Casefile True Crime - Case 215: The One-Man Crime Wave

Episode Date: June 11, 2022

*** Warning: This case involves a child victim *** On May 26 1978, four-year-old Eric Christgen suddenly disappeared while playing in a park in St Joseph, Missouri. The next day, his body was discovered near the Missouri River, sparking a manhunt like the small town had never seen before. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn This episode's sponsors: SimpliSafe – Get 40% off the entire security system BetterHelp – Get 10% off your first month of professional counselling with a licensed therapist DoorDash – Get 25% off and FREE delivery for your first order of $15 or more with promo code ‘CASEFILE’ Lindsay Buziak Murder – Legal Fund – Donate to Jeff Buziak’s legal fund and continue to keep Lindsay’s case from being forgotten   For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-215-the-one-man-crime-wave

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local Crisis Centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Today's episode involves crimes against children and won't be suitable for all listeners. On Saturday, May 27, 1978, a thunderstorm lashed the U.S. state of Missouri. In the northwest city of St. Joseph, hundreds of locals braced the cold wet weather to trudge through the wooded banks of the Missouri River, beyond the railroad on the city's western edge.

They were searching for something. Their path led beyond the well-worn walking tracks and into the dense foliage, where muddy conditions made for a hazardous track. As the sun began to set, their task became even more difficult. Determined and desperate, the searchers continued on with flashlight in hand, but with time and to the elements against them, it was only a matter of minutes before the search would be called off. Just as things were starting to wrap up for the night, one group came across some trampled undergrowth that led to an area of long weeds.

Hidden within was something red and blue. Pulling back the foliage, the group found what they had been looking for. Meanwhile, at the nearby Hoof and Horn Steakhouse, exhausted members of the search party had gathered inside seeking refuge from the harsh weather. All of a sudden, the room fell silent as the restaurant's owner called out with the news they'd all been longing to hear. A collective sense of relief washed over the crowd, who erupted into a round of cheers and applause. Eric Christian had been found, and he was alive and well.

The mall in downtown St Joseph was unusually quiet for a Friday afternoon, as many local residents and business owners were spending the upcoming Memorial Day long weekend vacationing elsewhere. Karen Carter was looking forward to the three-day break ahead. She had just one more errand to run before finishing up work for the day. It was nearing 3pm when Karen wondered through the near empty mall on the lookout for a store that was both still open and had what she needed. Karen had been tasked with purchasing an American flag to display in her boss's office in honor of Memorial Day and the fallen military personnel it observed. She soon came across a bookstore that was still trading with American flags for sale.

As Karen approached the storefront, she felt a hand tighten around her own. Walking by her side was Eric Christian, her boss's four-year-old son. Eric was a familiar face in the Walnut Products Company office, which was owned by Eric's father, Edwin Christian. Karen had offered to take Eric with her to the mall so Edwin could focus solely on his managerial duties. Eric was enthusiastic about the trip, which included lunch at a fast-food restaurant as well as a drive in his father's Cadillac. But it was a small play area for children out the front of the bookstore that had Eric wide-eyed and excited. He beckoned Karen towards it and asked if he could play there while she

shopped nearby. Karen, who would only be gone for a minute, agreed. When she came back out moments later, Eric was gone. View people in the vicinity of the bookstore had noticed the blonde haired blue-eyed Eric who was wearing a blue and red striped shirt with denim jeans. Of those who did, none had seen him leave. He wasn't found in the mall, its parking area, or anywhere else close by, making it highly unlikely he had simply wandered off. A witness soon came forward who'd seen a boy matching Eric's description half an hour after he disappeared from the mall, walking along the train tracks near the Missouri River on the western side of town. An older man was with him. Following this revelation, the search shifted from a little boy

lost to a possible abduction. Kidnapping didn't seem an outrageous possibility given the prominence and wealth of the Christian family. Even they assumed Eric had been taken, as he was an outgoing child who had no qualms talking to strangers. The Christian family waited anxiously overnight for word of a ransom demand, but only received calls from people offering their sympathies. After 24 hours passed with no sign of his son, Edwin Christian offered a $10,000 reward for Eric's safe return. He told reporters, I'm afraid some kook may have my son. I don't care about the money, I just want my son back. More than 500 local volunteers braved the wet and thunderous weather the following day,

heading to the Missouri River to conduct a large-scale search of the area. By now, several more reports had come through from people who had seen a boy similar to Eric Christian walking along the adjacent train tracks with an unknown man. If these sightings were correct and Eric was out there, the harsh conditions posed a significant threat to his survival. The search lasted all day and into the night. Although they hadn't given up, hope of finding Eric alive was dwindling. As volunteers gathered in the Hoofenhorn Steakhouse for a short reprieve, news soon reached them that Eric had been found alive and well. Their celebrations were short-lived, as follow-up calls were made and reports clarified.

Eric had indeed been found, however, he was deceased. His body lay hidden among the trees, weeds and bracken that framed the Missouri River, not far from the railroad. He had suffocated, but there was no evidence on or around him to definitely prove how. His unbuttoned genes hinted at what was later confirmed via autopsy. Eric had been sexually assaulted. In a move that horrified and disgusted locals, a photo of Eric's body lying in the brush was printed on the front page of the St. Joseph News Press. The newspaper's editor defended his decision against a wave of complaints, saying, We felt the picture might have beneficial results.

