Vietnam veteran cleared of killing pastor tells how Harper Lee interviewed him

• Robert Burns shot Will Maxwell at a church in Alexander City, Alabama
• It was during the funeral of the former soldier's adopted niece in 1977
• Maxwell had been connected to the deaths of five of his relatives 
• Burns was found innocent of murdering Maxwell by reason of insanity
• Lee came to meet him in the 1980s to discus the idea of the book
• The manuscript, believed to be called The Reverend, is only part finished  

After stunning the world with To Kill A Mockingbird, it took 55 years for Harper Lee to publish another book.

All the while the 89-year-old has been living a secluded life in Monroeville, Alabama, refusing to talk to the press or be seen on camera. 

But it seems the author may have had a mysterious, true-crime novel in the works - and even went to interview one of the key characters.

Robert Lewis Burns has been pictured after he revealed to the Alex City Outlook Lee had come to visit him in the 1980s to discus his murder case.

He described the Pulitzer Prize winner as a 'very nice' lady with grey hair, who 'knew her stuff'.

It came after he shot and killed a notorious pastor, Will Maxwell, in Alexander City in 1977 - in front of 300 witnesses.

Robert Lewis Burns from Daveville, Alabama, has revealed he was interviewed by Harper Lee in the 1980s for a true crime novel surrounding a murder case involving a notorious pastor 

He was subsequently found not guilty by reason of insanity, and named man of the year in the town

for his effort. 

Burns said he met with her twice, but was warned she may not be able to write the book because the attorney both he and Maxwell had retained, Tom Radney, was married to someone in the family, and she knew it might incriminate him. 

Maxwell had been suspected in the murder of his wife Mary Lou in 1970 and brother Columbus a short time later.

He was acquitted in the killing of his spouse, and then collected the $90,000 insurance money, and was never charged in Columbus' death. 

Three years later, Maxwell's second wife, Dorcus – the same woman who had provided his alibi in Maxwell's trial in the death of his first wife – was found dead in her car.

Dorcus' husband had died shortly after Mary Lou Maxwell, making Dorcus and Will free to marry.

His nephew James Hicks was then found dead shortly before Shirley Ann Ellington was found dead at the age of 16.  She was Burn's adopted niece. 

The front page of the town newspaper following the slaying of Willie Maxwell in 1977.  Harper Lee researched his slaying and a string of other killings, but no book was ever published. Robert Burns, who shot and killed Maxwell but was later acquitted by reason of insanity, met with Lee twice to discuss the case

Maxwell, whose grave is pictured, was suspected in the deaths of a number of his family members. Allegations surfaced that he had killed them so he could collect insurance policies he had taken out on them 

Maxwell had never been charged in each death, but the final killing came close to home for Burns.

He had been stationed in Vietnam less than 10 years earlier and had seen horrific battles across the war-torn countries.  

At Ellington's service Burns, noticed Maxwell was sitting behind him in the pews and fired his pistol three times at Maxwell. He died on the floor of the funeral home.

Burns' brother William asked Radney to be his attorney. To set aside any conflict of interest he was cleared by the bar - as he was representing the man accused of killing his former client. 

The lawyer decided they would argue he was not guilty by reason of insanity - claiming he had suffered PTSD as a result of the war. 

Throughout the trial they openly admitted that Burns shot Maxwell - but his time in Vietnam had impacted him. 

The district attorney, Tom Young, on the other hand argued that Burns had acted as 'a one-man lynch mob' and charged him with first-degree murder.

Despite the argument, the jury took 20 minutes to return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Those gathered in the courtroom applauded when the forearm announced the decision. 

Burns was sent to a state mental facility in Tuscaloosa for assessment, but was released a few weeks later. He was named Alexander City's man of the year in 1977. 

Then Lee came to visit him to interview him. 'She knew her stuff,' Burns told the Outlook.

Vera Burns, Robert's wife, wipes an eye as her husband discusses his dealings with author Harper Lee about a true-crime book she researched almost 40 years ago. Burns said Lee visited him twice after he was acquitted in the killing of a part-time preacher who was slain in front of 300 witnesses in 1977, but no book was ever published

Burns said Lee was a 'very nice' grey-haired lady who knew her stuff. But she warned him that she may not be able to publish the book because of conflicts in her family 

'She knew things that we didn't know. One thing that I'll always remember that she told us about Will Maxwell, she said, 'Mr. Burns, you'd be surprised at the people that man's taken out insurance policies on.'

'(Lee) said she had got all the information together that she wanted to write the book with,' Burns added.

'The second time she came to my house, she said she might not be able to write the book because Big Tom (Radney) was married to someone in her family and it might incriminate him

'I hope she writes it,' Burns said. 'She's got to be getting old. Is she in Monroeville still?' 

The manuscript, titled The Reverand is believed to exist. Members of Radney's family are said to have found some handwritten notes including a final paragraph.  

Currently, the Radney family is embroiled with Lee and her attorney in an attempt to retrieve some of Tom Radney's papers they say he let Lee borrow for her research.