A young housewife mysteriously disappears from a small Nebraska town.
 Christi Jo Nichols
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Missing:
Gender: Female
DOB: 9/6/65
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 120 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown
Remarks: Last seen 12/11/87
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CASE DETAILS
The town of Gothenberg is located in the heart of Nebraska’s farm belt. There’s a strong sense of community among its 3,500 inhabitants, and when a neighbor is in trouble, it becomes everybody’s business. On December 11, 1987, a housewife named Christi Nichols vanished. Almost immediately, suspicion centered on Christi’s husband, Mark Nichols. Mark denies any involvement in Christi’s disappearance:
“People in small towns, they talk a lot. And a lot of these rumors tend to get pretty vicious. There’s been a couple rumors that I chopped her up and put her in garbage bags and buried her at the dump. That’s one of the first ones I heard, and that one really got to me, because I guess they were actually up there digging around.”
Was Christi being abused?
It was in Gothenberg that Christi married Mark Nichols. She was 19 years-old and soon to be the mother of two toddlers. According to Christi’s mother, Connie Stanley, the children became the focus of her daughter’s life:
“Christi never felt she accomplished anything until she had her children and there was something she could look at and say, ‘Hey, I did this pretty well. Nobody can do this any better.’ She was just so proud of her children. I would’ve never thought that Christi would run away. She would’ve never left her children.”
Ten days before she disappeared, Christi had gone to a local hospital after being injured in a fight with Mark. As Mark recalls:
“The only bad fight I can remember is when I was trying to get her to stay home from going out, and she was getting so upset at me that she started to try to hit and kick me. And that’s when she burned the side of my neck with a cigarette she was holding. I tossed her onto the waterbed and she landed wrong and it twisted her thumb up underneath her.”
The babysitter did not see Christi
Christi was treated by Dr. Carol Severeid Shackleton, who had seen her several times before:
“I saw Christi on the Friday after Thanksgiving. She came to the emergency room complaining of a sore thumb. She was acting like a scared rabbit, if you will. She’s never been one for great eye contact or been very verbal. She obviously wasn’t telling me everything, either.”
Christi told her cousin, Debra Fredrickson, that she had been abused by Mark:
“Christi showed me a bruise on her side and it really scared me. I told her she needed to go get help from somebody and I asked her how it had happened. She said she and Mark had gotten into an argument and he had thrown her around. She just acted like it wasn’t a big deal, like it was something that happened a lot.”
Mark Nichols:
“As far as a violent argument, there seemed to be a lot of rumors going around that I was always beatin’ up on her. That’s just totally wrong.”
Mark filed a missing persons report
On December 9, 1987, two days before she disappeared, Christi went to a divorce attorney. She didn’t want Mark to find out, so she found an out-of-town lawyer named Claude Berreckman:
“We do a lot of divorce work. We’ve handled hundreds of divorces. But she had to rank up in the top five of being very distressed and upset and nervous and needing help. And when she explained certain abuses that she had been subjected to, we decided to make some telephone calls to call the authorities and report certain crimes that had taken place. I can say that the day that Christi was in my office on December 9th, she was not panic stricken to the point where she would run or leave, and in fact, she had made an appointment to come back to my office.”
The next day, Christi and Mark went Christmas shopping with their children. This was the last afternoon she spent with her family. Mark recalled the day:
“I felt real uncomfortable the day before she left because I felt a lot of anger coming from her.”
However, that evening they hired a babysitter and went out to the local bar where Christi worked. Diane Janssen was their babysitter:
“When I babysat the night that she disappeared, I was surprised that the both of them were going out, because I knew they weren’t getting along.”
Mark Nichols:
“When we were at the bar, things seemed to be going real well. I felt there was a good attitude and a lot of laughing and carrying on.”
Her suitcase was found by the road
Mark says he and Christi left the bar around midnight and stopped at an all-night convenience store. According to Diane Janssen, Mark arrived home between 12:30 and 1:00 in the morning. Diane was doing her homework in front of the television and didn’t remember seeing Christi. According to Mark Nichols:
“I was about five or six yards behind her when she reached the door. And she walked by the living room where the babysitter, was back towards the kids’ bedroom and went into the main bathroom.”
Diane Janssen:
“It seemed strange because Mark paid me with cash when Christi usually paid me with a check. It was unusual for Mark to pay me. I really can’t believe that I didn’t see her because I would’ve heard footsteps. And I would’ve heard her go into the bathroom because I was there between 5 and 10 minutes, so I would’ve been able to hear Christi somehow. But I didn’t hear or see Christi.”