If for no other reason than teaching adults not to leave children unattended in public places. Coincidentally, at the exact time that Eric was abducted, a reporter had been filming inside the mall as part of a documentary. 45 seconds of footage had panned across several storefronts, stopping in front of the bookstore just short of the children's play area. By pure luck, the play area had been captured in the reflection of one of the shop windows. Eric couldn't be detected in the footage, but a few adults were caught on camera. The footage was broadcast on the evening news, with police urging those featured within to come forward. Nobody did, but a local who lived half a mile from the crime scene reported that

at around 1 a.m. on Saturday, they heard a short, sharp scream, followed by crying. Several witnesses had now come forward to report seeing a boy who matched Eric's description within the hour that he went missing. They all saw him walking along the train tracks near the Missouri River, with an older man tightly gripping his arm and leading him along. The boy didn't appear to be in any distress. The witnesses each underwent hypnosis in an effort to uncover more details, and a suspect sketch was created as a result of their descriptions. The man was described as 45 years old, around 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, with dark, graying hair. He walked with a strange gait, and held his right arm out at an odd angle.

Investigators questioned and cleared recent parolees from the Missouri State Penitentiary. They also paid a visit to a psychiatric hospital in St. Joseph, where a lack of security meant it was common for patients to occasionally wander from the grounds. But no escapees had been reported at the time of Eric Christian's murder. Yet, one staff member mentioned that a patient who had been admitted shortly after Eric's body was found had been exhibiting strange behavior. He repeatedly wrote Eric's name over and over on a piece of paper, but was ultimately eliminated from the investigation. 200 leads came through to detectives in the first few days of the investigation alone, but Eric's killer continued to allude them. Fearing he might strike again,

the mayor of St. Joseph urged the community to keep a closer eye on their children. An editorial printed in the St. Joseph news press warned, Eric Christian was slain by someone whose derangements are a continuing threat to children as long as this person is loose among us. No family is safe, no child is safe. The FBI's Behavioral Science Unit concluded that the suspect was likely a white male who lived a quiet, solitary life, had never been married, and was either unemployed or worked a menial job near the side of Eric's abduction. 64-year-old Harry Fox fit the bill. An unwed introvert, Fox worked as a janitor in a 14-story law office known as the Corby Building,

located one block from the mall. He had a slight intellectual disability and had difficulty engaging in conversation, but was known to be friendly to children. He walked slowly, with his right arm held at an odd angle, much like the man seen walking along the train tracks with Eric Christian. The day Eric was abducted had been Fox's birthday. Harry Fox came to the attention of investigators after someone reported seeing a boy who matched Eric's description at the Corby Building on the day of his abduction. Investigators confronted Fox at work and told him off for questioning, telling his boss that he was a suspect in the Eric Christian murder. During his interrogation, Fox was clearly scared. An hour into questioning, he requested a drink

of water. After taking a few sips, Fox lent forward in his chair and put his head between his legs. Wheezing, shaking and then vomiting, Fox collapsed onto the floor, convulsing and gasping for breath. An ambulance was called, but it was too late. Harry Fox had died of a heart attack. His boss told reporters, I knew Harry Fox was here in the building from one to four p.m. the day the Christian boy was kidnapped, and I told the two officers about that when they talked with me. In hindsight, Fox's poor health and physical impairments made it impossible for him to have reached the Missouri River to kill Eric and dispose of his body. Fox was also significantly

heavier than the suspect seen walking on the railway tracks. Describing Fox as a lovable person, his manager said, it was inhumane for those officers to talk with him after I told them all about him. Harry Fox was posthumously dismissed as a suspect, with the owner of the Corby Building commenting, his death is the same as that little boy's. The weapons were arrogance and a lack of compassion. Telling the public that investigators were more or less at a dead end, St. Joseph Police Chief Robert Hayes spoke of the real last-ditch effort they were undertaking to re-examine all the tips so far received. One such tip, which had grown into a sizeable lead, was in relation to a suspect that investigators kept tight-lipped about. The man was well known around town as a

pest who regularly shoplifted and stole cars. He'd recently spent time in the state hospital where he was diagnosed with, quote, mental retardation and antisocial behavior. He also had a background of inappropriate sexual behavior towards children, specifically one incident where he bluntly asked a three-year-old relative to commit a sex act on him. Several witnesses had also placed him around the mall at the time Eric was there, including one who saw him walking towards the building moments before Eric's disappearance. When the police showed up at the home where Melvin Reynolds lived with his parents, he wasn't surprised. As detailed in the book Innocent Blood by Terry Ganey, Reynolds knew it was only a matter of time

before they came knocking. He had considered leaving town until the heat died down, but knew that would draw suspicion. Instead, he opened the door and let the officers inside the house. Up to this point, the 25-year-old unemployed cook had been questioned about Eric Christian's murder on nine separate occasions within eight months. Reynolds had taken polygraph tests and agreed to be hypnotized, maintaining throughout that he wasn't at the mall when Eric Christian was present. He said that he had been at a hospital nearby visiting a friend and had parked his car at the Corby building, the same place where previous suspect Harry Fox worked. Reynolds claimed he then went to an unemployment office before returning home.

Yet, every time Reynolds was questioned, he incriminated himself further, with his version of events changing slightly in each retelling. Although he was initially cooperative, as time wore on, he became more irritated by the police's suspicion. Then, one day, investigators drove Melvin Reynolds to the local hospital to meet with a psychologist. While there, he was given a dose of sodium amatol through an IV line. Used as a sedative, the drug also had the reputation of being a truth serum that was used to Coke's unspoken or repressed memories from cagey suspects. When dosed, Reynolds became drowsy. The questioning then began.

