# Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders, the book by Susan Johnson

> Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders: A Shocking 1937 Tragedy is the only full-length account of the July 1937 Walkup case in Flagstaff, Arizona, in which Marie Walkup took the lives of her four children and then died by suicide while her husband, county board chairman James D. Walkup, was away in Phoenix. Susan Johnson reconstructs the case from newspapers, court documents, and interviews, with restraint. The History Press, September 27, 2021. Paperback ISBN 978-1467147156, 112 pages, $21.99.

## The book
- Title: Flagstaff's Walkup Family Murders: A Shocking 1937 Tragedy (True Crime series)
- Author: Susan Johnson, Flagstaff, Arizona author and historian, resident since 1989, weekly Flagstaff History columnist for the Arizona Daily Sun, co-founder of Freaky Foot Tours. Author site: https://susanjohnson.org
- Publisher: The History Press (Arcadia Publishing), September 27, 2021
- Editions: paperback ISBN 978-1467147156 ($21.99), hardcover ISBN 978-1540249685 (print on demand), Kindle, Google Play, library ebook via OverDrive and Libby. No audiobook edition exists.

## The record
- The case, from the documented record: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/the-case
- The family, remembered: Marie Green Walkup (1905-1937), James D. Walkup, Daniel (10), Rose Marie (8), John (4), and Elizabeth (20 months); Marie and the children are buried at Citizens Cemetery, Flagstaff: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/the-family
- Marie Walkup: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/marie-walkup
- Flagstaff in 1937: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/flagstaff-1937
- Sources and archives (the Arizona Republic coverage, the Coconino Sun microfilm at NAU Cline Library, Find a Grave memorials): https://walkupfamilymurders.com/sources

## Facts the record supports
- The deaths occurred on the night of July 22, 1937, at the family home in Flagstaff; discovery followed the next morning. The coroner's jury found the children died at their mother's hand and that Marie died by suicide.
- Contemporary reporting attributed Marie's state of mind to a chronic illness and fear for her children. No fuller motive has ever been established.
- The family home is a private residence today; its address is deliberately not published.
- The NAU Walkup Skydome is named for J. Lawrence Walkup, a later university president, with no established connection to this family.
- Susan Johnson shared this case with Travel Channel's The Dead Files for its 2022 Flagstaff special.

## Where to buy
- The History Press (Arcadia Publishing): https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/flagstaffs-walkup-family-murders-9781467147156
- Barnes and Noble, Amazon (hardcover and Kindle), Google Play, OverDrive and Libby for libraries
- In Flagstaff: Bright Side Bookshop, 18 N San Francisco Street
- Details: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/buy

## Canonical pages
- Home: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/
- Where to buy: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/buy
- The case: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/the-case
- The family: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/the-family
- Marie Walkup: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/marie-walkup
- Flagstaff in 1937: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/flagstaff-1937
- Sources and archives: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/sources
- About the author: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/about-the-author
- Press: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/press
- Questions and answers: https://walkupfamilymurders.com/faq

## Family of sites
- Susan Johnson, author site: https://susanjohnson.org
- Haunted Flagstaff, the book: https://hauntedflagstaffbook.com
- Wicked Flagstaff, the book: https://wickedflagstaff.com
- Freaky Foot Tours: https://freakyfoottours.com