BOUND IN SILENCE
by Christena Stephens
True Crime / Texas History / Nonfiction
Publisher: Stoney Creek Publishing
Page Count: 286 pages
Publication Date: February 26, 2024
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SYNOPSIS
On a nearly moonless night in October 1943, a single gunshot rang out in Littlefield, Texas. A prominent Texas doctor and his wife were found bound, shot, beaten, and murdered. The only witness: their five-year-old daughter, who was bound to silence and refused to speak about what happened for 70 years.
The heinous crime remains unsolved. For years, the courts tried to convict one suspect, but forensic evidence contradicted the prosecution’s case. Investigators, including the famed Texas Rangers, failed to bring anyone to justice.
Eight decades later, the questions linger over the plains of the Texas Panhandle: who killed the Hunts and why?
Author and historian Christena Stephens spent more than a decade researching the Hunt murders, re-examining every twist and turn in the legal process, uncovering new evidence, and drawing new conclusions about who might have been responsible. She also convinced Jo Ann Hunt to break 70 years of silence and tell her story for the first time. Armed with Jo Ann’s account, Stephens takes the reader back to that deadly night and through the years of trauma that followed.
Why did the criminal justice system repeatedly fail to bring anyone to justice? What could have scared a 5-year-old girl into a lifetime of silence? What did investigators miss? And most importantly, who killed Roy and Mae Hunt?
Bound in Silence is a true crime tour-de-force, a meticulously researched, impeccably told tale of unsolved murder on the High Plains.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christena Stephens is a native Texan growing up amongst cotton fields and spending time exploring the nature of the Llano Estacado. After earning two Master of Science degrees, she started a project to preserve ahistorical Texas ranch, thus began her interest in history, research, and writing. She did not intend to be a historian but was mentored by the best Texas historians. Several of her writings have been published in anthologies, along with her photographs. In science and history, truths need to be accurately told. That is her mission-truth and authenticity. She still resides on the Llano Estacado enjoying sunsets and chance porcupine encounters. She is an ardent advocate of wildlife conservation and her heart belongs to her dogs.
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REVIEW
More than a true crime drama, Stephens provides a rich context for the 1943 murders of Roy and Mae Hunt. With anecdotes from the lives of key players, detailed accounts of criminal trials in the Littlefield, Texas area that preceded the Hunts’, and vivid language describing the events, the author paints a picture of a tight-knit community rocked by the brutal killings.
The photos curated for the story, including ones from the crime scene, emphasize the grim reality of the tale. Moreover, the author’s interviews with the two Hunt daughters bring the book intimacy and rawness.
I was drawn to this book because my paternal grandparents lived in the Panhandle at the time of the murders. The history woven throughout the book gave me insight into the realities of the day and age.
I share the author’s frustration with a lack of answers and the miscarriage of justice. Her assertions that more could have – and should have – been done ring true all these decades later.
The author’s years of meticulous research and flair for storytelling are evident in the book. Her voice resonates on the pages, including her photos and thoughts about the case.
You will enjoy this story if you’re a true crime and Texas history fan.
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