CA CA - Linda Sohus, 28, San Marino, 8 February 1985

[mjhelms]

A few thoughts:


Also in earlier interviews with Linda's sister she said she thought perhaps Linda could have been involved with John's death. It struck me as a strange thing for a sibling to say.

Very interesting! Boy this case gets stranger by the day!

 

[mysteriew]

According to this article, the store owner believes that the post card she recieved was in Linda's handwriting. And it looks like there were at least two different stories about where they were going. Linda told the collector that she and John were moving to New York. Ruth (Didi) told the store owner that the couple were moving to Paris, France. It looks like the stories are both from the same time period.

 

[mollymalone]

Linda is said to have told someone that she thought Christoper Chichester was creepy. Then it's suggested that she's supposed to have killed her husband whom she loved, and run off with a guy she thought was creepy?

Chichester could have conned John and Linda or just John into thinking that he was some undercover yahoo and that he was hiring him to work for the govt. or some such thing.I think if John was convinced he had a job offer that he would have talked her into going. Otherwise, why the different versions of where they were going?


One version is they're going on a honeymoon to Paris, another is they're going to NY for a job offer for John. Why would he lie to his own mother Didi or she to her family unless they were instructed to do so or each was convinced of the version of the story they were telling.

 

[mysteriew]

You know that is one thing that is funny in all of this. No one seems to have an apparent motive.

There doesn't appear to be any claim of missing funds. No hints that John and Linda were aware of alias man's other identity, no verbalized hints that they were aware of or suspected him of being a con man. No hint that they were involved in any business transactions with him. No claim on the estate has been publicized. Every mention of the couple suggests they were newlyweds that got along.

 

[mollymalone]

You know that is one thing that is funny in all of this. No one seems to have an apparent motive.

There doesn't appear to be any claim of missing funds. No hints that John and Linda were aware of alias man's other identity, no verbalized hints that they were aware of or suspected him of being a con man. No hint that they were involved in any business transactions with him. No claim on the estate has been publicized. Every mention of the couple suggests they were newlyweds that got along.

Right, and even the hint that Linda found Chichester creepy makes it unlikely IMO that she'd run off with him. Especially since he stayed there at the house (having the run of theirs) for several months after they were "gone." I think Linda died and was disposed of. From their descriptions of her love for her husband, her cats and her horse lead me to believe she didn't abandon them willingly.

 

[Joanie]

Thinking about motives, several occurred to me. And they would be hard to look into, by the time the body was found ten years later.

1. CR 'came on' to Linda (remember he has been accused of inappropriate touching) and she fought with him. Something happened and she died, accidently. So he has to kill John afterward, because John would find out. That's why he was able to take the time to dismember John and bury him, but Linda isn't in the same place.

2. John really did get the top secret job in NY. Chichester might have been afraid that John would find out who he was. So Chichester kills John, and then calls the employer and backs out of the job, representing himself as John. (He may have done this in scenario #1 as well. Hence no phone call.

3. Chichester cons John into believing in the fake job, then kills him and Linda. Then he convinces Didi that they cannot be reached, he has to hide their whereabouts, but they need money. He milks Didi dry over the next few months, and leaves when she has no more money to 'send to John'. He then takes the truck and leaves. Did anyone ever look into Didi's finances? Probably not.

Those, or some combination of those elements, seem like possible motives that would not have been examined when John's body was found, ten years later. By then, Didi was gone, having always believed that John was a secret agent. Her banking records, and those of John and Linda, would have been long destroyed. Unless the police were looking for a con, they would not have investigated that...

Joanie

 

[Joanie]

I'm questioning Lydia's recollection of events. Linda's friend told me that Linda didn't work regularly at the bookstore, at the time of her disappearance. She may have been helping out Lydia by coming in on a weekend, but she wasn't a full time or regular employee. Also, from what Linda's friend told me, she didn't have a horse at the time she disappeared. She still had a a prized saddle, but not the horse. I think that Lydia's recollections after so many years have been clouded.

