Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO! – The Redemption of Julia Bulette: Murder, Myth & the hunt for a Serial Killer in early Virginia City (Off-site, KOP)
October 14 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Writers’ Wednesday – On The GO!
Wednesday, October 14 , 2026
5:00 – 5:30 pm – Building open
5:30 – 6:30 pm – Lecture
Speaker: Robin Flinchum, author
Book Title: The Redemption of Julia Bulette: Murder, Myth & the hunt for a Serial Killer in early Virginia City
Summary of Talk:
One chill January night in 1867, a Virginia City prostitute was strangled to death in her bed.
The murderer was caught and hanged in front of a crowd of thousands, and the citizens of the Comstock considered the matter closed. More than 150 years later, the murder of Julia Bulette has become a local legend.
The man accused, John Millain, was suspected of killing before, but there would be no justice for those victims. Reduced to vague mentions in newspaper articles, little was left to tie their unsolved murders to that of Julia’s. Did John Millain leave a trail of tragedy that stretched from San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood to Julia’s untimely end in Virginia City?
Author and award-winning journalist Robin Flinchum searches for the truth behind a string of murders in two of the richest cities in the early American West.
Robin Flinchum, author
Speaker Bio: Robin Flinchum is an award-winning journalist and historian whose work explores crime, myth, and memory in the early American West. Trained in journalism at San Francisco State University, she brings investigative rigor and narrative precision to nineteenth-century sources. She is the author of Red Light Women of Death Valley, the first book to recover the lives of women long erased from the region’s mining-camp history. Her research has reshaped the historical record and inspired permanent museum exhibits in California and Nevada.
The Writers’ Wednesday Lecture Series, held on the second Wednesday of each month, features a different author who takes part in a book signing, a presentation, and a question-and-answer session with the audience.
The program intends to highlight writers who focus on Nevada, the Great Basin, or the West in general. The authors discuss the content of their books but also share details about the creative process.
We would like to thank our partner, the Knights of Pythias, for hosting our off-site lectures.
The Knights of Pythias fraternal organization promotes friendship among men and for the general welfare of its membership. They strive to make the world a better place by practicing the principles of friendship, charity, and benevolence through community service. The Knights of Pythias have been serving Nevada communities since the 1870s. There are only three active lodges left in the State of Nevada. The address is 980 Nevada Street, Reno, NV 89503.
