Everything Blackbird leaves about the serial killer (and where he is now)

Apple TV+S Black Bird Depicts the rough and tumble story of Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), and for the most part, is an honest recounting of his life. Premiering on Apple TV+ in July 2022 and based on the 2010 autobiographical novel In With the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene, Black Bird is a recounting of the real lie operation that the FBI set up To ensure that the convicted serial killer, Larry Hall, never had the opportunity to appeal his life sentence.

Black Bird Starring an ensemble cast of talented actors, including Taron Egerton, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta. Created by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote novels like Shutter Island, Mystic RiverAnd gone baby gonewhich have all been adapted into exceptional movies, Black Bird was also widely praised. The six-episode miniseries has a 98% on Rotten tomatoes and earned three Golden Globe nominations with one win, and three Emmy nominations with one win. Thanks to Keene’s detailed account, The story also manages to hover close to reality.

Larry Hall is a real-life convicted serial killer

Hall is thought to have abducted and murdered multiple young girls in the 1980s and 1990s

Larry Hall is at the center of Black Bird And although the story is told by Keene (Egerton), it’s Hall’s life that is truly in question. Born on December 11, 1962, in Wabash, Indiana with his twin brother Gary, Hall grew up being teased for what was perceived as a low IQ and a speech impediment. A research paper on Larry Hall conducted by researchers at Radford University also noted his low IQ score, a fact that his schoolmates did not let alone (via Radford University).

In his spare time, Hall constantly helped his father, Robert Hall, dig graves. Later, he took a job as a janitor after school. Over the years, Hall was suspected of committing such crimes as arson, vandalism and other petty crimes in Wabash, and he was even suspected of abducting young girls in Michigan and Indiana. Charges were never laid, but the two girls were never found.

Between 1980 and 1994, Hall traveled across the Midwest, participating in Revolutionary War and Civil War reenactments, which he was fascinated with. It was at this time that some Authorities believe that Larry Hall may be responsible for the murder of over 40 young women (via The Cinemaholic).

The FBI feared that Hall would win an appeal due to lack of evidence

Hall was never actually convicted of murder, only kidnapping

Hall managed to stay out of investigators’ crosshairs until the remains of 15-year-old Jessica Roach were discovered in an Indiana cornfield in late 1993. After nearly a year without leads, Illinois police learned of a man driving a van around the area who They often tried to pick up young girls. One of the girls noticed the van’s license plate, which led police to Larry Hall. When they brought him in for questioning and showed Hal a picture of Jessica, he reacted immediately, according to Gary Miller, the chief investigator for the Vermilion County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois (via. CNN),

“He immediately trembled. He turned to his right and he raised his hand over his face as if he didn’t want to see the picture. He told me he didn’t think he had ever seen the girl.”

Hall eventually confessed to killing Roach and mentioned other girls he wasn’t sure about, but he thought he might have killed as well. But Hall quickly walked back everything he said, leaving investigators unsure whether they had a real serial killer or someone who had trouble distinguishing fact from fiction. Hall was eventually convicted of kidnapping Roach after evidence was found in his vanBut prosecutors could not link the murder to him. He was sentenced to life without parole.

Hall appealed his sentence around 1996-1997 And his lawyers made a strong case that Hal’s personality disorder made him vulnerable to the police’s intimidation tactics, and he was forced into a confession (by eNews). The appeal also said Hall was deprived of his right to a proper defense because his personality disorder was not properly explained at trial. It was enough for Hall to win, and the FBI feared that a man they believed had murdered multiple people would soon walk free. So they came up with a plan.

Jimmy Keene was enlisted as an FBI operative to obtain a confession from Hall.

Keene served a 10-year sentence for drug dealing

The other main character in Black Bird And the author of the book the show is based on is Jimmy Keene. Keene was a convicted drug dealer who was facing 10 years to life in prison after he took a plea deal not knowing the full extent of what he was agreeing to. After only 10 months, Assistant US it. Attorney Lawrence Beaumont (Edmund in Black Bird and played by Robert Wisdom) approached Cain and made him an offer: transfer to Hall’s high security prison to befriend Hall and get a confession. in turn, Keene would deserve an early release.

Cain quickly managed to free the lonely hall, making a connection with him by pretending to share an interest in the prison library. He solidified their relationship by defeating another inmate who had deleted Hall’s TV show. Hall slowly opened up to Keene, eventually giving him details about other murders that only the killer would know, leading to some of the more disturbing lines in Black Bird. In the culminating moment of the series, Keene walks into Hall working on a map of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.

This actually happened and Keen describes in his book how Hall placed used wooden poles over red dots that he had drawn on the map. According to Hall, the Poles were supposed to watch over the dead who were buried in each place. In real life, Keene immediately drops the charade of friendship and unleashes a flood of rage on Hall, releasing the pent-up disgust he has felt after being forced to empathize with the horrific murders Hall tells him about.

Hal destroyed the map thanks to Kane’s breakout, meaning the bodies were never found, but Kane got all the information the FBI needed to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Keene succeeded and Hall was finally caught in the lies he had been telling for years.

Everything Blackbird leaves from the real story

Black Bird stays close to the facts

for the most part, Black Bird is a very accurate retelling of the true story of Larry Hall. There are some key differences, however. The show only had Larry helping his father dig graves as a child. In fact, his brother Gary also helped, which puts a hole in the subtle theory the show is trying to suggest, that Larry’s proximity to death may have spurred his murderous actions later in life. The main change between the show and real life comes at the end of Black BirdWhen Hall shows Keene the map.

In the show, Hall goes into detail about the map, the falcons, the red dots, and the murders, proudly boasting about killing the young girls. Keene asks Hall to give the victims closure and tell the families where the bodies are. When Hall refuses, Keene snaps and calls him a monster, a much more cinematic moment than what happened in real life. In the show, it is also shown that Hall mails the Falcons and the map to his father, who destroys them. In fact, the map simply disappearedHall probably having destroyed it after Keene showed up.

Where Larry Hall and Jimmy Keane are now

Hall remains behind bars while Keene is a free man

Because he was successful in his mission, Keene is released from prison early and ends up writing his memoir and is now a motivational speaker (via All that is interesting). According to some reports, Jimmy Keane now lives in Illinois and works in real estate. As for Larry Hall, the information Keen received from him ensured that he would never have the opportunity to leave prison. He is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium II in North Carolina. While Black Bird Mentioning 21 murders he may have committed, the actual total may be as high as 50.