When asked if he had killed Eric Christian, Reynolds maintained he didn't have anything to do with it. But, as the sedative took further effect, he remarked, I saw the boy on the mall, before I killed. He then paused and backtracked, saying, before I went to the unemployment office. On Wednesday, February 14, 1979, nearly nine months after Eric Christian was killed, Melvin Reynolds sat with three police officers. Reynolds had said he was finally ready to confess, but he was finding it hard to talk. He was then offered an alternative. To save him from having to say what was troubling him,

he could instead write it down. Reynolds agreed and picked up a pen. He wrote of how he'd watched Eric Christian playing at the mall before approaching him, taking him by the hand, and walking him to the Missouri River. Once there, he sexually assaulted Eric. With this information now committed to paper, Reynolds permitted investigators to re-interview him on camera. He described the fear that Eric experienced and how the boy fainted during the attack, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head. Saying he was relieved to finally have it all off his chest, Reynolds added,

I just felt like it was going to catch up with me sooner or later. The officers then called in the county prosecutor Mike Insko, who listened as Melvin Reynolds confessed again, saying the words, I killed Eric Christian. The morning after Melvin Reynolds made these full admissions, he directed detectives to the area where he had killed Eric Christian and disposed of his body. He was then presented at the county courthouse, where he was charged with the four-year-old's second degree murder. He was held on a $50,000 bond at the county jail,

where he was segregated from other prisoners for his own safety, due to the nature of his crime. Prior to trial, Reynolds' attorney had him assessed at a psychiatric facility, believing that his client could plead guilty by reason of insanity if tests proved he was suffering from significant mental illness when he killed Eric. This would mean Reynolds would be incarcerated in a psychiatric facility rather than a prison. Within 35 minutes of interviewing Reynolds, the psychiatrist concluded that he'd been experiencing no serious mental illness at the time of Eric's murder. Melvin Reynolds was ordered to stand trial in October 1979. When he finally fronted court, it had been 500 days since Eric Christian was abducted.

Reynolds opted to testify in his own defense, using his time in the witness box to recant his confession and profess his innocence. The overwhelming evidence against him ensured his pleas were ignored. After just three days of court proceedings and a further seven hours deliberation, the jury returned a verdict. For the second-degree murder of Eric Christian, Melvin Reynolds was found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecuting attorney Mike Insko said, We're lucky in this county to have such fine investigators. They checked, double-checked, and checked again to be absolutely sure they had the right man.

Michelle Steele was excited. She had never gone to the city alone before, so Monday, July 19, 1982 was a big deal. Mature for her 11 years of age, Michelle had been trusted by her parents to board a bus into downtown St. Joseph to attend a dentist appointment at 10.30am. But by 3.30pm, Michelle still hadn't returned home. Her mother phoned the dentist's office and learned Michelle had arrived on time for her morning appointment and spent almost an hour getting her braces adjusted. Then she left. That had been four hours ago. In scenes reminiscent of the disappearance of Eric Christian four years earlier, a crowd of volunteers joined police in conducting a large-scale search for Michelle.

The same team involved in investigating Eric's case was also assigned to Michelle's, and they were once again led by police chief Robert Hayes. He admonished Michelle's mother and left her in tears, saying, What kind of mother are you to let your little girl go down there alone? Don't you know about all the perverts down there? Michelle's father later addressed the criticism leveled at his family by stating, We let her go there alone, thinking people were safe. Obviously, that's not true. In circumstances that eerily mirrored Eric's abduction,

two separate witnesses had seen a young girl and a man walking along the tracks by the Missouri River the evening Michelle was abducted. Volunteer searches headed to the area, where in a muddy section of the riverbank, they found a small bright blue tennis shoe. It looked to have washed ashore from upstream. Michelle still's mother sobbed, confirming her daughter had been wearing the shoe the day she vanished. Suddenly, those searching the river and its surrounds heard someone yelling. Michelle's uncle Roy Montgomery emerged from the dense bush shouting loudly that he had found Michelle. He had noticed some trampled vegetation and shoe prints pressed into the mud leading

from the river to the nearby bluffs. Roy followed the trail until he came across two logs. Lying between them was Michelle's naked body having been partially concealed by large branches and foliage. She had been physically and sexually assaulted with imprints on her wrists indicating that she'd been restrained. There were also human bite marks across her body. As Michelle's body was taken from the site, one observer whispered between tears. It's happening all over again. Fear was now growing that a copycat was following in the footsteps of convicted killer Melvin Reynolds. Eric Christian and Michelle Steele's bodies were attacked in a similar manner and found within one mile of one another. Michelle's cause of death

was also suffocation as a result of her air supply being cut off while face down in the mud. Detectives were immediately suspicious of the circumstances in which Michelle was discovered. Specifically, the chances that her uncle Roy Montgomery happened to just stumble across her well-hidden remains. Michelle was described as sensible and responsible, leading detectives to believe that the only way in which she would be led to the remote area where she was found was if she was coaxed there by someone she knew and trusted. Within minutes of having announced the discovery of his niece's body, Roy Montgomery was swarmed by police and placed under arrest for her murder. Hours of questioning led to him being released

without charge after a relative provided a solid alibi for his whereabouts. The focus then shifted onto another suspect. As night fell in the hours after Michelle Steele was reported missing, three fishermen on the Missouri River were quietly and diligently watching their rods, hoping to reel in a catfish. A little further up the riverbank, they noticed a man walking along with a radio in one hand and a canteen in the other. When he got within 10 yards of the fisherman, he asked if they were having any luck before quickly moving on. The fisherman were wary of the stranger, finding something unnerving about him. A few hours later, a volunteer in Michelle Steele's search party spotted the same man

sitting alone under an overpass and called out to ask if he'd seen a red-haired, freckled-faced girl. The man replied that he'd been fishing in the area all day and hadn't seen her. This comment struck the volunteer as odd, as the man didn't have any fishing gear with him. An hour later, two detectives looking for Michelle also crossed paths with the man. He told them he'd been fishing in the area all day, except that around 7pm, when he visited the Skaggs drugstore to purchase some alcohol. The detectives informed him that the drugstore closed at 6pm, and the man reasoned he must have lost track of time.

