The Disappearance of Jami Sherer

Apr 8

For this case I watched an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn. It’s season 4 episode 7, titled ‘Under Suspicion.’

A 26 year old mom disappears, and it would take 10 years for her family to finally get answers.

Background

Jami Hagel was born on December 1, 1963. She was described as having a great sense of humor, and very affectionate. She grew up in a large family, and had three brother, so being the only girl she had a special bond with her mom.

Jami worked full time at Microsoft, in the Human Resources department. Jami also had a two year old son Tyler, and he was her whole world. Jami’s mom Judy, said anytime Jami could show off Tyler, she would. Jami was also married, but had a very tumultuous relationship with her husband Steven.

The Marriage

Jami was 22 years old, and Steven was 24, when they met. Right off the bat, Jami’s family didn’t care too much for him. They also learned that Steven had a criminal history, most of his record proved that he was abusive to women.

In 1987, Jami and Steven got married. Steven was very abusive to Jami right away, and also wanted her to die her hair and get breast implants. Jami’s family and friends were very scared for her.

Judy was interviewed in this episode, as well as several of Jami’s friends. They all said they would see bruises on Jami, and that she would make excuses as to why she had these injuries. However, they knew Jami was being abused because she had told them that Steven had hit her before. They told her so many times to leave Steven, but she said she loved him.

Many witnesses would later say that Jami started to change her mind. Shortly before her disappearance, she spoke to a friend and said she was packing some things and wanted to leave before Steven got home. A few days later, Jami was never seen again.

The Disappearance

On September 30, 1990, Jami called her mom around 12:15pm. Jami was going to go pick up some food at Taco Time, and then was going to come over and pick up Tyler, who was being watched by Judy. The drive was only supposed to take 30 minutes, but an hour passed and Jami wasn’t there.

Judy was very worried. She called Jami’s friends, and Steven, and no one had seen her. Judy said she’d wait until the next morning to call the police. She was hoping Jami would show up for work.

The next morning came, and Judy said she called Jami’s office many times. Her calls went unanswered, so Judy and Steven filed a missing persons report at the Redmond (Washington) police department.

The police went to Jami and Steven’s home to search for clues. Nothing was found, and there was no sign of a struggle. The police asked Steven if there was anything that he needed to tell them. Steven said that he and Jami did get in a fight before she left to go pick up Tyler, and had packed an overnight bag. He said she got into her car, and he watched her drive off.

The police called Jami’s disappearance a domestic dispute, and figured Jami ran off.

The Search for Answers

Nine days passed, and there was no sign of Jami. Jami’s family reached out to the local media, they offered a $10,000 reward and went all over Seattle to put up missing persons flyers.

A few days later, Jami’s car, a gray Mazda RX 7, was found 40 minutes in a church parking lot. Jami had no connection to the area, and it wouldn’t have made sense for her to be there.

The police searched the car, and found her overnight bag. When they went through her bag, they found a lot of mismatched clothes and no underwear, which they thought was super weird. The police also noticed that the driver’s seat was pushed all the way back. Jami was very petite, and would have needed her seat all the way up. (I’m 5’1”, and I can confirm if you’re petite, you need your seat all the way up).

A tracking dog was brought in. The dog sniffed Jami’s clothes, and it led them to a nearby bus stop. At this time, the police weren’t convinced that Jami left on her own, and they were suspicious of her husband Steven.

Another Man in Jami’s Life

The police asked Steven to come in for another interview. He still denied having anything to do with Jami’s disappearance. During his second interview, he told the police that Jami had an affair with one of his friends named Toby Parker. Steven also said Jami and Toby had been together the night before she disappeared.

Steven and Toby had been friends at point. The police looked into Toby’s background, and learned he too had a criminal history. Toby’s criminal history consisted of drug abuse, and had some violent tendencies. He was also married, and had been arrested before for domestic violence. He was now a person of interest, and he was brought in for questioning.

Toby insisted he had nothing to do with Jami’s disappearance, and pointed the finger right back at Steven. Toby said that Jami told him Steven threatened to kill her if she ever left him. Toby admitted that he had been with Jami at the Crest Motel, the night before. Toby also made an interesting statement, he said he believed Jami was in heaven. The police didn’t have any evidence against Steven or Toby, so they were let go.

Judy believed only Steven was responsible for her daughter’s disappearance. She was devastated to learn that the police closed the missing persons case. She called the police worthless, and continued to search for Jami.

A New Investigation

In January 1997, a new lieutenant named Jim Taylor took over the department. He spent a week looking over Jami’s case, and re-opened it. He was shocked to learn at all the mistakes the previous investigators had made. Jami’s brothers and dad were never questioned, and there were other friend of Jami and Steven’s that weren’t questioned.

