Toward the end of 1987, Mark took a polygraph test, but the results are said to have been inconclusive. Not for the same reason Christi Jos killer wanted her belongings found, the point is they were left in a specific area so as to ensure that they would be found. 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. She has brown hair and green eyes, and has a scar above her left eye and on her abdomen. Between 12:30am and 1:00am, Mark came home. You can cancel at any time. Theres also his history of abuse, which is said to have been present before his marriage to Christi. Marital Status: Married A note was found in her car, where shed written that she would be leaving after Christmas, but had promised to contact the unnamed man within a few months. In 1983, she graduated from Overton High School. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. The location is approximately 30 miles from Gothenburg. Show Transcript. She also never picked up her last paycheque from the bar. Alone. During their investigation, the state patrol discovered that he moved out of their house the day after her disappearance. When she was later spoken to by investigators, she would say she never saw, nor heard Christi enter the house. The area surrounding Gothenburg has been searched extensively. Growing up, He said she had left of her own accord, abandoning him and their son and daughter. According to Diane, Mark arrived home between 12:30 and 1am. Nichols was first reported missing by her family on August 6. Authorities stated it looked as if whoever placed them there had wanted them to be found. Christi and Mark left the bar around midnight and drove to an all-night convenience store. But until she returns to Gothenburg, he remains under a cloud of suspicion. In March 1988, three months after Christi's disappearance, her suitcase and purse were discovered in a roadside rest area thirty miles west of Gothenburg. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Maybe an area he spoke about with friends; land that he was able to get on that he shouldnt have been on etc. Despite this evidence, he has never been charged. Mark Nichols, then 26, and his family contended she ran away from a deteriorating marriage. Two days prior to Christi Jos disappearance she consulted with an attorney in a different town, inquiring about a divorce and stated she wanted full custody of her children. In Marks mind at the time the suitcase and purse were found they were left simply and only because at that particular point in time he had to leave them as a way to offer a new lead if you will. Its believed that the then-police chief, who was friends with Christis husband, had informed Mark of her visit to the divorce lawyer. He went on to tell investigators that things at the bar seemed good. The case has been included in a deck of playing cards that featured photographs of unsolved homicide victims, which were distributed to prisons and jails throughout Nebraska. Mark was seemingly aware of this and had suggested to authorities that shed run off with him. 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. What would have been of the most importance to him is that it would be unlikely that investigators would/could find her body. Often times victims in these situations will develop substance abuse problems as a way to escape mentally from the constant fear, the abuse, the hateful, hurtful words spoken, as well as both the physical and mental pain they endure. Avoiding and outsmarting are two completely different things. She was married and had two children. During her late teens, Christi moved to Gothenburg, Nebraska to leave with her paternal grandmother, Violet Williams, as she no longer wanted to follow the rules set set in place by her mother and stepfather. According to Connie, Mark forged Christis signature on the titles in order to sell them. Mark told Christi Jos mother that Christi Jo was asleep when she called by the way. Abusers like Mark simply will not stand for or allow for, property to walk out the door. In the mid-2000s, the case was one that the Nebraska State Patrol worked on with the help of a $250,000 grant. They were later returned to Mark, and Connie said she hardly got to see them, due to his influence. Rumours began to spread about what Mark had done to Christi, including one that said hed dismembered her, placed her body in plastic bags and buried her at the local landfill. 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. Calls to the police department were of no help, as the police chief told her Mark was in his right to withhold the children and that she risked arrest if she didnt leave the property. Men like Mark tend to feel that they can outsmart the law, again, that they are above the law in some way. Although authorities suspect Christi Jo Nichols is dead, her body never has been found. Christi Jo Nichols was a 22 year old from Gothenburg, NE. There are rumors in Gothenburg that say he is responsible for her disappearance. Change). Christi Jo Willliams (Nichols) was last seen alive Dec. 10, 1987, when she left her children at home with a babysitter for an evening out with her husband, Mark. On December 10, the day after the meeting, she and Mark went Christmas shopping with Lindsey and Preston. Characteristics:Caucasian female with brown hair and green eyes. Trace amounts of Christi's blood were found on the floor of her bedroom, and in the trunk of Mark's 1977 Mercury Cougar. Her ears are pierced. No, men like this, take time to actually plan this out despite the long held belief that abusive men dont always plan the murder. JavaScript is disabled. The next morning, Mark woke up. The babysitter later stated she did not believe Christi came home with her husband, but Mark said Christi was there and the babysitter simply never saw her. According to Diane Janssen the couples babysitter, Mark arrived home between 12:30 and 1:00 in the morning. Upon moving to Gothenburg, Christi met Mark Nichols, the man who would eventually become her husband. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Injured. She is described as a quiet, very shy woman and a dedicated mother. Her disappearance turned into a controversy that continues to this day. 0:00 / 13:50 THE CASE OF CHRISTI JO NICHOLS | UNSOLVED TRUE CRIME | Caitlin Rose 21,189 views Mar 28, 2019 789 Dislike Share Caitlin Rose 135K subscribers Disclaimer: by creating this video I. Nichols's ears are pierced. She thought it was strange because normally when she watched them, Christi or Mark would call ahead of time to ask if she was available. 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Mark claimed that the fight occurred when he tried to keep Christi from going out. Within days of her disappearance, he had moved out of their house, sold both their cars, and boxed up her clothes. Investigators no longer believe that Christi vanished voluntarily; they are now investigating this case as a probable homicide. They have all of the answers regardless of whether or not they have been asked the questions. He had done a great amount of divorce work, handling hundreds of divorces. Currently, the case is classified as a homicide and foul play is suspected. his car, his home. This is due to Marks behaviour in the days after her disappearance moving out of the family home, selling the familys vehicles as well as him being able to name everything shed supposedly taken with her. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Townspeople speculated that her body was buried in the local railroad overpass or entombed in some other construction project or rural area. Austin Sigg who has since been convicted of murdering and dismembering her did the very same thing. At 12:30am, they headed for home. 22-year-old Christi Jo Nichols of Gothenburg, Nebraska left her 2 children with a babysitter and went out with her husband Mark to a bar on the evening of December 10th, 1987. At the time of her disappearance, she stood at 59 and weighed approximately 120 pounds. As a result, her family, which already included two siblings, grew to include three stepbrothers. | Arctic Arkansas, How bad will winter be this year? She placed a great importance on the concept of family and dreamed of one day becoming a mother. Mark Nichols told authorities that his wife was gone from their bed when he awoke after the night at the bar. A lot has changed in the world since then, but for one family time came to a standstill on that date. A store clerk later recalled that she seemed "nervous". Before she left Berreckmans office, she made a follow-up appointment, at which time they had planned to move forward with the divorce proceedings. She had told Gary that they were having marital problems; he was surprised that they were there together that night. Make sure you understand that, he knew her every move prior. The attorney stated that he was worried for her well being and that she appeared to have been beaten recently, she seemed afraid and worried. He felt that she was very sincere and honest about what she was telling him. Both Christi Jos suitcase and purse were found in March of 1988, at a rest stop in Maxwell, NE about 30 miles west of Gothenburg NE. When he spoke with police, Mark told them that Christi had only taken a purse and suitcase with her. They are property, they are to think as he does, meet his wants and needs, want the same wants and needs andthe victim must always live up to the abusers expectations. Let us know all the details about yourself and send us a message. However, both family cars were still sitting in the front yard. He left Gothenburg a few years later. Interestingly, it was discovered that she did not take her cosmetics, most of her clothing, her Social Security card, or her wedding rings. Rumors swirled that some sort of letter was found from Christi Jo to an unnamed man explaining that she was in the process of leaving her husband and would be in touch in a few months. 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. However, he is not considered a suspect. Not one individual! Lab tests confirmed that it was in her handwriting. 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. 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 Jo lived every day of her life in constant fear, a fear that really no words could ever truly describe. He said they argued until 2:00 a.m., when he went to sleep. Usually, it was Christi who paid the sitter, and she did it with a check. All of the officers agreed on the fact that whoever left the belongings at the rest stop wanted them to be found. Where are the hotspots for buyers and sellers? Once they completed their shopping, he and Christi left the kids with babysitter Diane Janssen and went to Petes Place, the bar where Christi worked. A few weeks later, he boxed up all of her clothes and sold both of their cars. The Disappearance and Death of Christi Jo Nichols December 11, 1987. However, that didnt stop rumours spreading, which stated that the pair were having trouble. In fact, she had planned on coming back; when she left, she made an appointment to come back to his office the following week. Two overpasses were built in and around Gothenburg, and gravel fill was used at both locations. Gothenburg womans disappearance a mystery. After that, they were sent to live with him. 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. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The State Patrol lists Nichols case as one of about 250 unsolved homicides. And why, after 19 years, has no trace of the teen ever been found? Foul play is suspected in Christi's disappearance and it is classified as a homicide. Dig deeper into the stories you've heard before, and encounter many others you haven't, in ways that actually help. The Nebraska State Patrol investigated the case and the family hired a private detective to no avail. It has also since been discovered that Christi met with a domestic violence counselor the day before she vanished. He threatened shed never see the children again if she kept making appointments and made her promise to never go back. Men like Markare clever, manipulative, misleading and always seem to be able to have a reason and answer for why or how something happened. Violet died in 1999 at the age of seventy-eight and Claude died in 2013 at the age of eighty. 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. What was found in both the suitcase and purse were exactly as Mark initially told investigators she had packed and had in her purse at the time she vanished. Oddly, both family cars were in the driveway at the time Christi Jo. Mark moved out of the house the day after his wife's disappearance, and a few days after that, he packed up all their belongings and sold both the family's vehicles. When he went to turn to Christi, he noticed she wasnt in bed, and a subsequent search of the house revealed she was gone and that a suitcase was missing. In the early 2000s, DNA testing confirmed that it was hers. At this point, Berreckman contacted the Gothenburg Police Department to report Marks abuse. The attorney stated Christi was extremely stressed and appeared to have been beaten. This is reportedly one of three times the chief had harassed Christi that day. | Arctic Arkansas. Mark decided at 11AM to take the children to Christi Jos grandmothers home and ask her to babysit so he could go find his wife. He is the type thatsleeps with one eye open if you catch my drift. Christi Jo Nichols, a 22-year-old mother of two and part-time bartender, vanished Dec. 11, 1987. Reba Benschoter, an emeritus professor at UNMC who recently died, is recognized as a pioneer of today's telemedicine and distance learning. He stated that the day before they went to the bar, things were uncomfortable because they had not been getting along very well. On Dec. 10, 1987, Christi (Williams) Nichols went missing in Gothenburg and has never been found. Mark took a polygraph about her disappearance in 1987, but the results were inconclusive. He felt that she was having a good attitude about herself, and that there was a lot of laughing and carrying on between them. Truthfully he always had an idea of where hed stash a body he just needed to be able to do it at the right time so as not to get caught. More recent DNA tests have proved that the blood found in Marks car was indeed Christis. If they feel they are losing control they will do something so as to bring that needed balance back into the picture. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Height: 5'9" 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. 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