According to Mark, Christi went to bed immediately after the babysitter left. He claims the last time he saw her was at 2 A.M. when he went to sleep beside her:
“And that’s the last thing I remember ’til my kids woke me up the next morning and the first thing I noticed was she wasn’t in the bed.”
Mark says he searched the house and noticed Christi had taken a suitcase full of belongings with her. But both family cars were still sitting in the front yard. At 9:30 in the morning, Mark received a phone call from Christi’s mother, who lived 100 miles away. Even though he knew his wife was gone, Mark told her mother that Christi was still in bed asleep. Mark explains:
“I didn’t want to worry her at the time because I didn’t know where she was. So I told her that she was still in bed sleeping ’cause I didn’t think she felt real good.”
At 11:30 A.M., Mark took his children over to Christi’s grandmother’s house and asked if she could take care of them so he could search for his wife. Violet Williams is Christi’s grandmother:
“He never asked if Christi was at my house or if I’d seen Christi. He just said that Christi was missing and he acted like he was shook up.”
Mark Nichols:
“I spent approximately two hours just riding around town trying to spot her, maybe coming out of a store, or I drove some residential streets where we knew some people.”
Officer Terry Ahrens of the Nebraska State Patrol:
“When we checked out Mark’s story about driving around looking for Christi, and we could find nobody in the city of Gothenburg that had seen him driving around.”
At 1:37 P.M., Mark filed a missing persons report with the police department. During the investigation, it was discovered that Mark moved out of the house the day after Christi disappeared. A few weeks later, he boxed up all of her clothes and sold both of their cars.
In March of 1988, three months after she vanished, Christi’s suitcase was discovered in a roadside rest area 30 miles west of Gothenburg. Officer Terry Ahrens found it surprising that the contents exactly matched the detailed list of missing items Mark had given police when Christi first disappeared:
“It appeared to everybody present that the suitcase had been placed there, instead of just thrown out. The items were neatly lying around. It was like the person who put them there wanted them to be found. If my wife had left me, I wouldn’t be able to look through the closet and tell you what she had taken. I probably would be able to tell you, maybe, what suitcase she had taken. But he had listed items of clothing right down the line that he knew she had taken.”
The area surrounding Gothenburg was searched extensively. No other trace of Christi Nichols has ever been found. And no one has ever been charged in the case, though it still remains open. To this day, Mark Nichols claims no knowledge of what happened to his wife:
“I’d have never done anything to hurt my wife. That’s just the person I am. A lot of people think I’m a violent person. I’m not a violent person. I want very much for Christi to come home. But if for some reason she doesn’t want to come home, you know, Christi, at least call somebody, you know, let us know where you are, whether you’re all right.”
Until Christi returns, Mark Nichols will remain under a cloud of suspicion.
Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season one with Robert Stack in season six with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu.
SUBMIT A TIP
Jo
Christi is from my hometown. My parents were kids when she went missing. Everyone believes Mark murdered her but there’s not enough evidence to do anything about it. It’s rumored the chief of police at the time was involved in the coverup.
Bethany
I’ve seen plenty of cases where people go missing and when it turns out that there is no proof of Life anywhere like credit cards, phone conversations, sightings, etc., and the government says that they are legally dead in 7 years and they still have murder cases without bodies as long as there’s enough circumstantial evidence, forensics, things like that. And if anybody studies this case it is plainly simple to see that her husband killed her and disposed of her body. Every bit of the evidence points to him. So why don’t they try to prosecute him? Is it because they said there’s no proof that she is actually dead? I disagree wholeheartedly there! Even with all the weird stuff her husband did right after she vanished like moving up and buying a new house and instantly throwing all her stuff away because he knew she was never coming back. And he abused her all the time and there was even proof of that! I mean come on, there was a report done that she got beat up by him 10 days before she vanished and she went to see her divorce lawyer two days before she vanished and her lawyer never saw her again so what does that tell you “detectives” ? Even if the police department doesn’t want to pursue murder charges against him, I believe her family should take him to civil court at least he would get punished somehow that way and his reputation would be in the gutter once and for all. That’s just one humble woman’s opinion though..
Xintus
Don’t get me wrong but this is one of the most stupid cases I’ve seen in the series, I mean it has a beautiful presentation and everything but come on, some time after the case stuck some blood was found in Mark’s car, she was buried somewhere in that town. Mark is absolutely guilty and should pay for this crime. He should have someone protecting him in the police or something, otherwise is imposible for this man walking the earth as a free man. Please reopen the case
Jonathan
I agree. This guy is totally 100% guilty of murdering his wife. The fact of him making a plea for her to call someone when he knows she’s dead is truly sickening .
