Bad Boy from Rosebud: The Murderous Life of Kenneth Allen McDuff

Author’s Notes and Acknowledgments

Author’s Notes and Acknowledgments Because of the utterly bizarre stories and characters in this book, I am concerned that some episodes will be misread as insensitive or irreverent attempts at dark humor. With the exception of occasional playful banter between police officers, this book is incredible—not funny. I firmly believe in the necessity of historians keeping their personal passion out of their writing, but that was very difficult to do with this book. I cannot imagine how anyone could report this story and not be outraged. For me, this was an intensely powerful personal journey, but my documentation is exhaustive, and it speaks for itself. I also freely admit to having a great admiration for the remarkable men and women who brought McDuff to justice. This is a work of non-fiction; all of the characters are/were real people and all of the episodes are documented through interviews, official records, sworn statements, or eyewitness testimony. I have tried to make clear those few instances where I have drawn conclusions or made assumptions . Some of Kenneth Allen McDuff’s victims were prostitutes who lived tragic lives in a degraded subculture. Because some of them have surviving family members, I agonized over how to strike a balance between sensitivity and brutal honesty about the destructive power of prostitution and drugs. I made up my mind after watching the television network premier of the movie Pretty Woman. I could not help but wonder how many young girls throughout America were left with the impression, even for a moment, that whores look like Julia Roberts, are picked up by handsome Richard Geres in $200,000 cars, and taken to five-star hotels for a week of champagne and strawberries, spending sprees, opera, and polo matches. The truth is that there is no such thing as “safe sex” for prostitutes . Prostitution is a tool for those who hate, not love, women. It makes beautiful women ugly—and it kills them. In my treatment of this tragic topic, I want to make clear that this book does not suggest that these women deserved the treatment inflicted on them by Kenneth McDuff. I sincerely ask for the understanding of those who may be hurt by uncomfortable truths, but I am determined this book will not add to the dangerous notion that drugs and prostitution are safe—much less glamorous. ix x Bad Boy from Rosebud In producing Bad Boy from Rosebud, I collected many thousands of pages of official and unofficial documents. Quite often, I was allowed to view reports that are not yet public record. On other occasions, during interviews, sources gave me information on the condition that they not be identified. Since this is an account of relatively recent crimes, and since most of the major characters are still alive, I accepted those conditions . Information from confidential documents will hereafter be cited as “Confidential Document.” Confidential information secured through an interview will be hereafter cited as “Confidential Source.” In some instances I used only first names, slightly-altered first names, or nicknames of some individuals who deserve privacy or a chance to reform themselves. In the footnotes, these names are bracketed. Finally, social graces do not always accompany history. The world of Kenneth Allen McDuff can neither be described nor understood without the profoundly disturbing use of its “native language” and graphic descriptions of its inhabitants and what they do. ——— It must be difficult living with someone writing a book about a monstrous serial killer. And yet, my wife and soul mate, Laura, patiently allowed me to work on this very large project for over a year, sapping nearly all of our vacation days, weekends, and spare time. On those few occasions when we went out, friends inevitably asked us about McDuff. She could have reasonably put an end to such an immense distraction to our lives. Instead, when she could, she helped. She is an expert writer and editor, who helped to craft a first-rate book. (At least those parts she could bear to read.) Our two sons, Charlie and Mark, accompanied me on trips to trailer parks, long drives from Austin through the Blackland Prairie, and hikes through woods and across the infamous abandoned road in Bell County. They helped me with pictures and notes. Our two daughters, Amy and Anna, saved me a great deal of time by locating rolls of microfilm in libraries and carrying them to my study desk. All four of them are neat people...