This was significant, as it had since been uncovered that after leaving the dentist, Michelle headed to Skaggs drugstore to buy some candy with pocket money her mother had given her. Suspicious of the man loitering by the river, detectives asked to see some identification. They ran a check on his name, Richard Harris, to see if he had any outstanding warrants, but he was given the all-clear and let go. The search for Michelle Steele continued, with little more thought given to Richard Harris. As it turned out, the location where detectives had confronted Harris was 10 yards from where Michelle's body was found hours later. Later that same morning, a security guard at the

St. Joseph's State Mental Hospital received a call from the facility's switchboard operator. A distraught man had presented to the hospital, and was screaming and kicking the administration desk. The security guard rushed over, finding the man sobbing with his head in his hands and screaming. Make the voices quit. I can't stand them. They're scaring me. Rummaging through the man's bag, the security guard found some identification that determined him to be 53-year-old Iowa resident Richard Clarke. Clarke said he had been staying at the local Salvation Army Shelter, except for when he drank too much, at which point he stayed by the river.

When detectives received word of Richard Clarke's antics at the hospital, they paid him a visit, and concluded that Richard Clarke and Richard Harris were one and the same. Now, they were even more suspicious, as moving around and using different surnames is typically a tactic used by those who don't want to be located or identified, and Richard Clarke had a history that he would want to distance himself from. In July 1982, Richard Clarke was at a grocery store when he set his sights on an 11-year-old boy. When the boy reached down to grab a bag of ice for his mother who was waiting outside, Clarke grasped his shoulder. Posing as a security guard, Clarke accused the boy of

being a man who had been in the hospital for a long time, but he didn't know what he was doing. He then escorted the boy through a door labelled Employees Only that led to a rear exit. Once outside, Clarke pulled the boy towards a nearby wooded area. Realising something was amiss, the boy yanked free of Clarke's grip and rushed back to his mother. The police were called, and Clarke was apprehended for attempted child abduction. The charges were ultimately dropped, but Clarke voluntarily checked himself into a psychiatric hospital and was released after two months. Less than three months later, Clarke confronted a man who had been in the hospital for two months.

Less than three months later, Clarke confronted a 19-year-old woman in downtown St Joseph and asked her to join him for coffee. Something about the look in his eyes terrified the woman, and she told him to go away and to leave her alone. The following day, Clarke approached a 10-year-old boy in a record store. This time, he claimed to be a police officer. He claimed to be a police officer and accused the boy of shoplifting before reaching to grab him by the arm. The boy ran off and alerted his grandmother, who was also in the store. By the time police arrived, Clarke had fled. It wasn't until he came to the attention of detectives investigating Michelle Steele's murder that he was linked to these two failed abduction

attempts. Clarke had a relatively clean criminal record, aside from a charge for petty larceny for which he'd been fined $100, and his fingerprints didn't match any unsolved crime scenes in the FBI database. However, a wealth of forensic evidence linked him to the murder of Michelle Steele. Lengths of nylon cord found in Clarke's bag were the same width as the ligature marks on Michelle's wrist, and the muddy soles of his shoes matched the pattern of shoe prints leading to her body. The bites on Michelle's body also aligned with the dental impression of Clarke's teeth. When questioned about the crime, Clarke remained silent and refused to cooperate with police. By the following month of August, he was being held at the county jail on $250,000 bail,

having been charged with first-degree murder. While awaiting trial in early December 1982, Richard Clarke lay restrained to a chair in a psychiatrist's office with an IV line inserted into his veins. Sodium amadol was slowly moving through the tube and into Clarke's body, easing him into a state of near-unconsciousness. The doctor overseeing the procedure had carried it out years prior on convicted killer Melvin Reynolds. It had worked then to expedite a confession, and detectives were convinced that would do so again. When asked why he was at the Missouri River, a sedated Clarke replied that he was drinking and hearing voices. The voices ordered him not to talk to anyone and told him

the same thing over and over. Clarke then grimaced and fell asleep. He was hastily shaken awake, which prompted him to blurt out. The voices told me to sacrifice a maiden. When asked if he followed the command, Clarke replied, Sometimes I think I did. Although the truth serum prompted Melvin Reynolds' confession to Eric Christian's murder, it didn't appear to have the same impact on Richard Clarke. He remained silent after his session, often spending his days lying unresponsive on the floor of his cell. Yet, a psychiatric report concluded. Clarke is mute by deliberate choice,

as his mutism is observed to have a sudden onset after legal difficulties. His exaggerated mouth movements with squinting of the eyes and headbanging occur only when he believes he is being observed. It is my opinion that he does not have a mental disease or defect. A doctor at the St. Joseph's State Hospital called Clarke a professional faker, who knew how to fool people into thinking he was suffering from a significant mental illness. Then, almost six months after the truth serum was administered, Clarke scrawled a note on a piece of paper and slid it to a sheriff's deputy doing the morning rounds through the cell house. He had written,

please call the FBI and tell them I would like to see them today. Very important case. Special Agent Joseph Holtzlag had worked the Eric Christian case, and now he sat face-to-face with Richard Clarke, another accused child killer. Even though Clarke had summoned the FBI, he still wouldn't speak. Instead, he pulled out a small piece of folded paper from the inside of his sock and handed it to Agent Holtzlag. It was a segment of a map showing a city called Rock Island in the state of Illinois. The Mississippi River snaked its way through the map. Underneath were a set of directions which rad in part. On the arsenal side of the bridge, there's a guardrail on the right side. About the middle of the rail, look toward the bank.

