Capote previously furnished a full account of the Dewey case during a May 20, 1975 appearance on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". While noting that he had no desire to write another true crime opus, he recalled that one particular case had caught his interest. Thereafter, Capote went on to describe the rattlesnake murders, the burning farm house murders, and other details. He also stated that he couldn't divulge all the details of the crime (including the locations involved) because the police didn't have enough evidence to arrest their suspect, and that there were others on a "list" that the killer was still stalking. He stated that the police had the suspect under constant surveillance and were awaiting further action. This account seems to follow the portion of the finished story the Gillmans thought was patterned after a true crime but did not include portions that they felt had been fabricated.