which were more a hindrance than a help for his job as a farm laborer, ostensibly so that he could take Maud for rides in the country during their courtship, but he may have had a more ulterior motive.
Rather than save up to buy his own farmstead, especially considering the fact that he refused to ever purchase on credit - he paid cash for everything, which severely hampered his ability to buy his own land - William decided that the horses and buggy weren't good enough for him. He shortly thereafter also depleted his savings to buy a Sears-catalogue mail-order automobile, an ostentatious display of wealth which largely backfired. It was of such poor quality that it was an embarrassment, and rather than enhance his status, served as yet another stark contrast between his ability to provide for Maud, compared to her wealthy parents.
Despite many people's misgivings, however, the wedding went forward. Shortly thereafter, the pair moved into a house on her father's property. Maud was apparently pregnant by the time she returned from their week-long honeymoon, as their first child was born nine months later. As their young family quickly grew - four children were born in just about six years - they soon outgrew the house on her father's property and aimed to move to a larger one. As William refused to purchase anything on credit, and thus was unable to buy his own farm outright, the family lived on a rented property at the time of their deaths.
The other significant event in the story is that William agreed to take on a boarder, at the behest of the local school board. Mary Snelling, an attractive, well-educated young woman, had been hired to teach at the local schoolhouse, which was within a short walking distance of the Kleeman farm. This may have been the turning point which led to tragedy, however. Although there is no direct evidence to support the theory, it has long been whispered that pretty, young Mary at some point became William's mistress while living with them. Seifert even claims that the schoolteacher was exhibiting signs of pregnancy - specifically, symptoms of morning sickness - the week of the murders, when she departed rather suddenly to visit relatives.
Mary was thus out of town on the day of the murders, but it was she who ultimately discovered the body of William Kleeman, hanging lifelessly from the ceiling in his dining room by a rope around his neck the day of her return. She did not discover the bodies of the other family members initially, but reportedly found and read his suicide note, fled the house, and contacted the authorities, who then searched the house and uncovered a gruesome scene: each of the other five family members had been murdered with an ax blow to the head, killed in their beds while they slept. The murder weapon was recovered at the scene.
Not surprisingly, the event resulted in a media frenzy, if one largely confined to the local area. It still became fodder for all manner of wild speculation about the nature of the crime, the perpetrator and the victims, which has persisted for over a century, now. The crime admittedly wasn't as widely publicized as the Villisca murders, probably because there were no trials or lawsuits associated with it: authorities almost immediately concluded that they had their man, William Kleeman himself, and closed the case, even if a specific motive for the terrible crime remained elusive. However, this new book, which is at least based on solid evidence and takes only a modest amount of poetic license, as it were, will nonetheless bring the little-known event to a much larger audience, which is likely to prompt additional speculation.
Many theories about the case have been circulated for the past century, but no real motive has ever been established. An article in the "Windom Reporter," published shortly after the event, is perhaps most representative of the general belief at the time, when it speculated that "Mr. Kleeman, had, in a fit of temporary insanity, killed his wife and four children, and then hung himself. Financial trouble is said to be the cause." This latter assertion was refuted by both families, however, who asserted that the young family was actually in good financial standing. Were they to have fallen on hard times, Maud's fairly wealthy family would certainly have stepped in to assist.
"The Redwood Gazette" (Apr. 4, 1917) suggested, in contrast, that "the rumor that financial affairs was the cause of worry and dementia has also been silenced, by relatives, who state that the family had no cause for anxiety over money matters. In the apparent absence of any motive, it is only charitable to accept the only plausible theory - the act being the action of a mentally deranged person."
The coroner's inquest (essentially a mini-trial, where cause and manner of death were presented and determined, along with the identification a potential perpetrator) came to a similar conclusion, or, rather, a lack thereof. It determined that Kleeman had killed his family, despite vague suggestions to the contrary in his suicide note, but no motive was ever agreed upon. The manner of death was, of course, determined to be homicide, in the case of his family, and suicide, in the case of Kleeman himself.