Gothenburg Resident
He was friends with the police chief of the time. And everyone in our small town believe his dad helped him hide her body as my parents say his dad aged overnight.
Anonymous
This case is very frustrating. The police know exactly where the body is and who is behind it. But laws won’t allowed the district attorney to pursue the case. They can’t even recover the body because the suspect no longer occupies the residence. And because it is uncharacteristic for a suspect to do that a judge may not allow such a warrant. (You should know for sure before demolishing a garage. You can’t just tare up an entire community looking for something.)
Patrick
Hard to watch this story knowing that this pos killed her. Just look at Mark’s sweaty face and bulging neck as his interview progresses, his blood pressure rising, his skin tone turns red cause he’s uncomfortable lying about what he did. Surprised he even agreed to talk about it. I wonder if the UM crew got chills if they noticed this during the production. His lame excuses and Christi call us crap line is a blatant lie. Re-investigate this case police.
Terry Derrick
I just watched this episode again and noticed the same thing. As the interview went on, you can see him perspiring heavily on his neck. Also he seemed like he was trying to control his breathing and keep his voice casual and calm to look innocent. I can’t believe he wasn’t charged. Such a shame.
Jude Olsen
You simply cannot tell me why this case has not been further scrutinized with all the information given. This is outrageous and unacceptable. Everyone knows this girl did not run away. Why would a suitcase be found laying their obviously to be found. What? Did she walk somewhere in the dead of winter with a suitcase! Come on! There were two cars. The perp had the help of someone smarter than him to get rid of her. He was sweating bullets in the interview. He knew and said himself he knew the contents of this suitcase. Come on!
john o'neill
another glaring case of police incompetence
Peter Shlong
I wouldn’t call it “incompetence”. While I’m angry as hell about this case still, cops can only go off evidence. The only way it will ever be solved is if he confesses for some reason. This case is like the one where the old guy claims he dropped his wife off at the Casino, but when he parked and went inside he didn’t see her. He claimed he was playing the slots that she usually plays but the cameras didn’t pick him up anywhere near the area she frequented. Strange case.
Anonymous
Because of double jeopardy they have to make sure it is a successful prosecution. They have rules to go by.
ginger
another Michael Haim`s wouldn`t you say
Bill
It’s always the guilty ones whom make THEMSELVES out to be victims. I can’t believe someone like this guy smoked the police. I guess the police dept in Gothenburg don’t have the funds to investigate this or they didn’t deem this a murder case until later on. Maybe Mark’s third wife knows something?
Annoymous
Mark may have gotten away with murder but he will one day have stand before God, answer to Him for he did. If he don’t pay for it this life but he will in the afterlife.
Anonymous
I can’t judge people. But over half of the Bible is written by killers. Moses, David, and new testament Paul. Paul had to man up and go to jail for his past life. (Even though he was never charged for it.) Religion has nothing to do with an earthly crime.
Bill Blaski
Mark should be held accountable! Where are these cold case officials that should be reviewing these cases? This man needs to be brought to justice. We won’t forget Christi.
thinkingoutloud
he probably found out she was going to leave him and took her out that night and killed her and disposed of her body. the babysitter always recalls christi paying her and in check so it’s obvious christi wasn’t there to pay the babysitter because she was already dead. he tries to look good saying he searched around for hours looking for her but i am sure he probably went to have a drink or go see a movie lol. he faked looking for her and faked acting like she just ran off because he killed her
Jason
He STILL has the same car from 1987? COME ON. Take this guy in.
Jason
God, is it obvious who did it? So, they found her blood and his comeback is “menstrual fluid”…..IN THE TRUNK??
How is this guy not arrested yet?
Crystaldawn
My latest articie is about Christi’s disappearance. I was able to talk to several townspeople as well as her family for a lot more details. Here’s the link if you want to check it out.
https://lostnfoundblogs.com/f/christi-nichols-marked-for-murder
Peachey215
I lived across the street from them on 11th St., before they moved into the house on Lake Ave. I used to sit on the front porch and listen to them fight. I lived in the house on Lake Ave. before they did. He had help, I believe from his father and brother.
Gothenburg Resident
He was also friends with the police chief at the time.
Antoinette Provencher
I have seen this on tv a long time ago. Many say various things of where the body could be hidden. That man.. no where would he place that body that close to home. There is a National Forrest near that city. I’ve been through there several times in visiting my daughter and her husband. I’m seriously thinking that’s where she will be found. This case needs to be reviewed again. To much in the way it was handled could be a cause of why he was not looked in more dramatically. Look in the Forest.
