The dark secrets behind a Missouri manhunt | Forensic Files

[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center 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 saint 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 searches continued on with flashlights 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 [Music] [Music] [Music] the mall in downtown saint 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 3 p.m when karen wandered 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 titan 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 few people in the vicinity of the bookstore had noticed the blond-haired
blue-eyed eric who was wearing a blue and red striped shirt with denim james 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
[Music] after 24 hours passed with no sign of his son edwin christian offered a ten
thousand dollar 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 [Music] 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 [Music] 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 he's unbuttoned the genes hinted at what
was later confirmed to 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 saint joseph news press
the newspaper's editor defended his decision against a wave of complaints saying
[Music] 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 1am 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 gate 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 saint 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 elude
them fearing he might strike again the mayor of saint joseph urged the community to
keep a closer eye on their children an editorial printed in the saint 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 pulled 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 1 to 4 pm the day the christian boy was kidnapped and i told the two officers about that
when they talked with me [Music] 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 suspects 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 saint
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 anti-social 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 [Music] as detailed in the book innocent blood by terry gainey 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 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 amityl through an iv line
used as a sedative the drug also had the reputation of being a truth serum that was used to coax unspoken or repressed
memories from kg 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 insco 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 second-degree murder
he was held on a fifty 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 reynold's attorney had him assassed 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 insco 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 case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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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 30 am but by 3 30 pm 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
[Music] 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
[Music] 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 searchers 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
[Music] 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 fishermen he asked if they were having
any luck before quickly moving on [Music] the fishermen 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 face the 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 7 pm
when he visited the skaggs drugstore to purchase some alcohol the detectives informed him that the
drugstore closed at 6 pm and the man reasoned he must have lost track of time [Music]
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 saint joseph state mental
hospital received a call from the facility 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 clark clark 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 clark'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 clark 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 clark grasped his shoulder posing as a security guard clark accused the boy of shoplifting and demanded to
speak with his mother he then escorted the boy through a door labelled employees only that led to a
rear exit once outside clark pulled the boy towards a nearby wooded area realising something was a mess the boy
yanked free of clarke's grip and rushed back to his mother the police were called and clark was
apprehended for attempted child abduction the charges were ultimately dropped but
clark voluntarily checked himself into a psychiatric hospital and was released after two months
less than three months later clark confronted a 19 year old woman in downtown saint 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 clark approached a ten-year-old boy in a record store
this time 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 clark 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
clark 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 clark'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 clark 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 clark lay restrained to a chair in a psychiatrist's office with an iv line inserted into his veins
sodium amador was slowly moving through the tube bent into clark'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 clerk 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
clark 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 clark 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
clark 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 saint joseph state
hospital called clark 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 clark 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 clark 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 holtslag
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 ran in part [Music] 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 still 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
clark was handed a pen and paper he wrote come back after you find it the next day an fbi field agent armed
with clark'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 clark 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-coloured 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 clark 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 clark 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 the james on the bank of the river unbeknownst to james clark had been
fighting the urge to kill someone all day and had a butcher's knife concealed in his coat pocket
clark 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 clark 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 clark followed it for ten
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 clark left only to succumb to his injuries where he now lay
james's remains were in view of passers-by so clark worked to cover them with rocks and wood
that was all clarke was willing to reveal to fbi agent holtz flag about james churchill's murder
writing that he'd give more answers in time exasperated holslag asked clarke if there were any more bodies and if so how
many clark 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 holzlag 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
clark write out more information about his crimes it dawned on him it was the way clark a tall heavyset man
aged in his 50s walked into the interview room with a strange gate and his right arm
held out at a crooked angle all of a sudden holtzlag was hit with the realization as to why clark seemed
