MO MO - Jo Ellen Weigel, 18, pregnant, Lee’s Summit, 2 July 1970

[Rameylane]

The information was given to me by my mother over the years. The office was said to be Donald Cline's veterinary clinic, and before I was told of the pregnancy I was told Donald Cline "was accused of but never charged of performing botched abortions." Since I confronted my mother about my suspicions about her involvement in Jo Ellen's murder my mother has done everything possible to make me look crazy so no one will believe me. She knew Jo Ellen was pregnant at the time of the murder and she knew the information was public knowledge in 1972, she just acted surprised to me and the officer later to throw me off because she knew I was putting it together, so many things didn't add up. And if confronted again my mother will accuse me of everything under the sun but I didn't do anything to anyone and I was born in 1979.

I believe Jo Ellen was taken to Donald Cline's office and when she refused an abortion she was pushed down the stairs and strangled. Whether my mom was party before during or afterwards she knows a whole lot she doesn't want to say. And although Michael Cline was allowed to hang out with his friend's afterwards, I doubt he would be bragging and no one came forward.

A few years ago I did an internet search and found a Michael Cline at the right age practicing law in Virginia. The picture on the website matched perfectly to his yearbook photo if you transpose it, down to his cocky eyebrow. I turned the tip into the FBI and Michael Cline was completely removed from the internet and again allowed to run free of this horrible crime.

 

[Betty P]

Did your mom work for Donald Cline? How would she have been involved? As a witness?

 

[Hurricane]

<modsnip>,

Autopsy results do support a couple of your accusations: COD was strangulation & no indications anyone had attempted to perform an abortion. But the autopsy did not find evidence of contusions or bruising as might be expected from being pushed down a flight of stairs. I would assume such bruising would still be apparent even though the body had been in the water for ~4 days. Perhaps someone more knowledgable could advise us on that.


Rumors of a botched abortion performed by Donald Cline did persist for a long time even though the autopsy proved otherwise.

 

[Rameylane]

My mom was Jo Ellen's supposed best friend and classmate, I don't think my mom was the best friend Jo Ellen was supposed to stay with that night.

What about Cline's Office building? Were there stairs leading out to the street? I'm sure any bruising would be evident after being in the water even longer than that. Maybe she was pushed but didn't fall.

I figured any signs of an attempted abortion would have ended the search right then but I do still believe Jo Ellen refused an abortion and was killed for it. What I've always been curious about is, was Donald Cline accused of botched abortions before or after Jo Ellen's murder? If Jo Ellen was the first, my mom was the second and she almost died too. Regardless, abortions and Donald Cline are a very sensitive subject for my mother.

 

[Rameylane]

One more thing, according to my mother Jo Ellen was killed on the sidewalk in front of the office building. Now, this may have all been speculation on my mom's part and therefore my whole view is skewed. My mom does exaggerate and over dramatize in her story telling so...

 

[Hurricane]

<modsnip>,


Are you comfortable in posting the name that your mother attended school by here? If you would prefer to keep it confidential I can do that also if you would provide it to me otherwise. I may be able to help you prove or disprove your theory.


Donald Cline's animal clinic was in a one-story building that sits close to the street. It may have a basement & therefore still have a flight of stairs; I don't know that. It is not very wide across the front but is deeper to the back. There is a sidewalk across the front but the door is on the corner of the building & opens to the side. Parking in the rear so there could be a door back there also. I don't know if this will work but try this link to a street view of the bldg:


https://www.google.com/maps/place//...1e1!3m2!1suy9O9pJuRcgAwboeWJ_aHQ!2e0?hl=en-us


I have no knowledge of Donald Cline being suspected of performing illegal abortions other the the rumor concerning JEW. And as proven by autopsy that was not her COD but doesn't rule out the possibility that she refused and was murdered as a result. I have no doubt her murder centers around the fact that she was pregnant.


Is there any way to document your mother's claim against Donald Cline? What about the father of her baby; would he have been involved in those decisions or otherwise know? Her parents (your grandparents) or any siblings?

 

[Laughing]

I have no knowledge of Donald Cline being suspected of performing illegal abortions other the the rumor concerning JEW. And as proven by autopsy that was not her COD but doesn't rule out the possibility that she refused and was murdered as a result. I have no doubt her murder centers around the fact that she was pregnant.


Is there any way to document your mother's claim against Donald Cline? What about the father of her baby; would he have been involved in those decisions or otherwise know? Her parents (your grandparents) or any siblings?

A veterinarian's office could be a "good" location for an abortion, indeed.

