Every Town - Mysterious Murder Of A Real Life Cowboy - William Junior Clapp

Episode Date: September 8, 2023

In 1993, a beloved farmer and cowboy with a heart of gold, William “Junior” Clapp, was murdered under very mysterious circumstances. It came as a shock to his community where everybody loved the man… He was at every turn generous and helpful to his neighbors but 3 decades later, the search for the killer of Wisconsin’s beloved cowboy continues. 💥 Watch On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/scarymysteries🎧 Our Other Podcast: https://scarymysteries.buzzsprout.com💥 Exclusive Podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579/subscribe 💀 Follow Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 💀 Follow Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg👁 Follow Our TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald💥 Follow Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial🗣 Business Inquiries: [e-mail] Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every town has a dark side. In 1993, a beloved farmer and cowboy with a heart of gold, William Jr. Clapp was murdered under very mysterious circumstances. He came as a shock to his community where everybody loved the man.

He was at every turn generous and helpful to his neighbors, but three decades later, the search for the killer of Wisconsin's beloved cowboy continues. This story prompted one of our avid podcast followers and Mr. Clappie. family friend to seek help and featuring Bill's cold case on every town with the hope of spreading more awareness about his unfortunate plight. I'm Andrew by recounting Bill's life and its tragic ending. This podcast hopes to contribute, even in a little way, to solving the case and achieving justice for William Clap. 76-year-old Bill was a classic, strong and silent type. A farmer in real-life cowboy living on his own and a sprawling ranch in Roberts, Wisconsin. Roberts is a small rural village with a population around 1700. It's surrounded by the town of Warren, which sits in St. Croix County.

Bill was a bachelor who raised beef, hogs, and horses on a 65th street farm, not too far south from the I-94 freeway. He was well-known and well-liked in the area, someone who took pride in his community and regularly brought a team of horses and a stage coach to parades in the J.R. Ranch Rodeo. He also led hay rides at his farm and during various events in town. He served many years as a constable for the town of Warren before retiring in 1992. If not, for the love of his farm and his horses, but would have continued offering his service to the town of Warren, but as he was getting older, he wanted to tend to the duties around his home.

Don Linen, who grew up just a few miles from William Clap's expansive farm, said about the man. There were always a million stories about Junior. He was just a citizen of the community, and he was very kind to everyone. He was known to possess legendary generosity and would often lend money to other farmers. He had no children that took care of him, but the friends that surrounded him were the perfect family and all that he ever really needed. Bill rode horses all his life, so much so that he became bow-legged. He was a celebrity at Midwestern rodeos, and his horses were no strangers to speed and tricks.

Once Bill was riding his beloved white mare lady, tumbled off her during a pole competition. He may have fallen, but lady finished the routine perfectly, showed the crowd just how much attention and love Bill put into training his horses. In the summer, Mr. The Clapp would bring his horses to shopping malls and saddle clubs to let kids experience riding them. He was generous with his knowledge and giving tips on how to be an adept horse rider, which is why everyone in the area of Wisconsin was shocked, the spring of 1993,

because someone came to Mr. Clapp's ranch to inflict serious harm. On Saturday, April 24, 1993, Bill had attended a banquet at Roberts' congressional church with his grandniece, and they left separately when the evening was through. Bill made his way home at around 12.30 a.m., which would now be able to 25th. Jack Larson, the neighbor of Mr. Clap, received a call from him. Jack's mother Helen picked up, which is when Bill explained fairly simply that he wasn't in a good situation. By the time Jack got to the phone, there was nothing but silence on the other end. Jack hung up and then dialed Bill's number,

only to get a busy signal. He tried to call back a few more times before growing worried, and then deciding to drive the three miles to Bill's farmhouse. And no one answered the door when he knocked. When he walked in, slumped over, his kitchen table was Bill with a wound in the back of his head that was bleeding. Jack didn't immediately assume that Bill had been attacked. Instead, he thought that the old man may have fallen and injured himself. Jack tried to ask Bill what happened, but couldn't rest.

respond and was phasing in and out of consciousness. All Bill could do was moan and agony. At that point, Jack took Bill's phone from him and dialed 911. He told the police that his elderly neighbor, it hit his head. It didn't take long for emergency responders to arrive and attempt to perform life-saving measures on the cowboy, but their effort proved too late and Bill was gone. The officers took a closer look at the wound, and they knew instantly that it wasn't a fall that led to the man's death, but a bullet. Perhaps the chaos made emergency responders forget that

they were walking into a crime scene, and unlikely, unintentionally contaminated any evidence while attempting to save Bill's life. It appeared as though Bill had already been shot when he called his neighbor for help, before passing out with the phone still in hand. So who, out in the middle of rural Wisconsin, would want to kill Mr. Clapp? The lead investigator on the case was carrying Rose from the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office. Bill had no known enemies, and in a small town people tend to know one another's business, so it was a real possibility that this was a random act, and if that was the case, then maybe other people in town may also be in danger. As mentioned, there was a lot of traffic coming into a scene that was not secured because everyone thought it

was medical and not a crime. So tire tracks and footprint to the perpetrator, when you're impossible to find. The investigation showed that nothing was taken from Bill's farmhouse, at least what they could tell. Not even his wallet, which he had on him, and it was filled with cash. Aside from the single gunshot, his body remained intact and didn't show any other signs of struggle or defensive wounds. Nothing inside the house was moved or disturbed, so in other words, it's not like there was a

single item that this person may have been looking for. But Mr. Clap did own vast amounts of land and refused to let any of it go. Despite receiving many offers to sell over the years, it was because of this fact, and many started to believe that Bill's murder was brought about by greed or revenge. Someone who was angry, they couldn't have his land. Sheriff Rose also believed a lot more transpired inside the farmhouse that night before Bill's call for help. Police and close friends alike believed that Bill knew his killer, or killers. Mr. Clapp was an extremely generous man, who always had the time, energy, and soul to care for others.

