Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty

“A fascinating and volatile topic.”—Publishers Weekly

“Tracks the downward journey of three adolescents involved in the 1991 robbery of a Trout Auto Parts store in Pensacola, FL, during which a clerk named Billy Wayne Coker was shot and killed. . . . Kunerth uses this obscure case to demonstrate the disturbing ease with which juveniles are transformed into adults in Florida’s justice system.”—Columbia Journalism Review

“In the tradition of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Kunerth’s Trout is seductive, repulsive, and compelling. I read it in one sitting. How fascinating is Trout? I begged my wife to read the first ten pages, and she, too, was hooked.”—Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida

“True crime is chilling. Trout . . . is absolutely no exception.”—The Allure of Books

“Kunerth masterfully navigates a complex intersection of youth, murder, justice, and emerging science. He unflinchingly takes the reader beyond the media, the trial tactics, and the court opinions to inquire about the nature of justice in the face of tragedy and youthfulness. What emerges is a compelling portrayal of a murder, adolescence, and our collective ambivalence about our children when they commit grave wrongs.”—Robert Kinscherff, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

On a cool Pensacola night in 1991, just a few minutes before midnight, three teenagers pulled up to the Trout Auto Parts store. Patrick Bonifay, his body high with adrenaline, approached the service window with a loaded gun. In moments, one life would end and three others would be changed forever.

Trout is that rare book that continues to haunt you long after you’ve finished reading it.