The Prom Night Murders

by Carlton Smith

In 1989, a shocking tragedy shattered an otherwise peaceful small Indiana community. Much-admired pastor Robert L. Pelley was found slain in his home. In his basement were the huddled, blood-soaked bodies of his wife and daughters, executed by shotgun at close range. The doors to the house were locked, and there were no signs of forced entry. Meanwhile, the pastor's son, Jeff, was nowhere to be found…

Police had a hunch that Jeff was responsible for the massacre, but they didn't have enough evidence to convict. The case went cold…until, more than a decade later, when law officials resolved to finally try to unravel the truth about Jeff and to establish a motive—that he was angry toward his father for grounding him on prom night. Then it would be up to prosecutors to prove that Jeff was responsible for THE PROM NIGHT MURDERS

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Mystery

302 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 28, 2009

Reviews

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so disappointed by The Prom Night Murders. I wasn't disappointed by the writing, which was good. I wasn't disappointed by the research, which was thorough. I was disappointed by the ending.

Warning: This may seem like a spoiler, though the back of the book and a check on Google will reveal nothing less than what I've included.

I love true crime. It's probably my favorite genre, and I've read quite a bit of it. When it goes as far as a trial, I have never once failed to develop an opinion of my own about the guilt or innocence of the alleged perpetrator. Like most people, I want the bad guy to be caught and punished for his crimes. When he gets away, I'm disappointed, even if the evidence didn't support his or her guilt.

Living in a post-OJ and post-Casey Anthony world, it sometimes becomes clear that sometimes the bad guys DO get away. That's the reality of our judicial system. The prosecution needs to be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty of the crime at hand. When police botch evidence and show extreme prejudice and bloody gloves don't fit, there is reasonable doubt, and a jury can't ethically convict the defendant. When the body is so decomposed that cause of death can't be determined, mom goes free after killing her daughter.

That's why I found this book so disappointing. Let me be clear here. I'm pretty certain that Jeff Pelley killed his family. But Carlton Smith does such a thorough job researching the history of the Pelley family, the botched police investigations, the gruesome murders, and the aftermath. As a result of the evidence he lays out, I can't understand how the jury could convict him. There are just too many things that suggest he may not have been the murderer. Granted, there are many things that suggest he was, and the reader is privy to more than the jury heard. At the same time, the evidence exonerating Pelley is strong enough that I believe I would have hung the jury.

It's disappointing to me when the judicial system "doesn't work," and someone I believe is so clearly guilty walks. So it's probably a double standard for me to say that when it does work, and the bad guy pays for several lifetimes, I'm still a bit disappointed. Maybe I just think that if Pelley has to pay, then so should OJ and Casey.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting case where everything turns on which witness has the most accurate memory of what times they arrived at specific locations. Everything turns on if whether the clock was five minutes fast or slow, since the window for the defendant to have committed the murders is only 20 minutes. That said, the writer's need to explore tangents and insert strange and slightly biased commentary, was a bit distracting. There are several pages dedicated to a murder in Florida that occurred around the same time, simply because the defendant married into a family involved in that case, it had no relation to the main story. The writer also had an annoying habit of repeating mantras such as: "Argh! Where is Agatha Christie with her cuckoo clock when we need her," and "time is relative Einstein and Agatha Christie should talk about this one." Weird.

[Koren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed most of this book. It didnt draw me in by giving me a feel for the characters and making me feel like I knew them, which is important to me when reading true crime. I wasnt completely convinced that Jeff Pelley killed his family because his father grounded him by not letting him go to the prom. It didnt seem like there was a complete investigation. I think it could have been a better story if it had been better written.

[Dara S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this might have been a better story without all the politics and laws about clocks.

[Laren · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pastor is found murdered along with his wife and their two small children. The police immediately zero in on the teenage son as their only suspect, but the evidence is extremely thin. Can they convict him?

This story sounds interesting, but unfortunately it is heavily mired in legal maneuvers and the reader doesn't get a feel for any of the people as a result. I have read books by this author before and enjoyed them, and I've read books with extraordinary legal detail too, so I can't quite put my finger on what made this such a tedious book for me. I really had to force myself to finish this one, and so I would only recommend it to the most die-hard of true crime book fans.

