It has been nearly 29 years since Cathy Fischer's son disappeared while serving an LDS mission in Texas and was presumed murdered. On Monday, the man accused of killing Mark Fischer and his missionary companion died of suspected heart failure in London, according to the U.S. Prison Service.
But the death of Robert Elmer Kleasen, 70, is not stirring up suppressed memories for Fischer. She said those memories have never left her. And the Milwaukee, Wis., woman is not sure Kleasen's death will bring closure to her and her family.
"We won't have another trial hanging over our heads, that's good. But there won't be any difference as far as closure is concerned. Only if he told us what happened with our son's body. That part is not closed," said Fischer, who was fighting back tears Monday.
Elder Mark Fischer, 19, of Milwaukee, and Elder Gary Darley, 20, of Simi Valley, Calif., disappeared in Austin on Oct. 28, 1974.
They were to dine with Kleasen in his trailer behind a taxidermy shop where he worked. Police believe the missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints kept that date and were shot to death and that their bodies were cut into pieces with a band saw in the shop.
The bodies were never found, but Fischer's watch and bullet-punctured name tag were discovered in Kleasen's former residence west of Austin.
Kleasen was convicted of Fischer's murder in 1975 and sentenced to die, but two years later a state appeals court overturned the conviction because of a faulty search warrant.
In August 2001, Kleasen — now living in Britain — was indicted by a Texas grand jury in the Fischer and Darley killings based on what prosecutors said were new DNA test results that detected the blood of one victim on Kleasen's pants.
Last August, a judge approved prosecutors' request to extradite him to the United States, leaving a final decision to Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett. But Kleasen died Monday in London, where he was awaiting possible extradition to the United States, the Prison Service said.
Kleasen accused prosecutors of lying and said he feared he could be executed if returned to Texas. Prosecutors there agreed not to seek the death penalty in order to win the cooperation of Britain, which does not extradite suspects who could face capital punishment.
Cathy Fischer said she had wanted to see Kleasen incarcerated but is confident that justice will now be served in a higher court.
"I had really hoped that he could spend some time in jail. All through this whole thing I have always said it doesn't make any difference what punishment he gets here, he's going to be judged. I guess he's closer to that judgment than he was before," she said.
Fischer said she was shocked and disappointed when informed of Kleasen's death. Disappointed, "because I hoped he would be tried and found guilty again."
But even with Kleasen's death, she said it's hard to bring final closure, especially because she has been forced to constantly remember what happened to her son.
"It was a never-ending thing. There'd always be another article, always be something else to bring it all up again," she said. "There was just never an end. So perhaps this will be an end. There won't be any more articles, we won't have to worry where (Kleasen) is. I guess the whole world is a safer place."
Contributing: The Associated Press
E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com