The ex-boyfriend of an Arizona teen whose body was found in the desert a month after her disappearance was charged in her death.
Per KTRK, Jon-Christopher Clark, 23, appeared before a judge Tuesday night in relation to newly-filed first-degree murder charges. Police are also pursuing improper removal of a body and evidence tampering charges against Clark.
Documents made public Wednesday morning revealed witnesses’ accounts and Bergman and Clark’s Internet activity that appears to have implicated Clark in the 19-year-old’s slaying.
Bergman was reportedly last seen alive at her Phoenix apartment on August 4. Bergman’s roommate told police that she sent a peculiar text message about meeting up with a man she met at the store.
On September 3, a passerby reportedly discovered her partially-nude body near State Route 85 in Buckeye, located approximately 30 minutes from her Phoenix apartment. Documents indicated that her cause of death is not yet known.
It was days before the discovery of her body when police announced that foul play was likely involved in Bergman’s disappearance. Before that, Phoenix Police Department Sergeant Vince Lewis called the case “suspicious.”
Clark was arrested two weeks after Bergman’s disappearance on aggravated identity theft and forgery charges. Police reportedly searched Clark’s car and discovered multiple items with personal information, none of which belonged to him or Bergman.
Before his release, authorities charged him with a probation violation stemming from a 2018 arrest for theft in California. One of the stipulations of his probation was that he couldn’t commit any crimes.
AZFamily reported that the pair broke up shortly before Bergman vanished. Clark previously told HuffPost that Bergman stormed out of her apartment during an argument. He said Bergman mistakingly believed he was moving to Texas for a job. He went on to say that he’s cooperating with police but declined to take a lie detector test.
An arrest affidavit acquired by KSAZ stated that Clark used Bergman’s phone to text himself and others on August 4, the day she vanished. Police also mentioned that Clark was inconsistent when reporting Bergman missing, mentioning details of a text that Bergman’s roommate hadn’t revealed to the public.
“We hope if Jon is guilty he is convicted and he rots in hell,” the victim’s father, Chris Bragg said in written statement to the Arizona Republic.
Clark remains jailed on $1 million bail. His next court date is scheduled for September 18.
[Featured image: Jon-Christopher Clark/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office; Kiera Bergman/Facebook]