However, upthread the Cline family was identified as members of the Catholic church.

Although this does not completely eliminate the possibility of Dr. Cline as an abortion provider (especially if he felt his son was threatened by this pregnancy) the chances are likely reduced.

and we still don't know where Mark Cline was, or is, or the name he's using....

:seeya:

 

[Rameylane]

Mike Cline until about five years ago was <modsnip>, same age, same name and the picture on the website was identical to his yearbook picture, one image was flipped around so that his left eyebrow was higher in one and his right in the other. I reported it to the FBI and it was taken down permanently.

I doubt the Catholic faith would prevent someone from committing murder.

And my mother, DB at the time of Jo Ellen's death went to Lee's Summit High School and graduated in 70, said "the police suspected Michael Cline Jo Ellen's boyfriend of the murder but he ran off before they could get him, his father was a veterinarian who was accused but never convicted of performing botched abortions." This says to me that he was already accused before Jo Ellen's death but the reason why he was never accused of being an accomplice especially when he was the one who called Jo Ellen's family and reported her body had been found that morning is beyond me.

My mother said the father of her child was PD and she never told him about her supposed miscarriage because he didn't need to know that. My aunt T supposedly handled the situation so I'm assuming if my mom had an abortion my aunt would have been involved because I believe my aunt's husband was the baby's father and he is deceased, my grnadparents and all but one sibling are also deceased, my mom won't allow me to talk to my Aunt K who would know something about it most likely.

And I saw the picture of the office the link worked, although it's creepy as heck and I've thought that every time I drove by but I never knew why, I do now, I don't believe this is where my mom was talking about it just doesn't fit. The stairs could have been at Michael Cline's house in Lake Winnebago and the office part was put in there by confusion, one of my mom's many annoying habits is jumping from subject to subject.

It may seem a little heartless that I'm outing my mother but this crime has caused so many problems for me my whole life. I know whether or not or to what scale my mother was involved telling the truth will help her deal with the guilt. When I saw the yearbook picture of Jo Ellen before I got to Michael, I said to my mom that Jo Ellen was very pretty and looked like a fun person, my mom said "she thought she was pretty, I never agreed."

 

[Hurricane]

Ramey,


If you reported the <modsnip> Michael Cline to the FBI then I'm sure the FBI or the state police in did their background work before approaching him just like they did with the Michael Cline in CA. As pointed out previously if his school records & history are all in line, especially with post graduate educations like <modsnip> then it would be easy to clear him from there. About the only way that Michael Cline could have applied & been admitted to college would have been with a GED or some other HS equivalency test. If he was somehow able to steal & use someone else's HS transcripts to apply for college what are the odds that the name would be the same as his birth name? The odds for success are much greater & it is more likely that he went thru under a false identity. Therefore we're not looking for "Michael Cline".


I agree with your view on the Cline's family religious affiliation.


I've always thought that Donald Cline was totally in the dark about what happened until he saw the ski rope around the body, and recognized that it matched ski rope he had in one of his boats. After taking the Weigel's to identify the body & Mrs. Weigel identified the dress that she had made for JEW is when the light bulb went off for Donald Cline & he sprung into action for his son by contacting Alex Peebles to represent Michael.


What needs to be done now to prove otherwise is to document your mother's claims. I'm confused; are you saying that PD later became your uncle by marriage by marrying your Aunt T? Or are you saying your Aunt T's husband was someone other than D & likely the father, and your mom just claims the father was PD?


It could be important to identify the source of the concrete block & two glass jugs used to weigh down the body, proving there was an accomplice after the fact. Has your mom ever made any comments concerning JEW being found in the water? The parents of one of Michaels's friends was doing some home addition work at the time (adding a garage I think). The concrete block could have come from there.

 

[Rameylane]

I can only derive assumptions based on the information I am provided and since most of my mother's claims are false it's hard to know which one's are true if any. I don't know about other people that aren't trained in forensics but if I lived on a lake and someone had a ski rope like mine I wouldn't assume my son killed someone based on that alone. And regardless of Pro Choice or what have you any man who would kill a baby with no regard for the health and well being of mother is not in the dark on criminal activity but the mastermind. I know a lot of people don't agree with this opinion but I believe your children learn from you even respond as such through adulthood so if they do bad you didn't teach them right from wrong while they were little. And because the dress was revealed didn't make Donald Cline run for an attorney, like all conspirators he was putting on a show and he got away with it because he was so good at being bad and for some reason everyone around was blind and deaf to it, no offense to anyone around at the time.