At this point, there really isn't much else to go on, and, given the passage of time, there probably won't be any in the future. The case has been laid to rest, along with the victims and perpetrator. The parents, surviving siblings, friends, co-workers and neighbors, however, then had to come to terms with the tragedy and to live with the terrible aftermath. Apparently, one of them couldn't, which essentially makes William directly responsible for one more death.
According to the author - and I don't think this is fiction - his dear friend John, the son of his former employer, who had few if any other friends owing to a severe stutter and crippling shyness, himself committed suicide two weeks after William's funeral. He reportedly also left a note, stating simply, "I lost my only friend. Forgive me, Momma." John had hanged himself in a shed and was discovered by his father when he failed to show up for supper.
The grieving parents also had to interact with each other, even over the issue of burials. Eventually, they mutually agreed to have two of the children buried near William, and two buried near Maud, as, understandably, Maud's parents refused to let her be buried next to William, even if that meant that she would be separated from two of her children for all eternity. Although the author was apparently unaware of the fact at the time, according to burial records, the entire family is buried in the same cemetery, Redwood Falls Cemetery - just not together. William August Kleeman (b. 1886) is buried alongside his two daughters, Gladys Alice (b. 1911) and Lois Rosamund (b. 1913). Their marker simply states "Kleeman," and omits any detailed information about the three individuals, including first names, birth or death date. William's parents August (a German immigrant) and Wilhelmine "Minnie" Kleeman, who survived him by 30 years, are also buried there. His mother was so distraught that she did not even attend her son's funeral.
Cemetery records also show that Maud (b. 1889) and the other two children are likewise interred in Redwood Falls Cemetery, alongside other Petri family members. They are located near the marked grave of William Petri, but Maud, her parents Clara and and Henry, and two of the children, son Gordon (b. 1915) and little Rosadell, only about five weeks old at the time of her murder, lie in unmarked graves (Lot 14, Block 6, Division 3, in "beds 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7"). It appears that the family desired perpetual anonymity and privacy: even a local newspaper article in the "Redwood Gazette," dated April 4, 1917, refers to the cemetery simply as "the burial ground where the interment was made."
For the most part, the story has faded into obscurity over the last century, other than for die-hard true crime enthusiasts. The ax is now housed at a local historical museum but is not on public display. Little remains of the original Kleeman homestead: there's now just the stone foundation of the original house, a crumbling chicken coop, which was later repurposed as a utility shed, a well, which does still retain the original, rusted iron pump that the family themselves would have actually used, and a long, unpaved driveway which leads to a small wooded area atop a low mound. Thus, although some old outbuildings can still be found at the site, nothing but the stone footprint remains of the house, which was razed to the ground. Anything still on the site is also engulfed in a thick grove of trees and an overgrowth of brush, which obscures most of whatever might remain from view.
The Sunrise schoolhouse where Mary Snelling, the Kleeman's boarder, taught also still survives, but not on the original site. It was pulled from its foundation and relocated to nearby Rowena, about ten miles from the farm - which is really just a grain elevator and some outbuildings now - several decades ago. Strangely, it appears that the old schoolhouse has been repurposed to serve as a storage building at the grain elevator. It was formerly located just a stone's throw from the Kleeman home - which was the point of having the teacher board with them. The school was visible from and within easy walking distance of the house, even in winter, when deep snow would have made the roads all but impassible. Apparently, a stop sign at an intersection of the main road now marks the site where the schoolhouse once stood. It actually remained in use until the 1960s, when it was finally shuttered and moved from its original location to the present site, where it sits, in a significant state of disrepair. Owing to harsh environmental conditions, however, it is likely not to last much longer, if efforts are not undertaken to preserve or protect it.
Nor was Mary Snelling, the teacher who boarded with the Kleemans and who discovered William's body, long for this world. She died in Oct., 1918 of influenza, at age 23, only a year and a half after the killings, during the epidemic of 1918-1919. After the murders, she resigned her post and moved in with her sister. There is no record of her ever having had a child, which calls into question the speculation that she was William Kleeman's mistress who was experiencing symptoms of morning sickness the week of the murders, or that she had an illegitimate child by him.
