That Ol' Green-Eyed Monster

I think the "Bo Did It" theory sits on shaky ground.  How might it be put on a solid footing?  I believe there's a way to do this, and in this post I'm going to outline an argument that may help make the theory more plausible.  First I'm going to lay out my version of the theory.

The Theory

I consider Vivian Cercy's testimony to be the foundation for the "Bo Did It" theory.  During a preliminary hearing held in October and November of1985, Cercy testified that, in the very early hours of August 16, she saw three people standing near the gate to Rainbow Village.   The three people were a tall, blond-haired man, a dark-haired man, and a woman.  She overheard a verbal exchange between the blond man and the woman, after which the woman left the two men and walked in a direction away from Rainbow Village.  The blond man followed her.  About 15 minutes later, Cercy heard three noises that sounded like firecrackers. An hour or so later she saw the blond man walking along the water, wiping his hands in the vegetation.

Cercy's testimony counters the prosecution's claim that Vincent Johnson was the last person to see Mary and Greg.  Johnson testified that he saw Thomas, Mary, and Greg near the dump office around 0230.  Thomas's defense argued that Cercy was the last person to see Mary and Greg, not with Thomas, but with the tall, blond man--Bo.

(Problem:  When one puts Cercy's testimony on a timeline, it's easy to see that she claimed she saw Bo, Mary, and Greg an hour before Johnson saw Thomas, Mary, and Greg--during a time when Mary was away from Rainbow Village.)

Thomas's appeals team later erected three main pillars to support the "Bo Did It" theory.  One pillar is the story Claus Von Wendel gave to the police on August 16.  He told them he found a suspicious bag on his vessel that a blond man came to claim.  This man told Von Wendel that he'd spent the night sleeping on the boat which was moored very near spot where Mary's body was found floating.  Another pillar is the testimony that Jong Cheol Cho gave during the evidentiary hearing in 2002.  Cho testified that he'd had a conversation with Bo and Weston Sudduth on the morning of August 16, in which Bo stated he went swimming in the Bay the night before.  The last pillar supporting the theory is the testimony that Dan Adams gave during the evidentiary hearing.  Adams testified that, prior to the murders he'd seen Bo arguing with Mary at Rainbow Village.  On the day of the murders, he heard Bo say about the killings that "sometimes a man's got to do what must be done."

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One way to shore up the foundation to the "Bo Did It" theory would be to contact Mel Vapour to ask him about the interviews he taped while making a documentary about Rainbow Village in August 1985.  After the murders Harry Shorman asked Vapour to interview people to get their views on what happened.  Vivian Cercy was among those he interviewed.  Adding the taped interviews to trial transcripts may help to shore up the foundation.

Next to Von Wendel's testimony, I think Dan Adam's testimony offers strong support to the theory.  He testified that a few days prior to the murders he overheard Bo arguing with Mary near the communal sinks at the Village.  Bo "sounded controlling."  Mary "seemed upset and afraid."  This went on for about a half hour.  This testimony shows that the two knew each other and may have had more than a friendship.  This may have begun while Mary was living near Santa Cruz or even before that.  The question for any Deadheads who were living in Santa Cruz and/ or hanging out near Greyhound Rock in July and August of '85 is:  Do you remember Mary hanging out with someone named Bo around that time?

Greg Kniffin was friends with two girls who knew Bo:  Mary and Gnome.  Gnome camped with Bo in woods near Santa Cruz in '85.  This may have been prior to the shows at the Greek Theatre in June, after which she traveled east on the DeadOn .  Greg traveled with her on the bus as it returned to to California in early July, and I believe it was during this time that he and Gnome became friends.  Gnome gave a watch to Greg as gift, and this watch was found at the scene of the crime.  And he was becoming friends with Mary.

So let's just go with jealousy as the motive for the murders.  In Episode 4 of the podcast, Gnome wonders "why anyone would be jealous of Greg" because "he was just a kid."  Here, then, is an argument:

Dan Adams witnessed an argument between Bo and Mary in which Bo seemed possessive.
This frightened Mary (Maybe she began distancing herself from him.)
Mary and Greg began hanging out, becoming friends.
On the night of August 15/16, Mary spent time with a bunch of guys (including Greg and Dan), drinking and smoking pot with them...

Bo gets jealous as the party at the van continues.
He steals the rifle while Thomas is away from Rainbow Village.
After she returns from the beer and burrito run, Mary and Greg end up together; they take a walk.
Bo's jealousy turns to fury (perhaps because of something he sees).
Bo blows up and attacks Mary and Greg.
He shoots them.
___________________
Bo committed the murders out of jealousy.

Who might be able to talk about how ol' Bo treated women back then?  A former girlfriend might be able to do so. One court document tells us that a former girlfriend (who's not named) helped Barnes with his investigation:  "When asked about Bo, [Randy] Turley confirmed that he existed and put Barnes in touch with a former girlfriend of Bo's who provided his real name--James Bowen--and the photograph used to identify him." (Thomas v. Wong, p. 25)  Another court document appears to put some pieces together:  "Bo had a sexual relationship with Mary. A night or two before the murders, one witness testified, Bo had argued with Mary and sounded controlling toward her. Mary seemed upset and afraid. One witness testified that she had witnessed both Bo and Weston being verbally or physically abusive to women in the past."  (Thomas v. Chappell, p. 7)

When he interviewed Claus Von Wendel, Payne Lindsey showed him a photograph of Bo.  Was this the same photograph mentioned above?