Anonymous
The National forest is a good 200 miles away from Gothenburg but who knows
Bill Blaski
Does anyone know where Mark is?
Donna
If u look him up on facebook hes on there, it has to be him because hes the only Mark Nichols still in that town of nebraska now.
Super
He is on Facebook. His profile pic is I’m guessing his grandsons. I only found one picture of him to compare to the one in the Unsolved Mysteries episode and the facial features are almost exact. Also, he has Lindsey Young listed as his daughter and I’ve seen that name all over articles of him.
Anonymous
I thought the same. Watching the UM interview, he didn’t seem cerebral enough to come up with something so seemingly well thought out. The description for Christi at findagrave.com reads in part, “Later, he [Mark] will tell investigators Christi Jo came home with him and the two argued until 2 a.m. and that he woke later to see her “covered in blood””.
Didn’t see that in the UM interview. He awoke to see her covered in blood, did he actually say that?? Between this, the blood found in the trunk of his car (which he claimed was her menstrual blood…in the TRUNK), and all the other myriad little oddities in his story, it becomes clear Mark at least had a hand in her death. Arguably, he didn’t do all the planning himself. Either way, despicable and unacceptable that authorities haven’t been able to pin anything on this idiot given the ridiculous number of discrepancies.
Joe
This whole area is shady so much random stuff happens to people here
Wil
There is no way on earth I would know what my wife would take out of her closet. She had so much stuff. This guy is lying.
jamie
Why wasn’t there any investigation against the guy she was talking to on the side. They mention nothing of him not even his name just that she was seeing someone else. Very strange. You would think he would be suspect #2 at least. Very strange.
Lyns
Her husband made that guy up
Lisa
No, there was a real guy named, but he was questioned and cleared. I would expect the letter was a clumsy ruse by the killer.
Robert
She cheat..I hate people who cheat.. She didnt manage the situation the right way.. Divorce first!
Nebraskan
I have friends that live in gothenburg that have told me that mark and his dad laid a slab of concrete in the back yard of marks Dads house the night she went missing. Has anyone looked into that house to find her?
Beef
They should send this to Nebraska Gothenburg Police Mr. Nebraskan!
Lisa
You should contact their local newspaper. They just wrote an update on the case. This is critical information and they should know about it.
Walt
They’ve known about this since day one, and ruled it out because they had planned on laying the concrete before she went missing. Most people think they got into a fight when they were leaving the bar, he killed her, and he dumped her in the base of the new viaduct that was being constructed, and it would have been too expensive to break up the concrete to check.
Christi Jo Nichols
Boo! Boo! Boo! Look at Mark. He did it. look in the obvious places.
Anonymous
If only the babysitter quickly looked behind her she would have seen Christi, but she didnt. I strongly believe that Marks pre planned her murder, packed her clothes secretly behind her back the evening before he took her to the bar, got her drunk and drove and killed his wife somewhere. Along the way back he placed her suit case out so someone could find it, hoping someone thinking she was abducted. He just makes me suspicious for some reason. I think he killed Christi Jo Nichols.
John
Why would she turn around? Christi wasn’t there.
todd eidson
He had to of done this if he had a spine or if he really loved her he would come forward doesn’t he realize he’s going to burn in hell for what he’s done the grim reapers coming for you Mark ..
..
Lauren Scharf
I am a reporter and looking into this story for a series on Cold Cases in Nebraska. I am wondering if anyone knows a contact for the family? Also wondering if the administrators would allow me to use these photos? I will be talking with police and others about this story. If anyone has information about this case that they would like to share please email me at lscharf@nebraska.tv
THANK YOU!
wow
kudos to all the investigators on this comment board that didnt make it through third grade grammar……
Mitchell
Your capitalization and punctuation leave much to be desired as well.
Lisa
This should read “who” didn’t make it through third grade grammar. Not “that”.
Someone who lived there at the time
My thoughts on this is that when Christi went “missing”, the overpass in Gothenburg and in Cozad were being built. Also, Mark’s parents were putting in a new concrete floor in their garage. Those were the the places I’ve always suspected as Christi’s final resting place. When all this happened, I was 14.
