Christi Nichols’ saga was all too common; the twenty-two-year-old Gothenburg, Nebraska, woman wed while in her teens and soon had children. Within three years, the marriage was crumbling and she began the steps of ending the union with her husband Mark. But then the all-too-familiar tale met with a twist when the young mother vanished without a trace. She has not been seen in thirty-six years.

Many in Gothenburg, a town of approximately 3,500 people, one-hundred-ninety miles west of Lincoln in south-central Nebraska, believe that Mark Nichols had physically abused Christi during the marriage; he denies doing so. Many also believe he murdered his wife; he denies that as well.

The fate of Christi Nichols remains a mystery as well as a black cloud hanging over the tiny town of Gothenburg. Although he is no longer a resident, the cloud still specifically hovers over Mark Nichols.

 

Christi Nichols

Nineteen-year-old Christi Williams married twenty-three-year-old Mark Nichols in 1984. It was the second marriage for Mark. By 1987, the couple had a daughter, Lindsey, and a son, Preston. Mark worked at a local gas station and Christi worked part-time as a bartender at Pete’s Lounge, a local establishment owned by her uncle, Gary Geiken (some sources say he is Mark’s uncle.”)

Friends contend the Nichols’ marriage was crumbling and Christi was seeing another man. Some, including Christi’s mother, Connie Stanley, allege Mark was abusive and monitoring her phone calls. He denies both charges.

Mark, Christi, and Baby Lindsey

On December 1, 1987, Christi and Mark went to the local hospital for treatment of an injury to Christi’s thumb. Mark said the injury occurred during an argument in which Christi, not he, had turned violent and attacked him. Mark says after Christi burned the side of his neck with a cigarette, he threw her on their waterbed and she landed awkwardly on her thumb.

In treating Christi, Dr. Carol Shackleton described her demeanor as that of a “scared rabbit.” Regarding her injury, Christi told Dr. Shackleton the same account as Mark, but the doctor believed they were not telling the whole story.

A few days later, Christi showed her cousin, Debbie Frederickson, a bruise on her side, saying it occurred after Mark had “thrown her around” during an argument. When Debbie pressed Christi to get help, she says Christi brushed her off, saying it was not a big deal.

Mark denies ever abusing Christi and is adamant that her thumb injury was the only time an argument between them escalated into violence.

Marital Problems

Eight days later, on December 9, Christi visited attorney Claude Berreckman in Cozad, eleven miles southeast of Gothenburg. She told him what she had recently told her mother: she planned to leave Mark but not until after the Christmas holiday.

Christi also told Berreckman that Mark was physically abusing her and that she had sought a lawyer from outside Gothenburg because she did not want him to know of the meeting.

Concerned Christi

Berrreckman, who had handled hundreds of divorce cases, said Christi was one of the most distressed persons he had met. He believed she was sincere when she told him Mark had physically abused her and saw bruises on her body indicating she had been recently beaten. He contacted Gothenburg Police Chief George Shackleton and told him of his suspicions. Berreckman also contacted Beth Koch, a domestic violence counselor with the Dawson County Parent-Child Center. She met with Christie in Chief Shackleton’s office the following day, December 10. Beth convinced Christi to also attend a support group meeting on December 11.

At the end of his two-hour meeting with Christi, Berreckman urged her not to return to her home, but she wanted the family together for Christmas. She made an appointment to meet with him again several days later.

(I could not find if Police Chief George Shackleton and Doctor Carol Shackleton are married, or otherwise related.)

Claude Berreckman

The following day, Mark, Christi, and their children were seen Christmas shopping together. Mark says Christi was on edge and angry.

After eating at Pizza Hut that evening, Mark and Christi took the children home and called for a babysitter. They then went to Pete’s Lounge, the bar where Christi worked.

While at the bar, Mark says Christi’s demeanor changed and she enjoyed herself. Her uncle, however, had a different recollection. Though he saw them drinking and playing pool and shuffleboard throughout the evening, Gary sensed tenseness between the couple.

Mark and Christi left the bar when it closed around midnight. They then stopped at Jack’n’Jills, an all-night convenience store. Clerk Mike Heun, who knew them, said an uptight Christi appeared angry at Mark and stayed at the counter as Mark shopped. Mike recalled Mark purchasing milk and several breakfast cereals.

A Night on the Town

Mark says he and Christie went home after purchasing the groceries, arriving between 12:30-1:00 a.m. He claims Christi entered the house first, walking only five-to-six yards in front of him into the living room, then to the main bathroom. The living room was to the immediate right of the front door upon entry from the outside.

Mark says Christi proceeded to change from her clothes into her pajamas, wash, and go to bed. The time was approximately 1:30 a.m. and Mark says he went to bed half-an-hour later.

Babysitter Diane Janssen was on the living room couch watching television and doing her homework. She did not see or hear Christi enter the house. The entryway had a hard-tiled floor and Diane is certain she would have heard footsteps if Christi had entered carrying the groceries and also would have heard noises coming from the bathroom if she had been there.

The Nichols Home

Diane also believes Christi would have inquired about her children. In addition, Diane found it unusual that Mark paid her in cash for babysitting; Christi usually paid her with a check.

Diane left the Nichols home around 1:30 a.m., near the time Mark says Christi went to bed.

