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E076: German Luis Clerici
1.7k Plays5 years ago
His wallet. His shoes. His car. The location of his body. These are the clues that keep us wondering who could have killed German Luis Clerici and why?
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Transcript
Starting a Podcast with Buzzsprout
00:00:00
Speaker
Sleuth Hounds. Have you ever considered creating your own podcast? Have you been inspired by listening to some of your favorites and thought, I'd love to try this out on my own? Whether it's a true crime podcast like ours, a motivational podcast, or maybe one filled with tips and strategies for those interested in the same activities you are,
00:00:20
Speaker
When Maggie and I first decided to start our podcast, we knew absolutely nothing about what podcasting would entail. But when we found that the platform Buzzsprout was one for which we didn't need any special equipment, just a computer microphone, some quiet space, and each other, we knew that this was the way to go. It is intuitive to use, fun to play around with, and so helpful in getting analytical data about our number of downloads to track trends and from where our listeners hail.
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Best yet, Buzzsprout is affordable, even by our teacher salary standards. Buzzsprout will get your podcasts listed on every major podcasting platform. So, what are you waiting for? Fulfill that dream of yours and start today.
00:01:05
Speaker
If you use our Coffee and Cases referral code, 709-643, linked on Facebook and in our show notes, not only will you help support our show, but you will receive a $20 Amazon gift card after your second month on a paid plan. It's that easy. Podcasting isn't hard when you have the right partners. Join over 100,000 podcasters already using Buzzsprout to get their message out to the world. Now,
00:01:32
Speaker
It's time for the world to hear what you have to say. I've always loved riddles. It's fun to test my brain, to think outside of the normal parameters, to think about things differently. Sometimes I test my students with them just to see how observant they are. I give them a scenario and wait in anticipation to find out if they listened to every word. Here's one that I gave not too long ago.
00:02:01
Speaker
A serial killer kidnapped five different people and sat them down, each with two pills in their hand and a glass of water. He told them each to take one pill, but warned them that one was poisonous and the other was harmless. Whichever pill the victim didn't take, the serial killer would take. Every victim somehow died. How did the serial killer
00:02:30
Speaker
get them all to take the poisonous pill. Most who hear the riddle become fixated on probability. What would be the statistical chances of all five taking the poisonous pill? Or they assume that all of the pills are poisonous. But they're not. The serial killer was telling the truth about that fact at least. But the killer was telling a lie.
00:03:01
Speaker
What slips their mind is that all five of them had something else in common, the water. It wasn't the pills that were poisonous, but the water they used to swallow the pill. The answer is in the details. We just have to hone in on the right ones. So too with our case this week, except that there are so few details to begin with.
00:03:30
Speaker
Do we know the right ones? Can someone, perhaps one of you, Sleuthhounds, figure out the riddle of the murder at the center of our case today?
Introduction to Coffee and Cases Podcast
00:03:42
Speaker
This is the story of German Louise Clarisi.
00:04:22
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases, where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron.
00:04:31
Speaker
We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the case will take those tips to law enforcement so justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page.
00:04:47
Speaker
Coffee and cases podcast and to follow us on instagram at coffee cases podcast and on tiktok at coffee and cases podcast Because as these families know conversation helps to keep their missing family member in the public consciousness Helping to keep their memories alive. So sit back sip your coffee and listen to what's brewing this week
00:05:11
Speaker
Maggie, our case this week is one for which a friend reached out asking that we cover this case.
The Lesser-Known Case of Jersey
00:05:17
Speaker
Okay. Yep. We had several of those actually. Yeah, we have. So this one is one that, you know, we talked quite a bit when we covered Cecil Gaddy's case that there are so many worthy cases to be covered and ones that have basically not gotten any
00:05:39
Speaker
media coverage, I mean, let alone coverage on podcasts to keep their stories alive. And this is one of them. And I can't, that has to be so sad for friends and family to not get any coverage. Yeah, I think to feel forgotten. And so I wanted to let you know ahead of time that this case will be shorter than some that we've covered because there's so little out there.
00:06:06
Speaker
I mean, you know, I've talked before about how much research I generally read, and I'm talking like 90 single space pages. But for this case, I only found eight articles, seven of which were published in 2010 when the case happened, and only one single article published as a follow up in 2019. Wow. So I think it's pretty clear why his friend reached out.
