The Darkest Night: Two Sisters, a Brutal Murder, and the Loss of Innocence in a Small Town

September 24, 1973 started like any other day in Casper, Wyoming, the events that transpired that evening into the next day changed life for everyone. Eleven-year old Amy Burridge and her half-sister Becky Thomson had been abducted from a local store, Amy was thrown off the Freemont Canyon Bridge, afterwards Becky was raped by the two men that had abducted them and was also thrown off the bridge. Becky survived, Amy did not.

Ron Franscell lived next door to Amy and Becky. Because of that we get a uniquely personal view of the account. Besides learning biographical details of the people involved we also learn how the town was affected by this horrifically violent crime. This book is about more than the murderers, the victims, the crime show more and trial. It is about a town and how one act can have widespread consequences.

Becky struggled with PTSD, with survivor guilt, she self-medicated with alcohol and drugs. She was quite possible the victim of another sexual assault. She lived in fear of the men who raped and tried to kill her. In 1992 they were seeking a new trail, as unlikely as it was they would be successful, she feared they would one day be free. In July she returned to the bridge where it all started and as the back cover of the book states: “she met her fate . . . at the same bridge where she’d lost her sister.”

This is an extremely detailed account of this tragic event. Some have said it was too long, and took too many side trips into the history of the town and other people, I found it rich in detail and well rounded, never boring and recommend it. show less

In September 1973, I was a clueless and naive kid, having grown up secure and safe, surrounded by family, friends and neighbors in Casper, Wyoming. Across town, still warm with the lingering summer, two sisters ran an errand to the 15th grocery store. Leaving the store the girls found their tires flat and were lured into a car. It was an area I passed by frequently and would not have known the dangers any more than Amy or Becky. Jerry Jenkins and Ron Kennedy slashed the tires of the sisters’ car while they were in the store, setting themselves up to be rescuers with the offer of a ride. I was not the only naive resident as even the girls’ mother found no reason for concern when the sisters called to check in and report they had a show more ride home. The ride and the men driving turned brutal. Hours later two young girls were thrown from the top of the Fremont Canyon bridge.

The author, Ron Franscell, lived next door to the family and was destined to write Becky’s story. Living in Casper at the time, remembering the lynch talk among the people of Casper and having my first taste of fear was not the entire story. Franscell tells of Casper and it’s growth, of Becky Thompson, her family and of two men convicted of rape and murder. He fills in details and shares familiar names and places involved. Fall eliminates the questions of what had happened, since most in Casper, like myself, were fearful and concerned, but were on the periphery. Ron Franscell writes from his heart, educates with meticulously researched facts and with knowledge from his personal history. He manages to look deeply and fairly into the lives of the unredeemable for a clinical look at the crime. show less

3.75 stars

In a town in Wyoming in 1973, 18-year old Becky and her 11-year old sister Amy went to pick up some groceries. By the next morning, Amy was dead in a canyon, thrown of a high bridge, and Becky somehow managed to survive the night with a broken pelvis after having been raped and also thrown off the bridge. The author was the girls’ neighbour. The book not only looks at the crime, but it also looks at Becky and Amy’s lives, the lives of the two convicted murderers/rapists, and the author thinks back on his own life in the small town where it happened.

The first half of the book was the most interesting, where it focused on the crime and aftermath, including the trial. The next part of the book follows Becky’s life, as well show more as Ronnie’s and Jerry’s, in jail for their crimes. The books slips a little (at least I found it less interesting) as it looks closely at an autobiography written by Ronnie; as the author scrutinizes the autobiography, it becomes more clear why he includes as much of it as he does in the book. But, it is due to this section that I brought my rating down to just under 4 stars. show less

A good read, but I felt it might have dragged on a bit too long, especially at the very end. Maybe a little too much philosophizing that didn't really strike home, at least for me. A compelling and very sad story of a crime committed at random against two sisters. A touching connection between the two. Also some good local color describing Caspar, Wyoming and the people who lived there. I very much liked the idea of including one killer's "autobiography" and then deconstructing it and explaining what it showed about his character. Sad book, better-than-average true crime investigation, with no stone left unturned.

This book is horrible. While the story of Amy Burridge and Becky Thompson is sad (and horrific), their nightmare could have been written in a two-page article instead of a 300-page book. The author rambles, over dramatizes, and inserts a lot of Wyoming history that doesn't have much bearing on the story.

Tragic story of two sisters in a small Wyoming town

loved this book about two sisters that were abducted when their car broke down and the guys that offered to help them....