“Degrees of Truth” is a small part of one chapter of Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. After much deliberation, the essay “Degrees of Truth” has been removed from the Fallacy of Closure anthology, a book to be published soon. This piece dealt with the events of Friday night and Saturday morning before Stacey Burns was murdered. It was factual, based on interviews I had with people very close to Stacey.

Here, in synopsis form, are the reasons why it will not be included in the new book..

  1. It names real people, and one of those real people expressed concern for his/her safety and that of children involved if this version of events in that time period became public. I would never forgive myself if something I did led to the harm of another. PERIOD!
  2.  Obviously, the fact that the killer is still free plays a part in the fear that now, almost nine years later, is present with some in the community.
  3. Despite having written approval to do the interviews and having recording of them, I made the mistake of promising that nothing would be published until those involved were able to read it for accuracy and intent. I’m adhering to that promise despite professional advice to the contrary. (They agreed to the interviews, therefore agreed to release of the content.

So, the new book, The Fallacy of Closure, will not include “Degrees of Truth.” If the monster who committed this crime is ever behind bars, maybe those with so much fear would relax and allow the story to be told.

     Duke