00:06:36
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. And, you know, I think you're right Maggie. I think the frustrating part would be to feel like you've been forgotten or like your friend or your family member weren't important enough to get the attention, you know, like as if his memory weren't the same kind that other loved ones of the missing and murdered have that haunt them in the wee hours, you know,
00:07:03
Speaker
when they're trying to find the comfort of sleep and with it, forgetfulness. And what kind of makes it like, I guess, if I were in their shoes, like what makes one missing or murdered person's case more important than another, that one receives more immediate attention than the other, you know? Yeah. And I don't know what the, yeah, the, I guess, parameters are of, you know, what
00:07:32
Speaker
makes a quote unquote good news story, but every single one of these stories needs to be heard. And I feel like almost families like and friends like the ones in our case this week kind of feel almost a double agony, you know, because they feel that need for answers alongside the prayer of actually having a voice and having his story told.
00:08:03
Speaker
So Maggie and I will be that voice for you. And Sleuthhounds, you too need to be the voice. This is not the case that everyone has heard about and has a theory on. This is the case that no one has heard. The case you need to tell your friends to listen to or tell them about. Because it's one where each and every one of you who share it
00:08:32
Speaker
can and will make a difference. Well, I am anxious to hear. Okay. So his name is German Louise Clarisi. And I actually, quite a bit of my research, and this is a bit different than, you know, what I normally do, which is, you know, all my research online. I spoke with or had online conversations with several of his friends.
00:09:01
Speaker
And I'm going to refer to him as Jersey throughout the episode. You'll see why that's what many of his friends called him. Okay.
Who was German Louise Clarisi?
00:09:11
Speaker
Um, but his name is German Louise Clarice and his mom actually called him German and an ex-girlfriend of his who I spoke with actually called him Louise, but his friends called him Jersey. So simplify.
00:09:31
Speaker
I'll either call him by his last name of Clarice or I'll say Jersey. Clarice was born in Argentina and he was very proud of his heritage, but he had moved to the United States when he was just a wee little lad and they settled in New Jersey.
00:09:50
Speaker
with his mom. And obviously having been raised in New Jersey from the time he was young, he had picked up a thick Jersey accent. And we're one to talk about, or me, I guess I'm one to talk about accents. I know. I have one too. I thought I'd, you know, I don't want to say gotten rid of it. Accents are good, but
00:10:15
Speaker
I didn't think mine was that strong but I've heard from from some of our listeners and they're like oh well Kentucky accents from to you too. Those little southern accents. Bless your heart. Hush up whatever phrases we say. But because of that accent that's why his friends gave him the nickname Jersey.
00:10:38
Speaker
Okay. And that name really stuck because it stood out when he moved to Kansas a few years after his brother took a job in Wichita. And so, um, so basically he just, he just answered to everything. So German, Louise, you know, uh, whatever. And I had to tell you when I lived and taught in New Jersey, I loved the New Jersey accent.
00:11:05
Speaker
And I don't know if you've heard it Maggie like if you've ever watched Jersey Shore or anything like that. A little bit. But is the New Jersey accent they leave out there ours. No. Well that's more like New York. But like one for example like if they were
00:11:29
Speaker
If they said like go to the office, it was more like office. Oh, okay. Yeah, I have something like that. But another thing that I appreciated about living in New Jersey was how multicultural it was.
00:11:43
Speaker
And like even the high school where I taught, they had this cultural celebration in the gym where students of different nationalities had like food and music to represent their heritage. Cool. Yeah. It was super cool. And so I'm sure that Clarice fit right in in New Jersey.
00:12:03
Speaker
And like I said, he was super proud of his heritage. And from what I've been told by his friends, he fit in really well in Wichita also because everybody just loved to hang around him. So he was very welcoming. He had a welcoming presence about him. Yeah, it's like one of those people you want to be their friend.
00:12:26
Speaker
yeah exactly like drew people to him and so he actually moved to Wichita in high school and he was attending college there also he went to Cowley college and I read that.
00:12:41
Speaker
Cowley College is a community college that's based in Arkansas City, Kansas, but it had satellite campuses in Wellington, Winfield, Mulvane, and Wichita, and he actually attended the campus in Mulvane.
00:12:57
Speaker
I think that's pretty common with community colleges. They'll have like the different satellite campuses. Yeah, because we have several in central Kentucky that are like satellite campuses of a bigger community college. And while attending school, Jersey had been living with his girlfriend, Shawna Herrick, but they'd been arguing a lot recently. So he had actually decided to move out to let things cool off a bit. Okay.
00:13:26
Speaker
I don't know. I don't know if I ever think that, you know, you know, when couples say like let's take a break. I don't know if breaks really Yeah, I was never one word. Like a break. I just feel like either want to work through my problems or like Move on. Right.
