Hello motherbighead-ga:
The best way for you to begin your research is at the morgue -- the
local newspaper morgue, that is.
The Record Star, the Padre Island Moon, and the Kingsville Record
appear to be the local newspapers for the greater Port Aransas area,
so start with those. You can also approach NBC affiliate KRIS-TV to
ask if you can search their archives for reports about the case. (The
reporter who covered the case may even still be on staff, or the
station may be able to put you in touch with him or her.)
If the newspaper(s) won't let you use their morgues, then go to the
public libraries in those towns to look up the articles on microfiche.
If for some reason the libraries don't have those archived, then go to
the college or university library closest to Port Aransas or Corpus
Christi; university libraries keep newspapers on microfiche forever.
(If you try that and still strike out, you'll have to go to college
libraries in Houston and/or San Antonio.)
Just be sure you're checking the archives for any newspaper that would
have covered the case. Be aware that some newspapers that were in
business as of 1978 may now be out of print, or may have merged with
other local newspapers. A reference librarian should be able to help
ensure that you're covering all those bases.
The San Antonio and Houston papers may also have covered the murder,
if it was a particularly notorious crime. If multiple newspapers
covered the case, it may be easiest to search for articles at your
public library or at a large college library. Was the case infamous
enough to have attracted coverage from national or regional magazines?
Ask the reference librarian for help in searching periodical indexes
for articles about the murder.
The TV and newspaper reporter(s) who covered the case may still be on
staff or working at another local newspaper. Even if the reporter has
moved away or has retired by now, the newspaper should be able to put
you in touch with him or her. I'm a reporter (I used to work for a
newspaper) and reporters always know far more than they ever publish,
due to editorial (often justified on legal grounds) constraints. Some
of the best sources I've ever interviewed were reporters and news
photographers who'd been yearning to share information they'd been
forced to squelch decades earlier. If you're very lucky, some of these
veteran reporters may even be willing to let you review notes they
took during the case and any resulting trial.
If the case did go to trial, go to the Nueces County Courthouse and
ask for a copy of the transcript. You may be able to read a copy on
the premises (there may be a copy in the courthouse's law library),
or, the clerk or registrar may be willing to make you a copy, possibly
for a fee that covers paper and copier costs. If you don't have any
luck there, an attorney who participated in the trial may be willing
to lend you a copy. The D.A.'s office is sure to have a transcript on
file and may make you a copy, again, for a fee that covers coyping
expenses.
If you're doing this as an assignment: a research project for school,
or if you're writing about the case for a magazine (or if you're a
relative of one of the parties involved), this gives you a very
legitimate reason to contact any of the key players in this crime:
witnesses to the crime; friends of the accused and the victim;
attorneys involved in the case, and former law enforcement officials
involved in the case (all of the latter should be retired by now and
may well feel free to discuss the case openly). If key players are now
deceased, try to contact some of their immediate family members.
Check the phone book for these people and when you call them,
immediately (and very politely) explain why you are calling. Stress
that you don't have any agenda; you are researching the case
objectively and are keeping an open mind.
I'm in the dark here as I don't know which murder case this is or any
of the details. If the (presumed or convicted) killer isn't still
imprisoned or deceased, contacting people involved in the case may not
be a good idea unless you have a news organization standing behind
you; a news organization that you represent.
If you're researching this as a matter of great personal curiosity,
and if you believe there is even a possibility of upsetting someone
who might be unstable or desperate enough to threaten or harm you,
then I suggest you restrict your research strictly to reading old
articles.
Here's the best news I can give you: each source almost always leads
to you to one to five additional sources or resources. Be patient,
persevere, and one thing really will lead to another.
Best of luck with your research.
Regards,
nancylynn-ga |
