The western Indiana town of Sullivan is bracing itself for the return of the most notoriuous killer in its history. Jerry W. Cliver is coming home.
In 1984, Cliver was an Indiana State Trooper who kicked in the door of his ex-wife's house in Dugger, Indiana, shot her boyfriend to death, shot Jerri Lynn Cliver in front of the couple's children and fled. He was arrested a year later in Florida, mysteriously escaped from the Sullivan County Jail, shot a highway patrolman in Florida and was sentenced to 46 years in prison there. He later pleaded guilty in Indiana, received 40 years for murder in Sullivan County but the judge allowed him to serve his time in a Florida prison. Now, Cliver is out of prison and moving back to Sullivan.
"I think there's a lot of people that are gonna look over their shoulder with his history," said one woman, drinking coffee with friends at the Newsstand Diner in downtown Sullivan. "You can always forgive but you'll never forget," said her friend.
One who can't forget is special prosecutor Bob Miller who called Cliver's concurrent sentencing by the Indiana judge, "The worst miscarriage of justice in the history of this state."
"The net effect of which was that he didn't serve a single day on his crimes in Indiana," said Miller.
One man who bested Cliver in a legal confrontation before the murders said he fears for his life now that the ex-trooper is back on the streets.
"I think he has some serious scores to settle after all these years. He's not going to be a model citizen and he'll do whatever he has to do to get even with people."
Cliver is being released without restrictions by Florida authorities, meaning he will not be required to report to a parole officer in Indiana. Cliver's file indicates he intends to live with relatives on State Road 54 east of Sullivan, just a couple of miles away from the murder scene. Current Sullivan County Prosecutor Bob Hundley tells Fox 59 News that he has advised Cliver's former wife of her ex-husband's pending prison release.
In 1984, Cliver was an Indiana State Trooper who kicked in the door of his ex-wife's house in Dugger, Indiana, shot her boyfriend to death, shot Jerri Lynn Cliver in front of the couple's children and fled. He was arrested a year later in Florida, mysteriously escaped from the Sullivan County Jail, shot a highway patrolman in Florida and was sentenced to 46 years in prison there. He later pleaded guilty in Indiana, received 40 years for murder in Sullivan County but the judge allowed him to serve his time in a Florida prison. Now, Cliver is out of prison and moving back to Sullivan.
"I think there's a lot of people that are gonna look over their shoulder with his history," said one woman, drinking coffee with friends at the Newsstand Diner in downtown Sullivan. "You can always forgive but you'll never forget," said her friend.
One who can't forget is special prosecutor Bob Miller who called Cliver's concurrent sentencing by the Indiana judge, "The worst miscarriage of justice in the history of this state."
"The net effect of which was that he didn't serve a single day on his crimes in Indiana," said Miller.
One man who bested Cliver in a legal confrontation before the murders said he fears for his life now that the ex-trooper is back on the streets.
"I think he has some serious scores to settle after all these years. He's not going to be a model citizen and he'll do whatever he has to do to get even with people."
Cliver is being released without restrictions by Florida authorities, meaning he will not be required to report to a parole officer in Indiana. Cliver's file indicates he intends to live with relatives on State Road 54 east of Sullivan, just a couple of miles away from the murder scene. Current Sullivan County Prosecutor Bob Hundley tells Fox 59 News that he has advised Cliver's former wife of her ex-husband's pending prison release.