00:13:45
Speaker
However, Shauna actually told Stan Finger of the Wichita Eagle in an interview on February 9, 2010, that in the last conversation that she had with Clarice on Thursday evening, January 28,
00:14:01
Speaker
that they had actually discussed when he might move back in with her. So they were working on it. Yeah. She actually said in the interview quote, and well, obviously you're getting ready to hear why she said this, but she said, I have no idea what happened. This is a total and complete shock to me for everyone. He was the best guy in the world. He had the best heart.
00:14:31
Speaker
end quote. Well now I'm anxious. Yeah because the very next day Jersey was gone and it was a shock. Like first that this vivacious lovable guy would disappear and second that his body turning up about a week after that would only lead to further confusion.
00:15:01
Speaker
So as I just mentioned, the initial shock was that somebody as well liked as Jersey would disappear. So he's literally there one day, talking to Shauna about potentially moving back, talking to his friends, to not responding to anyone. And so just to kind of get an idea about
00:15:27
Speaker
the kind of person that Jersey was, because I feel like, you know, obviously when you read the news stories, they'll give you like the dates and the details, but they don't get into who the person was.
00:15:41
Speaker
And so I asked several of his friends to describe their favorite memories with Jersey so that you Maggie and you sleuth hounds could hear about who he was. And one friend noted how kindhearted and goal oriented Jersey was. She mentioned that when she moved from Wichita to Houston, that he was one of only a couple of people who kept in touch just to see how she was doing.
00:16:09
Speaker
That's amazing. Cause I feel like it is kind of like easy for us like to grow apart from our friends when we move away. Right. And I mean, I'm sure you've experienced this, right? Cause you know, you sleuth hounds know Maggie and I used to teach together and now Maggie's in a different County. And yeah, I mean, it's hard to get so caught up in, you know, what you're doing.
00:16:36
Speaker
But it's hard to take the time, but he did. And when he found out that that friend was pregnant with a baby girl, he was so excited to meet that precious baby. Yep. And another friend actually recalled going to Jersey's mom's surprise birthday party on Halloween and just how family oriented Jersey was also.
00:17:01
Speaker
So I think that gives you a good sense of this is not the kind of guy who would just, you know, up and leave exactly. And that's why I think getting those details are so important because they show you just how interested Jersey was in others, how caring, how much joy he found in life. And because
00:17:26
Speaker
you hear those stories, you can kind of begin to understand that whole that his friends felt in their lives after January 29, 2010, which was the last day that anyone saw or heard from Jersey.
00:17:43
Speaker
Shauna believes in my conversation with her that whatever happened to him, she believes happened on that night. She said it wasn't like him to ignore people when they tried to call or reach out to him. And that Thursday night that she spoke with him was the last time anyone actually heard back from him. Okay, so she's saying he wouldn't just ignore people's phone calls like
00:18:10
Speaker
What whatever happened to him happened to him the last time someone talked to him which was yeah to 29th now I'm the complete opposite because when I get stressed I'm like Get into my own little bubble and I don't call people back and I don't
00:18:26
Speaker
I'm like one of those friends who like, I saw a meme about this like a couple of weeks ago and it was like, you know, if you haven't heard from me in two months and you decide to call me, it'll be fine. I won't be mad. I probably didn't notice and I'll talk to you just like we talked yesterday. We're like the ones that's like, my response time is either immediately or in 10 business days. That's exactly right. Yeah, but Jersey wasn't like that. He was always immediate.
00:18:55
Speaker
And so when, you know, calls and texts were going unanswered, that's when everyone's like, hmm, something is wrong.
00:19:04
Speaker
An article of KWCH-12 by Rachel Skyda and published March 5th, 2019 notes that all phone activity stopped on January 30th. So I don't know why there's like a little bit of a discrepancy there. Like Shauna is thinking that the 28th was
00:19:30
Speaker
when something happened to him. But this article notes that phone activity stopped on January 30th. So I'm wondering if like maybe like his phone died. Maybe right. Picking up something and then it just died. Right. It could be like maybe those apps you have running in the background or something. Now I didn't I also didn't read what time the last communication was. So I'm kind of inclined to believe that
00:20:00
Speaker
You know, when she talked to him on Thursday night of the 28th, maybe whatever happened to him, she says she thinks it happened that night. It could have been like wee morning hours of the 29th, but just after midnight on that Saturday morning.