like someone he had known for some time agent holzlag looked at clark as he scribbled down notes and said
eric christian richard clark glanced up from his writing and smiled case file will be back shortly thank you
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a quick update on case file episode 28 lindsey booziak in continuing the fight to bring his daughter's killer to
justice jeff bouziak needs your help the mother of lindsay's boyfriend at the time of her murder is suing jeff for
slander claiming that comments he made online led to loss and damage to her reputation loss of income and stress
anxiety and other mental suffering jeff needs your help to defend this lawsuit so that he can continue to keep
lindsay's case from being forgotten for more information or to donate to jeff's legal fund head to our instagram
page at case file podcast and click the link in our bio or google go fund me lindsey booziak
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content [Music] richard clark richard harris richard
grady richard price albert air 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 saint 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 hatch's behaviour 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 farrington 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 farrington was sentenced to two years
imprisonment but would be eligible for release after just seven months until that time farrington proved
himself a model prisoner wanting more than anything to be reunited with his wife
six months into his incarceration farrington 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 [Music] 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 hobert 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 bloodied 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 tatcha as it was so articulate it proved 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 institutionalized 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 12 year old boy from a bus stop he took him to a boarding house and sexually assaulted him at knifepoint
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 seventeen-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
to 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 saint louis post 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 saint 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 a 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 holzlag didn't doubt hatch'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 scene's whereabouts were well known given that the saint 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 a search word
quickly got around [Music] witness descriptions of eric being seen with a heavyset older man matched
hatcher that 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 [ __ ] 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 neighbor had come forward to police prior to his trial with a major revelation
at around 3 25 pm 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 neighbor 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 saint 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 a 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 reynold's attorney echoed this sentiment adding that the rampant homophobia
present in saint 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 hatch'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 hatch'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
realising he held the position of power hatcher toyed with the agent accordingly
[Music] after promising to write a diary detailing his crimes hatcher informed a
frustrated hulk slag that he had flushed the papers down the toilet he instead handed over a handwritten
poem that read in part who's 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 [Music] agent holzlag 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 hatch'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 [Music] looking through records agent holzlag
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 racquet were found on the sidewalk where he had stopped to speak to the man in the green
car two days later two children exploring lost trampo's 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 [Music] 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
[Music] in august 1983 the office of the saint 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 reynold's case reviewed by the prosecuting attorney mike insco who'd
been responsible for securing the guilty verdict insco was initially less than enthused
about re-examining 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 insco 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 [ __ ]
[Music] 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 hatch's guilty plea and the supporting evidence gathered by agent joseph holtzlag saint 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 hatch's confession
[Music] 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
prison ordeal 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 saint 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
holtzlag 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
endeavoured 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 [Music] there wasn't enough evidence to bring hatcher to justice for the murders of
william freeman james churchill or jerry farrington but in september 1984 he faced trial for the murder of
eleven-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 saint joseph community were outraged but those who knew of hatch's desire to
die took solace in knowing he didn't get what he wanted four days later at four am a prison
guard making the rounds at the missouri state penitentiary shone his flashlight into charles ray hatch's cell
and discovered that the 55 year old had taken his own life he hadn't left a note
prosecutor mike insco 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 hatch'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 [Music] as written in the saint louis post-dispatch newspaper
[Music] 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 to 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.
saint 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
[Music] 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 [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Case 215: The One-Man Crime Wave

*** 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.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-215-the-one-man-crime-wave

Brief Summary

Eric Christian's murder led to a wrongful conviction and eventual confession by Charles Ray Hatcher, revealing systemic failures in the justice system.

Key points

The Search for Eric Christian. On May 27, 1978, a thunderstorm hit Missouri as locals searched for missing Eric Christian.
A Tragic Discovery. Eric Christian was found deceased after a frantic search, shocking the community.
Melvin Reynolds' Confession. Melvin Reynolds confessed to the murder of Eric Christian, detailing the horrific events.
Michelle's Disappearance. Michelle Steele goes missing after a dentist appointment, sparking a large-scale search.
Discovery of Michelle's Body. Michelle's body is found in a remote area, raising fears of a copycat killer.
Richard Clark's Confession. Richard Clark reveals chilling details about his past murders, including a shocking total.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just want my son back.

Edwin Christian's plea for his missing son Eric.

6:15WatchJun 11, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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