Walk about 10 feet to the bank. There's a steel rod sticking out. Go under the rod and look to your left about two feet. Dig under the rocks. You will find a body. Motioning with his hands that he had more to say, Clarke was handed a pen and paper. He wrote, come back after you find it. The next day, an FBI field agent armed with Clarke's map made his way along the bridge in Rock Island, then down to the bank of the Mississippi River. There he came across a steel rod, just as Clarke had forewarned. There was also something else sticking out of the mud nearby. It was a human thigh bone. An entire skeleton was soon excavated from the riverbed,

dressed in fragments of a light-colored shirt, a red jacket, and denim jeans. A pair of socks and shoes were also uncovered close by. Following this discovery, FBI Special Agent Joseph Holtzlag met with Richard Clarke again. He still refused to speak, but did write down. James Churchill, 34 years old, from Galesburg, Illinois. James Churchill had spent the majority of his life in a mental health facility due to his intellectual and physical disabilities. It was during his hospitalization that he met Richard Clarke. At age 31, James was deemed safe to re-enter society and was released from hospital. In June 1981, James stopped collecting his social security checks.

When a concerned nurse carried out a welfare check at his last known address, it was discovered that James had vanished without a trace. Two years later, his skeletal remains were found buried along the Mississippi River. Richard Clarke opened up about killing James, writing down that on the night of Saturday, June 20, 1981, he was with James on the bank of the river. Unbeknownst to James, Clarke had been fighting the urge to kill someone all day and had a butcher's knife concealed in his coat pocket. Clarke walked over to James and, quote, began stabbing him over and over in the chest until the knife became embedded in a bone near the heart. When Clarke visited the murder scene two weeks later, he was dismayed to discover

that James's body was gone. The stench of decomposition lingered in the air and Clarke followed it for 10 feet where he came across James's body. It was then he realized that James had initially survived the attack and had crawled across the riverbank after Clarke left, only to succumb to his injuries where he now lay. James's remains were in view of passes by, so Clarke worked to cover them with rocks and wood. That was all Clarke was willing to reveal to FBI agent Holtzlag about James Churchill's murder, writing that he'd give more answers in time. Exasperated, Holtzlag asked Clarke if there were any more bodies, and if so, how many. Clarke stared motionless at the wall for 10 minutes,

hardly blinking. He then retrieved his pen and paper and continued writing. 16 total that I know of for sure. All adults except three. All males. Agent Holtzlag sat stunned before the self-professed serial killer. Although he had never met Richard Clarke prior to his work on the Michelle Steel case, from the moment they met, Holtzlag was overcome with a nagging feeling of familiarity, but he could never pinpoint why. Then one morning, as Holtzlag watched Clarke write out more information about his crimes, it dawned on him. It was the way Clarke, a tall, heavy-set man aged in his 50s, walked into the interview room with a strange gait and his right arm held out

at a crooked angle. All of a sudden, Holtzlag was hit with the realization as to why Clarke seemed like someone he had known for some time. Agent Holtzlag looked at Clarke as he scribbled down notes and said, Eric Christian. Richard Clarke glanced up from his writing and smiled. Richard Clarke, Richard Harris, Richard Grady, Richard Price, Albert Eyre, Albert Price, Ronald Springer and Charles Tidwell were just some of the aliases used by Charles Ray Hatcher throughout his life. He had 14 in total, with four different birth dates and six social security numbers. In truth, he was born in 1929 in Mound City, Missouri. His father, an alcoholic ex-convict, was a violent man who beat Hatcher and his three brothers often.

One day, the Hatcher boys fashioned a kite and took turns flying it, with Charles the last in line to play. As his brother prepared to hand the kite over, it made contact with an overhead power line. They had fashioned the kite using copper wire instead of string, causing Hatcher's brother to be electrocuted and die instantly. Witnessing this marked a turning point in Hatcher's life. The once quiet and intelligent boy became unruly. By age 16, he was living in St Joseph, working menial jobs. His first criminal conviction came at age 18 for stealing a car. Upon Hatcher's release from prison, he continued committing crimes, adding breaking and entering and forgery to his growing list. Hatcher's behavior took a sinister turn when he turned 29.

One day, he armed himself with a butcher's knife and brandished it at a 16-year-old newspaper delivery boy he intended to abduct. The teen escaped and Hatcher was sentenced to five years' prison, with time added following a failed breakout attempt. While incarcerated, Hatcher was shipped back and forth between psychiatric facilities and prison, as he was adept at falling guards, judges and medical professionals into believing he was suffering mental illness. He'd go long periods without talking, hit his head, and make strange facial expressions, earning him the nickname Crazy Charlie. Most knew not to interact with Charles Ray Hatcher, who was unpredictable and violent.