00:20:16
Speaker
But when he didn't show up for his college classes on Monday morning, Shawna and Jersey's mom knew that something was wrong. And they called the police to report him missing on that Monday, February 1st. So the last time they looked at him was the 29th. Yeah. 28th. Missing the first. Okay. Correct. Yeah. So, I mean, you know, obviously,
00:20:45
Speaker
young people, teenagers, we talk about it in almost every case, the assumption that they've just gone off somewhere of their own accord. They'll be back. So I'm sure that could have been, I mean, he was a college kid, right? And even though that wasn't normal for him to not respond quickly, it could happen. It could have, yeah.
00:21:11
Speaker
Right. But when they hadn't heard from him for multiple days, Andy doesn't show up for glass, something's wrong. And that's kind of when the disbelief set in. His friends told me that they had a hard time believing that this could happen to Jersey, right? So they're thinking, okay, there has to be a logical explanation, you know, kind of like that riddle.
What Happened to Jersey?
00:21:33
Speaker
Like they just felt like they weren't looking at the right clue.
00:21:38
Speaker
Well, I'm horrible at riddles. And like when you were reading that, I was like, well, clearly both of the pills are poisonous. And then you were like, or the water could be. And I was like, oh, duh Maggie, or the water could be.
00:21:53
Speaker
It's like when we do Reba's puzzles and I'm like staring at them and then you say the answer and I'm like, oh, I'm a moron. Like, duh, of course that's what it is. I mean, that's kind of like the cases that we cover each week because, and the reason why they're unsolved is you're just maybe not looking at the right piece. Yeah.
00:22:16
Speaker
And so that's what his friends were thinking. They were like, okay, there has to be a logical explanation, right? He has to be somewhere. And so at first they just kind of told themselves that maybe he was just partying with some friends, right? And he'll turn up in a day or two. But it's already been a day or two. I know. And he didn't show up.
00:22:36
Speaker
So as more time passed, they too were forced to confront this idea that something bad might have happened. So eventually everyone is like, okay, like we got to start looking because he didn't leave of his own accord.
00:22:54
Speaker
Then Sergeant Jay Sharp of the Butler County Sheriff's Office got a call around 3 p.m. on February 6, 2010 that a man's body was discovered by a woman walking down the extremely rural
00:23:12
Speaker
Southwest Boyer Road, which was southwest of El Dorado. And law enforcement identified the body as that of German Louise Clarice, a detail that was released to the public on Sunday, February 7. So remember, he's not reported missing until February 1. And his body is discovered on February 6. And is El Dorado far from where he was like living and going to school?
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah, so that's a great question Maggie. Eldorado was actually like a 45 to 50 minute drive from Mulvane. So like horrible but not convenient. Right. Yeah. Mulvane is like south of Wichita.
00:24:01
Speaker
And El Dorado is kind of northeast of Wichita. So you kind of have to go at least in the outskirts of a bigger city even to get to it. But El Dorado itself and this road in particular were extremely rural. And the woman who found his body
00:24:29
Speaker
saw that Jersey had been shot. So like police know they're dealing with a murder. But there were a few details that were extremely odd about his body and about the location Maggie.
00:24:48
Speaker
Like, even I know, even Sergeant Sharp told Rachel Skyda of KWCH 12, quote, it was obviously a very suspicious thing from the get go, end quote. Yeah, I know. So here we go. The first oddity are Jersey shoes.
00:25:14
Speaker
this particular road as I mentioned was super rural it was a dirt road that was extremely muddy but Jersey shoes were still bright white okay no that cannot happen because I bought new tennis shoes over the weekend and I was like
00:25:38
Speaker
in love with these shoes even though in my mind I was like you don't need to get these because they're like basically solid white and so I wore them to school today and like the first thing I did was trip over air and like get one of the tops of the shoes dirty and I was like oh there goes those right yeah let alone walking down a muddy dirt road
00:25:59
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. So had Jersey like walked on this road himself, his shoes would have been caked with mud. Like they would have been nasty. Yeah, exactly. But they weren't. So as a result, investigators feel strongly that he was actually murdered elsewhere, likely in Wichita, just because he's, you know, from Wichita or the outskirts of it.
00:26:29
Speaker
And they believe that then his body was dumped in this location in Butler County. So we potentially have two crime scenes where he was killed and then where his body was found. Correct. The second oddity is that his wallet was on him when he was discovered. So whatever motive there was to hurt Jersey and obviously wasn't financial. Yeah. It didn't seem like it was for money. And so
00:26:59
Speaker
That makes me feel like either his death was purposeful and done for like revenge or some motive like that.
00:27:09
Speaker
or, and I realize that these are complete opposites, that his death were accidental. Like maybe something happened, you know, like if he's hanging out with friends and he drinks too much or he falls and hits his head or something accidental and dies and whomever he was with freaked out and dumped Jersey in that ditch and then got away as quickly as possible. I mean, both could be, I mean, both could be scenarios that are true.