[Amber Galindo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago, and it is definitely one that triggers my curiosity into crimes and how well crime scenes are investigated and how quickly the police are to name a suspect. I have actually read this book a few times. It's definitely a good one.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was quite compelling for a while but it more or less fell apart and ended with a whimper.

[Nathan M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Living 15 minutes from where these horrific events took place, I felt compelled to read the full story behind the horror. The book was excellent to start. Very detailed and eye opening. Then, about halfway through, it got extremely bogged down by repetitious legal jargon as multiple court cases were described in full. I slogged through it to get to the end and find out what officially happened, but man what a challenge it became just to get to that point. The book could have been about half as long with a better editing process that removed a majority of the unnecessarily detailed court scenes. Other than that it was a pretty decent read.

[Janine Miki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did he or didn't he? That is the question at the outset of the book and even by the end. At times, it was a really dry read. The author seemed to go off on a tangent midway about some other crime that seemed to have little, if anything, to do with the primary case. Lots of confusing legalese when describing the timelines (and I'm an attorney! so I can't imagine how badly this came across to the average reader). I didn't really feel there was closure by the end. The "evidence" was reiterated over and over again. Maybe because there was so little to go off of...

[Teresa K · Rating 1 out of 5]

extremely boring, as a lover of true crime, I was very disappointed. Kept putting down the book, but I do like to finish a book once started. Everyone and anyone who may have had the slightest contact with the alleged murderer was interviewed for this book, most likely only to add enough pages to qualify it to be called a book. The further into the book I read, the harder it got to read. Hours of my life lost to this awful book.

[Brittany Haeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I followed this story and read another book about it (from one of the surviving family members) so it was very compelling and had a lot of good information. I heard it was the most comprehensive book on the subject and I can see why.

[Jamie Beckwith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read but the overall case itself seemed politically motivated. They pinned him from the beginning and didn’t do their due diligence to prove it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to several podcasts about this. Thought he was for sure innocent, then guilty, now I have no idea....but it is alll suspicious about the move from Florida, etc.

[R Chronis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but pretty dry. It very much highlighted the failures of the legal system, especially in Indiana.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting to me because it happened in my community. I didn't know any of the family members well, but going to a school at the time that only had about 100 students in each class, I knew OF them. I distinctly remember the speculation in the hallways and decided to read the book after the sentence was appealed, overturned, and then again reinstated.

Many familiar names are contained within (kind of a shock when you find out a distant cousin was a notable witness in a case such as this), and that was what kept me reading. Others not familiar with the story, or without any community ties may find this book tedious.

[ReBecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was PAINFUL!!! I almost put it down multiple times. I felt that the first half of the book was all over the place. When I read true crime I always enjoy reading the history of each member involved and I feel this book really left it out. Then the second half about the trial...first I truly believe that this was political and Jeff was an easy target. Not to say that I don't think Jeff is innocent, but I feel the investigation was very narrow minded! Also the fact that it took over ten years to have a trail made me angry for our justice system but also made this book feel even longer then it already was!

[Aria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of true crime novels so this one immediately caught my attention - unfortunately it did not keep me interested. I found it hard to follow, the way it seemed to jump around. One minute we're reading about the murders and the next we're reading about some "rumors". Once the book dived into the laws and politics aspect of the case I lost interest fast. It seemed repetitive, it's all about time, I might even be afraid of clocks now. Anybody else pick up on the obsession the author seems to have with Agatha Christie?

[Katherine Smith]

I feel there is at the very least reasonable doubt and that Jeff Pelley could very well be innocent. I also think that the police did a huge injustice by not looking deeper into his father's shady past.

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It happened "close to home" but before I ever lived here. I just wanted to hear the story. Not sure the author was completely objective.

[Ratforce]

For a more contemporary true crime account, try Carlton’ Smith’s books. The Prom Night Murders is one of his more popular books, and so is a great starting point.

[Corrine Youngs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. It gave a lot of information and background on the whole event. Not everything is completely accurate.

[Kristy Christensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book and I am a True Crime buff. To much legalese and not sure about the ending.

[tiffani · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far the book is awesome, can't put it down.