However, a genealogical researcher recently suggested that Mary Snelling was not the schoolteacher's real name: rather, her real identity was Ruth Jane Snyder. There is still no record of Mary/Ruth having a baby, but the researcher has raised the possibility that a baby born into the family, Earl Ray Dorman II, in either 1916 or 1917 (the birth date is inconsistent, giving rise to even more suspicion that something was amiss) was actually the son of Ruth Jane Snyder and William Kleeman. Earl II died and was cremated in 1988, so no remains were preserved to test whether he was actually related to William Kleeman. Earl II did have a son, however, Earl Ray Dorman, III, so there are living descendants, and, hence the possibility that they may someday perform a DNA test to determine whether the rumors are true. The mystery remains, as does the ultimate motive of why William Kleeman did the unthinkable and slaughtered his entire family.
This is a capable novel, in a similar vein as Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." It's a fairly quick read, as the prose is simple, but engaging, and it is a truly captivating, but tragic story - sad in the sense that "Titanic" was sad, because you get to know the characters well, but already know their ultimate fates. Readers expecting a gory, detailed account of the killings will be disappointed, however, because only about 20 pages or so discuss the crimes directly. Almost all the content is about William and Maude's romance and life together, as well as a thorough introduction to the close-knit, rural community in which they lived and died. If you're looking for thick description of the murders, look elsewhere. This novel is a respectful yet honest account of one of the most terrible episodes in Minnesota history, which shouldn't be forgotten.
The event's relative obscurity is somewhat surprising, actually, considering the fact that it's one of the most horrific ax murders in American history, reminiscent of the far-more-famous Villisca ax murders, which occurred in a small Iowa town in 1912. In that case, however, a family of six, as well as two young neighbor girls, were bludgeoned to death by an ax-wielding madman, which was almost certainly the work of a family annihilator serial killer, not a family member. In that case, the murderer was never positively identified.
"Sundown"'s author, Marty Seifert, who served as a representative in the Minnesota House for fourteen years, is a local who grew up just a few miles down the road from the murder site, which is about two miles from the town of Clements, in Redwood County. As such, he has intimate firsthand knowledge of the events that occurred that tragic day in 1917. In fact, he recalls that while passing by the old farm site as a child, his father would point to the property and tell him, "something terrible happened on that farm."
So terrible, in fact, that neighbors adjacent to the Kleeman's rented homestead reportedly got permission from the landowner to burn the house after it had sat empty for many years, in an attempt to erase any pervasive reminders of the event and to keep curious onlookers from visiting the site.
Those efforts weren't entirely successful, however. A fairly well-known YouTuber did a video about this event not long go, and toured the grounds with the current owner of the property, Alex Peterson, who purchased the land from his grandfather's estate after the latter passed away in 2020. His grandfather had initially purchased the property, consisting of about 200 acres, in 1988, so Alex, like Seifert, has vivid childhood memories of the site. His grandfather would also tell Alex the tragic story of the Kleeman family, from the time he was about twelve or thirteen.
Although Alex stated that he and his wife have performed some amateur archaeological excavations, much of the original home site remains untouched since at least the time his grandfather first purchased the property, which, locally, at any rate, has remained rather notorious. Reportedly, around the time the book came out, a team of paranormal investigators asked to conduct an investigation there, but as Alex's wife was pregnant with their fourth child at the time, which was also close to the the 100th anniversary of the event, he declined their request.
Although a motive has never been clearly established, what is known is that tenant farmer William August Kleeman, aged 31, murdered his entire family - wife, Maud, age 27, and their four young children, aged five, three, two, and just five weeks, with an ax at their rural farmhouse as they slept, and then hanged himself. Kleeman left a suicide note wherein he suggested, somewhat cryptically, that someone had broken into the house and demanded money - and had killed the entire family, aside from Kleeman himself - whereupon Kleeman subsequently hanged himself.
