Soon after, their daughter, Lindsey, was born. Brown hair, green eyes. At 9:30 a.m., Christi's mother called and Mark lied, saying Christi was asleep in bed. The Nebraska State Patrol investigated. Trace amounts of Christi's blood were found on the floor of her bedroom, and in the trunk of Mark's 1977 Mercury Cougar. Mark told investigators it was menstrual blood, but analysis proved this statement was untrue. She said that she and Mark had gotten into an argument and that he had thrown her around. Kniss said her nieces husband lives and works in Hastings. Christi Jo Nichols, a 22 year old mother of 2, disappeared on December 11, 1987 from the small town of Gothenberg, in Dawson County Nebraska. The area surrounding Gothenburg has been searched extensively. Mark told investigators it was her menstrual blood, but analysis proved this statement was untrue. Kniss said Lindsey, now 27, lives in Georgia and Preston, now 26, works in Lexington. However, both family cars were still sitting in the front yard. She was 22 years old, and is believed to have been wearing a pair of blue jeans and hiking boots. Nobody in town reported having seen him do this, however. All of you can talk with me and I can answer your questions.--Contribute to Unfound at Patreon.com/unfoundpodcast.You can also contribute at Paypal: unfoundpodcast@gmail.com--that is also the email address.--the website: theunfoundpodcast.comUnfound supports accounts on Podomatic, iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, andFacebook.--Please join us on Wednesday nights at 9pm ET for the YouTube Live Show.--Contribute to Unfound at Patreon.com/unfoundpodcast.And at Paypal: unfoundpodcast@gmail.com--that is also the email address. Killers like this typically, unless they are on a planned trip with the spouse, dont travel great distances to kill, they kill in one area, generally close to or at home and travel away from home but not to far, to dispose of the body. Links: Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! After she went missing, a note from Christi, addressed to the other man, was found in the Nicholses' car. The first had been while she was at a local Jack & Jill convenience store, while the second occurred in the middle of the street, where he told her she needed to get her act together. He claimed that she got upset with him, tried to hit and kick him, and then burned his neck with a cigarette. Often times the victim is not even allowed to shop without her abuser. A man who is controlling, abusive and who knows every move his wife makes is a whole different breed of killer. However, there are no witnesses to corroborate this. That gave Mark ample time to plan the proper disposal of his wife. It was like the person that put them there wanted them to be found. Carol also felt that she was not telling her everything about the cause of the injury. On the evening of December 10, 1987, Christi and her husband Mark went out for a night on the town. Did This Husband Really Get Away Murder or Could This Case Still be Solved? Christi Jo was seen by a doctor who had seen her before and who stated that Christi Jo was not that forthcoming with information, and acted pretty scared. Debbie asked how it had happened. She was married and had two children. his car, his home. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. According to Mark they ate dinner at Pizza Hut with their infant daughter and son, took them to see Santa and then home to a babysitter while the couple played pool at the bar where Christi Jo worked. She has a scar above her left eye and a scar on her abdomen. Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Marital Status: Married So she decided to drop out. They make excuses and not surprisingly the excuses are the exact same wording as the abusers would be if you had asked the abuser what happened. She was surprised that she did not notice Christi because she was there for several minutes after they arrived; she believes that she would have heard Christi's footsteps on the tile floor when she came in or heard her in the bathroom. Mark says that he and Christi Jo left the bar around midnight and stopped at an all-night convenience store. Upon moving to Gothenburg, Christi met Mark Nichols, the man who would eventually become her husband. Living with this type of individual is risky for any partner because the abusermust be in control of everything. Christi left behind all her other belongings, including her diamond jewelry and driver's license, and she never picked up her last paycheck from the bar where she worked part time. Christi wasnt there. Alone. He said he spent two hours driving around in the area, looking for her, but never saw her. The last time he claimed to have seen her was at 2am, when he went to sleep beside her. They minimize what is actually happening to them in the home, they are programmed on how to respond when something might be seen such as a bruise or when friends or family question the growing distance the victim