00:27:38
Speaker
right but it doesn't strike me as it's not going to be like a I would think of a stranger picked him up or something that a stranger would have taken his wallet yeah so that's why I feel like and I know again they're complete opposites but one of those scenarios makes the most sense to me and I mean like I feel well maybe he could have just been like
00:28:07
Speaker
Okay. Cause Anthony and I have got back onto a forensic files kick. And so we've been binge watching forensic files, which is good. But then like at night time, I'm like, you have to go to bed too, because now I'm scared. I can't go to bed alone. But, um, like he could have just been like.
00:28:27
Speaker
I mean, one of the episodes we watched was like this man just suddenly decided to kill someone. And the first person that he passed was who he decided to kill and he didn't take anything either. Oh. Just like an act of rage. Well, just throw my theory out the window then. Because obviously it happens. I wonder if that's rare though. I feel like it would have to be. Yeah.
00:28:58
Speaker
According to Stan Finger's article on the Wichita Eagle, Shauna, remember she was his girlfriend at the time, had been told by authorities that, quote, her boyfriend had been dead a day or two before he was found, end quote. That was the language that was in that article. And I found that language from law enforcement odd.
00:29:21
Speaker
Because to me it almost sounds as if they think he could have been alive for several days after having last spoken to anyone. Which in that case why wouldn't he have called any like why wouldn't he have tried to get in contact with people. He's been missing since like what was it the 28th 29th right. Yeah the last she spoke to him was on the 28th.
00:29:42
Speaker
And he's not found until the sixth, but law enforcement said that they thought he had been dead a day or two. That's weird to me. Yes. I completely agree. Especially like you mentioned, Maggie, with what Shawna said about him always responding back. So that almost leads me to believe, you know, this could be a scenario of like him being maybe held captive.
00:30:06
Speaker
A true in some way, you know, like the lack of communication was not by his own choice. And if that's true, that detail then would lead me to believe that his death was not an accident. Yeah, agree. Now, if you were noticing my words a moment ago, Maggie, then you probably caught that I said, if he had been picked up,
00:30:34
Speaker
And that's another thing that's odd about this scene. Here was Jersey out in the middle of nowhere, but his car was nowhere around. Hmm.
00:30:48
Speaker
In fact, an article published in the Wichita Eagle on February 9th, 2010 by Tim Potter announced that Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy was asking the public to keep an eye out for Jersey's car, a maroon two-door 1990 Toyota Celica with Kansas license plate 199CDD. So they're like announcing it to the public. So they think his car has been stolen.
00:31:19
Speaker
I don't either that or they're hoping that if they can find it that there will be clues of some sort. Okay. A final oddity about his death in the scene was the road itself on which Jersey's body was found.
00:31:39
Speaker
So I read that it was very rural. So then I started thinking, because you know Maggie, we're from small towns and sometimes they're like back roads that just lead to more farms. But then sometimes there are back roads that actually if you stay on them long enough, it can take you to a larger city. Yeah, like a shortcut sort of. Right. And so then I started thinking, okay, is this rural road that like goes to someplace? Or is this a kind of rural road where like,
00:32:07
Speaker
You basically have to be from the area to even know that it's there. Right. So I asked his friends and they all said that it was a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. One that really only locals would go down. But I feel like that at least gives us a clue. Yeah. So whoever put his body there knew that the road wasn't well traveled.
00:32:37
Speaker
I knew people wouldn't know to look for him there. Exactly. Yep. Those are the two things that I thought immediately also. And yeah, it tells us that whoever put Jersey there.
00:32:52
Speaker
had to have known the area. And I wonder, because I didn't read any articles about it, of course, there's barely any articles out there, but I wonder how many locals of El Dorado were actually questioned. Yeah, because that almost leads you to believe that whoever did this to him had to live in that town. Right. If it's that rural,
00:33:14
Speaker
So, you know, again, I saw that a podcast actually just cracked the Kristen Smart case from like the late 90s or mid to late
Unraveling the Mystery: Clues and Evidence
00:33:26
Speaker
90s. And I'm sitting there thinking this whole time, this podcaster actually went around interviewing people who hadn't been interviewed by the police. And one of them had information.
00:33:41
Speaker
that led to solving the case. And so I wonder like if the right person in Eldorado were questioned, did they see something that night? Did they notice a car pulled over on the side of the road? You know? Wichita Homicide actually worked closely with the Butler County Sheriff's Office to find the answers, but unfortunately none really came.
