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

[jkhawk]

Hurricane,

Interesting info. I too am from the area and just saw this post the other day. You seem to know a lot about this case, the family history, etc. Would love to talk to you about this case, as I am from this class, went to school with both victim and Mike, and was at the lake a lot during that time. Would like to compare notes, <mod snip>. Any suggestion?

 

[believe09]

I have read over this thread with fascination-thank you for reviving it Hurricane!

Jkhawk, welcome to WS-you might want to take your email addy out of this post because you will invariably get spammed...

 

[Hurricane]

CA Michael Cline is not fugitive Michael Cline. It has been verified thru school records.

 

[justthinkin]

CA Michael Cline is not fugitive Michael Cline. It has been verified thru school records.

link please.....

 

[Hurricane]

link please.....

No link. In the early 1970's the FBI was looking for fugitive Michael Cline thru college entrance applications. They believed that he was attending college somewhere but he would have had to apply for college using a GED instead of his high school transcript. That info comes from the FBI's file thru FOIA.

CA Michael Cline's school records are all in order. Except for when he attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison his entire life has been spent in CA. His college entrance and post graduate education are all supported by his high school transcript. That info comes from the University of Wisconsin and the MHP.

 

[belimom]

No link. In the early 1970's the FBI was looking for fugitive Michael Cline thru college entrance applications. They believed that he was attending college somewhere but he would have had to apply for college using a GED instead of his high school transcript. That info comes from the FBI's file thru FOIA.

CA Michael Cline's school records are all in order. Except for when he attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison his entire life has been spent in CA. His college entrance and post graduate education are all supported by his high school transcript. That info comes from the University of Wisconsin and the MHP.

I want to believe it, but there is just a very uncanny physical resemblance. Although I guess if you were a fugitive, you wouldn't post your name/picture on the internet or use it in real life, huh?

 

[Hurricane]

I want to believe it, but there is just a very uncanny physical resemblance. Although I guess if you were a fugitive, you wouldn't post your name/picture on the internet or use it in real life, huh?

I could believe that as arrogant as fugitive Michael Cline appeared to be that he could think that no one would find him living in northern California under his real name in the mid-1970's. However, it just doesn't check out that it is him living there.

 

[Hurricane]

Here is a pretty thorough recap just published as part of an article in the Kansas City Star titled Our criminal past: We case out KC's history for some killer true stories

Jo Ellen Weigel: Left for dead

For teenagers everywhere, the summer after high school graduation marks an exciting and yet anxious time of transition. Summer 1970 promised to turn out that way for Jo Ellen Weigel and Mike Cline.

Both were 18. They had graduated together from Lee’s Summit High School, and both were members of the National Honor Society. They had dated about a year, and now they were engaged to be married.

Jo Ellen Weigel lived with her parents in a working-class neighborhood less than a mile from old downtown Lee’s Summit. She spent her days at a summer job at Sears and evenings on dates with Mike. She wore his ring.

Mike Cline spent his summer days palling around with friends and water skiing at Lake Winnebago, an exclusive community founded in the middle 1960s near the boundary of Jackson and Cass counties. Mike lived there with his father, a veterinarian, his mother and three siblings in a home with an expansive backyard on the shore of the manmade lake. The family owned three boats.

On July 5, Mike planned to embark with about 200 other teenagers on a student trip to Europe and Israel. With the days dwindling before his scheduled departure, Mike and Jo Ellen made plans to go out. About 6:45 p.m. the evening of July 2, a Thursday, Mike picked her up at her home.

The plan was for Mike to drop off Jo Ellen at a girlfriend’s house after their date. She would spend the night there. The next morning, she was either to return home or to call home from the friend’s house and then go straight to her summer job. She took along an overnight bag.

That evening’s date began rancorously. Outside her home, Mike and Jo Ellen got into an argument. They stood there exchanging words for 20 minutes. Then they drove away.

It was the last time Jo Ellen’s family saw her alive.

On Friday morning, July 3, she did not call. The Weigels tried to reach Mike but could not. Friday evening, Jo Ellen did not come home from work. Her mother called the friend with whom Jo Ellen had planned to spend the night. The friend’s response, her mother said at the time, was muddled. The Weigels called Independence police, who said there was little to be done. No missing-person report was filed.

At 11 p.m. Friday, Mike finally returned the Weigels’ call. What he told them was at least unusual, at worst preposterous:

He and Jo Ellen had gotten married, he said, and then he had promptly put his new bride on a bus to Columbia, Mo., where a Weigel family member lived.

