The Bonebreaker Case

When the body of fourteen-year-old Chris Steiner was discovered floating in the Wisconsin River on July 10, 1994, it brought a heartbreaking end to the search for the boy who had mysteriously disappeared from his Baraboo, Wisconsin home a week earlier. Officially, the cause of death was drowning. His death was a tragic accident, and nothing more.

But was it? A year later, a harrowing 911 call from 14 year old Thad Phillips would bring to light a monster in the boys' own neighborhood, one that would change the ruling in Chris Steiner's death and horrify the community forever.

References

Associated Press. 1997. Court awards $21M in torture case. October 14. Accessed April 6, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/5ded061aa228f6b8a597557fb8724258.

—. 1995. "Teen-age suspect in kidnapping-torture was taunted by peers about 1994 death." Wisconsin State Journal, August 11: 24.

Chickering, Pam. 1994. "Baraboo teen-ager missing." Baraboo News Republic, July 8: 1.

Clark, Anita. 1996. "Expert: Clark is a sadist, not insane." Wisconsin State Journal, September 18.

Dvorak, Rich, and Troy Laack. 1994. "Clue's sought in teen's death." Baraboo News Republic, July 13: 1.

—. 1994. "Missing youth's body found." Baraboo News Republic, July 12: 1.

Elbow, Steven. 1997. "Expert witness denied voice at Clark trial." Baraboo News Republic, November 7: 1.

—. 1996. "Formal charges filed in Steiner case." Portage Daily Register, September 26: 1.

Grunig, Tara. 1995. "Clark charged as adult in Phillips case." The Daily Register, September 8: 1.

Jaeger, Richard. 1995. "Autopsy discovers broken bones." Wisconsin State Journal, August 5: 1.

—. 1995. "Kidnapping-torture similar to year-old case." Wisconsin State Journal, August 3: 1.

—. 1995. "Teen questioned in '94 drowning." Wisconsin State Journal, August 4: 1D-2D.

O'Connell, Mike. 1995. "13-year-old boy kidnapped, tortured." Baraboo News Republic, August 2: 1.

—. 1996. "Clark's defense." Baraboo News Republic, September 17: 1.

—. 1996. "'Do you know Chris Steiner'." Baraboo News Republic, September 17: 1.

—. 1996. "Jurors bring swift decision; Clark faces 110 hard years." Baraboo News Republic, September 19: 1.

—. 1995. "Report confirms incident details." Baraboo News Republic, August 2: 1.

Seely, Ron. 1994. "Teen's parents left to wonder." Wisconsin State Journal, August 7: 21.

State of Wisconsin v. Joseph C. Clark. 1998. 97-3584-CR (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, September 3).

State of Wisconsin v. Joseph C. Clark. 1999. 98-2402-CR-NM (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, March 25).

Wisconsin State Journal. 1996. "Broken-bome assault case brings plea of no contest." Wisconsin State Journal, September 6.

—. 1996. "Shooting delays murder hearing ." Wisconsin State Journal, October 11.

—. 1997. "Teen killer who tortured victims gets life in prison." Wisconsin State Journal, November 21.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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