00:34:09
Speaker
There was only a single small break. Nearly four months after Clarice's body was found, a mail carrier identified Jersey's car in a parking lot near Wichita State University, about 30 minutes north of Mulvane, which was where Jersey attended school. I wonder if they know how long had been there.
00:34:35
Speaker
Well, that's a great question. The police investigators, they were like, why didn't we see his car previously, right? We sent a call out to the public. We told them what to be looking for. And the police actually believed that his car had been there the whole time.
00:34:57
Speaker
which I'm not so sure I agree. Some of his friends actually disagree with law enforcement also. They feel like the neighborhood where his car was found that someone would have called it in far sooner because they had actually gone around that area putting missing flyers up. So they're like, if it had been there the whole time, somebody would have called. Yeah.
00:35:26
Speaker
his car didn't really provide any clues in it. Well, that stinks. I know. But it was weird because Jersey didn't attend school at Wichita State. Right. Right. And so about all we know is that someone picked him up from his car. Right. Because his car is there. His body is in El Dorado.
00:35:56
Speaker
I guess I just don't understand, like, if you have transportation, what you could have been doing that you would have needed a ride. Well, again, unless he was forced into another car or something. And so, again, because his car isn't where he is,
00:36:17
Speaker
And it wasn't covered in any of the news articles. I asked all of his friends, like, if they knew of any reason why Jersey might have gone to Wichita State University. Like, did he have friends there? You know, who he often went to visit or like what could have been a reason he was there? And several of them said that if he did have friends there, he never mentioned them.
00:36:44
Speaker
but that he could sometimes be private about his friends. But Shauna was actually more sure. When I asked her that question, she said, quote, he would have no reason at all to have been by Wichita State University or the neighborhood where his car was found, end quote. And another one of Jersey's friends agreed
00:37:10
Speaker
saying that that's why she believes his car was later driven there and not left there by Jersey. But no fingerprints. Not that I read. But again like we talked about like how long do fingerprints last and I know that they can last quite a while so I don't know if the police tested it. I don't know because I didn't read any
00:37:35
Speaker
Yeah, personally, when I'm in my car, I guess I just shed like a dog. I'll get up and there'll be hairs attached to the headrest, so nothing like that. Not that I read. I know. I asked the follow-up question, if he did go with someone that night,
00:38:03
Speaker
You know, like if he did leave his car there and get in the car with somebody else, was he super trusting and like would have taken a ride from anyone or would he have only ridden with someone he knew? And basically his friends, well, in general, they agreed. Like one said,
00:38:26
Speaker
Yes, Jersey was kindhearted, right? Because we heard the stories, but he was also smart. So he would have never gotten into a car with somebody he didn't know. And then another friend said, well, he probably wouldn't have gotten into a car with a stranger. But, you know, Jersey would have thought that he could handle himself if anything happened.
00:38:49
Speaker
And a third said that he was trusting enough to maybe get into a car with an acquaintance. So like someone he wasn't close to, but would not have gotten into a car with a stranger. So I think the consensus is that he would have been too smart to have gotten into a car with a stranger, unless like we just mentioned, he was forced to do so, but he might have gotten into a car
00:39:15
Speaker
with an acquaintance. I mean, and we know that can sometimes be a dangerous thing. I mean, the very first episode we covered on this podcast, she took a ride from a stranger and she's not here anymore. So I mean, sometimes that can be a bad, or not a stranger, but an acquaintance. And sometimes that can be a bad thing. Because you, you know them just enough to trust them, but you don't know them. Exactly.
00:39:45
Speaker
And the rest, Maggie, are just theories and rumors. So I am going to cover some of those now and see what you think. Okay. So the first theory of what could have happened to Jersey is that his death was the result of friends or an accident. So some rumors have circulated that someone close to Jersey had something to do with his death. After all,
00:40:15
Speaker
most agree that he would not have taken a ride from a stranger. And the road on which he was found was one which someone would have to know the area to know the road. It would also, to me anyway, explain why his wallet is still there. Just like I mentioned earlier, like if it's an accident and a friend freaks out and is like,
00:40:39
Speaker
Oh my gosh, you know, what, what do I do? Let's say they were, you know, smoking weed or something. Right. And then there's like the paranoia. The devil's lead. Like we saw with Carly Goussé. Yeah, exactly. Like we saw with Carly Goussé and you know, maybe they freaked out. Right. Yeah.
00:41:01
Speaker
There are a lot of people who believe this theory, and they argue that there were some of Jersey's friends who left town right afterward, like right after his body was found, and that that drew red flags for some. Yeah, that is weird. But they were in college, so maybe they just moved or went to another university. Yeah, and I mean, obviously, you know, I'm the question queen. That should be my t-shirt, the question queen.
