True crime takes center stage at Barren County Historical Society meeting
He focused most of his presentation on crimes in the area, including the stories of criminals like Finney Richards and cold case murders like that of a Kentucky State Police trooper in Warren County.
GLASGOW, Ky. — After months of research and writing, Wes Swietek has released his second true crime book, examining notorious crimes and corruption that helped shape the history of South Central Kentucky.
Swietek, managing editor of the Bowling Green Daily News, has spent years covering a wide range of topics with a focus on local history and crime.
More than 40 people attended a Thursday evening event at the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, where Swietek discussed his latest work, “When the Bluegrass Ran Red,” published by Acclaim Press.
Swietek’s first book, published in 2020, was “The Cemetery Road Murders,” which details the 1948 killings of two people in Bowling Green’s so-called “Murder Mansion” by Harry Edward Kilgore of Glasgow.
“He was just a unique character,” Swietek said. “Actually, the last time I was in this building, I was doing research for the book. I was able to get some pictures in the book that weren’t available anywhere else.”
Swietek said readers often asked what he planned to write about next, noting continued interest in Bowling Green’s “Little Chicago” era, a time when corruption and crime were widely reported across Kentucky.
“Depending on who you talked to some people said that Bowling Green was the murder capital of the country,” he said. “It has the highest per capita murder rate. There was also organized crime and things like that.”
“When the Bluegrass Ran Red” focuses on the 1960s and 1970s, a period when Bowling Green was often referred to as “Little Chicago” and Newport was known as “Sin City,” according to the publisher’s description.
Swietek said he began research for the book about two years ago.
“For sure, Bowling Green was a Mecca of crime,” he said. “There was a car theft ring, there was murders all the time, people being dumped into rivers.”
Several key figures from his book were highlighted during the roughly 45-minute discussion, including the Harpe brothers, regarded by some as the country’s first serial killers.
“They killed, by all accounts, at least a dozen people in South Central Kentucky,” Swietek said. “There’s still a place in Kentucky called Harpe’s head.”
Throughout his presentation, Swietek explored crime in Kentucky from moonshine conflicts to the rise of organized crime in Newport, when members of the Cleveland mob asserted control in many facets of life.
He focused most of his presentation on crimes in the area, including the stories of criminals like Finney Richards and cold case murders like that of a Kentucky State Police trooper in Warren County.
“There was some notourious characters, some super fascinating characters around,” he said.
Audience members asked questions following the presentation, during which Swietek also addressed several unsolved cases and clarified the origins of certain crime-related headlines.
“Everyone was kind of territorial,” he said. “There were stories, like, if someone tried to move into Bowling Green and start doing stuff, they would just get shot. It was too hot for them.”
Swietek said his book is available in most places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through his publisher. The book lists for $26.95.