In January 1961, Jerry Tharrington was sent to Missouri State Penitentiary. He had been caught stealing farm equipment that he planned to sell to pay for his wife's medical bills after she suffered a miscarriage. Tharrington was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, but would be eligible for release after just seven months. Until that time, Tharrington proved himself a model prisoner, wanting more than anything to be reunited with his wife. Six months into his incarceration, Tharrington was found on the floor of the prison kitchen, stabbed to death with a large knife. He had also been raped prior to his murder. The 11 inmates who were regularly assigned to kitchen duty were questioned,

and only one was unaccounted for at the time of the attack, Charles Ray Hatcher. Without any hard evidence to prove his involvement, Hatcher was only given a 10-month stint in solitary confinement. He was released into the public two years later, after serving four years out of his five-year sentence. Over the next six years, Hatcher returned to prison another four times to serve short stints for burglary and car theft. His growing criminal record went undetected by authorities as he was constantly moving from state to state and using different aliases. In August 1969, he escaped a Kansas State prison farm and made his way to the West Coast. Eight days later in San Francisco,

he lured a five-year-old boy away from his home before sexually assaulting him. A witness who stumbled across the attack in progress summoned police, and the boy was rescued while Hatcher was arrested. He gave his name as Albert Price, and an ID in his possession bore the name Hobart Prater, but his fingerprints exposed his true identity within the system. With his crime described by one detective as the worst case of child molestation he had ever seen, Hatcher was charged with kidnapping and attempt to commit sodomy. As he awaited trial, Hatcher pretended he was insane to avoid going to prison. He spoke of violent and disturbing delusions and hallucinations,

and of having visions of naked and bloody children. It was all an act, and it worked. Over the next three years, he was sent for psychiatric assessment five separate times. On each occasion, he was found competent to stand trial and sent back to prison, where court-appointed psychiatrists declared him unfit again, and returned him for more evaluations. He managed to escape one hospital only to be caught again a week later under the alias Richard Grady. He immediately resorted to the same, quote, Crazy Charlie theatrics, to avoid imprisonment. But his true identity was uncovered and he was sent back to prison. Given the nature of his crimes, Hatcher was terrified of what other

inmates would do to him. He penned a letter to his public defender, complaining that his current prison did not have the facilities he required as a, quote, mentally disordered sex offender. The letter worked against Hatcher, as it was so articulate, approved he was capable of rational thinking and could therefore face trial. He was found guilty of lewd and lascivious conduct and sent to a hospital that he tried to escape from three months later. He was subsequently moved to a prison. Subject to regular reviews, one psychiatrist concluded Hatcher was a manipulative, dangerous and institutionalised sociopath. Another said he had a very poor prognosis for rehabilitation. Nevertheless, in 1976, he received a glowing report from a corrections

counsellor who said, Reports indicate he is doing outstanding work. His effort, conduct, cooperation and initiative have also been excellent. Subject is certainly more outgoing and his progress has been commented on by staff members as well as his peer group. He has shown signs of accepting responsibility for his behaviour. As a result, Charles Ray Hatcher was paroled in May 1977, less than eight years after attacking the five-year-old boy in San Francisco. Within a week, he violated his parole conditions and fled the city. A crime spree followed, during which Hatcher, posing as a police officer tasked with finding child runaways, abducted a twelve-year-old boy from a bus stop. He took him to a boarding

house and sexually assaulted him at Knife Point. The boy escaped when Hatcher passed out drunk. Upon his capture, Hatcher spent some time between 1978 and 1982 in prison. When released, he assaulted and attempted to stab a seven-year-old boy, tried to assault and sodomize a 17-year-old boy and attempted to stab a man. Each crime was committed in a different city and sometimes in a different state, with Hatcher always providing a different name to authorities. Yet again, he presented as mentally unstable and was shifted between mental health facilities until he was released back into the public. Despite having the status of a parolee at large, no one thought to fingerprint Charles Ray Hatcher and determine his true identity

and extensive history of violent offending. A prosecuting attorney for Omaha's Douglas County later told the St. Louis Post a dispatch newspaper, I suppose if he stayed in the criminal system here, ultimately we would have tried to do some background on him and tried to confirm who he was. He was in and out of our clutches so quick. I think everybody thought he's crazy and he's not coming back to court, and that was the end of it. I don't know how you stop a guy like that. Before he wound up in prison in 1978 for abducting and assaulting the 12-year-old boy from the bus stop, Charles Hatcher committed one crime which he got away with. In the late afternoon of Friday,

May 26, 1978, Hatcher entered a mall in downtown St. Joseph and came upon four-year-old Eric Christian. The little boy had only been left alone for just a moment. Still, it was enough time for Hatcher to strike. Sitting before FBI Special Agent Joseph Holtzlag almost five years to the day after he carried out the attack, Charles Ray Hatcher fully confessed to the abduction, assault, and murder of Eric Christian. He said he'd been overcome with the familiar urge to kill, so he took Eric by the hand, walked him out of the mall, along the train tracks, and into the secluded wilderness by the Missouri River. There, he sexually assaulted Eric and choked him to death, managing to do so without leaving a mark. Then he covered Eric's body with

branches before leaving town. Agent Holtzlag didn't doubt Hatcher's confession. He always believed Melvin Reynolds was innocent and that someone else was responsible for Eric's murder. In his confession, Reynolds claimed to have been watching Eric at the playground for 30 minutes before approaching him. But this was impossible, given that Eric had only been left alone for a couple of minutes. When Reynolds took detectives to the area where Eric's body had been dumped, he pointed out the approximate location, but required prompting to point out the exact spot. The crime scenes whereabouts were well known, given that the St. Joseph news press had printed a photo of Eric's body when it was found on the front page of their paper.