Diane Janssen

Babysitter

Mark says when the children woke him around 7:00 a.m. the next morning, December 11, Christi was gone, as were one of her suitcases and several personal belongings. Both family cars, however, were still in the driveway.

At approximately 8:30 a.m., Christi’s mother, Connie Stanley, called asking for her daughter. Saying he did not want to worry her, Mark told Connie that Christi was still sleeping. Connie felt Mark was being untruthful and called a Department of Social Services worker, who phoned the Nichols home and was told by Mark that Christi was out shopping.

Connie Stanley

Christi’s Mother

At 11:00 a.m., Mark took Lindsey and Preston to Christi’s grandmother, Violet Williams, who also lived in Gothenburg. He asked her to watch them for a couple of hours.

Violet says Mark appeared worried, but he did not tell her that Christi was missing. Mark says he did not do so because he did not want her to worry.

Violet Williams

Christi’s Grandmother

Mark says he spent approximately two hours driving around Gothenburg looking for Christi to no avail. In the small town where almost everyone knew Mark, however, no one recalled seeing him.

That afternoon, Mark reported Christi as missing to the Gothenburg Police Department. The following day, he moved out of their house and took the children to live with his parents. A few weeks later, he boxed up all of Christi’s clothes and sold both of their cars.

Did Mark Really Search For Christi?

Police discovered a romantic letter written by Christi addressed to a man with whom she was having an affair. She had said she would be leaving Mark after Christmas and promised to contact him after doing so. The man was interviewed by police and cleared of involvement in Christi’s disappearance.

The letter suggested Christi may have disappeared on her own, but all who knew her do not believe she would not have willingly abandoned her children. In addition, she had not picked up her last paycheck and had not taken multiple items of importance including her driver’s license, social security card, and her jewelry—her most monetarily valuable possessions.

Christi’s Lover Is Cleared

In March 1988, three months after she disappeared, Christi’s suitcase and purse were found at a rest stop off Interstate 80 near Maxwell, thirty miles west of Gothenburg. The contents nearly matched what Mark had said when he reported her missing: the suitcase contained a pair of blue jeans, a sweatshirt, a bra, and a jacket; inside the purse were a hairbrush, a pen, a matchbook, lipstick, Neutrogena cream, a nail file, a mirror, and a piece of gum. Police were amazed, and suspicious, that Mark could recall nearly all of the items.

The purse and suitcase appeared to have been deliberately placed at the rest stop to be discovered. The Nebraska State Patrol searched the area but did not find Christi or any suggestion that she had recently been in the vicinity.

Contents, But No Christi

In April 1990, two-and-a-half years after Christi disappeared, Mark filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion.

After living in and out of foster care and with both sets of their grandparents, Lindsey and Preston were ultimately awarded to Mark.

Lindsey and Preston

Police located both of the cars Mark had sold after Christi’s disappearance. Trace amounts of blood were found in the trunk of his former 1977 Mercury Cougar. Other traces had also been found on the bedroom floor of the couple’s former home. Laboratory tests revealed the blood was Type B, the same as Christi’s.

Recent advances in DNA technology have proven the blood in both locations is Christi’s, but the amounts are not enough to indicate she was dead. Mark told police he believed it was menstrual blood. Testing at the time could not confirm or disprove the claim, but recent analysis has proven the blood is not menstrual.

Small Amounts of Christi’s Blood Are Found

Christi’s family, as well as authorities, believe Mark killed her during an argument, perhaps after she told him she planned to file for divorce or in a fit of rage after learning of her meeting with a divorce attorney and domestic violence counselor.

Several construction projects in and around Gothenburg, including the building of two overpasses, were ongoing at the time of Christi’s disappearance. Many had deep caissons used to pour the concrete and to store gravel. Because the caissons were not used during the winter, some have speculated Christi’s body could have been dumped into them under the cover of darkness. Cadaver dogs trained to recognize decaying flesh odor searched the areas but did not pick up the scent.

Mark’s parents were seen pouring a concrete pad on their property in Gothenburg a few days after Christi was last seen. When completed, they built a garage on top of the pad. Some believe Christi lies beneath.

Mark Nichols remains the prime suspect in Christi’s disappearance. The results of a polygraph test administered to him were inconclusive. He maintains his innocence and believes Christi left of her own accord for reasons unknown.

Mark remarried after’s Christi’s disappearance and moved to Missouri. He is now sixty-one-years-old and lives in Arkansas.

Is Mark a Murderer?

Christi Jo Nichols has been missing since December 11, 1987, when she was twenty-two- years-old. At the time of her disappearance, she had a thin frame, standing five-feet-nine-inches tall and weighing one-hundred-twenty pounds. Her hair and eyes were brown and both of her ears were pierced. She had scars above her left eye and on her abdomen.

Christi Nichols would today be fifty-eight-years-old. If you have any information on her disappearance, please contact the Nebraska State Police at 308-535-8047.

The Mystery of Christi

Christ Nichols is featured in the Nebraska State Patrol’s deck of playing cards featuring some of the state’s unsolved homicides.

Christi Is the Queen of Hearts

SOURCES:

• Charley Project
• Doe Network
• Gothenburg Leader
• Lincoln Journal Star
• lostnfoundblogs
• Nebraska Missing Persons Clearing House
• Nebraska News
• Omaha World Herald
• Unsolved Mysteries