Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Marty Seifert presented his true crime book at the New Ulm Public Library on Wednesday.

NEW ULM — Do you believe there is evil in the world? Marty Seifert does and he’s written a book about an evil event that happened in his hometown a century ago.

Seifert gave a presentation at the New Ulm library Wednesday about his book “Sundown at Sunrise: A Story of Love and Murder.” It is a historical novel based on one of the most notorious ax murders in American history.

On March 24, 1917 six members of the Kleeman family were found dead in a farm house near the town of Clements off Highway 68. Five of the six had been murdered with an ax. The sixth was a suicide.

William Kleeman was found first. He was found hanging in the farm house, dead of an apparent suicide. Shortly after his body was discovered, his wife, Maud Petrie Kleeman, and their four children were also found dead in the same farm house. The other five were victims of an ax blow to the head. William Kleeman claimed in suicide note that someone else committed the crime and Kleeman killed himself out of despair. A grand jury viewed the note as a lie and believed Kleeman killed his family. It is believed he committed the crime out shame.

In addition to the family, a young school teacher was living with the Kleeman family. She taught at the Sunrise schoolhouse next door, and the family agreed to board her. This young teacher was unmarried, but became pregnant during her stay with the Kleemans. It is believed William was the father of her child.

The teacher was away visiting family in Mankato at the time of the murder. She discovered William’s body upon returning.

Seifert said he initially planned to write a non-fiction book about the incident, but after extensive research found a scant amount of facts or firsthand accounts to publish a book.

“This was 100 years ago. There were no primary sources to interview. No one is alive that was witness to it,” Seifert said.

After talking with his publisher, Seifert decided to write fiction based on a true story. “Sundown at Sunrise” tells the story of William Kleeman meeting Maud Petrie, his marriage and the eventual murder of the family.

Seifert was forced to fictionalize some of the story to fill in the gaps. For instance, the book begins with William and Maud meeting at a town dance. Whether this is how the couple met in real life is unknown. Seifert speculates that in 1909 there were only four ways a couple met: school, church, next door neighbors or a town dance. William and Maud were not neighbors and they did no attend school or church together so a dance seemed probable.

A few characters and places are fictionalized to better tell the story. Seifert names the school teacher Marcy Snelling, but says that was not her real name. He chose to change her name to spare the family any embarrassment.

In writing the book, Seifert said he weaved references to William Kleeman’s evil nature leading up to the murder. He never attends church and shuns most religious imagery. Most animals dislike him unless they are solid black. His black team of horses all have demonic names.

“I believe evil exists,” Seifert said. “Whether people want to admit that or not, I think there is evil in the world, so I blend that into the book.”

Seifert said his biggest struggle in writing the book was that no matter how he ended it, evil wins in the end.

Seifert continues to learn more about the crime and the family after writing the book. Recently he was contacted by a niece of William Kleeman. The niece was born 23 years after the murder and was unaware her uncle was an ax murder until reading Seifert’s book. The niece is now 77 years old. She grew up in Morton, but no one mentioned the murder to her.

After learning about her family’s dark past, she began going through items she inherited.

William Kleeman is the murderer in the book, but Seifert admits he is only 75 percent certain of this.

“We really don’t know the true motive of the murder,” Seifert said.

The motive for the murder was always assumed to be shame of fathering an illegitimate child with the school teacher, but there is not direct evidence he was the father. The school teacher did give birth to a son, but died a year after the murders from influenza.

Since writing the book many readers have suggested other possible killers ranging from farmhands to the pregnant teacher. Seifert said today a more thorough investigation would have been conducted. No finger prints or forensics were taken, but no evidence of an intruder was found.

Two separate funerals were held for the family. William was buried on a Wednesday. Maud and the children were buried on a Thursday. The family was buried in separate parts of the cemetery. William’s grave is marked with a headstone, but Maud is in an unmarked grave.

Seifert does not know why the suspected murder received a headstone, but not the victim. Maud’s family was relatively wealthy but she never received a grave marker.

Seifert said he is considering starting a GoFundMe page to pay for Maud Petrie’s headstone. He estimates it would cost $1,000.

Seifert is a former lawmaker and candidate for governor who lives in Marshall. He said he always wanted to write a book, but did not want to write about politics. As a native of Clements, Seifert had grown up learning about the gruesome crime committed there.

After the presentation, Seifert signed copies of the book. Seifert said copies of “Sundown at Sunrise” are available for purchase at the local Hy-Vee.