Truman Capote House shortly afterwards. For Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was a turning point, as he explained to Roy Newquist ("Counterpoint", 1964): The "new book", "In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences" (1965), was inspired by a 300 word article that ran in the November 16, 1959 "The New York Times". The story described the unexplained murder of the Clutter family in rural Holcomb, Kansas, and quoted the local sheriff as saying, "This is apparently the case of a psychopathic killer." Fascinated by this brief news item, Capote traveled with Harper Lee to Holcomb and visited
Capote (film) from Smith to Harper Lee ultimately compels Capote to return to Kansas. There he is an eyewitness as Smith and Hickock are executed. Capote talks to Lee about the horrifying experience and laments that he could not do anything to stop it. She replies, "Maybe not. The fact is you didn't want to." The final scenes show Capote looking through photos from the case and at the writings and drawings given to him by Smith. An epilogue points out that "In Cold Blood" turned Capote into the most famous writer in America, also noting that he never finished another book.