However, no one believed this far-fetched story: it was quickly determined by police and the coroner that William himself had killed his sleeping family. There were no signs of distress or duress, suggesting that his wife and children never even knew what hit them: how would a burglar or thief have slaughtered the sleeping family in their beds without waking them, all the while holding William hostage? - who clearly hanged himself rather than face justice and public shame for their murders.
The book is one of fiction, in that most of the events which recount the story of William and Maud are fictionalized, as is the dialogue, but it is certainly consistent with what could have occurred in the years just prior to the outbreak of World War I. What is fact is that Maud Petri was a pretty, outgoing and somewhat flirtatious young woman, by the standards of the rural farming community where she lived with her fairly wealthy parents and brother, but she was still considered a sensible and respectable girl who was well-thought of. She initially met William Kleeman, a dashing, handsome, but somewhat narcissistic and impulsive lad who had a reputation as a ladies' man, at a local dance. The two became immediately smitten with each other, their attraction mutual.
William was of far more humble origins than Maud. The son of a German immigrant, a man of more modest means with a much larger family to support, William was, in fact, at the time, working as a common farm laborer and living in a ramshackle house on his employer's property when he met Maud, although he clearly had more lofty aspirations. To his credit, he worked tirelessly to improve his lot, even if much of his effort was intended to impress Maud and her skeptical family, who were less than enthusiastic about their budding romance. Even the Petri's hired hand, who had harbored a crush on Maud since her teenage years, was unimpressed with her suitor, it appears, as he was conspicuously absent the day of their wedding, which was hosted at the Petri residence.
What else is known is that William harbored some rather odd, even somewhat disturbing quirks: he had a notorious distaste for religion of any descript, refusing to attend church services, or, at least in the novel, even enter the building - a stark departure from standard practice at the time, especially since his family were Lutherans. As previously mentioned, that included even being married at the Petri's church by their longtime pastor. He reportedly also liked to party, and was a regular at community social events, which itself may not have been untoward, but he also had quite the reputation as a playboy amongst the young women in the community, one who didn't seem in any hurry to settle down.
William was also very image-conscious and status-oriented, someone who could even be described as a pathological social climber who, at least as portrayed in the novel, constantly tried to impress people by throwing his money around. He purchased his own team of horses and buggy, which were more a hindrance than a help for his job as a farm laborer, ostensibly so that he could take Maud for rides in the country during their courtship, but he may have had a more ulterior motive.
Rather than save up to buy his own farmstead, especially considering the fact that he refused to ever purchase on credit - he paid cash for everything, which severely hampered his ability to buy his own land - William decided that the horses and buggy weren't good enough for him. He shortly thereafter also depleted his savings to buy a Sears-catalogue mail-order automobile, an ostentatious display of wealth which largely backfired. It was of such poor quality that it was an embarrassment, and rather than enhance his status, served as yet another stark contrast between his ability to provide for Maud, compared to her wealthy parents.
Despite many people's misgivings, however, the wedding went forward. Shortly thereafter, the pair moved into a house on her father's property. Maud was apparently pregnant by the time she returned from their week-long honeymoon, as their first child was born nine months later. As their young family quickly grew - four children were born in just about six years - they soon outgrew the house on her father's property and aimed to move to a larger one. As William refused to purchase anything on credit, and thus was unable to buy his own farm outright, the family lived on a rented property at the time of their deaths.
The other significant event in the story is that William agreed to take on a boarder, at the behest of the local school board. Mary Snelling, an attractive, well-educated young woman, had been hired to teach at the local schoolhouse, which was within a short walking distance of the Kleeman farm. This may have been the turning point which led to tragedy, however. Although there is no direct evidence to support the theory, it has long been whispered that pretty, young Mary at some point became William's mistress while living with them. Seifert even claims that the schoolteacher was exhibiting signs of pregnancy - specifically, symptoms of morning sickness - the week of the murders, when she departed rather suddenly to visit relatives.
