Old Police Stories, LLC announces
“I’m A Dead Man” New Book by Mike Simmons available now
PENSACOLA, Fla. _ Delving into a decades-old mystery involving the Pensacola Police Department, the John F. Kennedy assassination and conspiracy drew retired Pensacola Police Sgt. Mike Simmons to the story of Hank Killam like a moth to light. Simmons’ new book, “I’m a Dead Man: The John F. Kennedy Assassination and the Unsolved Murder in Pensacola,” recounts the story of Killam’s death on the streets in Pensacola, not long after Kennedy was assassinated.
Simmons, a 30-year-veteran of the Pensacola Police Department, retired in 2015, and recently published a history of the department, “Pensacola’s Finest,” that touches briefly on the death of Killam and the mystery surrounding it.
“Throughout my career, I had always heard this story, told in almost legend fashion,” Simmons said. “In 2020, I decided to research it. To my surprise, I found that the victim. Hank Killam, was related to a man I greatly admire, Elton Killam.” Elton Killam was the chief assistant public defender for Escambia County Florida for many years and Simmons and Killam met while working in their respective jobs.
“The most delightful part of the research though, was that Elton’s sister, Sherri, was a high school friend,” Simmons said. “It warmed my heart to think that I was adding to the family history of a friend.”
Pensacola’s police history has been part and parcel of Simmons’ life since 1993 when he was tasked by Pensacola Police Chief Norman Chapman to research the history of the department earning Simmons the title of unofficial Pensacola Police Department historian.
The Hank Killam story began in Dallas, Texas in November 1963 where Killam encountered both Lee Harvey Oswald, accused of shooting JFK, and Jack Ruby, Oswald’s assassin. Killam’s wife, Wanda, worked at Ruby’s club. Killam, a native of Pensacola, returned to the city following the Kennedy assassination and the killing of Oswald. He allegedly told his brother. ““I’m a dead man. They’re going to kill me, but I have run as far as I am going to run. It’s that Kennedy thing in Dallas.”
Simmons’ book combines historical facts with ideas of how events might have transpired.
“I’m A Dead Man: The John F. Kennedy Assassination and the Unsolved Murder in Pensacola,” is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Im-Dead-Man-Assassination-Pensacola/dp/B08VFPQJ1G/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=hank+killam&qid=1619989491&s=books&sr=1-1
For more information or to contact Mike Simmons, please email: oldpolicestories@gmail.com
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