Various media outlets had also reported details about the location, and with so many locals involved in the search, word quickly got around. Witness descriptions of Eric being seen with the heavy-set older man matched Hatcher, but didn't match Reynolds, who was only 25 years old at the time with a slim build. As for the claims that Reynolds had propositioned a three-year-old to perform a sex act on him, this was found to be categorically untrue. Reynolds had been walking with the toddler when a person drove by and yelled out a derogatory remark. In response, Reynolds yelled back, suck my cock. The three-year-old clarified this to be the correct version of events, and the reality was that Reynolds had no history of sexual deviancy at all.

Most importantly, Reynolds' neighbour had come forward to police prior to his trial with a major revelation. At around 3.25pm on the day Eric Christian was abducted, she had struck up a conversation with Reynolds on his front porch. This was around the same time that Eric was taken from the mall. The neighbour had no reason to protect Reynolds, whom she openly admitted to detesting. She was reluctant to come forward, telling the press, I wish I didn't remember this, but I do. I don't want to be involved, but if I didn't say what I did, I wouldn't be doing what's right. St. Joseph Police Chief Robert Hayes was so certain of Reynolds' guilt that this alibi went ignored.

Melvin Reynolds claimed he had only confessed to Eric's murder after relentless interrogations from the detectives. With a slight intellectual disability and a willingness to please, Reynolds was highly vulnerable to manipulation. During a polygraph test in the early investigation, he denied killing Eric before pausing and saying, but I'll say so if you want me to. He made a similar remark during a second polygraph test, prompting the operator to raise his concerns with Police Chief Robert Hayes, along with his belief that Reynolds was innocent. In response, Chief Hayes took the operator off the case. Melvin Reynolds was certain the truth would come out at his trial, leading to an acquittal.

He was shocked to have been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, where he continued to profess his innocence. Prison life was particularly difficult for Reynolds, as he was convicted for a crime against the child, he endured violence and rape at the hands of his fellow inmates. From prison, he told a reporter that he felt targeted by authorities because he was gay. Reynolds' attorney echoed this sentiment, adding that the rampant homophobia present in St. Joseph meant his client had about as much chance of fitting in and being accepted as a leper. Speaking about Eric Christian's murder, Reynolds remarked, what really bothers me is that whoever did it, they're still out on the streets laughing about it.

By the time Charles Ray Hatcher confessed to Eric's murder, Melvin Reynolds had served four years in prison. There was even a moment in time where Hatcher and Reynolds were incarcerated together, although they never crossed paths. The reason why Hatcher had willingly come clean after all this time was characteristically selfish. He knew if he was found guilty of murdering 11-year-old Michelle Steele, he would most likely face life in prison. By admitting to killing Eric Christian, his outcome elevated to the death penalty. Charles Ray Hatcher wanted to die. In the weeks that followed Hatcher's confession, Special Agent Joseph Holtzlag worked on building a rapport with the self-confessed killer and visited

him often in jail. He had already established the identities of four of Hatcher's alleged victims, Eric Christian, Michelle Steele, as well as his longtime friend James Churchill, and fellow prison inmate Jerry Tharrington. Yet, by Hatcher's own account, there were another 12 victims he had yet to name. Holtzlag walked a fine line when seeking more information, as pushing too hard would no doubt cause Hatcher to go into one of his prolonged states of silence. Realizing he held the position of power, Hatcher toyed with the agent accordingly. After promising to write a diary detailing his crimes, Hatcher informed a frustrated Holtzlag that he had flushed the papers down the toilet. He instead handed over a handwritten poem

that read in part, whose to know as days go by, only me and I won't tell, because I'm on my way to hell. The day is drawing very near, the one you all want to hear. That time has come, I have to go, and now no one will ever know. Agent Holtzlag took the poem to mean Hatcher was refusing to make any further admissions. Yet, there was a confession hidden in Hatcher's past that Holtzlag was able to uncover. During one of his many stays in mental health facilities, Hatcher had told assessing psychiatrists about an image that often plagued his mind. As detailed in the book Innocent Blood, the vision began with a boy riding a bicycle. Hatcher would then watch himself driving a car with the same boy riding happily in the passenger seat.

Next, Hatcher's thoughts cut to a creek bed where he stood over the boy with his hands wrapped around his neck. Unbeknownst to the medical professionals who heard Hatcher relay this vision, it hadn't manifested out of nowhere. Looking through records, Agent Holtzlag came across the August 1969 unsolved murder of 12-year-old William Freeman in the Californian city of Antioch. William had spent the afternoon playing tennis before riding home on his bike. One of his friends saw a green car pull up to William who spoke with the lone male driver. Hours later, when William was reported missing, his bicycle and tennis racket were found on the sidewalk where he had stopped to speak to the man in the green car. Two days later,

two children exploring Los Trampas Creek came across a young man on his hands and knees by the creek's edge. His head was extended downwards as if drinking the water trickling by. It was the body of William Freeman deliberately posed in a manner as if to disturb whoever came across him. He had been choked to death. William's case went cold until 14 years later when Agent Holtzlag connected the crime to Charles Ray Hatcher. Hatcher had been in Antioch at the time, driving around in a stolen car. William Freeman marked his fifth known murder victim. In August 1983, the Office of the St Joseph News Press received an envelope addressed to the newspaper's editor. Inside was an anonymous handwritten letter that read,