A very dark picture of their marriage emerged. Steven was very controlling, and he would tell Jami she wasn’t allowed to see her friends. Steven also had a very strong sexual appetite, and Jami was actually talked into having sex with Toby, so that he could watch. Jami and Toby began a real relationship after they got together behind Steven’s back.

Judy wasn’t too happy about Toby, but Jami explained that Toby would actually talk to her and was nice to her. Judy understood that Jami had become a shell of her former self throughout her marriage to Steven.

The police ended up clearing Toby as a suspect, and all roads led back to Steven. The police found out that Jami was preparing to leave Steven, and was going to move in with a friend named Lisa Cryder. She had tried to leave before, but Steven had pulled her hair so hard that a piece of her scalp had come with it. (I cringed so hard when I heard this).

The police also questioned a friend of Jami and Steven’s named Jeff Caston. He was the friend who spoke to Jami about how she was packing up her things, and trying to leave before Steven came home. Jeff also said that a few days before Jami disappeared, Steven had a shovel in his car. He said he asked Steven about it, and that Steven made a comment about getting rid of someone in the forests of Washington.

Steven’s sister was the final witness that said she had seen Steven just a few days after Jami disappeared. She said there was a large red spot on the carpet at Steven’s house. Steven said it was juice that Tyler had spilled. A receipt from a carpet cleaning was found in the case file, and the police spoke to the cleaner. The cleaner described the spot as being special. It was never said what the spot really was, but it was never investigated thoroughly.

Arrest and Trial

A few weeks after Jami disappeared, Steven was already dating other women. He was also seen going to various bars, and all witnesses said he would wear Jami’s underwear around his wrist. He told people that asked, that it was his way of staying close to her.

The police obtained a warrant to search Steven’s house. In the house, they found a suitcase full of Jami’s clothes, jewelry and intimate outfits. The police said it was Steven’s trophy suitcase, and Steven told them it was a coping mechanism.

Steven Sherer was arrested and taken into custody. The police said he made a comment about how they must have found a body, because without it they couldn’t charge him.

On May 3, 2000, Steven stood trial. The prosecution said Jami was the victim of a jealous and abusive husband. They believe that Steven had strangled Jami after, dumped her body and then went to his mom’s house to fall asleep, to establish an alibi.

A girl that dated Steven after Jami disappeared, testified that Steven was abusive to her as well. Quick note, I say girl because she was 16 years old and still in high school. She said Steven held a gun to her head, and asked her if she knew what Russian roulette was. She said she thought she was going to die. She also said she didn’t find out about Jami, until she found a missing persons flyer in Steven’s car.

The dog handler also testified. He said that he believes the clothes that the dog smelled had been from Jami and Steven’s hamper, and that the dog was probably following Steven’s scent. He believed that Steven was the one that dumped Jami’s car.

Steven’s defense said that this only proved Steven wasn’t a nice person, not that he was a murderer. They said this only became a murder trial after witnesses came forward, and added stories after many years. They said there was no body, no fingerprints and no evidence of any kind.

After five days of testimony, the jury was sent out to deliberate. Steven was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison. His rage came out when he was sentenced, and he swore at Jami’s mom Judy. He called her every name in the book.

Another Crime

While Steven was in prison, he tried to hire someone to burn Judy’s house down. The man ended up calling the police, and said Steven promised him jewelry to do this. The man also said that Steven confessed to killing Jami.

The police had a plan. They set a barrel on fire near Judy’s house, and it really made it seem like Judy’s house was on fire. When Steven heard about it, he celebrated in prison. This confirmed the informant’s story, and Steven was charged and convicted of solicitation to commit an arson. He was given a life sentence.

Other

Judy said she can’t believe Steven would want to kill his son, who was living in the home at the time. She also said she believes Steven will never tell her what really happened to Jami.

Jami’s body has never been found.

Judy and Tyler created a memorial garden, and every year they plant a rosebush on Mother’s Day.

In 2003, Steven’s appeal was denied.

FINAL THOUGHTS

All murderers are garbage, but this guy takes the cake. It’s bad enough to kill someone, especially if it’s your spouse, but to then hire someone to kill their family and your own son. Plus, this guy clearly had a thing for young girls too. Wow, this case is heartbreaking. Jami’s body has never been found, and probably never will be.

Steven is a piece of shit, and I hope it gives Jami’s family and friends peace knowing he’ll rot in there forever. I do hope that one day Steven admits to what really happened, but he won’t.

Sources

https://charleyproject.org/case/jami-sue-sherer

https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/the-disappearance-of-jami-hagel-sherer-5d90b4e5211a

https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Bizarre-revenge-plot-is-alleged-1112454.php

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20020611&slug=murder11e