00:41:29
Speaker
But I have some questions with this theory. First, I heard that they only left town for a few days. So, okay, that might seem like a red flag, but then I don't think that that would really do anything. I mean, they came back. Right. So, okay, it might be weird and out of the ordinary, but I don't know if that's a sign that, you know, of guilt. Yeah.
00:41:55
Speaker
Okay. And my second question, Maggie, is if a friend has something to do with it, where had his car been? Right. How are you going to hide it if you're a college kid? Precisely. And the friends I spoke with found it hard to believe that his car was parked in that neighborhood for months without somebody noticing. But if the car had been stored at a friend's house, then obviously somebody would have noticed it. Exactly. Right. Because if it's not in that parking lot,
00:42:25
Speaker
If it's put there later, then it had to have been somewhere before that. But those who feel that someone close to Jersey was involved draw upon exactly what Wichita police Lieutenant Ken Land were stated to stand finger of the Wichita Eagle that Jersey had no criminal history. He was not linked in any way to criminal activity.
00:42:50
Speaker
and quote, appear to be a clean cut, end quote. So they're like, well, it had to have been a friend because how else do we explain it? He's not involved in anything illegal. You know, he's a clean cut kid, seems to have his act together. What else could have happened? Right. And additionally, many of Jersey's friends and
00:43:17
Speaker
his old girlfriend were interviewed. They gave statements and then they were never contacted by law enforcement again, though. So then that tells me if there's not, you know, follow up, then I'm not so sure about the theory that it was an accident or, you know, his friends. The second theory, Maggie, is based upon the idea that either Jersey was clean cut
00:43:47
Speaker
but he had recently been hanging out with the wrong crowd, or that there was a side to Jersey that few knew. Sergeant Jay Sharp of the Butler County Sheriff's Department said in an interview with KWCH 12's Rachel Skyda, quote, it almost sounds like there was another part of his life that his close friends and family didn't really know about that was going on.
00:44:15
Speaker
Nobody really knew what he was up to around the time he went missing." I don't like that quote. Yeah, I don't either. I feel like just from the descriptions that his friends have given, it sounds like he was a pretty open book with them and was honest with his friends.
Who Could be Involved?
00:44:40
Speaker
Yeah, and I have a problem with that assumption that like, just because nobody knew what he was doing that night, that he had some sort of hidden life. Yeah, like maybe he just needed a day. Right. Yeah, that's kind of an extreme assumption. Yeah. To me. Like, oh, I couldn't get a hold of Alison last night. She must have a life none of us know about. Yeah. Oh, I haven't talked to my friend in five hours. They must be dealing drugs. Yeah.
00:45:07
Speaker
Other investigators though Maggie have been much more cautious in their assumptions and they've noted that well obviously because he was murdered he might have just gotten mixed up with the wrong people.
00:45:22
Speaker
Well, and I mean, I feel like, I mean, he's like from the description, like vivacious and people kind of gravitate toward him. And I feel like he would be just from the descriptions. He comes off as someone who would try to see the best in people. And so maybe that did happen. Like he was maybe getting to know someone who wasn't the greatest of persons, but he saw the good in them.
00:45:48
Speaker
I feel like we do that too. It's like part of our nature as teachers. We just want to, people will be like, yeah, this kid did this thing. And I'm like, that kid did? Like, cause I could never imagine, you know, that kid, you know, cause I see, well, my students are my kids. So I see them like, no, I won't believe it. You know?
00:46:11
Speaker
A couple of people who I corresponded with mentioned the likelihood though of this last theory. One said that he had been recently hanging out with people who were involved in quote, bad things. And another wrote that he had been hanging out recently with what Jersey himself called quote, bad people.
00:46:37
Speaker
And that he didn't even want that person to be around those bad people. And he even joked that they were from the Mexican cartel. Now that's weird. I agree. I think that's an odd link to make. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, if you started hanging out with people, Maggie, and like, we're good enough friends and you care about me that you're like, now,
00:47:05
Speaker
Alison, I don't want you to come around them. Yeah. Then I might actually believe that they're not good people. Yeah. But then I also feel like, well, maybe you would say, well, maybe you don't need to be around them either. Right. Yeah. And there was actually a particular house that Jersey would visit sometimes where those potential perpetrators were.
00:47:29
Speaker
But the person who I talked to said that law enforcement had told them that they searched the house and found nothing connected to Jersey's case. But if this theory is true, then I still have a problem with the car. And here's why. Why leave a car as some sort of evidence? You know what I mean? Like maybe I've just seen too many movies.