has from them. He could not imagine a motive she would have to conjure up a story about being abused by Mark if it did not actually happen. He would not allow for them to walk out the door with the children who are also. They are concerned about the details surrounding her disappearance, the fact that she has not contacted Lindsey, Preston, or other relatives, the fact that she did not take a vehicle, and the fact that she has been missing for such a long period of time. Bumping for Christi, today is her birthday. Show Transcript. You have permission to edit this article. Despite being alarmed at his wifes sudden disappearance, Mark acted calm when her mother called around 9:30am that morning, saying Christi was still asleep in bed. Christi was seeing another man around the time of her disappearance. My latest article is about Christi's disappearance. Christi Jo Nichols was born on September 6th, 1965 in Overton, Nebraska. It has also since been discovered that Christi met with a domestic violence counselor the day before she vanished. Mark believes that Christi ran away voluntarily, due to their marital difficulties and the "pressures of motherhood". Attempts over the years to get investigators to open a grand jury investigation have been turned down due to a lack of evidence in the case. Curiously, he was able to tell them exactly what shed taken with her, which struck them as odd. He said they argued until 2:00 a.m., when he went to sleep. She would later become a private investigator herself in order to follow up on leads related to the case. Mark claimed that the fight occurred when he tried to keep Christi from going out. Then, they were with both sets of grandparents. Private detective believes woman met with foul play, Family Says Help Needed To Search For Missing Woman, Television show could develop leads in case of missing Gothenburg woman, Only husband believes wife lives a year after her disappearance, Case of missing Gothenburg woman remains unsolved mystery (Page 1), Family Wants Grand Jury to Investigate Disappearance, State patrol tries again to find missing woman, Gothenburg woman's disappearance a mystery. Christi was very open with her family regarding Marks behaviour and had confided that she wanted to leave her husband, but wasnt sure how. (LogOut/ But until she returns to Gothenburg, he remains under a cloud of suspicion. You are using an out of date browser. Suspects: The police consider Mark the prime suspect in Christi's disappearance. While Christis case has since stalled, it remains open, with the Patrols cold case unit having worked on it on and off throughout the years. She told him she wanted a divorce and custody of her children. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. More blood was found in the trunk of Mark's car. (it was never confirmed as to which he did), Rumors are that Mark had an abusive past prior to marrying Christi Jo. At 1:37pm, Mark filed a missing persons report with the Gothenburg Police Department. Despite the evidence against him, he has never been charged in her disappearance, presumably due to the lack of a body. | Arctic Arkansas, How bad will winter be this year? I am confident, in fact I am positive that if investigators work the point of origin from the rest-stop back to somewhere in between the bar, the convenience store and her home, that they will finally locateChristi Jo. This is a very controlled type of murderer, they didnt have some sort of argument when he warded her off she fell, hit her head and inadvertently died. She found it odd, as Christi was the one who usually payed her and . The children woke Mark up at around 7:00am. Mark is the only suspect in her case. She has pierced ears and two scars (one over her left eye, and one on her abdomen.). He most likely wouldnt have shot her or stabbed her to death in his car or home, and most definitely would not kill her in such a way that a huge amount of blood would have been lost on any of his property, i.e. In 1987, the pairs marital problems began to escalate, as Mark was allegedly physically abusive toward Christi. She and her husband, Mark Nichols, ate supper at Pizza Hut with their infant daughter and son, took them to see Santa and then home to a baby sitter while the couple played pool at the bar where Christi Jo worked. It is not known if either area was ever searched. Violet died in 1999 at the age of seventy-eight and Claude died in 2013 at the age of eighty. She also did not pick up her last paycheck. These details suggest to them that foul play may be involved in this case. Christis father, Ken, says that he cant say for sure if his daughter is dead, as theres no evidence of foul play, nor any witnesses who saw anything suspicious. Kniss now works part time at a warehouse but maintains documents on the case to help researchers and investigators. She also keeps track of family members. The police investigation of this case has raised some disturbing questions about the events surrounding her disappearance. More often than not the words mentally-ill, bipolar or manipulate are tossed at a victims feet in an attempt to make the victim feel as if sheis the problem, that she hassome sort of mental disorder and isincapable of being alone, taking care herself or of the children, she cant be trusted etc. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Christi Jo Nichols was a 22 year old from Gothenburg, NE. While she was young, her parents divorced, with Connie later marrying a man named Greg Stanley. On Dec. 10, 1987, Christi (Williams) Nichols went missing in Gothenburg and has never been found. Marks explanation as why Dianne didnt see Christi Joe, I was about 5 or 6 yards behind her when she went in the door and she walked by the living room where the babysitter was back towards the kids bedroom and into the main bedroom.. Once they realize they are losing control over the victim, they start to take or hold things over the victims head that matter until the victim agrees to comply with the abusers requests or starts to live up to the abusers standards/expectations. Mark told Christi Jos mother that Christi Jo was asleep when she called by the way. Maybe an area he spoke about with friends; land that he was able to get on that he shouldnt have been on etc. Examining the world of solved and unsolved cases. Body Found At Springdale Hospital Confirmed To Be Missing Woman, Body found in search for missing 26-year-old Sebastian County man, Crawford County faces three civil rights cases, Winter warnings vs watches, what's the difference? Christi Jo Nichols was born on September 6, 1965 in Overton, Dawson County, Nebraska to Connie Stanley and Ken Williams. Dressing too sexy, she is having an affair, not dressing sexy enough, you dont want him or are not showing him you that you want him, (these days you can include: upset over a social media post a victim posted,liked or shared). The family hired a private detective. Extensive ground searches were conducted, but nothing was found. Some people close to the case, including her father, Kenneth, have speculated that she may have been dumped in the gravel fill, as it was uncovered at the time. It was not for the purpose of giving the family false hope or anything. She went out of her way to find an attorney in a completely different town to keep her husband from knowing about her wanting a divorce. His Uncle Gary, who owned the bar, contradicted his story, stating that it was apparent that there was "tenseness" between them. In short, he already knew long before he killed her, that he was going to kill her should she try to leave the relationship. All he said was that she was missing. Even though he knew Christi was gone, he told Connie that she was still asleep. When Mark found out, he was "furious" and told her that she would not get to see Lindsey and Preston again unless she stopped visiting the counselor and stopped talking about the abuse. Its contents were neatly laying around. When I teach someone to cook something with perfection, for the first time, one of the first lessons they must learn is that patience and persistence are always the key and a lot of times with cases like this, the same holds true. When you look someone like this in the eye you can literally see them forming the answers before you can even finish thinking of the next question. He was interviewed by police and has been ruled out as a suspect. Are prices headed up or down? That evening, Christi and Mark hired a babysitter, Diane Janssen, and went to the local bar where Christi worked. She is described as a quiet, very shy woman and a dedicated mother. Dead. It was also discovered that his family was close to the Gothenburg police chief, Bob Shackleton. Diane thought it was strange that he paid her with cash, because Christi normally paid her with a check. Christi Jo was a 22 year old married mother of two, who lived in Gothenburg, Nebraska when she vanished in 1987, into the night never to be seen again. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. At the time of her disappearance, she stood at 59 and weighed approximately 120 pounds. The Murder of Jaye Potter Mintz Feb 23, 1987 Leland N.C. Reba Benschoter, an emeritus professor at UNMC who recently died, is recognized as a pioneer of today's telemedicine and distance learning. Real Name: Christi Jo Nichols 10 days before her disappearance, Christi went to the emergency room for injuries allegedly caused by Mark. What would have been of the most importance to him is that it would be unlikely that investigators would/could find her body. According to Mark, he did this, so as to not worry Connie. Help us add more information to this case. Police believe she was seeing another man at the time of her disappearance. The overall consensus from the town to the investigators who looked at this case is that Christi Jo is in fact dead. Austin Sigg who has since been convicted of murdering and dismembering her did the very same thing. The disposal would