Linda's friend compared the postcard writing with handwriting that she knows that Linda wrote, and said that it is not the same. Similar, but not the same. Lydia is going by her recollection of what Linda's writing looked like.

Joanie

 

[tuppence]

You know that is one thing that is funny in all of this. No one seems to have an apparent motive.

There doesn't appear to be any claim of missing funds. No hints that John and Linda were aware of alias man's other identity, no verbalized hints that they were aware of or suspected him of being a con man. No hint that they were involved in any business transactions with him. No claim on the estate has been publicized. Every mention of the couple suggests they were newlyweds that got along.

interesting point. in addition CR also doesn't appear to have a reputation for violence. Even his wife Sandra Boss said right after he took Snooks (and before she knew his real history) that "he wouldn't hurt a fly".

 

[tuppence]

Thanks for taking time to put some theories out. I'm still having difficulty though finding a compelling answer.

1. CR 'came on' to Linda (remember he has been accused of inappropriate touching) and she fought with him. Something happened and she died, accidently. So he has to kill John afterward, because John would find out. That's why he was able to take the time to dismember John and bury him, but Linda isn't in the same place.

Linda is quite big relative to CR so It's hard to see this. It's certainly hard to see how he would transport her off the property and to imagine where eslse she would be alone with him. Also CR doesn't appear to have a history of violence/temper. Linda also told people they were leaving.

2. John really did get the top secret job in NY. Chichester might have been afraid that John would find out who he was. So Chichester kills John, and then calls the employer and backs out of the job, representing himself as John. (He may have done this in scenario #1 as well. Hence no phone call.

I don't think the satellite job would translate into knowing who CR was and at that point it's not clear that there's much motive for CR to kill someone to protect that since he was in the country legally and doesn't appear to have been wanted for a crime. Just doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for 2 difficult murders.

Chichester cons John into believing in the fake job, then kills him and Linda. Then he convinces Didi that they cannot be reached, he has to hide their whereabouts, but they need money. He milks Didi dry over the next few months, and leaves when she has no more money to 'send to John'. He then takes the truck and leaves. Did anyone ever look into Didi's finances? Probably not.

Joanie

Didi reporting them missing 2 months after they left and doesn't say anything about giving them any money. All that has come out around those lines is that they used her credit card in NY at one point. By all appearances there wasn't much money out of this. A truck and a few cc charges. Also I find it hard to believe that this couple would believe CR had a job for them.

 

[Joanie]

Thank you for responding to these ideas, let's play around with them a bit more!

Linda is quite big relative to CR so It's hard to see this. It's certainly hard to see how he would transport her off the property and to imagine where else she would be alone with him. Also CR doesn't appear to have a history of violence/temper. Linda also told people they were leaving.

Yes, she was much larger than he was, but if she pushed him and he pushed her back.. and her head hit a hard object... stranger things have happened. He might have cut her up, too, especially if she was in his little back house. We don't know whether the stain was from Linda, or John, or both. Linda did tell people that they were leaving.. but if he tried to hit on her just before they left, it wouldn't matter whether she told people or not. Or maybe it was something that Linda, and/or John, discovered about him. John was into computers, maybe he was goofing off and came across something about CR.

I don't think the satellite job would translate into knowing who CR was and at that point it's not clear that there's much motive for CR to kill someone to protect that since he was in the country legally and doesn't appear to have been wanted for a crime. Just doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for 2 difficult murders.

Well, since we don't know what they told CR, maybe just that it was "top secret", he may have panicked. They weren't on chatty terms with CR, Linda thought he was strange. Or Didi may have been the one to tell him, and she dramatized it. CR was not really in the country legally, he must have known that his early marriage wouldn't hold up to scrutiny. He may have also pulled some scams before San Marino, he had to get money from somewhere. He was already using aliases, already putting himself out there as someone that he was not. Tenuous, I admit... but a panicked con man may be paranoid and unpredictible.

Didi reporting them missing 2 months after they left and doesn't say anything about giving them any money. All that has come out around those lines is that they used her credit card in NY at one point. By all appearances there wasn't much money out of this. A truck and a few cc charges. Also I find it hard to believe that this couple would believe CR had a job for them.

