Update on Wil Hendrick

[Kane]

During the 2001 season, Unsolved Mysteries did a story on the 1999 disappearance of an Idaho college student named Wil Hendrick. UM hasn't updated the segment yet, but I regret to say that some remains were discovered, and that dental records confirmed that they were the remains of Wil Hendrick.

As mentioned in the UM segment, there was speculation that his disappearance might have had something to do with the fact that he was gay.

Here's a link to the articles I discovered:

http://tampabaycoalition.homestead.c...dByPartner.htm

Let's pray that this case comes to a final resolution. And if this case was, in fact, a murder, let's hope that whoever is responsible gets to pay for it.

[Makoto_4]

Oh dear. That case aired earlier today and I was hoping it would be solved one way or another. If Wil was indeed murdered, then I too hope that whoever did this will be caught.

-Makoto_4

[Thracian]

Oh! Sad.

[dynoguy88]

That's pretty rough. I just saw that case on yesterday again.

I never believed the theory that he ran away. Somebody at that party from the top floor did him in, there's no doubt about that.

Sad, very sad. At least his family knows now, and they can try to find the killer/killers so they can somewhat go on with their lives. I hope whoever killed him gets punished for what they did.

[Kane]

Originally posted by dynoguy88
That's pretty rough. I just saw that case on yesterday again.

I never believed the theory that he ran away. Somebody at that party from the top floor did him in, there's no doubt about that.

Sad, very sad. At least his family knows now, and they can try to find the killer/killers so they can somewhat go on with their lives. I hope whoever killed him gets punished for what they did.

I too had a hard time believing the theory that he might have run away. Even though he apparently felt insecure, there were just too many inconsistencies to convince me that he ran away.

It sounds more plausible that he may hae been killed by someone at the party he attended (perhaps by someone who is ignorant enough to be biased against gay people). But I think it's also possible that he was killed by someone who was once associated with his partner Jerry Schutz.

[Makoto_4]

Originally posted by Kane


I too had a hard time believing the theory that he might have run away. Even though he apparently felt insecure, there were just too many inconsistencies to convince me that he ran away.

It sounds more plausible that he may hae been killed by someone at the party he attended (perhaps by someone who is ignorant enough to be biased against gay people). But I think it's also possible that he was killed by someone who was once associated with his partner Jerry Schutz.

I agree, Kane. BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jerry Schutz fire one of his employees for using an anti-gay slur on him?

-Makoto_4

[dynoguy88]

That's right, Makoto. He could be a suspect as well, I forgot about him.

If he was that ticked off about losing his job, I guess it's not impossible to believe that he could have been a suspect. The Unsolved Mysteries segment said that the employee knew Will. It's possible he could have thought the party would be the perfect time to kidnap him since there was so many people, and the fact that he was a little drunk.

Still, the segment said that Will wanted to go up to the "partyers" on the top floor to confront them, he might have done that when his friend went inside, and met his fate. Most likely a gay bashing.

Well, now that Will's remains have been found, I believe this means that the partyers are suspects even though they passed a polygraph. Whatever happened to him, happened really quickly because his friends didn't see anything.

[Kane]

Originally posted by Makoto_4


I agree, Kane. BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Jerry Schutz fire one of his employees for using an anti-gay slur on him?

-Makoto_4

Yes, Makoto, that is correct. Jerry Schutz fired an employee for making an anti-gay remark against him. And he was right to do that. If that former employee really had a hatred against gays, then he was no longer welcome at Jerry's workplace. I'm not gay myself, but if I were in Jerry's situation, I would probably have done the same.

There was some speculation that the former worker in question might have eventually crossed paths with Wil. This person left town in a refrigerated truck soon after Wil went missing. Jerry was suspicious of this fact, as briefly mentioned in an old article from the link below.

http://www.argonaut.uidaho.edu/archi...ewsstory1.html

[Makoto_4]

I have a feeling that the former employer was responsible for Wil's death. But there are some other possible suspects. The partyers of the top floor party come to mind, even though they passed a polygraph test. Did the police question ALL of the partyers? If not, it's likely that one of the partyers did commit the murder and fled before undergoing the polygraph test.

I also recall that one of Wil's female friends was having trouble with her boyfriend. Wil did not like how that boyfriend was bullying his girlfriend and tried to confront him but was kept from doing so. If I remember correctly the boyfriend and girlfriend were at the top floor party. It's likely that Wil went up to the party upstairs to confront the boyfriend and something must have gone wrong from there, perhaps leading to his death.

At least Wil was found recently. Now we need to know what really happened to Wil and if he was murdered, who did it? We got a case that went from missing person to unexplained death.

-Makoto_4

[Kane]

Originally posted by Makoto_4
I have a feeling that the former employer was responsible for Wil's death. But there are some other possible suspects. The partyers of the top floor party come to mind, even though they passed a polygraph test. Did the police question ALL of the partyers? If not, it's likely that one of the partyers did commit the murder and fled before undergoing the polygraph test.

I also recall that one of Wil's female friends was having trouble with her boyfriend. Wil did not like how that boyfriend was bullying his girlfriend and tried to confront him but was kept from doing so. If I remember correctly the boyfriend and girlfriend were at the top floor party. It's likely that Wil went up to the party upstairs to confront the boyfriend and something must have gone wrong from there, perhaps leading to his death.

At least Wil was found recently. Now we need to know what really happened to Wil and if he was murdered, who did it? We got a case that went from missing person to unexplained death.

-Makoto_4

I too think that it's possible that Jerry's former employee might have been involved. And while I'm on the subject, just this past Saturday (December 14), the cable show MSNBC Investigates did an episode on missing persons cases, and Wil Hendrick's disappearance was one of them. (It turns out that the MSNBC segment first aired in 2000, a year before Unsolved Mysteries did their own segment on Wil.) In the segment, the subject on the former employee was brought up (even though his name was not mentioned), and he was described as "volatile."

The cops looked into this person, but haven't found anything to link him to Wil's disappearance. However, they acknowledged the fact that he happened to leave town in a refrigerated truck around the same time of Wil's disappearance.

The MSNBC Investigates segment ended with an update, consisting of words on a black screen. It mentions the recovery of Wil's remains, as well as the fact that his death is being investigated as a homicide.

[dynoguy88]

Darn, I would have liked to have seen that special MSNBC Investigates... Maybe they will show it again? Hopefully.

Sometimes Unsolved Mysteries doesn't give every single detail. What I hate the most is when they say "We will give you more information on a future broadcast," and it never happens.

It's like getting popcorn and having to wait for the butter.

[CrushedVelvet]

I know this is an old thread but I did a search and found it after watching the rerun today. I had never seen the Wil case before (right when you think your the biggest UM fan and have seen them all)....haha and so bummed that it hasn't been solved. If anyone knows of a current update (i think the last post for this thread was 2002 and no update ) please update us.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by CrushedVelvet

If anyone knows of a current update (i think the last post for this thread was 2002 and no update ) please update us.

Sorry, but there hasn't been any updates on the case since late 2002, when Wil Hendrick's remains were discovered.

[zacksmom]

Hi,
I found this site after doing a Google search on Wil. I went to school with Wil from 7th grade until we graduated in 1992 and used to cross paths with him at parties and drag shows from time to time after that. He dated a friend of mine for a while (before Jerry) and was always a really fun and nice guy. He was always giving big hugs and had a great laugh. I have never seen any of the shows about Wil and would love to see them if anyone has copies or access to information about when they will be aired again. I attended a memorial service that Wil's parents had for him back in 1999 but never really believed he was dead. I was shocked when they located some remains...
Anyway, if anyone can help me get copies of either the Unsolved Mysteries show of the one that was on MSNBC, I would appreciate it.
Thanks

[CrushedVelvet]

Zacksmom, Im sure someone on this board can help you find the segment on tape. Wil's segment must be a very rarely played case b/c like I said, I have been watching UM since it first aired and have never seen that one. Strange. Good luck!!