A new true-crime book is bringing renewed attention to one of Chase County’s most serious law enforcement cases: the May 24, 1978, killing of Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Conroy O’Brien near the Matfield Green service area.
Murder at Matfield Green, written by Jim Norton, tells the story of O’Brien’s death and the manhunt that followed across the Flint Hills. Local resident Donna Frese alerted the Council Grove Republican to the new book and to its connection with several Morris County-area officers who were involved in the response.
Because the killing occurred near Matfield Green, the story has a strong Chase County connection. The manhunt drew a large law enforcement response, including Kansas Highway Patrol officers and agencies from across the region. According to an excerpt from the book, law enforcement help arrived from as far away as Salina, McPherson County and Topeka, including Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents.
The Morris County-area officers named in connection with the response included Council Grove Police Chief Harold Furman and Council Grove police officers John Quinn, Benny Furman and Charles Robidou, all now deceased. Marion County Deputy Tom Furman, now retired and living in Council Grove, was also present for the manhunt. Tom Furman was contacted for comment, but none was available by press time.
Local readers may notice that some familiar names are misspelled in the book.
Norton said in a television interview that he worked on the book for nearly a year and believed O’Brien’s story needed to be told. Norton grew up as the son of a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper and had known about the case since childhood, though he said he did not know the full details until he began researching the book.
As part of that research, Norton traveled to Oklahoma to meet O’Brien’s widow and daughter. He said the project was meaningful because it gave him the opportunity to help preserve O’Brien’s memory.
The book’s introduction also gives Norton’s personal connection to the story. He writes that his father, Sgt. Bobby Lee Norton, was a 20-year veteran of the Kansas Highway Patrol and a close friend of Trooper Charlie Smith. Smith survived a shootout with one of the suspects shortly after O’Brien’s death.
Norton was 13 at the time. In the introduction, he recalls Smith visiting his family after the shooting and describing the events that had unfolded. Norton writes that he later saw Smith’s damaged patrol car, including bullet holes in the windshield and driver’s door.
The book identifies the suspects as Jimmie K. Nelms, Walter Myrick and Stanford Swain. Nelms and Myrick were convicted of murder. Myrick later died in prison.
Nelms’ case returned to public attention in 2025 after the Kansas Prisoner Review Board initially granted him parole, then rescinded that decision after public opposition and calls from state leaders for reconsideration. Chase County Sheriff Jacob Welsh was instrumental in leading the parole opposition movement. The governor’s office announced in May 2025 that the board had denied Nelms’ release after a new hearing. Kansas lawmakers later approved changes to the state parole process following the backlash.
For Chase County readers, Murder at Matfield Green revisits a case rooted in local history.
For Morris County readers, it also recalls the neighboring officers who joined the response during a difficult and dangerous day in Kansas law enforcement history.
The book is available online and may also be ordered through local bookstores.