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Janett Christman
On March 21st, 1936, in Boone County, Missouri, Janett Christman entered the world as the firstborn daughter of Charles and LulaMae Christman. She grew up alongside two younger sisters, forming a close-knit trio. By 1950, the Christman family had established their home in Columbia, Missouri.
Approaching her fourteenth birthday, Janett was on the brink of a new chapter in her life. That very night, she took on babysitting duties for the Romack family. Amidst her responsibilities, Janett remained dedicated to her studies as an eighth-grade student at Jefferson Junior High School.
Janett’s talents extended beyond academics. She had a remarkable gift for music, skillfully playing the piano and lending her voice to the choir. In addition to her musical pursuits, she embraced a devout connection with her church, actively participating in its activities.
An extraordinary blend of maturity and youthful exuberance defined Janett. This unique combination made her an ideal choice as a babysitter, a role she took on with responsibility and care.
On the evening of March 18th, the Columbia area found itself under the grip of freezing rain and sleet, as temperatures plummeted into the 20s. At approximately 7:30pm, Janett arrived at the Romack’s residence. The Romacks had organized a long-awaited gathering with their friends for a night of card games, a rarity due to their recent move to a rural home and Anne’s ongoing pregnancy.
Anne briefed Janett upon her arrival, mentioning that Gregory was already asleep, indicating a potentially peaceful evening. Ed then provided Janett with clear instructions on the proper handling of a shotgun stored near the front door, intended for security purposes. The couple also advised Janett that in case of a knock on the door, she should illuminate the porch light and exercise caution when opening the door, only doing so for recognizable individuals.
With a nod of comprehension from Janett, the Romacks set off for a well-deserved night of relaxation.
The Murder
The adverse weather conditions had led to a relatively calm period for the police department. However, the tranquillity was abruptly disrupted at 10:35 p.m. when Officer Roy McCowan received an unsettling phone call.
Piercing through the stillness of the night was the frantic screams of a girl, urgently pleading for assistance. The urgency in her voice was underscored by the desperate words, “Please, come quickly!” Regrettably, the connection faltered before the girl could reveal her identity or provide more information.
Compounding the challenge, the late hour meant that the telephone company’s test board was unmanned, rendering any attempts at tracing the call futile.
“It was the day when my little world fell apart, I couldn’t sleep, I would cry and cry and cry.”
Ann Cornett Friend Of Janett Christman
At approximately 1:35 a.m., the Romacks arrived back at their residence, only to discover the front Venetian blinds ajar and the porch light casting its glow.
Both the front and back entrances stood unlocked, and a side window had been forcibly opened. A scene of distress met their eyes, as Christman’s lifeless form lay amidst a crimson pool upon the shag carpet, adjacent to the family piano.
Evidently, the 135-pound young woman had fiercely resisted her assailant. Traces of a fierce struggle were evident, spanning from the kitchen telephone through the hallway and culminating in the front living room.
Lacerations marred both sides of her head, some resembling puncture marks possibly inflicted by a diminutive metallic object.
The visage bore the marks of fingernail scratches, while the cause of her untimely demise was attributed to asphyxiation—wrought by an iron cord, torn and repurposed as the apparent weapon.
With a parent’s natural concern, Anne Romack swiftly ascended the stairs to ensure her young son’s well-being. Gregory lay sound asleep, nestled securely in his bed.
Downstairs, Ed Romack urgently dialled the police, seeking their assistance. In a prompt response, the Columbia Police Department acted, even though the Romack residence fell slightly beyond their usual jurisdiction.
Simultaneously, the Boone County Sheriff’s department also reacted to the distress call. However, the two agencies embarked on independent investigative paths, regrettably forgoing collaboration as a unified task force.
The Investigation
A deputy from the sheriff’s department subsequently classified the incident as an “inside job,” owing to the attacker’s intimate familiarity with the residence.
The living room and kitchen bore the marks of chaos, with blood smears and fingerprints strewn across the surfaces.
Swiftly, bloodhounds were enlisted to aid the investigation. They managed to pick up a scent from the scene, but it dissipated roughly a mile away from the home.
Valuable evidence including footprints, fingerprints, and blood samples were meticulously gathered from the premises
The autopsy conclusively revealed that Janett had suffered both strangulation and sexual assault.
The police took note of a broken side window in the ranch-style home, the result of a forceful entry using a garden hoe. Curiously, a sawhorse was positioned just outside this window. One interpretation was that this indicated the intruder’s point of entry, a view held by one faction within the police department.
