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On Sunday, January 10, 1960, eight weeks after the murders and with the suspects having just been identified, the Reverend Leonard Cowan, pastor of the Clutter’s First Methodist Church, was asked by a reporter what he would say to his congregation in that Sunday’s sermon.
Rumors about the motive behind killing such a prominent family had spread through town like a field of wheat ablaze in a drought. Rev. Cowan felt an obligation to douse the flames and put his flock at ease.
In another example of Kansas authorities controlling the message, Cowan’s placating sermon to his parishioners was telling. “The solving of the case has cleared up a lot of false rumors about Mr. Clutter’s character that were circulating,” he said. “I knew these were false because KBI agents told me they found no basis for them.”[185]