Jo Ellen’s parents drove to Columbia, but the relative told them she had not heard from their daughter.

The Weigels returned home and spoke to Mike again. This time, he told them that he had dropped her at a bus station but did not know whether she had actually boarded a bus.

Later, Mike went to the Weigel home and offered a third version of events. They had not married after all, he said. However, he had put her on a bus and sent a telegram to the Columbia family member. The family member knew nothing of that, either.

By now, the holiday weekend had wound on through Saturday, Independence Day, and into Sunday, July 5. With the question of Jo Ellen’s whereabouts unanswered, Mike boarded a plane, as scheduled, for the student trip overseas.

About 3:30 that same afternoon, a water skier on Lake Winnebago dropped into the water in a heavily traveled area near the community’s yacht club. When he came to the surface, he saw a body floating next to him. A boy driving the ski boat circled back to the scene. The body was that of a woman. The upper part of her body was wrapped with fishing net and her legs with ski ropes. Two one-gallon plastic jugs filled with water and a concrete block also were attached to the body.

The body was taken to a funeral home. There, her mother identified it as that of Jo Ellen Weigel based on a piece of cloth, part of a dress her mother had made, the one Weigel had been wearing the last time they saw her.

Investigators found that a yellow-and-white rope wrapped around the body was identical to rope on the Cline family speedboat. The concrete block came from the home of Mike’s best friend. In Mike’s car, authorities found a white towel with hair from Jo Ellen’s head. The hair had been removed by force.

Investigators wanted to talk to Mike Cline.

Postscript: Mike Cline left the student tour of the Mediterranean and flew home but proved to be no help to investigators. He refused to talk and one day went skiing past the Lake Winnebago yacht club, where the police were working, and flashed them an obscene sign.

An autopsy revealed that Jo Ellen Weigel had been strangled — and also that she was four months pregnant. In late July, a Cass County grand jury indicted Mike Cline for her murder. When police when to arrest him at his home, he had disappeared.

Four decades after the Weigel slaying, he has never been found. In 2010 he would have turned 58.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/15/2310701/our-criminal-past-we-case-out.html#ixzz12cq9Y2yX

 

[jasper]

I worked this case as a diver from the Lee's Summit Underwater Recovery Unit and have followed it off and on for years.
I was at a party a few weeks before and was told by a friend who knew them that Mike and Jo Ellen were there, but I did not know them.
Although I never saw the single finger salute, Mike stopped and talked to us several times while we were diving around his dock. He just asked, "find anything"
What we found is proprietary information, known to the Sherrif's Office.
My friend seemed to think that Mike wanted to mary her, but it was his dad that had the problem with it. He always seemed to think that when Mike's dad died there would be a confession appear, maybe when his mom passes this will be the case. Unfortunately my friend was killed a few years ago and can no longer confirm anything.
One issue confirming this is the location where we found the body. There is a ledge a few feet farther out that would have dropped her into deep water. Mike would have known this location and gone a few feet farther out.
When I contacted the Sherrif a couple of years ago she was surprised to hear what I told her, she had never heard this before.
Will follow up with this site and see what comes of it.
PS-I'm a "Lotawana Kid" a few miles to the NE. of Winnebago.

 

[momtolil]

Wow.... sounds like this story would make a great Lifetime movie, equipped with Young love, class differences and murder.
So sad, it really makes me want to see this cocky rich kid and his enablers get whats owed to them. There is someone out there that helped Cline and knows where he is.

Jasper: Thanks, it always makes these cases come to life when you hear from someone who was there. Can't wait to her any of your updates.

 

[tfrohning]

very interesting case. No sketches of older Mike Cline?

 

[Hurricane]

I worked this case as a diver from the Lee's Summit Underwater Recovery Unit and have followed it off and on for years.
I was at a party a few weeks before and was told by a friend who knew them that Mike and Jo Ellen were there, but I did not know them.
Although I never saw the single finger salute, Mike stopped and talked to us several times while we were diving around his dock. He just asked, "find anything"
What we found is proprietary information, known to the Sherrif's Office.
My friend seemed to think that Mike wanted to mary her, but it was his dad that had the problem with it. He always seemed to think that when Mike's dad died there would be a confession appear, maybe when his mom passes this will be the case. Unfortunately my friend was killed a few years ago and can no longer confirm anything.

One issue confirming this is the location where we found the body. There is a ledge a few feet farther out that would have dropped her into deep water. Mike would have known this location and gone a few feet farther out.

When I contacted the Sherrif a couple of years ago she was surprised to hear what I told her, she had never heard this before.
Will follow up with this site and see what comes of it.
PS-I'm a "Lotawana Kid" a few miles to the NE. of Winnebago.

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.

 

[momtolil]

There is a age progressed sketch of Cline on Porch Light International:

http://z10.invisionfree.com/usedtobedoe/index.php?showtopic=39437&st=0&#last

 

[CrimeSolver]

We should get AMW on this case. I would do the honours, but I have written the show regarding other cases in the past with little success.

 

[jasper]

The jugs were glass and one was broken. I was told she was floating just under the surface and her friend (I thought it was a female friend but may be wrong) dropped off from skiing and saw something floating just under the surface nearby.
I did not make the original recovery of the body, but spent several days searching the surrounding area where items were found that might indicate her intentions that night. (I did not find them, my info was from other divers).
This case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries several years ago and I would like to see it run again.
America's Most Wanted might run this if enough people contact them. I will try as well.

 

[Hurricane]

The jugs were glass and one was broken. I was told she was floating just under the surface and her friend (I thought it was a female friend but may be wrong) dropped off from skiing and saw something floating just under the surface nearby.

I did not make the original recovery of the body, but spent several days searching the surrounding area where items were found that might indicate her intentions that night.

(I did not find them, my info was from other divers).
This case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries several years ago and I would like to see it run again.
America's Most Wanted might run this if enough people contact them. I will try as well.

Jasper, thanks for confirming that the jugs were glass. Glass jugs would be easier to identify than plastic milk jugs so I am curious if LE was able to identify exactly where they came from like they did with the concrete block? The source of the glass jugs might also indicate the possibility of an accomplice to the cover up of murder.

One of the items belonging to Weigel that the search centered on finding was the “fiber knapsack” commonly called her overnight bag. I remember girls using these as purses and beach bags in those days. Some were made from macramé; others were more like plastic canvas. Certainly finding it and its contents would likely tell LE what Weigel believed their plans were for that night. To my knowledge it was never found. Is that your understanding as well? Are you at liberty to discuss anything that was found?

LE recovered several hundred tiny bits of torn up paper as if torn from a long letter or perhaps several letters. It is unclear if they were recovered from the water or not (which I doubt). It is more likely that they came from the Cline residence because LE was observed examining them at the command center set up at the marina. But it is entirely possible that LE found them at the Weigel residence in Lee’s Summit and brought them over to the command center. Do you have any insight into those?

 

[momtolil]

Thanks Jasper for the info, I hadn't realized it had been featured on television.
Has anyone seen the Unsolved Mysteries segment on this case? I tried to find it on You Tube with no luck, they are usually easier to locate. Is there any other site I can search?

 

[CrimeSolver]

This case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries several years ago and I would like to see it run again.

Has anyone seen the Unsolved Mysteries segment on this case? I tried to find it on You Tube with no luck, they are usually easier to locate. Is there any other site I can search?

I was also dubious to the claim that U.M. did a segment on this case, because I have seen every episode of U.M. and don't remember the case being shown. But apparently it was, way back in 1990:
Jo Ellen Weigel: Left for dead - Sitcoms Online Message Boards - Forums

America's Most Wanted might run this if enough people contact them. I will try as well.

That would be great. I agree, if enough people approach AMW with the request, there's a good chance they will do it. Let's give this a concerted effort, folks. Jo Ellen deserves justice, and this Cline deserves to finally get his comeuppance.

 

[jasper]

I just read Crimesolver's post and see that the items found have been disclosed so not proprietary information.
Yes there were an overnight bag and other items found, but if I remember right they were not near the dock area.
A funny note, when we were watching the house with binoculars from the command post, at one time we saw Mike watching us from a window (kitchen?) with binoculars.
If I remember the time frame right, Mike had just returned from a trip to Israel and when the endightment was issued on monday morning he was on a plane back to Israel from which point he went to another country which has no extradition to the US.
I have been told that on occasion, Mike has come back to the lake to visit friends, ski, sail, and has told friends that he finished college, was married and living and working in the US.
Again, the mutual friend that I got my information from was killed a few years ago (traffic accident during a felony police chase) so the story is strictly heresay but I consider the source very plausible.
I did contact AMW so let's hope.

 

[jasper]

I just posted an e-mail to Unsolved Mysteries, maybe we can get them to run it again.
Searching their files I could find no reference to the case, but I know I saw it air.
When I talked to the Cass Co Sherriff a few years ago she had the file on her desk as we spoke so I know they are still looking at it.