It was the epitome of unselfishness, but Bill wasn't stupid. He wouldn't open his doors for someone he didn't know in the middle of the night, especially in his long johns. But he likely knew the person fairly well. That person's motivation may have been over obtaining his land. Ultimately, though, this case grew cold fairly quick, There's a lot of details that have been intentionally left out by police and hopes to use it for the apprehension of the killer as well as in court. There are still lots of theories and speculations, of course. Although media reports never stated this in the investigation, local speculation was that the murder weapon used to kill Bill was a 410 shotgun, which was never found.

Sources familiar with the investigation had said that investigators believed they even knew who committed the crime, but have been unable to obtain the evidence necessary to file criminal charges in the case. Another interesting angle worth noting was that investigators had reason to believe the murder weapon was tossed into the pond southeast of Bill's home. That fact that the killer even knew there was a pawn on the property would further suggest they were familiar with William Clap. So in other words, this wasn't a random serial killer just passing through. Furthermore, the effort to discard the weapon into the pond could indicate the killer live within walking distance, probably within a one-mile semi-circle south of Bill's property.

Had the killer driven to the property, it would seem unlikely he would risk taking the time to walk from the driveway down to the pond to dispose of the shotgun. It seemed the only logical reason for the killer to dump the weapon into the pond would be because he would have been moving past it on his way home. Also noteworthy is that Jack Larson, the man, who Bill called after being shot, lived several minutes away, just about three miles to give you a visual.

With so many other friends and neighbors living closer to his home, why didn't Bill call one of them? Dying as he was, why wouldn't he want help to reach him sooner? Someone like Brad Rosenberg, a man who himself said he was a great friend of the horse farmer. Why did he not call Kenneth Herrick,

who live much closer to him, When he made the call to Jack instead of a closer neighbor, perhaps it was because Bill wasn't sure whom he could trust. In the research of a redditor who has followed Bill's case, he claims he was told by several people that Bill's dog tried to defend him, so the killer shot him too, only for the dog to be found dead five days later by police. This claim can't be backed up with any real documentation, though. Another setback on why Bill's case has turned cold as ice was that in 1993, DNA forensic technology was not available like it is today, and it wasn't much at the scene. Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, who took over after Sheriff Rose stepped down, said that the case is still open, but there were not a lot of things for DNA.

It was difficult to determine what may or may not have been disturbed because Mr. Clap was a bachelor who collected a lot of things. The sheriff said the rumor that persisted was that Bill had a lot of money stashed in his house, which could be one motive for the murder. That perhaps someone may have tried to force him to disclose where that money was, when Bill declined, and they shot him and ran away. There were also talks going around about Bill's last will and testament, if there even was any. Like who ended up inheriting his vast land after he died?

Mr. Clapp owned 800 acres of land. So who inherited it? Was it sold at auction? And how did the developer acquire it? Had he turned down an offer from someone wanting to buy land recently than anyone knew of? Especially from anyone desperate. Did he have a girlfriend or a woman he spent the night with? Bill's next to kin was his nephew, but he seemed to live in obscurity.

On the side of the police, they kept lots of details out of the public eye, but the community had lots of suspicions and strong feelings about the nephew. So aside from Bill's nephew and close associates, was there somebody to appoint to as a possible suspect. In the end, Sheriff Hillstead did not discount the fact that Bill's wealth was the focus of his perpetrator's greed and via revenge. They have interviewed dozens of suspects, some of whom were persons of interest. A few years ago, they had a John Doe hearing and subpoenaed people

and interrogated them. Some took the Fifth Amendment, right against self-incrimination, and refused to answer. Sheriff Hillstead said the bottom line, as there's no probable cause to make an arrest in the case, but that someone out there knows something. But without a suspect, a lead or evident, the bewildering murder of a well-loved community member in Wisconsin

has reached near expiration. As what Bill's family friend said, it's difficult to put into words how Bill Clap has made an impact on the lives of so many people. Someone with his lifestyle is hardly something you'd hear about in the news, but that doesn't make it any less important. He has William Jr. Clap was a real person who deserves closure, as do his family and friends. He is missed. If you happen to know anything about what happened to William Clap that night, please call 715, 3,000. 18187. That's going to do it for this week's episode of every town. If you guys want more from us,

please consider checking out our exclusive bonus episodes over on our other podcast called Scary Mysteries. There we have one bonus episode each week for you, and you can check out the library as well. Link is in the description, and you can cancel any time. Thanks for tuning in today. Remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories, because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.