Did the Blond Man See and/or Hear Something That Night?

Von Wendel’s Sea Space Station Moored in North Inlet

Let’s assume “the blond man” didn’t commit the murders, and let’s also assume that he slept on Claus Von Wendel’s boat that night.  This raises the question:  “Did he see or hear something?"  

Vivian Cercy’s account of what she witnessed seems to overlap with Von Wendel’s account of his encounter with Bo.  Cercy saw a blond man with a backpack and Von Wendel found what probably was a backpack on the veranda of his boat and a blond man fetched it later in the day.

"Vivian returned to her original parking spot, down the hill, and prepared herself and her children for sleep. About 15 minutes later, she heard three noises that sounded like fire-crackers. About 90 minutes after hearing the noises, Vivian saw a blond man walk up from the waterfront, wiping his hands in the vegetation and the dirt. He had a backpack, and he either took something out of it or put something into it. Vivian was uncertain whether it was the same blond man whom she had seen earlier: “It was similar to the same man. I can't, you know, [I] wasn't real close to him like I was the first time.” (Thomas v. Chappell, pp. 5-6)

How close was the blond man to Von Wendel's boat when Vivian Cercy saw him with the backpack?  The Sea Space Station was moored on the west side of the inlet that morning, and Mary’s body have been floating near it when it was spotted by the jogger (or dog walker).  Of course this question may never be answered, but it does come to mind.

Von Wendel’s testimony suggests Cercy may have seen the blond man near his vessel:

"Von Wendel lived on a boat a short distance from Rainbow Village. The morning after the murder, von Wendel awoke early and noticed a bag sitting on the veranda part of his boat. He picked it up but then put it back down, thinking that its owner would return to collect it. When von Wendel learned that a body had been found in the Bay, he became suspicious about the bag and opened it. The bag contained some books, a driver's license registered to a man with the name of “Bryan” or “Bryant,” a pair of shoes, and serape […]

Later that day, a blond man came to claim the bag. At the evidentiary hearing, von Wendel identied a picture of James Bowen, or Bo, as the same person who came to claim the bag. Von Wendel told the blond man that he did not have permission to leave his belongings on von Wendel's boat. When Bo told von Wendel that he had slept on the veranda of von Wendel's boat, von Wendel became angry. Bo, who seemed like he was in a hurry to leave, got in his Volkswagen and left hastily. Another person was seated in the car throughout the exchange, and that person left in the car with Bo." (Thomas v. Chappell, pp. 7-8)

Did this blond man really sleep on the boat, or did he tell Von Wendel he did just to push his buttons?  It’s not difficult to imagine the same person who joked about swimming in the Bay the night of the murders would say something just to piss off Von Wendel.  Only those who knew him back then would be able to say if he might have been bullshitting.

But what if this blond man really did sleep on the veranda rather than sleeping in Rainbow Village that night?  Sure, he may have been hiding out, but what if he was hiding out because of something he saw or heard (perhaps on his way back to the Village from Berkeley)?  If you’d heard gun shots ring out in the dark of that night, would you have sought cover on that vessel?  Would you have looked to see what was going on?