00:47:58
Speaker
You know, like, like fast and the furious kind of movies where they like piece the car out and they sell it or they disassemble it or you know those sorts of things. And especially if whoever was responsible for his death was like an organized group like the the cartel. Well, apparently they're really good at
00:48:19
Speaker
covering things up because nothing's been found in his car. That's true. But I question why they would have even left the car in the first place versus like piecing it out or disassembling it or whatever. And also why they would have left his wallet on him. Because I feel like if they're bad people, then I feel like they would not only commit murder, but they would also rob. Like they're not going to be like, oh, I draw the line at stealing your wallet.
00:48:48
Speaker
Maybe like, I also feel like people, like the things we see on TV, like people that are in organized groups like that, like when they kill someone, there's like a purpose for why they were killed and they don't really bother with things beyond the purpose of why that person was killed. Right. Hence why the wallet's still there. And unfortunately Maggie, we have no more concrete details to go by.
00:49:18
Speaker
We do know that Captain Ken Morgan though of the Butler County Sheriff's Office noted some of Jersey's associates and that was the word his associates.
00:49:29
Speaker
What does that even mean? Yeah, I don't know if that's, you know. I go to like law associates. Right. Yeah. I don't know if it's like members of this bad group, if it's the friends. And that's why obviously both theories, you know, I mentioned them, but this captain Ken Morgan said of Jersey's quote, associates that they have quote, talked to and been given information.
00:49:58
Speaker
we still consider them suspects in the case." End quote. So whoever it is that our associates of jerseys, law enforcement does consider them suspects, even though there are no named suspects in the case. That's just odd to me. And all of this happened, you know, 11 years ago now. So I feel like at some point,
00:50:28
Speaker
whatever additional details law enforcement has, I feel like they need to at least share some of them. So that way like maybe somebody would know like, oh, you know, it would have been somewhere around this area of campus at Wichita State University. You know, did anybody notice anything or
00:50:53
Speaker
You know, just different details like that. Yeah, they took this road and would have been stopped at this gas station. Did anyone Yeah. Yeah. So what are your thoughts, Maggie. I know it's not a lot to go on with this case. But what are you thinking I kind of think it maybe was
00:51:17
Speaker
him being around maybe a group of people that he shouldn't have been around. That's where I'm kind of leaning. Not saying that like he per se was doing anything bad but maybe just some of the people that he was associated with were doing things that were bad and that affected him. Like maybe he saw too much or heard too much. Yeah or maybe it was like some type of initiation thing or you know something like that. Like gone wrong. Yeah.
00:51:46
Speaker
Yeah. Cause no matter what, I'm still confused about a motive. Like that's the part that gets me every time.
Solving the Case: A Call to Action
00:51:52
Speaker
Yeah. So I'm wondering if like maybe it was like you hear all those crazy stories about like you have to kill someone to be in a gang. So maybe like Jersey was the person that this future gang member had to kill to be in the gang. And that's why the wallet was still in the, in his pocket and stuff like that.
00:52:09
Speaker
Yeah, it could be. Or, I mean, like we said, if he's involved in the wrong crowd, maybe he heard something that he shouldn't have heard, or he saw something that he shouldn't have seen. The death of German Louise Clarice is a riddle, Sleuthhounds. A puzzle of details. Is there something being overlooked? Or is the very detail we need something not yet reported?
00:52:37
Speaker
Even as recently as 2019, Sergeant J. Sharp urged, quote, sometimes the smallest bit of information can be huge. You never really realize until you get it. Sometimes you have it right there in front of you the whole time and you don't realize it, end quote. All it takes is recognizing the right detail. Then, perhaps,
00:53:05
Speaker
His mother can have closure and will no longer feel as if her and her words, life, heart, and happiness were devastated. Then perhaps his friends can finally feel that justice has been served, that someone has paid for robbing his life from them.
00:53:28
Speaker
Were he with us today, I have no doubt, nor do his friends, that his smile would continue to brighten every situation, that he would continue to check in on his friends, to cuddle those babies, to love like they all know only Jersey could do. You see, they all still tell stories about the time they spent with Jersey. They celebrate his birthday. They've even named their children after him.
00:53:56
Speaker
To them, his story, his memory is still very much alive. But there's only one way that it stays alive enough that justice can be served. And that's if you tell his story as well, if he's alive in all of our memories.
00:54:18
Speaker
Anyone with information concerning German Louise Clarisi is asked to contact the Butler County Sheriff's Office tip line at 866-484-5924.
00:54:32
Speaker
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00:54:59
Speaker
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