Credentials, diploma's, heresay and even law degrees can and have been forged and faked especially almost fifty years ago successfully. And yes the FBI should have checked into my claim but they probably just called him and said something like "this crazy girl says you killed someone can you believe it? Please tell us she's wrong so we can get back to our actual leads."
Response: "No, I didn't do anything like that she must be crazy."
They probably even thanked him. Regardless of the process the FBI used they let him get away because they didn't believe someone who wasn't even born then could put together what everyone else failed to do. And now we're not looking for Michael Cline, he was privileged to be alerted that changing his name would in his best interest, just like he was alerted to his pending indictment which allowed him to successfully for all this time, and the cruel part is he's probably still alive and healthy unlike his victim. And it may seem too arrogant to use your real name when so many people are looking for you, kind of like skiing past the police who are looking for clues to who killed your girlfriend and flipping them the bird.

And I'm sure the cinder blocks and glass jugs didn't come from our house, although since seeing the vet's office and distinguishing the actual facts from what may be true from what my mom said I would think Jo Ellen was taken to the office on Blue Parkway and refused, then because Jo Ellen was sure Michael wanted to marry her and was probably quite desperate in her situation allowed herself to be duped into going back to Donald's house in Lake Winnebago where she was killed, so the cinder blocks could have been picked up on the way plus Jo Ellen would probably have been suspicious, and I can't see my Grandparents seeing that and not saying anything, unless that's why my Grandpa always watched my mother like a hawk through the kitchen window who knows. I know forensics wasn't as advanced as it is now and strangulation leaves minimal physical evidence aside from on the body but did they check the cars to see if Jo Ellen was transported? If they did check and found none then it was committed at the lake.

And my mom said PD was her baby's dad but I have never met him as far as I know nor did I ever hear of him before she told me about her supposed miscarriage. My aunt T was said to have taken my mom to the doctor which I can't understand why my Gma didnt instead, when my mom had me call my aunt T to ask her about it my aunt T said everything my mom said was always true no matter what. My aunt T's husband JP liked my mom a lot, according to my mom, and my mom slipped one time and told me he succeeded in his efforts. My great uncle MN is rumored to be my grandfather and my uncle CC is rumored to be my father so I kind of put two million and two million to get, well what I got, it's all relative. But none of that has to do directly with this case, just some background.

 

[Hurricane]

Ramey,


You must take the information you have been provided with by your mom & other family members and attempt to either prove or disprove it to be true; not make assumptions with it. Some of it may be true; some of it may be taken out of context or spun for reasons of their own; some of it may be false. You have to separate the wheat from the chaff. To arrive at the truth in the end only true facts will get you there; not assumptions.


I can believe a fugitive in the 1970's could be so arrogant to use his real name, especially in the days before the Internet. But it is just not reasonable to believe he could have applied & been admitted to college using his real name & his HS transcripts. The FBI had alerted all major schools, even if he had applied using a GED. Do you believe that LSHS would have sent out transcripts for Michael Cline to any college or university that requested them after what had happened? The FBI believes he was back in the US attending school by fall of 1971. It's not like it was yrs after he had disappeared. Back in the days before quotas you had to actually be accepted by a school and GPA's & transcripts were taken seriously. You weren't just admitted to a college or university just because you wanted to go there, especially schools offering graduate programs like law school or medical school. If he did obtain an advanced education & a graduate degree it is not feasible he did so as Michael Cline.


You seem to infer that your mom may have been involved, at least in the coverup afterwards yet her alleged abortion performed by Donald Cline wasn't until sometime later? Other than being friends with JEW why would your mom have been involved? And if she was friends with JEW why would she help coverup after the fact? And if she knew exactly what had happened why would she then go to Donald Cline for her abortion? Did your mom & her family live on the lake at that time? I was not implying that the concrete block could have come from her house; only trying to learn/confirm possible accessories to the coverup.


Regardless of where the actual murder took place the body had to be disposed of. Therefore it was likely brought back to the lake. You asked whether the Cline's cars were checked for evidence or not. I can't answer that but would assume they were. MLC & JEW were supposedly out on a date & he did pick her up at her home. There would have been forensic evidence such as hair & fiber from JEW in the car. Unless there were bodily fluids found in the car or forensic evidence which could include hair & fiber found where it would be reasonable to assume JEW wouldn't have been such as in the trunk, then just hair & fiber in the passenger compartment wouldn't mean anything. We know she was definitely in the car.


Have you checked an alumni list to see if PD &/or JP are 1970 graduates from LSHS plus or minus 4 yrs? Or from other area high schools?