Lauren Scharf
Hey this is Lauren Scharf with NTV News. I am looking into this cold case for a series I am working on next month. Wondering if you knew her or her family so I could get in contact with them. Please let me know by email. lscharf@nebraska.tv
Thanks!
anonymous
Didnt mark lie about being a victim to a gas station robbery to? I remember him he was so creepy. I also remember people talking for years how they think her body is buried in cozad under the overpass they built around that time. He killed her everyone knows it. Theres no way a husband or boyfriend would know what she took and had in her purse. Leave it to 1987 investigation they need to investigate now with all the new technologies
Anonymous
I used to live in the house they lived in during the disappearance from 1990 to 2002. The way the inside of the house was designed, she would have had to walk over a very creaky albeit shag carpeted floor in order to get to the master bedroom. The kids or babysitter would have heard her from anywhere in the house.
Erick
For those who said they’ve seen her, did she age from the 28 year old photos? I think she’s dead and mark killed her, why would a whole town think you’re violent when you say you aren’t? And why would Christi lie about the fights?
If she is in fact alive, it’s been 28 years and sending a letter to your family in secret won’t hurt as long as you tell them to keep quiet and even calling them would help.
Laura
Yeah you might want to mention that somewhere besides an Internet blog, I’d say. Police maybe…idk. Just throwing it out there.
seth
I’ve seen her somewhere before, she went missing in 1987 I saw her back in 2002 and again in 2006 she was walking with a man he had a blue leather jacket brown pants and dark hair she seemed scared.
Lauren Scharf
Hey this is Lauren Scharf with NTV News. I am looking into this cold case for a series I am working on next month. Wondering if you knew her or her family so I could get in contact with them. Please let me know by email. lscharf@nebraska.tv
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Mark. We know you did it.
Hannah
My gut absolutely tells me this punk murdered his wife. But guttural instincts does not an arrest make. And law enforcement (police/D.A.) know that. His behavior (both prior & after her disappearance) cry out ‘guilt’. But a court of law requires (and should) provide some concrete evidentiary proof rather than just supposition to charge, let alone, convict. Eyewitness(s), Weapon, DNA, or Victims body is unfortunately lacking. Curious, if this POS engaged in any criminal behavior within the 25 yrs. after this situation? Bet he has. Condolences to her family in not finding a conclusion! Heartbreaking!
Lauren Scharf
Hey this is Lauren Scharf with NTV News. I am looking into this cold case for a series I am working on next month. Wondering if you knew her or her family so I could get in contact with them. Please let me know by email. lscharf@nebraska.tv
Thanks!
Anonymous
The behavior husband is suspicious. He was abusive and she was taking steps to divorce him. He must have found out and then killed her. If they went out that night; where are the witnesses saying they saw them. Especially the all night convince store. She never came home with him. He sold her clothes and both cars? He wasn’t acting like a normal person would act if someone close went missing.
Anonymous
I was the clerk that checked them out at the store and the State patrol interviewed me.
Rebecca
That’s odd Christi went to bed without even checking in with the babysitter, when Christi is the one who usually pays her with a check. Why did he lie to Christi’s mother in the first place, was he truly concerned about not worrying her or just buying some time for himself so she won’t be alarmed and called the cops. Why did Mark moved out the next day after Christi disappeared, boxed up her clothes and sold both of their cars. It seemed he had it all planned, how did he know Christi would not be found or just show up later, sounds suspicious to me.
Scott
I really can’t believe that he killed her because he just doesn’t seem that bright at least not bright enough to get away with it. And that previous comment about a plastic barrel like how the hell would you think that is what happened?
Gothenburg Resident
The barrel is a common rumor in our small town. His father is believed to have helped Mark in hiding her body. Everyone in our small town knows the two of them did it.
Anonymous
Who wrote this article
Marla Armstrong
I don’t understand why Mark isn’t locked up yet.
I know Christi hasn’t been found yet, but everyone knows he killed her. He packed her suitcase that’s how he knew what all was in it. And why would people think he was violent? Unless they seen it? And why lie to Connie and say Christi was sleeping, He didn’t want to worry her? But two hours later it was OK to worry her Grandmother. I know that
people have been convicted of murder even though no body was found,so why not him?
Becky
I was just wondering about her… Maybe the young mother in the storage unit stirred up her memory. May she r.I.p. and guard over her babies and their babies and their babies……
SixthSense
Her body is in a plastic barrel and probably in one of the small ponds in the area owned by the Federal Government. The EPA will not allow divers to go in and look most likely because there is toxic waste in other barrels.
Lauren Scharf
Hey this is Lauren Scharf with NTV News. I am looking into this cold case for a series I am working on next month. Wondering if you knew her or her family so I could get in contact with them. Please let me know by email. lscharf@nebraska.tv
Thanks!