On the evening of October 18, 1975, six members of the Kellie family were shot to death in their Sutherland, Nebraska home. The victims included five-year-old Daniel Leroy Kellie, his sisters Deanna Lynn Kellie, 7, and Florence Marie Kellie, 10, their father David LeRoy Kellie, 32, and grandparents Audrey Marie Matson Kellie, 57, and James Henry Kellie, 66. Daniel’s small body was found draped over his father in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

Neighbors say the shooter was a neighbor, Erwin Charles Simants, who had been drinking earlier and took a .22-caliber rifle from a relative’s bedroom before going next door. Simants returned to his sister’s home afterward, admitted what he had done to family members, and was arrested the following morning and charged with six counts of first-degree murder.

Simants was convicted and sentenced to death, but that verdict was later overturned because of jury tampering. At a later trial he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state psychiatric hospital, where he has remained under periodic review; Kellie family survivors have opposed any release. Does anyone have memories of the Kellie family or details about Sutherland in 1975 that could add context to this case?