Didi wasn't the one that started the ball rolling... it was Linda's half sister. Didi still believed that they were in Paris. The police told the half sister that two adults could disappear if they wanted to. Didi continued to tell people that they were on a secret mission.

If he did scam Didi, she would probably not report it, since she did still think that John was alive. He stayed for something like three months... plenty of time to go through Linda and John's accounts, forge checks, and do whatever he could to get money from them. Stealing the truck was pretty bald faced, he had to know that they weren't coming back. There is no way that Didi sold the truck to him, when she was still waiting for her son to come home.

Joanie

 

[tuppence]

Joanie,

I read your earler posts too. Very interesting. I think your theory about the money angle is the most compelling. CR had no income source and needed money. Looking back I see you are right, it was Linda's sister that filed the report.

There was an interesting interview earlier with a wealthy elderly couple who had CR over a lot but said they ultimately stopped because he seemed so interested in their finances. There also was an article that talked about Didi being a heavy alcoholic and easily manipulated. Did you know Didi at all? Does that fit with what you have heard of her? He was supposed to be good with elderly women.

Perhaps John got a job offer in NY and that inspired CR to act because he was going to lose his opportunity (maybe they wanted him to move out b/c they didn't want to leave him alone with Didi or they were going to take Didi with them at some point or they had some cash on hand or other items (art?) that CR wanted). Also since Linda/John already said it was a goverment satellite project that set things up nicely for him.

 

[capoly]

Clark Rockefeller’s lawyer faces own woes
Sued 4 times for malpractice since ’04


http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1113954

 

[WholeLottaRosie]

Clark Rockefeller’s lawyer faces own woes
Sued 4 times for malpractice since ’04


http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1113954

Oooookkkkkaaayyy. Ole Clark might want to change attorneys, me thinks.

 

[Knoxx]

NBC LANDS FIRST WITH CROCKEFELLER

The jailhouse interview between Morales and "Clark Rockefeller" was conducted yesterday at Suffolk County Jail at Nashua Street in Boston. It is slated to air next Monday and Tuesday on "Today." The interview will also be part of a larger "Rockefeller" "Dateline" edition planned for September.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08202008/tv/nbc_lands_first_with_crockefeller_125315.htm

 

[Joanie]

Joanie,
There was an interesting interview earlier with a wealthy elderly couple who had CR over a lot but said they ultimately stopped because he seemed so interested in their finances. There also was an article that talked about Didi being a heavy alcoholic and easily manipulated. Did you know Didi at all? Does that fit with what you have heard of her? He was supposed to be good with elderly women.

I didn't know Didi.. I hardly knew Linda. She moved in more interesting circles than we did. But apparently Didi was alcoholic and reclusive, and was very easy to manipulate. It is very possible that CR kept in touch with Didi for several reasons... even when she ran out of money. First, he needed to keep her believing that John was a secret agent or whatever, and second, he needed to know whether the police were after him. I also believe that the two phone calls that Lydia (the bookstore lady) received, were from CR. She said that, over the next year or so, she received two phone calls (one from an employer and one from a credit card company?) inquiring about Linda. If Linda were alive and hiding, why would she use her own name and give Lydia as a reference? (If Linda were alive and not hiding, we wouldn't be wondering about her whereabouts). I laid awake for hours, thinking about this case, and trying to see the whole thing as CR saw it. How could he make sure that the police were not enquiring about Linda? By calling Lydia, and saying "Hey, we have a gal named Linda Sohus here looking for a job (or whatever), then hearing Lydia's reaction, he would know whether she was being looked for. If Lydia got all excited and asked for Linda's whereabouts, he could always hang up. But apparently she didn't, at least not the first time. That, combined with keeping in touch with Didi, would have made him feel safer. Remember, he tried to sell the truck four years later. He must have felt safe enough about selling it. He knew that they weren't looking for John and Linda.

