Post by LadyBlue on Apr 20, 2012 11:46:16 GMT -5
Husband charged when wife's remains found 20 years after disappearance
Most homes along Claire Road in a middle-class Elkridge neighborhood have a backyard shed, but underneath one of them, authorities say, a family secret has been buried for more than two decades.
Robert A. Jarrett, 57, has been charged with murder after what police believe are the remains of his wife, Christine, were found under floorboards and concrete in the shed behind his home. Christine Jarrett vanished in 1991. Police said at the time that she apparently kissed her two children goodbye, took $4,000 and left because of marital problems with her husband of 16 years.
Relatives, friends and neighbors said they never believed Christine Jarrett was the type to abandon her family, and they long suspected her husband had played a role. Nevertheless, they said, the news that her body was found on the property was shocking.
"At least now, her children will know that their mother didn't abandon them — that she didn't run off somewhere," said next-door neighbor Cindy Fryer, who watched from a back window of her home as police removed the remains Wednesday. "They'll know something horrible prevented her from being with them."
Police say they, too, long suspected Robert Jarrett but lacked probable cause to obtain a warrant to do an exhaustive search of the property, said spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.
Not long after his wife went missing, Robert Jarrett remarried and continued living in the same home. But a few months ago, he left his second wife and moved to Calvert County.
Armed with knowledge of the split, detectives visited the home and asked the second wife for permission to search the premises. Police found remains and "personal effects directly connecting them to Christine Jarrett." The remains were sent to the medical examiner's office for confirmation.
Jarrett was arrested Wednesday night while driving in Calvert County. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder and was being held without bond pending a bail hearing. Court records did not list an attorney.
"These are the kinds of cases that don't ever go away for us," Llewellyn said. "We don't see that many homicides each year, and in a situation like this, where we believe there was foul play and it's very likely that the victim is dead and it's just something we can't prove, it's frustrating. There's a sense of satisfaction to make an arrest."
At the home, a two-story Victorian-style residence with a mailbox decorated with tiny hearts, a woman declined to discuss the case. As reporters gathered outside and two television helicopters buzzed overhead, she taped a note to the front door reading, "No trespassing, no media."
Neighbors, a baby sitter and workers doing construction on the street wandered by to take in the spectacle.
"This neighborhood is so peaceful," said Nick Montgomery, 21. "I run past here every day, and you never would've thought twice about something like that."
Christine Ann Jarrett was last seen Jan. 3, 1991. At the time, police said she put her sons, ages 5 and 11, to bed at 10 p.m., and after her husband fell asleep she left their neighborhood on foot. She was believed to be wearing black dress shoes, black stretch pants and a blue-and-white hooded jacket.
articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-19/news/bs-md-ho-missing-woman-found-20120419_1_husband-robert-jarrett-first-and-second-degree-murder
Most homes along Claire Road in a middle-class Elkridge neighborhood have a backyard shed, but underneath one of them, authorities say, a family secret has been buried for more than two decades.
Robert A. Jarrett, 57, has been charged with murder after what police believe are the remains of his wife, Christine, were found under floorboards and concrete in the shed behind his home. Christine Jarrett vanished in 1991. Police said at the time that she apparently kissed her two children goodbye, took $4,000 and left because of marital problems with her husband of 16 years.
Relatives, friends and neighbors said they never believed Christine Jarrett was the type to abandon her family, and they long suspected her husband had played a role. Nevertheless, they said, the news that her body was found on the property was shocking.
"At least now, her children will know that their mother didn't abandon them — that she didn't run off somewhere," said next-door neighbor Cindy Fryer, who watched from a back window of her home as police removed the remains Wednesday. "They'll know something horrible prevented her from being with them."
Police say they, too, long suspected Robert Jarrett but lacked probable cause to obtain a warrant to do an exhaustive search of the property, said spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.
Not long after his wife went missing, Robert Jarrett remarried and continued living in the same home. But a few months ago, he left his second wife and moved to Calvert County.
Armed with knowledge of the split, detectives visited the home and asked the second wife for permission to search the premises. Police found remains and "personal effects directly connecting them to Christine Jarrett." The remains were sent to the medical examiner's office for confirmation.
Jarrett was arrested Wednesday night while driving in Calvert County. He was charged with first- and second-degree murder and was being held without bond pending a bail hearing. Court records did not list an attorney.
"These are the kinds of cases that don't ever go away for us," Llewellyn said. "We don't see that many homicides each year, and in a situation like this, where we believe there was foul play and it's very likely that the victim is dead and it's just something we can't prove, it's frustrating. There's a sense of satisfaction to make an arrest."
At the home, a two-story Victorian-style residence with a mailbox decorated with tiny hearts, a woman declined to discuss the case. As reporters gathered outside and two television helicopters buzzed overhead, she taped a note to the front door reading, "No trespassing, no media."
Neighbors, a baby sitter and workers doing construction on the street wandered by to take in the spectacle.
"This neighborhood is so peaceful," said Nick Montgomery, 21. "I run past here every day, and you never would've thought twice about something like that."
Christine Ann Jarrett was last seen Jan. 3, 1991. At the time, police said she put her sons, ages 5 and 11, to bed at 10 p.m., and after her husband fell asleep she left their neighborhood on foot. She was believed to be wearing black dress shoes, black stretch pants and a blue-and-white hooded jacket.
articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-19/news/bs-md-ho-missing-woman-found-20120419_1_husband-robert-jarrett-first-and-second-degree-murder