FILE 266 / 10 March 2022 / 168 MIN / full

Threesomes In The Heartland

McCook, NebraskaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
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We're gonna go to McCook, Nebraska; it's in Red Willow County, in southwestern Nebraska. about 0:05:05

History, in brief

1882

McCook was platted in 1882 when the railroad extended to this point.

about 0:08:03

Town note

The town was named in honour of Alexander McDowell McCook, a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

about 0:08:47

Town note

The slogan was later changed to 'the okay city'.

about 0:06:38
All 9 history facts

1882

McCook was platted in 1882 when the railroad extended to this point.

about 0:08:03

Town note

The town was named in honour of Alexander McDowell McCook, a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

about 0:08:47

Town note

The slogan was later changed to 'the okay city'.

about 0:06:38

Town note

In the 1960s the slogan became 'it's all here'.

about 0:06:58

Town note

In the 1970s it was 'McCook the American Experience' and then 'Nebraska's hotspot'.

about 0:07:09

Town note

The current slogan asks anyone with ideas for town slogans to call Mayor Johnson.

about 0:07:21

Town note

The county is named for Red Willow Creek, a mistranslation of a Dakota Indian name that actually meant Red Dogwood Creek.

about 0:10:12

The figures, as told

Religious

77.1%

Biggest faith: Catholic residents, 34%

about 0:16:03

Who lives here

White 91.5% · Black 0.3% · Asian 0.4% · Hispanic 6%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ about 20% above

about 0:25:29

Violent crime
▼ under half

about 0:25:55

Money

Median home value$124,900
Two-bedroom rentabout $620 a month
Median household income$40,372
Cost of living77.9 out of 100
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2022

Property crime

"about 20% above"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2022 about 0:25:29

Violent crime

"under half"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2022 about 0:25:55

Population

"7,500"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:17

Median age

"36.6"

Comparison: "about normal". Direction: about the same.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:26

White residents

"91.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:46

Black residents

"0.3%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:46

Asian residents

"0.4%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:54

Hispanic residents

"6%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:15:54

Unemployment rate

"2%"

Comparison: "about 3% in the rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:11

Religious residents

"77.1%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:16:03

Catholic residents

"34%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:16:14

Jewish residents

"0.0%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:16:47

Median household income

"$40,372"

Comparison: "normally about $58,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:20

Residents earning under $30,000 a year

"forty percent"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:28

Cost of living

"77.9 out of 100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:44

Housing

"44 out of 100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:48

Median home cost

"$124,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:17:51

Average two-bedroom rent

"about $620 a month"

Comparison: "less than half the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2022 about 0:18:14

Three-bedroom one-bath house

"$115,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:19:57

Eight-bedroom four-bath multi-family home

"$325,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2022 about 0:20:35

The reviews

2.3 / 5 · average of 3

4 stars

“Very cozy small town and great for families; happy to have been raised there; the only problems are the lack of diversity that comes with every small town, but bigger cities do not have the same sense of community.”
about 0:11:04

2 stars

“The most boring town in all of America; nothing to do but Walmart and a movie theater that gets new films three weeks late; not many good food places, Fuller's is okay but has a lot of druggies; the rest is McDonald's, Subway and Arby's, and Runza is disgusting with flies inside.”
about 0:11:52

1 star

“The people are backwards, racist, abusive and generally uneducated; a Confederate flag at Walmart, barking dogs left outside all winter, lifted trucks with the mufflers removed, rude police, and people having to delete college credentials to get menial jobs.”
about 0:13:16

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The story

McCook, Nebraska, is a small town of about 7,500 people in Red Willow County in the south-west of the state. It was laid out in 1882 when the railroad reached the area and was named after Alexander McDowell McCook, a Union Army general in the Civil War. In 1973 Edwin Hoyt, 56, and his wife Wilma, 57, lived on the family farm near Culbertson, just outside McCook. Edwin had been born near Culbertson in January 1918 and graduated from McCook High School in 1935, where he played football. He worked as an unlicensed plumber for the Valls Plumbing Company; Wilma worked as a salesperson at DeGraffs department store. They had five children: Roger, known in the family as Whitey, Donna, Kay, Stanley and Herbert.

Born in April 1928 in Danbury, Nebraska, he had been a county commissioner and Red Willow County assessor and was by then foreman of a State Department of Roads crew in McCook.

In March 1973 the es and Kay travelled to Kansas City and to Salina, Kansas.

In August 1973 the Hoyts travelled to Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and then flew to Germany to visit their son Stanley, who was in the Air Force. They returned on 20 September. On the evening of 23 September they hosted a family dinner at the farm, cooking ham, and at about 7.30 p.m. took a call from their son Herbert, a sailor in Charleston, South Carolina.

Because his shoulder was injured he decided to dismember the bodies rather than carry them, using a butcher knife and an axe in the laundry room.