However, the Romack family contested this by asserting that the garden hoe was typically stored indoors, casting uncertainty on this theory. Conversely, another department believed that the illuminated porch light and unlocked front door implied that the assailant was familiar with Janett, gaining her trust to enter. Notably, the shotgun near the front door remained untouched.
The police diligently interviewed Janett’s friends and family, yet this avenue failed to yield any viable suspects. Regrettably, the era’s prevailing racial biases led to the questioning of several African American men in the vicinity.
Additionally, there arose speculation about a potential link between this murder and another that had taken place four years earlier in Columbia. Marylou Jenkins, murdered in her own home in 1946, was a victim whose demise bore unsettling resemblance. Intriguingly, her murder site was located less than a mile from where Janett’s tragic incident occurred.
But it didn’t take long for the investigation to hit some snags. Although the murder took place in the county, city police played a large role in the investigation much to the chagrin of the Sheriff department. The investigation never seemed to gain real traction.
“I don’t know whether it was a thorough investigation or not. That’s a question: whether they followed all the leads they had and as quickly as they could. You always heard a lot of rumors at that time.”
Warren Dalton Former Deputy
The Suspect
The investigation quickly honed in on a single individual: Robert Mueller. Mueller’s connection to Ed Romack was pronounced, as he had frequented the Romack family home on numerous occasions.
Born on February 7th, 1923, Robert Mueller’s friendship with Ed Romack traced back to their high school years. A participant in World War II, he held the rank of Army Air Corps Captain.
By 1950, at the age of twenty-seven, Mueller resided in Columbia with his wife, pursuing a profession as a tailor. Janett had taken on babysitting duties for the Mueller family multiple times.
Based on testimony presented later to a grand jury, it was revealed that Mrs. Romack experienced feelings of fear and unease in the presence of the Ed Romack.
She recounted an incident where, in a private setting, he had inappropriately touched her dress, causing her discomfort. Additionally, Ed Romack provided compelling testimony, stating that Mueller had made inappropriate comments about Christman’s physical appearance, remarking on her “well-developed form.”
It’s worth noting that Mueller had prior knowledge of Janett Christman’s upcoming babysitting engagement at the Romack residence, as he had personally requested her services for his own home on that very night.
“I might have done it and then forgotten it.”
Ed Romack to Police Investigators
However, the case against Mueller took a problematic turn. On May 4, Mueller was brought to Deputy Sheriff Julius Wedemeier’s farmhouse by the sheriff Powell for a prolonged overnight interrogation.
Following this, on the next day, Powell took Mueller to Jefferson City for a lie-detector test due to apparent dissatisfaction with his responses. Curiously, the prosecuting attorney remained uninformed about these questioning proceedings, and oddly, no arrest warrant was sought by the sheriff for Mueller’s detainment.
Subsequent allegations suggested that Powell’s exclusion of the prosecuting attorney from the process stemmed from concerns about his connections with the police chief.
The situation escalated on May 24 when Judge W.M. Dinwiddie convened a grand jury to investigate the matter. The grand jury, after delivering its findings on June 17, surprisingly did not indict Mueller. Instead, it strongly rebuked both the police and sheriff’s departments for their failure to collaborate.
“In the view of the grand jurors, a significant portion of the effort invested was squandered due to the lack of integration of available information”
May 24 Grand Jury
The grand jury’s report stated, “In the view of the grand jurors, a significant portion of the effort invested was squandered due to the lack of integration of available information.” The report went on to attribute this failure to “trivial rivalries” that fueled an “almost complete absence of coordination among the different law enforcement agencies.”
Robert Mueller subsequently filed a lawsuit against the investigators, alleging defamation and violation of his civil rights, and seeking over $300,000 in compensation. The police explanation for not obtaining a warrant was based on concerns about the potential for public notoriety and resulting embarrassment. Mueller’s legal action did not succeed, as he lost the lawsuit.
Following the legal setback, Mueller decided to relocate to the west coast along with his family.
It’s noteworthy that despite being never formally charged in the murder of Janett Christman, and in light of detectives’ reluctance to acknowledge the possibility of a wrongful conviction in the Marylou Jenkins case, speculation lingers about Mueller’s involvement in both incidents.
It’s important to emphasize that Robert Mueller was never definitively linked to these crimes. He passed away in 2006 in California at the age of eighty-three.