Glen Klinkhart's guest appearances

Glen Klinkhart

Arctic Entries

Crude Conversations

Alaska Authors and Themes

John Muir

Tom Clancy

Keenan Powell

John Haines

Eva Baker

John Morgan

Donna Freedman

Chris Floyd

David Vann

Lee Goodman

David Brown

Dan O'Neill

Eowyn Ivey

Daniel Lee

Tom Sexton

OwlTail

In this one, Cody talks to former homicide detective Glen Klinkhart. In 1981, Glen’s older sister was sexually assaulted and murdered at their home in Anchorage, Alaska. She had thrown a party at her house and after everyone left, a nineteen year old classmate returned. To cover up his crime, he burned down their house. He was later caught and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Glen says that we can intellectualize why people commit heinous crimes as much as we want to, but the reason is ultimately very simple: People do it because they want to. Now, that choice might be corrupted by other things like anger, deviancy, mental illness or drugs, but at the end of the day it’s a conscious choice. The outcome of which is devastating to all those it affects. He says that, so often, the crime perpetrated on someone becomes their identity. It becomes all consuming and can result in a lifetime of guilt and bitterness. But recently, Glen has found ways to let go of those feelings. One of them is digitizing all of his dad’s 35 mm slides. He’s going through so many family photos and it’s giving him the opportunity to see his sister through a whole new lens, as the beautiful young woman she was. Years ago, Glen was teaching a homicide class and one of his students asked him if having a murdered sister made him a better detective or did it make the job more difficult. He’d never thought about it before that moment, but he’ll always remember his response. He said, “You don’t have to have a murdered sister to be a good homicide detective, but it helps.” That became the first sentence in his true crime memoir, “Finding Bethany.” The book details his upbringing all the way to him becoming a detective for the Anchorage Police Department, with a focus on finding a young woman named Bethany Correira. He says that, in addition to his sense of duty to her and her family, working Bethany’s case — a case that had so many similarities to his sister’s —  also helped him process his sister’s murder.

In this one, Cody talks to former homicide detective Glen Klinkhart. In 1981, Glen’s older sister was sexually assaulted and murdered at their home in Anchorage, Alaska. She had thrown a party at her house and after everyone left, a nineteen year old classmate returned. To cover up his crime, he burned down their house. He was later caught and sentenced to 75 years in prison. Glen says that we can intellectualize why people commit heinous crimes as much as we want to, but the reason is ultimately very simple: People do it because they want to. Now, that choice might be corrupted by other things like anger, deviancy, mental illness or drugs, but at the end of the day it’s a conscious choice. The outcome of which is devastating to all those it affects. He says that, so often, the crime perpetrated on someone becomes their identity. It becomes all consuming and can result in a lifetime of guilt and bitterness. But recently, Glen has found ways to let go of those feelings. One of them is digitizing all of his dad’s 35 mm slides. He’s going through so many family photos and it’s giving him the opportunity to see his sister through a whole new lens, as the beautiful young woman she was. Years ago, Glen was teaching a homicide class and one of his students asked him if having a murdered sister made him a better detective or did it make the job more difficult. He’d never thought about it before that moment, but he’ll always remember his response. He said, “You don’t have to have a murdered sister to be a good homicide detective, but it helps.” That became the first sentence in his true crime memoir, “Finding Bethany.” The book details his upbringing all the way to him becoming a detective for the Anchorage Police Department, with a focus on finding a young woman named Bethany Correira. He says that, in addition to his sense of duty to her and her family, working Bethany’s case — a case that had so many similarities to his sister’s —  also helped him process his sister’s murder.

EP 127 Alaska cold cases, a family tragedy and the book that helped him process it all with Glen Klinkhart

Leland Hale

Tom Brennan

Alaska crime books, writing  and storytelling are themes for this event. Authors  Tom Brennan  (Dead Man’s Dancer: The Mechele Linehan Story), Glen Klinkhart  (Finding Bethany), and Leland Hale (Butcher Baker) come together to discuss their work and challenges writing True Crime books.  •	Glen Klinkhart, born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, was a police detective for over seventeen years and  worked hundreds of murder cases as a homicide detective.  His book,  Finding Bethany, tells the  true story of how, as a young boy, Glen Klinkhart was unable to save his sister from a heinous sexual homicide, and how he began his journey as a police officer to bring those who would do evil upon others to justice. •	Tom Brennan is a renowned newspaper columnist and  author of numerous true crime books including the recent  Dead Man’s Dancer: The Mechele Linehan Story. Mechele Linehan worked as an exotic dancer at the Alaska Bush Company  to earn money for college.  Her charms ensnared the affections of three men, and the combined effects of jealously, lust, and greed took on a violently, deadly turn. •	Leland Hale is coauthor of the book Butcher, Baker, The Savage Sex Slayer Who Bloodied the Alaskan Landscape: A True Account of a Serial Murderer.  It is the true-crime story of Alaska serial murderer Robert Hansen who kidnapped, raped, and butchered up to thirty women Leland  Hale is a dedicated writer who has also worked in politics, energy, aerospace and the software industries.

Alaska crime books, writing and storytelling are themes for this event. Authors Tom Brennan (Dead Man’s Dancer: The Mechele Linehan Story), Glen Klinkhart (Finding Bethany), and Leland Hale (Butcher Baker) come together to discuss their work and challenges writing True Crime books. •	Glen Klinkhart, born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, was a police detective for over seventeen years and worked hundreds of murder cases as a homicide detective. His book, Finding Bethany, tells the true story of how, as a young boy, Glen Klinkhart was unable to save his sister from a heinous sexual homicide, and how he began his journey as a police officer to bring those who would do evil upon others to justice. •	Tom Brennan is a renowned newspaper columnist and author of numerous true crime books including the recent Dead Man’s Dancer: The Mechele Linehan Story. Mechele Linehan worked as an exotic dancer at the Alaska Bush Company to earn money for college. Her charms ensnared the affections of three men, and the combined effects of jealously, lust, and greed took on a violently, deadly turn. •	Leland Hale is coauthor of the book Butcher, Baker, The Savage Sex Slayer Who Bloodied the Alaskan Landscape: A True Account of a Serial Murderer. It is the true-crime story of Alaska serial murderer Robert Hansen who kidnapped, raped, and butchered up to thirty women Leland Hale is a dedicated writer who has also worked in politics, energy, aerospace and the software industries.

True Crime as a Literary Genre with Authors Tom Brennan, Leland Hale and Glen Klinkhart