Perhaps John got a job offer in NY and that inspired CR to act because he was going to lose his opportunity (maybe they wanted him to move out b/c they didn't want to leave him alone with Didi or they were going to take Didi with them at some point or they had some cash on hand or other items (art?) that CR wanted). Also since Linda/John already said it was a goverment satellite project that set things up nicely for him.

And CR could have called the real employer, after the murder, and made excuses as if he were John. Otherwise, the employer would have been looking for John. Another possibility is that CR set up the NY interview to give a reason for them to leave. If Didi's credit cards were used in NY, does that mean that CR went there to pay off whoever acted as the "employer"? Or did he even go in John's place, trying to get the job? (Not very likely, but hey...)

There's something here that we need to know, before understanding the murder. Was the job offer real? If not, then CR was setting the whole thing up. Maybe John figured out that the job wasn't real, and since it came through CR, he accosted CR about it and they fought?

If the job was real, was it the trigger, or just a coincidence?

Thank you for talking about this, my brain races every night with all of the pieces of this puzzle.

Joanie

 

[SteveHuff]

NBC LANDS FIRST WITH CROCKEFELLER

The jailhouse interview between Morales and "Clark Rockefeller" was conducted yesterday at Suffolk County Jail at Nashua Street in Boston. It is slated to air next Monday and Tuesday on "Today." The interview will also be part of a larger "Rockefeller" "Dateline" edition planned for September.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08202008/tv/nbc_lands_first_with_crockefeller_125315.htm

I will make it a point to watch that, but you know, I bet he didn't tell them a thing. He probably stonewalled at every turn. He's been too good at keeping his counsel for too long, now.

Steve

 

[tapu]

I will make it a point to watch that, but you know, I bet he didn't tell them a thing. He probably stonewalled at every turn. He's been too good at keeping his counsel for too long, now.

Steve

Bet he smiles that -eating grin throughout, too....

At first, this story seemed like entertainment to me. I'm kind of ashamed of that. But the little girl was fine and the story of his different identities were funny. Then I thought more about the Sofus couple, and read more here about Didi Sofus, and I find it so very sad that these people with lives ahead may have had them ended for what? And that Didi Sofus died, thinking her John had left with no word. It is really sad, man. Suddenly this guy is not the madcap celebrity criminal he seemed to me....

 

[tuppence]

There's something here that we need to know, before understanding the murder. Was the job offer real? If not, then CR was setting the whole thing up. Maybe John figured out that the job wasn't real, and since it came through CR, he accosted CR about it and they fought?

If the job was real, was it the trigger, or just a coincidence?

I lean toward the job offer being real. Based on the limited information so far it seems to me that CR was loner (unlikely to have accomplices), and not very credible to people who spent a lot of time around him because his stories were inconsistent/not convincing. Sohuses would have been around him a fair amount.Of course later CR seems to have fooled his wife and many others for a long period of time but back then it sounds like he was not as good at the con job.

CR could not have known anything about satellite jobs and John worked for JPL. I can't imagine CR would have known how to describe such a job. Also arguably he would have made the job sound a little more international right from the beginning (even if based in NY to make it more palatable) since they could not be hidden in NY.

The issue with the job offer being real is that it could likely be discovered quickly after the police got involved who the employer was and what happened there (didn't show up etc). However, since the story became that John & Linda ended up being spies in Europe this doesn't necessarily change things. The employer was probably told that John got a different opportunity and so for Didi the story still fit and the police just didn't have enough to go on to do anything.

 

[tuppence]

I will make it a point to watch that, but you know, I bet he didn't tell them a thing. He probably stonewalled at every turn. He's been too good at keeping his counsel for too long, now.

Steve

Steve,

I recently tried to access the Maura Murray summaries on your blog but could not. I clicked on a link you had in a May ( I think) article about the number of deaths in the region but the link did not work. Then I searched for "Maura Murray" on the blog but nothing was found. Has it been taken down?

tuppence

 

[Knoxx]

The man that calls himself Clark Rockefeller!
"Let's do a DNA test to see if I am a Rockefeller!"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/26329088#26329088