"Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders- A Shocking Tragedy" by Susan Johnson

Before our trip to Arizona, I picked up Susan Johnson's book on haunted Flagstaff.  She has a section about the Walkup murders in that book.  I was curious and found her full volume book on the strange event.

I know this is weird, but before taking a trip somewhere new, I try to read at least a couple of books on the area- usually some sort of haunted history book, and a true crime book.  Susan Johnson had me covered for Flagstaff.

This very sad story from the mid 1930s is a real enigma.  A mother murders her four children before driving to a local golf course to take her own life.  The family father/husband does go on to live a full life, but, for the most part, the crime is forgotten.
 

Devouring newspapers from that time, the information Johnson finds is...  well, nil.  The social sections barely mention the mother and the children are reduced to no mention.

The author speculates about the reasons and she has some interesting theories, but that is strictly speculation.

This is a fascinating read about a strange event that happened in the still very young town of Flagstaff.