 

[Rameylane]

JP was almost thirty at the time my mother was pregnant at nineteen. I have not found PD and I don't believe he was from Lee's Summit as my mom was living with my great grandparents in KC in the year after Jo Ellen's death.

And it's possible Michael Cline could have gotten a law degree legally in another country and allowed to practice here and if his efforts were funded it is most definitely possible in fact probably true. You see, you have to go through all the possible scenarios until you find the one that fits especially when people aren't talking and never will. And there were hairs forcefully removed from Jo Ellen's head on a towel in Michael Cline's car found after the murder, but apparently that coupled with the argument, Michael being the last person to see Jo Ellen alive, never getting to her friend's house, her body being dumped where Michael lives with the rope used to ski past investigators, and the fact that Jo Ellen was pregnant with Michael's baby and would ruin his plans plus that Michael's dad was known to permanently remove unwanted baby's but Jo Ellen obviously wanted hers wasn't enough for an arrest. So really the police who have always admitted to having a nonvolatile community especially in small wealthy Lake Winnebago have little to no experience with crime solving and therefore messed up and continue to mess up and until they admit it and correct their mistakes this case will go unsolved. And yes this is speculation on my part as I wasn't born until none years later and everything I have to offer comes from articles, other people's speculations, common sense, lies and stories from an old woman with dementia and heresay, but really, what investigation isn't speculation until evidence is found to support it? I don't care if I'm right and it doesn't bother me who is involved or not involved or what their relationship to me or lack there of is, what matters is I saw a problem and I addressed it. This crime has affected me and still is today, I had to say something to bring awareness and I was always honest to the best of my knowledge at the time, that's all that matters. Good luck to everyone trying to solve this, take care.

 

[Rameylane]

I keep looking at the Animal Clinic because it's on my way many times a week and I thought, Lake Winnebago to Kansas City every day for work is a pretty long way especially in the seventies. Wonder if Donald Cline had a house or apartment closer. If he did I doubt it was checked, crime investigation during this time was obviously lacking.

 

[Rameylane]

If Michael Cline was alone in his arrogance by flipping police off while he was skiing on the lake where clues to Jo Ellen murder were being investigated, who was driving the boat?

 

[Kittycat01]

This case has haunted me since childhood. I grew up around Joplin, Missouri but had lots of relatives in the Kansas City, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit area of Missouri. Every summer we would go and visit.

I distinctly remember when when this happened. I was 9 years old, and we came up from Southwestern Missouri to the "big city", which was Kansas City. I remember driving by Lake Winnebago and my Momma whispering to my Daddy "That's where they found her; that's where she floated up".

It was grim stuff. We all loved to water ski. It's what you did in the summer time in Missouri. My family didn't water ski on Lake Winnebago, we were much too poor for that. This was an exclusive, gated community. Which leads me to Michael Cline.

Everyone around Lee's Summit knew he did it, but his family had enough money and connnections to see that he was able to flee. It's a damn shame that his family protected him the way they did. I believe he is not in this country, but probably occasionally goes back to visit. Someone please grow a consicence and turn this asshat in. It's been way too long. If the baby had lived they would be 46 years old now. Enough!

 

[coffeeandacig]

<BUMP> Soon to be 47 years...
PS. Anyone have a link to more pictures of Michael Cline?

 

[4SAM]

Wow...interesting stuff

 

[scriptgirl]

Why did they never get a search warrant to search the Cline family home?

 

[LisaB]

My birthday is July 5. I have DREAMED this story (about getting in the water and a woman's rotting body floating up) for DECADES to the point where I will no longer get into water I can not see through.

 

[LisaB]

Jasper, could you expound on your highlighted quote just a little bit? My take on what you are saying is that Cline would have known about the ledge and the fact that Weigel’s body floated up nearby could be seen as circumstantial evidence against him. The 2010 article I posted above says that “Two one-gallon plastic jugs filled with water and a concrete block also were attached to the body.” The original articles from the time of the investigation say that the two one-gallon jugs filled with water were glass and that one jug broke upon hitting the lake bottom. With less anchor weight and a little decomposition 2+ days later the body was able to float to the surface. Can you confirm if the jugs were glass or plastic? Either way the body could have been originally dropped in the deeper water. Most likely the ledge and drop to deeper water would have only been known by residents who used the lake.

Plastic Jugs filled with water would not weigh any more than a few ounces, relative to the water they were submerged in. Glass jugs would be a pound or two max. Filling them with SAND would have made them heavier than water, but filling them with water and capping them would be no different that using empty bottles without caps.