Sometimes the system makes a very bad mistake and I'm not just blowing steam as you will find out soon enough. It's a real stinker and should really shake up some of those of the criminal justice system in your fair city. It's been in the making for some time but just beginning to get ready to blow. Keep your ears open. Agent Joseph Holtzlag knew the letter was from Charles Ray Hatcher, who was hinting at the injustice of Melvin Reynolds' wrongful conviction for the murder of Eric Christian. Holtzlag was in the process of having Reynolds' case reviewed by the prosecuting attorney Mike Insko, who'd been responsible for securing the guilty verdict. Insko was initially less than enthused about reexamining the case with the mindset that he

had been wrong about it. But upon viewing Holtzlag's evidence proving Melvin Reynolds' innocence and Charles Ray Hatcher's guilt, Insko understood. Hatcher was their guy. Still, there were many more setbacks to come from others not wanting to admit error. Holtzlag later said, I was naive to think that everybody would work just as hard to get an innocent man out as they would to put a guilty one in. But they couldn't give a shit. On Thursday, October 13, 1983, Charles Ray Hatcher stood before a judge and pleaded guilty to the murder of Eric Christian. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 50 years. Despite Hatcher's guilty plea and the supporting evidence gathered by Agent Joseph Holtzlag,

St. Joseph police chief Robert Hayes stood by his initial investigation and was opposed to overturning Melvin Reynolds' conviction. He said he was dumbfounded by the court's decision to accept Charles Ray Hatcher's confession. Melvin Reynolds was sitting in the Missouri State Penitentiary's visiting room when his mother Wanda entered. The pair sat together on a couch and as Melvin began to speak, Wanda interrupted him, saying she had something important to say. Another man had confessed to murdering Eric Christian. A flood of emotions washed over Melvin as the realization dawned that his prisoner deal would

soon be over. Melvin Reynolds later said that he never felt any ill will towards those who found him guilty, accepting he was largely at fault for giving a false confession. He didn't plan on seeking monetary compensation and just wanted to get on with his life, telling a reporter, My freedom is more important than any lawsuit could ever be. The day after Charles Ray Hatcher appeared in court to plead guilty to Eric Christian's murder, Melvin was officially a free man. In the aftermath of Melvin's vindication, St. Joseph police chief Robert Hayes was criticized for his handling of the case. He still refused to reconsider Melvin Reynolds' guilt, instead expressing his belief that perhaps

Melvin and Hatcher were co-conspirators. He accused FBI Special Agent Joseph Hultzlag of feeding information to Hatcher and was staunch in his opinion that evidence implicated Melvin over Hatcher. So overt and vocal of his controversial stance, police chief Hayes was eventually issued a court order forbidding him from publicly discussing the case. While other investigators were more willing to accept a wrongdoing, one told the press, If there's anybody to blame, Melvin's to blame. It's a shame his character was so weak that he confessed. Authorities in various counties endeavored to identify further victims of Charles Ray Hatcher. He offered no help either because he wanted to remain elusive or because his chronic alcohol

abuse meant he couldn't remember enough details of his crimes. There were several crimes that fit his MO but it was confirmed that Hatcher was either in jail or hospital at the time they were committed. There wasn't enough evidence to bring Hatcher to justice for the murders of William Freeman, James Churchill or Jerry Tharrington but in September 1984 he faced trial for the murder of 11-year-old Michelle Steele and was found guilty. The jury would decide if he received a life sentence with a non-parole period of 50 years or the death penalty. Hatcher made his preference clear by announcing in court, If you think I did this you have one job, you have to make sure it doesn't happen again. I have a record of escapes, I may try it.

You must prevent it from happening again. The bewildered judge told the jury to disregard his comments and an hour later the jury announced their agreed upon sentence, life in prison. The St Joseph community were outraged but those who knew of Hatcher's desire to die took solace in knowing he didn't get what he wanted. Four days later at 4am a prison guard making the rounds at the Missouri State Penitentiary shone his flashlight into Charles Ray Hatcher's cell and discovered that the 55-year-old had taken his own life. He hadn't left a note. Prosecutor Mike Inscow told the press that he didn't believe Hatcher had been driven by remorse but quote,

total frustration at being caught and knowing that the world saw him for what he was. Due to Hatcher's prolific use of aliases and interstate offending, none of the psychiatrists who assessed him throughout his life were fully aware of the extent of his offending when making their evaluations. Even though it was their reports that led to him being released time and time again, their ignorance shielded them from any legal ramifications. As written in the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, Hatcher cunningly turned the mental health system into his own private sanctuary to avoid criminal prosecution, then used it as a path of least resistance back to freedom.

The extent to which Charles Ray Hatcher assaulted and murdered his victims will never fully be known. In total, Charles Ray Hatcher was convicted for three attempted abductions, six abductions with sexual assaults, two murders, and had likely committed three others. However, he claimed many more. Among investigating officers, Hatcher earned himself the moniker, the one-man crime wave. Melvin Reynolds found life after his exoneration challenging, with many people still convinced he was involved in Eric Christian's murder. He died in May 2012 at the age of 58. St. Joseph police chief Robert Hayes intended to write a book about the case titled You Be the

Judge, which would outline why Melvin Reynolds was Eric Christian's killer, but the book never eventuated. Hayes eventually wound up in prison himself after shooting dead his neighbor following a physical altercation. He served eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and died four years after his release at age 81. One of the reasons the former police chief remained steadfast that Melvin Reynolds was Eric Christian's killer, despite evidence and a confession to the contrary, was because of a two sentence letter written by Charles Ray Hatcher. Hayes received the letter when the process to have Melvin exonerated was underway. It read,

Chief Hayes, you're right about the Christian case. I didn't do that one. Good luck, Charlie Hatcher.