PRINTSkeletons in the Closet
Making serial murders a family affair
Bridget Mullen
March 6, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Until a death sentence did they part. Ray and Faye Copeland were just another seemingly average farming couple trading livestock, raising a family — and conducting multiple murders. OK, so maybe they had a sinister side. On their small farm northeast of Kansas City, the Copelands executed at least five farmhands as part of an elaborate scheme that enabled them to purchase livestock with fraudulent checks. In the mid-’80s, the elderly couple committed several murders until the cops arrived with a warrant to search the farm in October 1989. After their cases went to court, 76-year-old Ray and 69-year-old Faye became the oldest married pair to receive the death sentence. More than a decade later, a relative of the couple is revealing the story via the fantastically disturbing comic book series, Family Bones.
Written by Shawn Granger, the great-nephew of the killer Copelands, Family Bones depicts tales of murder, abuse and life on the farm that stem from the actual slayings. The series blends Frank Miller’s inky black-and-white illustrations with investigative forensic shows such as Cold Case Files. It is narrated through the eyes of Sean (based on the writer), a kind-hearted yet troubled city kid who is forced to spend the summer on his great-aunt and -uncle’s farm. Sean discovers not everything about country life is bad when he meets Wendy, a spitfire local girl. The two teens enjoy an awkward yet fulfilling summer of adolescent love. Life on the farm begins to seem bearable for Sean until he discovers his family’s hidden secrets.
“I wanted something that conveyed what the story was about,” Granger says. “And at the heart of the whole thing, it’s about skeletons in your closet — basically your family closet.”
Some of Granger’s family wanted those skeletons to remain in the dark. “I don’t think anyone was necessarily gung-ho about the idea, but most people were reserved,” he says. “I think they realize that it’s a story, and it’s not like someone else wouldn’t find it and tell it.”
Because Granger never actually met the Copelands and only knew his great-aunt and -uncle through stories, he had to rely on his family to help him pry open this proverbial closet. “(My grandfather) knew the whole story,” Granger says. “My grandmother lived with Ray and Faye for many years, so they were both instrumental in really helping me get a lot of the story down.”
Although the series is based on facts, Granger puts a personal twist on the frightening farm tale and isn’t afraid to stray from the truth. “It’s definitely a historical fiction,” says Granger. “I’m not trying to pass it off as if it was exactly how it happened, but it’s people I know and stories told through the people who were there.”
One facet Granger conceals with fiction is the names of the five murder victims out of respect for their families. However, he did not hold back from villainizing his relatives; he portrays them as vicious and remorseless killers.
The series debuted in August 2006 and is currently up to its sixth of 10 installments. To the joy of penny-pinching comic junkies everywhere, Family Bones can be downloaded for free at wowio.com. With just four installments left, readers beware: The wildlife on this farm goes beyond the animals, and things are bound to get even more disturbing. “When you read it, it is about as gruesome as it gets,” Granger says. “And it does get darker.”