Mary was thus out of town on the day of the murders, but it was she who ultimately discovered the body of William Kleeman, hanging lifelessly from the ceiling in his dining room by a rope around his neck the day of her return. She did not discover the bodies of the other family members initially, but reportedly found and read his suicide note, fled the house, and contacted the authorities, who then searched the house and uncovered a gruesome scene: each of the other five family members had been murdered with an ax blow to the head, killed in their beds while they slept. The murder weapon was recovered at the scene.
Not surprisingly, the event resulted in a media frenzy, if one largely confined to the local area. It still became fodder for all manner of wild speculation about the nature of the crime, the perpetrator and the victims, which has persisted for over a century, now. The crime admittedly wasn't as widely publicized as the Villisca murders, probably because there were no trials or lawsuits associated with it: authorities almost immediately concluded that they had their man, William Kleeman himself, and closed the case, even if a specific motive for the terrible crime remained elusive. However, this new book, which is at least based on solid evidence and takes only a modest amount of poetic license, as it were, will nonetheless bring the little-known event to a much larger audience, which is likely to prompt additional speculation.
Many theories about the case have been circulated for the past century, but no real motive has ever been established. An article in the "Windom Reporter," published shortly after the event, is perhaps most representative of the general belief at the time, when it speculated that "Mr. Kleeman, had, in a fit of temporary insanity, killed his wife and four children, and then hung himself. Financial trouble is said to be the cause." This latter assertion was refuted by both families, however, who asserted that the young family was actually in good financial standing. Were they to have fallen on hard times, Maud's fairly wealthy family would certainly have stepped in to assist.
"The Redwood Gazette" (Apr. 4, 1917) suggested, in contrast, that "the rumor that financial affairs was the cause of worry and dementia has also been silenced, by relatives, who state that the family had no cause for anxiety over money matters. In the apparent absence of any motive, it is only charitable to accept the only plausible theory - the act being the action of a mentally deranged person."
The coroner's inquest (essentially a mini-trial, where cause and manner of death were presented and determined, along with the identification a potential perpetrator) came to a similar conclusion, or, rather, a lack thereof. It determined that Kleeman had killed his family, despite vague suggestions to the contrary in his suicide note, but no motive was ever agreed upon. The manner of death was, of course, determined to be homicide, in the case of his family, and suicide, in the case of Kleeman himself.
At this point, there really isn't much else to go on, and, given the passage of time, there probably won't be any in the future. The case has been laid to rest, along with the victims and perpetrator. The parents, surviving siblings, friends, co-workers and neighbors, however, then had to come to terms with the tragedy and to live with the terrible aftermath. Apparently, one of them couldn't, which essentially makes William directly responsible for one more death.
According to the author - and I don't think this is fiction - his dear friend John, the son of his former employer, who had few if any other friends owing to a severe stutter and crippling shyness, himself committed suicide two weeks after William's funeral. He reportedly also left a note, stating simply, "I lost my only friend. Forgive me, Momma." John had hanged himself in a shed and was discovered by his father when he failed to show up for supper.
The grieving parents also had to interact with each other, even over the issue of burials. Eventually, they mutually agreed to have two of the children buried near William, and two buried near Maud, as, understandably, Maud's parents refused to let her be buried next to William, even if that meant that she would be separated from two of her children for all eternity. Although the author was apparently unaware of the fact at the time, according to burial records, the entire family is buried in the same cemetery, Redwood Falls Cemetery - just not together. William August Kleeman (b. 1886) is buried alongside his two daughters, Gladys Alice (b. 1911) and Lois Rosamund (b. 1913). Their marker simply states "Kleeman," and omits any detailed information about the three individuals, including first names, birth or death date. William's parents August (a German immigrant) and Wilhelmine "Minnie" Kleeman, who survived him by 30 years, are also buried there. His mother was so distraught that she did not even attend her son's funeral.
