KC Star finally turns focus on Drummond, Skillicorn's murder victim

It's just one story, but the Kansas City Star has belatedly written about murder victim Richard Drummond of Excelsior Springs, after months of writing about Drummond's killer, Dennis Skillicorn, who was put to death last week:

In their first media interview ever, the Drummonds gathered last week around a dining room table sprinkled with photo albums at the home of oldest daughter Robin in Prairie Village.

They recalled games of hide-and-go-seek. They laughed at memories of vacations, how their dad would hoist Holly onto his shoulders when hiking the mountains, even though she was 9 and not so light.

The girls were ages 13 to 20 when the man Kansas City would come to know as the “Good Samaritan” disappeared. He was found days later shot in the woods near Higginsville, Mo.

The inclusion of the gratuitous aside about it being the first interview granted by the family does not let the Star off the hook for its overemphasis on the killer rather than the victim. Even if the family did not talk, there were other people in Excelsior Springs who would have gladly told the newspaper about Richard Drummond.

Sadly, Mr. Drummons's name was not even mentioned in some of the coverage offered by the Star and other media, while a considerable amount of time was spent talking about how Skillicorn had changed his life since being sentenced to death row.