Bound To Kill: Behind the Research
At the beginning of 2022 I thought I had the book more or less complete. I was just waiting for the FOIA to come through for the police report, and began reaching out to a list of people that I had previously been unable to speak with.
From September to November 2022, not only did I receive the police report that I was told by multiple police departments didn’t exist, but I was also able to interview Rae (Travis’s first wife), Marlon (Susan’s first husband), Richard Anton (who scanned and emailed me a copy of the autopsy report), and Kevin Etheridge (a friend of the Antons / employee at BoxTop Software).
A lot happened very quickly. The book I have now and the book I had at the beginning of 2022 are not even close to the same book. The relentless pursuit of answers is worth the effort; more people are willing to talk than you might think.
I always felt that there was something “off” about this story, and I was right. I was grasping at straws, but in the words of a detective to Michelle McNamara, “Grasp a straw, and work it to dust”.
Last April, I unexpectedly received a plain, flat, rectangular brown box; when I opened it, I discovered it was filled with papers, drawings, photographs, and a hand written love letter from Travis to Susan.
The box was from Richard Anton, brother of the late Travis Anton. I had been attempting to contact Richard since I first began researching this book in 2017.
Since finally establishing contact, Richard has been incredibly gracious, generous, and kind. I am very grateful to him for taking the time to speak with me, to say nothing of sending me a box of documents and pictures.
I’d like to share this experience with you. The box included so very many things that I was not expecting. Here is a full inventory of what I received:
Documents from one of Travis’s jobs prior to creating BoxTop Software
Hand written love letter from Travis to Susan
A4 copy of Susan’s resume
Hand drawn, pencil “blue print” of a home designed by Travis
Hand written index card and sticky note with info about the case and involved parties
Travis’s school photos, including some candids, along with photos of some of his artwork
Multiple copies of printed out flyers advertising Susan’s digital art services from the early 90s
Pages from a photo album that belonged to Susan which contains four pictures of her as a child and five pages of stamps (I believe the stamps were her father’s and intend to make an effort to return them to her when I have completed my work)
1 manila envelope containing a full print out of every Delia Day LiveJournal post. These were printed out by Travis’s mother when she began her own investigation into the death of her son (I’ve created a PDF of them all for quick reference which I will make available for download at some point).
1 tab file folder with crime scene photos (most of them are duplicates of blood stains)