Cemetery records also show that Maud (b. 1889) and the other two children are likewise interred in Redwood Falls Cemetery, alongside other Petri family members. They are located near the marked grave of William Petri, but Maud, her parents Clara and and Henry, and two of the children, son Gordon (b. 1915) and little Rosadell, only about five weeks old at the time of her murder, lie in unmarked graves (Lot 14, Block 6, Division 3, in "beds 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7"). It appears that the family desired perpetual anonymity and privacy: even a local newspaper article in the "Redwood Gazette," dated April 4, 1917, refers to the cemetery simply as "the burial ground where the interment was made."
For the most part, the story has faded into obscurity over the last century, other than for die-hard true crime enthusiasts. The ax is now housed at a local historical museum but is not on public display. Little remains of the original Kleeman homestead: there's now just the stone foundation of the original house, a crumbling chicken coop, which was later repurposed as a utility shed, a well, which does still retain the original, rusted iron pump that the family themselves would have actually used, and a long, unpaved driveway which leads to a small wooded area atop a low mound. Thus, although some old outbuildings can still be found at the site, nothing but the stone footprint remains of the house, which was razed to the ground. Anything still on the site is also engulfed in a thick grove of trees and an overgrowth of brush, which obscures most of whatever might remain from view.
The Sunrise schoolhouse where Mary Snelling, the Kleeman's boarder, taught also still survives, but not on the original site. It was pulled from its foundation and relocated to nearby Rowena, about ten miles from the farm - which is really just a grain elevator and some outbuildings now - several decades ago. Strangely, it appears that the old schoolhouse has been repurposed to serve as a storage building at the grain elevator. It was formerly located just a stone's throw from the Kleeman home - which was the point of having the teacher board with them. The school was visible from and within easy walking distance of the house, even in winter, when deep snow would have made the roads all but impassible. Apparently, a stop sign at an intersection of the main road now marks the site where the schoolhouse once stood. It actually remained in use until the 1960s, when it was finally shuttered and moved from its original location to the present site, where it sits, in a significant state of disrepair. Owing to harsh environmental conditions, however, it is likely not to last much longer, if efforts are not undertaken to preserve or protect it.
Nor was Mary Snelling, the teacher who boarded with the Kleemans and who discovered William's body, long for this world. She died in Oct., 1918 of influenza, at age 23, only a year and a half after the killings, during the epidemic of 1918-1919. After the murders, she resigned her post and moved in with her sister. There is no record of her ever having had a child, which calls into question the speculation that she was William Kleeman's mistress who was experiencing symptoms of morning sickness the week of the murders, or that she had an illegitimate child by him.
However, a genealogical researcher recently suggested that Mary Snelling was not the schoolteacher's real name: rather, her real identity was Ruth Jane Snyder. There is still no record of Mary/Ruth having a baby, but the researcher has raised the possibility that a baby born into the family, Earl Ray Dorman II, in either 1916 or 1917 (the birth date is inconsistent, giving rise to even more suspicion that something was amiss) was actually the son of Ruth Jane Snyder and William Kleeman. Earl II died and was cremated in 1988, so no remains were preserved to test whether he was actually related to William Kleeman. Earl II did have a son, however, Earl Ray Dorman, III, so there are living descendants, and, hence the possibility that they may someday perform a DNA test to determine whether the rumors are true. The mystery remains, as does the ultimate motive of why William Kleeman did the unthinkable and slaughtered his entire family.
This is a capable novel, in a similar vein as Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." It's a fairly quick read, as the prose is simple, but engaging, and it is a truly captivating, but tragic story - sad in the sense that "Titanic" was sad, because you get to know the characters well, but already know their ultimate fates. Readers expecting a gory, detailed account of the killings will be disappointed, however, because only about 20 pages or so discuss the crimes directly. Almost all the content is about William and Maude's romance and life together, as well as a thorough introduction to the close-knit, rural community in which they lived and died. If you're looking for thick description of the murders, look elsewhere. This novel is a respectful yet honest account of one of the most terrible episodes in Minnesota history, which shouldn't be forgotten.
