They had dinner together in Colebrook 20 years ago, starting the long process of producing a book that would later read like a Netflix cop show.
The writer, Richard Adams Carey of Sandwich, sought to explore the thoughts and feelings stored away by Earle and Irene Bunnell, whose daughter, Vickie Bunnell, was one of four people killed five years earlier by a 67-year-old man named Carl Drega, known in the area for his crazed and violent behavior.
Often, after a high-profile tragedy like this one, folks in small towns circle their wagons, uneasy and mistrusting of the media. But Carey’s relationship with the Bunnells moved him closer to the story’s core and led to interviews with the families of the other three shooting victims.
His book about the 1997 Colebrook murders, called, In the Evil Day: Violence Comes to One Small Town, was released in 2015, 13 years after Carey had approached the Bunnells about writing an in-depth piece that maintained a respectful tone.
Carey remains in demand on the library circuit – appearing under the New Hampshire Humanities banner – and will speak Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Pembroke Town Library.
Earle and Irene Bunnell trusted Carey to tell the story of their daughter’s murder and respected his writing, and their dinner in 2002 solidified their working relationship.
“(The town’s) reaction during my research was divided,” Carey said by phone. “I was supported by the Bunnells, and because they had such high standing in the community, it made people talk to me. There were still others who would not talk.”
The devastated families in Colebrook agreed to give their blessings for a book, once a key condition had been met: pay more attention to victims and provide less coverage of Drega the murderer.
They had been troubled in years past that Vickie Bunnell – an attorney and part-time judge – had received more publicity than the other three, which was true.
That’s because to Drega, Vickie Bunnell was Public Enemy No. 1, the town official who had once obtained a restraining order against him due to his threatening nature.
Her troubles with him dated back to 1991, when she had him removed in handcuffs from the town hall over a zoning dispute. He sought her out on Aug. 19. 1997.
Drega, who always seemed to have a property beef with the town, killed Bunnell, New Hampshire state troopers Scott Phillips and Les Lord, and Dennis Joos, editor of the local Colebrook News and Sentinel.
Drega had long battled with government officials, starting with a fight in the 1970s over whether he could use tarpaper to side his house. He claimed that in 1981, 80 feet of the riverbank along his property collapsed during a rainstorm. Drega decided to dump and pack enough dirt to repair the erosion, saying this would restore his lot along the Connecticut River to its original size. State officials, on the other hand, accused Drega of trying to change the course of the river.
In 1995, Bunnell, who was then a member of the Columbia Select Board, accompanied the town assessor to Drega’s property in a dispute over taxes. Drega fired shots into the air to drive them away. Drega bought an AR-15 rifle and began equipping his property with early-warning electronic noise and motion detectors.
On the day of the mass shooting, Trooper Phillips spotted Drega’s rusted-out pickup truck at the supermarket and pulled in, and radioed to Trooper Lord. As Phillips got out of his cruiser, Drega opened fire. Lord, who didn’t know what had happened, pulled into the parking lot and was shot getting out of his cruiser. Wounded, Phillips had run for cover, but Drega went back and shot him several more times with a 9 mm pistol.
After taking Phillips’ bulletproof vest and cruiser, Drega drove downtown and slammed on the brakes in front of the building at 1 Bridge St. When Bunnell spotted Drega’s familiar checked shirt and the rifle at the foyer door, she pushed her secretary out the back and ran through the adjacent newspaper office, shouting, “It’s Drega! He’s got a gun!” Those precious seconds may have saved others, but cost Bunnell her life.
In an act of courage, Joos tried to wrestle away Drega’s assault rifle.
Drega was killed in a shootout with police in Vermont.
A monument with images of the four victims sits near the paper.
In addition to the monument, a mountain has been named for Bunnell. Portions of Route 3 in northern New Hampshire have been named after Lord and Phillips. A library in Colebrook was named for Joos.
In his book, Carey “describes a community that was never a passive victim but rather a brave and resilient survivor,” New Hampshire Humanities said its description of Wednesday’s event.
Carey said this book chose him, rather than the other way around.
“Carey’s tension-filled report of a small town’s terror is portrayed with surprising love, bittersweetness, and hope, resulting in a beautifully written and enthralling true-crime tale,” according to the review from Booklist.
For more information, contact the Pembroke Town Library at 603-485-7851.