John and Linda Sohus info?

[Boodie23]

Anyone remember this case? Really odd, probably one the strangest dissapperances. Linda and John were supposed to go on some trip and ended up and europe and never were heard or seen again. And john's mom was strange and said that they were on a secret misson? And then they had that missing guy too that they were looking for that was connected to the case, named Chiester or something? Any updates or websites to look at?

[Brent88]

I remember this case. They found a body buried in the backyard many years later didn't they? And didn't they say it was probably John? It's been a while, but I remember this case.

[UMfan77]

I remember watching the John and Linda Sohas segment. That's a weird unsolved mystery. Some of the couple's relatives received strange postcards from Linda and John saying that are bad at geograpy and they some how ended up in France. There is also a man, forgot his name, that is a suspect. He supposedly sold John Sohas's pick-up truck after the disappearance. I wonder if this missing persons case is closed or open. I hope it's open because just because this happened almost 20 years ago doesn't mean that it should'nt be solved. Don't you agree?

[FanfromES]

Have you found some info on the web about this case?

[chad30]

Here's a theory: Linda and the german houseguest started having an affair at some point. One of them, probably the german killed John in the guest house and then buried the body in the backyard. The government job thing was just a story that Linda came up with. They then drove John's pickup truck to Connecticut and tried at first to sell it, then just abandoned it. From there they hopped a plane to Europe, which is where Linda's postcards came from.

[Rieder]

I asked the same question under the post of Christopher Chichester. Christopher Chichester is a pseudonym for Christian Gerhard Streider a German citizen who is considered a suspect in the disappearance of John and Linda Sohos. Kathy Jacoby, the sister of Linda Sohas received postcards supposedly sent by John and Linda from Europe when they had told family and friends they had government employment on the East coast. She thought it was out of character for Linda to send the post cards and not contact her by telephone or meet her when they returned. In the early 1990s Strieder attempted to sell an automobile to a young man in Connecticut. The Police discovered the car was stolen and want to speak to Streider.

[justins5256]

Originally posted by chad30
Here's a theory: Linda and the german houseguest started having an affair at some point. One of them, probably the german killed John in the guest house and then buried the body in the backyard. The government job thing was just a story that Linda came up with. They then drove John's pickup truck to Connecticut and tried at first to sell it, then just abandoned it. From there they hopped a plane to Europe, which is where Linda's postcards came from.

That is the best explanation I have ever heard for this case. I would have to agree with you.

Justin

[marlins3]

I think it's funny at the end of the segment when Stack says Chicester is wanted for questioning but is NOT considered a suspect. Obviously the guy is a suspect. Great segment but strange

[crystaldawn]

I googled Linda's name and found this interesting comment by someone who apparently knew her:

"Linda Mayfield is notorious among the older members of The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Some LASFS members may even have been interviewed by various law enforcement agencies regarding Miss Mayfield. I am not sure about that, because that part of Miss Mayfield’s story occurred after I left Southern California in 1994.

Back in the mid-1980’s I worked two jobs for a short time. One job was at the phone company: that wonderful place of myth and legend paid my bills, and allowed me a certain measure of freedom. The other job was at “Dangerous Visions Bookstore” in Sherman Oaks. That was a science fiction specialty bookstore where I was paid in books. It was a part-time job. You can’t live on books (not that I haven’t tried).

I would come in to the DV Bookstore on a Thursday afternoon and do a shift-change with my fellow employee. The woman I took over for each Thursday was none other than Linda Mayfield. She was a science fiction fan (and horse enthusiast) who I had met first at the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Linda was an artist who did artwork under the name “Cody”. She had some professional success as an artist. She told me once that she sold (at least) one small illustration to The New Yorker magazine for $700. Most of her success was in fandom. For example, she (as “Cody”) did several covers for APA-L.

I had known Linda for a couple of years before I started work at DV. She did not work at DV for very long. Linda soon got married to a quiet, nerdy guy named John Sohus. I only met John once. John was a computer guy. He did some computer work for Harlan Ellison. As I understand it, John Sohus was in charge of Mr. Ellison’s computerized address list for the “Harlan Ellison Record Collection”, Harlan Ellison’s recording venture in which I am member number “002”.

Shortly after Linda married this Sohus guy, things went south.

Linda Mayfield Sohus quit her bookstore job. Soon, she and her husband disappeared. The bookstore owner, Lydia Marano, got a postcard from Linda & John saying that they were in France. They never returned. There was a rumor that Harlan Ellison had to break into the Sohus house to retrieve his address list data. (Some Ellison rumors are more believable than others.)

Time passed. They never returned. John’s mother died. They never returned. The Sohus house was sold. Eventually the new owner did some yard work and dug up some human bones. The bones were identified as those of John Sohus. This is the story as best as I can figure it: Linda murdered her husband and skipped town. There is some chance, I suppose, that both Linda and her husband were murdered with Linda’s body being, as yet, undiscovered. The postcards from France, however, seem to rule that out, if Linda wrote them.

The TV show “Unsolved Mysteries” did a report on Linda and John Sohus. The TV show presented a lot of information that I never knew. Here is an overview of that show:

Unsolved Mysteries (segment name: “Chichester”)

“John and Linda Sohus disappeared in 1985 after proclaiming they had been enlisted by the government for some top secret work. Strangely shortly after their disappearance friends and family began receiving postcards from the couple sent from Paris, France. John’s alcoholic mother, Didi, had claimed that John and Linda’s former tenant Christopher Chichester was providing her with exclusive information that John and Linda were on a top secret “mission”. Then just as mysteriously Chichester broke off contact and he too vanished. In a final bizarre twist in May of 1994 the remains of John Sohus were found buried underground on his own property.”

[DarkDante]

^ I should add the summary of the UM episode was written up by me, so she has obviously visited these forums

[kadrmas15]

Hmm interesting DD! Well, this is very interesting I must say. I share your opinion that this woman has visited the forum here. I have thought about this long and hard and at first it was my opinion that both John and Linda were murdered by Chichester. But the more I thought about this the less this scenario made sense to me.

If Chichester in fact murdered both John and Linda why bury John's body and hide Linda's? While it is possible that Chichester would want to frame Linda for John's murder it doesnt make much sense that he would kill both John and Linda but yet just bury John's body.

It is my opinion that Linda was probably bored in her marriage to John Sohas and that she and Chichester were having an affair. It is my opinion that Chichester and Linda then went off together, Linda went off to Europe, perhaps Chichester was with her and perhaps he was traveling back and forth to the States. It is interesting that Chichester would be by himself in Connecticut with John's truck. However it is just my opinion that Linda was involved in John's murder in some way. It is the only way that makes sense in my opinion.

Chichester whose real name I believe is Christian Gerhardt Strider was originally from Germany. So Chichester was a German citizen so I am assuming he has German passports and all that so it would be easy for him to travel back and forth, especially in the 1980's. Either Linda wanted John dead so she could go off with Chichester or perhaps Chichester decided to murder John because John was in the way of Chichester having Linda all to himself. Again this is just all my opinion. It is just bizarre.

[lilmissd]

Yes. I started a thread about this last year, and it's such a weird case; I would love to see it solved! But, one element that is missing from this discussion is who was the lady that came to pick up Linda's cats from the pound? Why would it have been important to this person to pick up the cats? What does this woman know? I mean she wouldn't have picked up the cats for no reason, or just known they were there for the heck of it! I think this mysterious woman probably knew more of the story. I think she went to pick up the cats and got them back to Linda somehow at Linda's request! No one is going to pay $$ to get pets out of the pound unless it's for a reason or because they don't want the animals to be destroyed or adopted by someone else! Strange case indeed.

[TJ]

San Marino bones may be linked to Rockefeller case
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_10104702

http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime/

[tbn43]

More about the San Marino bones
By Frank Girardot on August 5, 2008 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | ShareThis
Police confirmed Tuesday a link between Clark Rockefeller, the Boston man who was sought after abducting his seven-year-old daughter, and a 23-year-old San Marino mystery, that included the discovery of bones buried in a backyard.

I've actually seen these bones -- twice. The first time was shortly after they were discovered. I was on a tour of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner and ended up interviewing a man named Steve Dowell, the sheriff's tool mark expert.

Dowell, who works in a basement office at the coroner's office keeps an interesting collection of bones and tools. The bones (at least a skull as I remember) excavated from Lorain Road were stored in a paper bag.

Dowell showed me the bones, explained where they were from and described the diffiiculty in confirming their identity. Apparently there was a Tongva Indian burial site near the location and early int he investigation there was some question if the bones were related to that or to the case of a couple who went missing in 1985. The couple was identified as John and Linda Sohus.

Then, in 2003, while working on a book about the coroner's office, I returned to Dowell's office and specifically asked him about the San Marino pool bones. He retrieved them and explained that they were likely of a recent vintage, but identifying how exactly the male died would be difficult.

Why?

Apparently the backhoe used in the pool excavation had destroyed the skull sufficiently that determining a cause of death would be nearly impossible.

Some questions I wish I had asked. What about dental records? What about DNA? I'm sure those questions are being asked now that Rockefeller, who used to be known as Christopher Chichester, is in custody in Boston.

Chichester was reportedly last seen in 1989 in Greenwich, Conn. He was stopped by police there driving a vehicle registered to John Sohus.

[mphs95]

Originally Posted by tbn43

More about the San Marino bones
By Frank Girardot on August 5, 2008 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | ShareThis
Police confirmed Tuesday a link between Clark Rockefeller, the Boston man who was sought after abducting his seven-year-old daughter, and a 23-year-old San Marino mystery, that included the discovery of bones buried in a backyard.

I've actually seen these bones -- twice. The first time was shortly after they were discovered. I was on a tour of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner and ended up interviewing a man named Steve Dowell, the sheriff's tool mark expert.

Dowell, who works in a basement office at the coroner's office keeps an interesting collection of bones and tools. The bones (at least a skull as I remember) excavated from Lorain Road were stored in a paper bag.

Dowell showed me the bones, explained where they were from and described the diffiiculty in confirming their identity. Apparently there was a Tongva Indian burial site near the location and early int he investigation there was some question if the bones were related to that or to the case of a couple who went missing in 1985. The couple was identified as John and Linda Sohus.

Then, in 2003, while working on a book about the coroner's office, I returned to Dowell's office and specifically asked him about the San Marino pool bones. He retrieved them and explained that they were likely of a recent vintage, but identifying how exactly the male died would be difficult.

Why?

Apparently the backhoe used in the pool excavation had destroyed the skull sufficiently that determining a cause of death would be nearly impossible.

Some questions I wish I had asked. What about dental records? What about DNA? I'm sure those questions are being asked now that Rockefeller, who used to be known as Christopher Chichester, is in custody in Boston.

Chichester was reportedly last seen in 1989 in Greenwich, Conn. He was stopped by police there driving a vehicle registered to John Sohus.

There is a resemblance and Chichester was seen in the New England, east coast area. Mr. Rockefeller's main areas was the East Coast, so you never know.