The In Cold Blood killers were exhumed yesterday

By Josh Modell | December 19, 2012 | 5:00pm

Aux Features Film

The bodies of Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, the killers whose crime was recounted in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, were exhumed from their Kansas graves yesterday, nearly 50 years after they were hanged for the horrific murders of a Kansas family. The reason: Investigators in Florida have long suspected that Smith and Hickock were also responsible for the murders of a family near Sarasota, according to Time. DNA testing has apparently advanced far enough that samples unusable a few years ago may now prove useful in determining their involvement.

In Cold Blood is a fascinating, chilling read that was widely considered the first "non-fiction novel." Capote spent years researching it, traveling to Kansas with his friend and collaborator Harper Lee in tow, and eventually developing a close relationship with Smith prior to his execution. A 1967 film version is worth a look, and of course there are the dueling Capote biopics, 2005's Capote with Philip Seymour Hoffman and 2006's Infamous with Toby Jones.