Murder in the Heartland

On December 16th, 2004, a Nodaway County, Missouri, 9-1-1 operator received a frantic call from the mother of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett. The eight-months-pregnant mom-to-be, Bobbie Jo, had been found bleeding profusely and barely breathing. Her unborn baby was gone. Only 150 miles away in Melvern, Kansas, Lisa Montgomery dressed the baby she'd brutally kidnapped in a Winnie-the-Pooh outfit and proudly showed off at church and a local diner. And that was only the beginning of one of the most unthinkable crimes in American history, one that left two Midwestern communities reeling in the crime's aftermath. Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Murder in the Heartland takes an unflinching look at an American tragedy, exploring its terrible trajectory with unparalled courage, insight, and compassion.