Kay raised the alarm on 24 September when her parents did not answer the phone. A neighbour, Jerry Myers, found the farm empty, with the car gone, the ham pan soaking and the beds unslept in. Kay and her sister Donna flew over the farm and then let themselves in. The family reported the Hoyts missing, but the state patrol and the county sheriff found no evidence of a crime. The car was found at the hospital and a patrolman, Jack Sexton, noticed the front seat was set for a much shorter driver. The family hired the private investigator Robert Sauden on 1 October.

On 3 October a farmer, Dean McWiety, found a human foot in the water at the dam at Harry Strunk Lake, and more body parts, including a female arm with rings, were recovered over the following days. Sauden confronted Kay on 11 October and she told him about the affair. A listening device was later planted in the house, and the es were heard saying they should have removed the rings.

The case

Murder of Edwin and Wilma Hoyt

Victims

Edwin Hoyt (56). farmer near Culbertson and unlicensed plumber with the Valls Plumbing Company
Wilma Hoyt (57). salesperson at DeGraffs Department Store, McCook

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 10 March 2022.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Kay Hein. daughter of the victims, 30, who had an affair with and raised the alarm
Dwayne Hein. Kay's ex-husband; divorced in 1971, later moved to Yuma, Colorado
Donna Elmer. the Hoyts' daughter, Kay's older sister, who searched the farm with her
Owen Elmer. Donna's husband, who flew over the farm
Larry Hoyt. the Hoyts' nephew, who found a lawyer and hired the private investigator
Roger 'Whitey' Hoyt. the Hoyts' son, at whose Two Rivers home the family car was left
Herbert Hoyt. the Hoyts' son, a US Navy sailor in Charleston, South Carolina, who called the farm at 7.30 p.m.
Stanley Hoyt. the Hoyts' son, stationed in Germany with the Air Force
Jerry Myers. the Hoyts' neighbour, who checked the farm
Jack Sexton. police sergeant who inspected the Hoyts' car
Robert Sauden. private investigator hired by the family on October 1st, 1973
Dean McWiety. farmer near Cambridge who found the human foot at the dam

The timeline

  1. January 1918 Edwin Hoyt is born near Culbertson, Nebraska.about 0:36:54
  2. April 1928 is born.about 1:03:00
  3. 1929 Nadine Ambler is born.about 1:03:39
  4. 1935 Edwin Hoyt graduates from McCook High School, where he was an all-conference football guard. (McCook High School)about 0:36:56
  5. 1946 , 18, marries Ambler, 16, who is one month pregnant.about 1:03:55
  6. 1950s and move to McCook and buy the Moffitt Cafe. (Moffitt Cafe)about 1:07:22
  7. 1964 The railroad eliminates its firemen and loses his job, returning to the Department of Roads in McCook.about 1:08:40
  8. spring of 1960 Kay Hein is hospitalised at a psychiatric hospital in Omaha.about 1:15:59
  9. 1961 Kay marries Dwayne Hein after they graduate from high school.about 1:17:58
  10. 1969 or 1970 and Kay Hein begin an affair.about 1:12:57
  11. January 1st, 1970 Kay kisses at the New Year's Eve dance at the Elks Club. (Elks Club)about 1:26:01
  12. 1971 Kay files for divorce from Dwayne Hein.about 1:18:50
  13. July 4th, 1972 Kay spends the night with and at the house for their first threesome. ( house)about 1:34:44
  14. March 1973 On a trip to Kansas City and Salina, slaps Kay and gives her a black eye; the threesomes end.about 1:39:40
  15. April 1973 Kay slaps her daughter and throws a pill bottle at the es, then is taken to a clinic.about 1:43:08
  16. June 1973 Edwin Hoyt accuses of blackmailing Kay. (Valls Plumbing Company)about 1:50:24
  17. June 1973 lures Kay to the house with a faked cut hand; hands her a loaded rifle and then chases her when she flees. ( house)about 1:51:09
  18. July 1973 pours sugar in Kay's petrol tank.about 1:55:04
  19. August 1973 The Hoyts drive to Two Rivers, Wisconsin, and fly to Germany to visit their son Stanley.about 1:55:49
  20. September 20th, 1973 The Hoyts return from Germany.about 1:59:13
  21. September 23rd, 1973 The Hoyts host a family dinner at the farm and take a call from their son Herbert at about 7.30 p.m. (Hoyt farm)about 1:59:16
  22. September 23rd, 1973 After 9 p.m. the es arrive unannounced at the farm and drive the Hoyts back to McCook. (Hoyt farm)about 2:01:47
  23. September 23rd, 1973 shoots Edwin and Wilma Hoyt in the basement laundry room. ( house)about 2:05:38
  24. September 23rd, 1973 dismembers both bodies and stores them in the freezer; leaves the Hoyts' car at the hospital and cleans the basement. ( house)about 2:10:10

Last meals

  • Edwin and Wilma Hoyt. ham cooked in a frying pan, with cantaloupe Sunday dinner at the farm on September 23rd, 1973, the night they were killedabout 1:59:21

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode