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By Kent Larsen
Texas May Try Again in 1974 Mormon Missionary Murders
AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Prosecutors may try again to convict Robert Elmer Kleasen
for the 1974 murder of two Mormon missionaries when he is released from an
English prison in November. But Kleasen says he plans to move to Germany to
live with his new German wife, after his release. Kleasen, who has a history
of violence, was first convicted of the murder of Elder Mark Fischer in
1975, but was released in 1977 after evidence against him was thrown out.
Now, prosecutors think they may have a case against him using DNA evidence.
Fischer and his companion, Elder Gary Smith Darley, were killed October 28,
1874 at about the time they went to visit Kleasen in his trailer home. Their
bodies were never found, but prosecutors discovered tires and a license
plate from their car in Kleasen's yard and a blood-spattered watch belonging
to Fischer in the trailer. That evidence was thrown out when Kleasen's
attorney argued that the search of his property was illegal. Kleasen then
spent 13 years in a New York prison on unrelated weapons charges before he
quitely disappeared. He turned up two years ago in England, where he was
later arrested and convicted of weapons charges.
But long before he met the missionaries in Austin, Kleasen had a violent
history. The New York weapons charges came from a cache of weapons that he
had collected there and from an incident near Palmyra, New York where he
shot a man in the foot. He met LDS Church missionaries both in New York and
in Europe, but joined the LDS Church only when he settled in Austin, Texas
in 1973.
Prosecutors in Travis County, Texas have been re-examining evidence from the
nearly 30-year-old murders to see if they can build a new case against
Kleasen since last Winter. Assistant District Attorney Claire Dawson-Browne
told The Salt Lake Tribune that a determination on whether to refile charges
should be made by early next month, "If we choose to go ahead [with murder
charges], we will pursue [Kleasen's] extradition. If he's released, we'll
never see him." British Judge Michael Heath has ordered that Kleasen be
deported upon his release from prison.
Meanwhile, residents of Barton-on-Humber, the English town where Kleasen
lived starting in 1990, hope that the Texas prosecutors are successful, and
Kleasen's English ex-wife, who says he beat her, worries that he could
easily return to England under the European Union's policies that allow easy
movement between member countries. While in prison, Kleasen married a German
pen pal and has permission from German immigration officials to live there
after his release, according to British Member of Parliament Shona McIsaac
who represents Barton-on-Humber. While McIsaac says it will be illegal for
Kleasen to re-enter Britain once deported, officials may not be able to
prevent it, even though his name is kept on file at all points of entry.
Texas prosecutors are waiting for a DNA analysis of blood-spattered clothing
and human tissue found in a taxidermy shop next to Kleasen's home to see if
they can be linked to one or both of the missionaries. If the tests are
positive, charges will probably be filed, according to Dawson-Browne. That
evidence would then open the door for a wealth of circumstantial evidence
against Kleasen.
The story of the murder of the two missionaries and of the subsequent
prosecution of Kleasen was told last year in a book by lawyer Ken Driggs,
"Evil Among Us: The Texas Mormon Missionary Murders." But Driggs, who has
followed recent developments in the case, said earlier this year that he
doubts Kleasen could be convicted at this point, "The DNA is not a smoking
gun, but it might be pretty incriminating. Still, it has been so long. The
first issue I would raise as a defense lawyer would be [Kleasen's] right to
a speedy trial."
Source:
Charges May Be Filed in 1974 Missionary Deaths
Salt Lake Tribune 21Jul01 D2
By Kevin Cantera: Salt Lake Tribune
See also:
Mormon News' Coverage of the Robert Elmer Kleasen
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