Goodbye, Butterfly: Murder, Faith and Forgiveness in a Small Kansas Town

Brenda Keller had it all.

The beloved 12-year-old daughter of the town pastor in tiny Dover, Kansas, she was pretty, smart, and kind. She loved God, family, friends, animals, nature, and riding her bike. That all changed on Oct. 19, 1991, when she was abducted, raped, and murdered by a man who should have been behind bars.

Her grisly death stunned the quintessential small town in Kansas and robbed a community of its innocence. Her family relied on faith to overcome the overwhelming sadness and despair, ultimately living rich, rewarding lives to honor God and their ＂Strawberry.＂

Ernie W. Webb III, who grew up 15 minutes from Dover, weaves a riveting tale of good and evil in his debut book. In Goodbye, Butterfly he details Brenda’s idyllic upbringing and her murderer’s gut-wrenching childhood. Their collision resulted in one of the worst crimes in the state’s history, one that angered a grieving town, revealed flaws in the legal system, and left numerous questions unanswered.