have happened sometime after the sitter left or during that two hour window he supposedly drove around looking for her. He claimed that he spent the next two hours driving around town looking for her. Would you like to contribute as an editor or a writer on our site? More recent DNA tests have proved that the blood found in Marks car was indeed Christis. EARLY LIFE: Christi Jo Nichols was born on September 6, 1965 in Overton, Dawson County, Nebraska to Connie Stanley and Ken Williams. Victims in these types of situations are cut off, they feel alone and isolated. In April 1986, their son, Preston, was born. Debbie feared for Christi's safety and told her that she needed to get help from someone. Prior to her disappearance, Christi told Connie that Mark was monitoring her phone calls. An investigation revealed traces of Christi's blood in the couple's house and in the husband's car. Officers agreed they had been left at the reststop purposely. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Kniss said there was circumstantial evidence, including blood spots found in the couples bedroom and in a car trunk. In some cases while it appears they have been able to outsmart the law, the reality is that they simply found a way to avoid a murder charge, for the time being. The attorney advised her not to return to the home she shared with Mark, but she refused. Click here to join us. On December 12, 1987, Mark moved out of the couples home. She was married and had two children. There are currently no cases that match the selected filters. Mark gave himself away the very moment that he told investigators what Christi Jo packed and took with her, he put the cherry on top when he told investigators what she had in her purse. Its been said that during one point while Mark interviewed with Unsolved Mysteries, he actually giggled while discussing that he heard people suspected he chopped Christi Jo up and put her into garbage bags, then dumped at the local dump. Connie Stanley has used them all. Officer Terry Ahrens was put in charge of this case. Men like Mark tend to feel that they can outsmart the law, again, that they are above the law in some way. He moved out of the home pretty quickly after Christi Jo vanished, got rid of all traces of her and has since remarried, from what I understand twice. Christi once had to go to the hospital emergency room for injuries allegedly caused by Mark. Around 10 days before Christi Jos disappearance she went to the hospital to be treated for injuries that were a result of Marks inability to control his temper. He claims that some of the rumors have gotten "pretty vicious". Christi already had two siblings and now she gained three stepbrothers. That is why the suitcase and purse were left and why he wanted them to be found. He left Gothenburg a few years later. At the time, Mark worked at a local gas station. Investigators noted that, without locating her or her body, it would be difficult to file charges against anybody in this case. Diane did not remember seeing it in there before Christi went missing. They learned that Christi had been seeing another man. It is believed that Mark found about her meetings with Claude and the counselor because Claude contacted Shackleton about the abuse and the counselor met with Christi in Shackleton's office. A few days later, he packed up the familys belongings and sold both their cars. According to Mark, he sensed a lot of anger coming from his wife. You can cancel at any time. He went on to tell investigators that things at the bar seemed good. As far as the world knows, the last time anyone saw Christi Jo was either at the bar or the store Mark says they stopped at on the way home. On the evening of December 10, 1987, Christi and her husband . As a result of the abuse, Christi began seeing an abuse counsellor, which upset her husband. 1) The primary (and only) theory in the case, and one both investigators and Christis family hold, is that she met with foul play, likely at the hands of Mark Nichols. On January 3, 2020, the case saw renewed interest after the Nebraska State Patrol released a press release. Finding Christi Jos body does not guarantee a conviction but for her family it would mean the world so that they could give her a proper burial. Claude felt that when she was in his office, she was not panic stricken to the point that she would run or leave. This is one of those "we basically know who was behind her disappearance, but lack evidence to convict", unfortunately. Terry noted that if Christi left Mark, he would not have been able to look through the closet and say what she had taken. Brendan Gonzalez, a 4-year-old Plattsmouth boy, has been missing since Jan. 6. Find out with these charts and graphs, updated weekly. Dianne told investigators she never actually saw Christi Jo come in and that Mark had paid her in cash which was pretty unusual because Christi Jo always paid her and she paid her by check. 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