It’s been 50 years since a father and son were gunned down inside their southwest Miami-Dade home.
The bodies of Clarence and Brian Gehrke were found on Oct. 10, 1975, but no one has ever been charged with the murders.
The tragedy hit close to home in the NBC6 newsroom because Bonnie Mayer, Clarence’s daughter, was at the time engaged to former anchor and reporter Bob Mayer.
“I couldn’t eat. I lost 10 pounds. I couldn’t work,” Bonnie said. “I just figured they would find out who did it.”
But 50 years later, no one has been held accountable for the murder of Bonnie’s dad, Clarence, and her little brother, Brian.
For over a decade, Attorney Paul Novack has been seeking answers after learning of the case through one of Bob’s friends. Novack has worked on other cold cases and served six terms as Mayor of the Town of Surfside.
“We started piece by piece to put together a picture of what was going on at that time, 1974-1975,” Novack said.
At the time, Clarence worked for the City of Miami’s Public Works Department.
“Mr. Gehrke was assigned to go do the inspections to make sure the work was done properly and to sign off as part of the process of payment,” Novack said.
After his death, the department’s director was quoted in the Miami Herald praising Clarence’s work.
Bob Mayer told NBC6 his father-in-law built a reputation for fairness and honesty.
“There was all this corruption around him, you know, jobs that were being passed that shouldn’t have been passed because money changed hands, and he was not that kind of guy,” Bob said. “He didn’t want any part of that.”
News reports from the 1970s detailed how some public works inspectors were fired or suspended and accused of allegedly taking bribes from builders.
“[Clarence] refused to sign off on blatantly defective work that the city had contracted for, and that’s what led to his confrontation,” Novack said.
About a year before the double murder, Novack said Clarence was attacked by a contractor during an inspection.
Novack shared an injury report from the state agency that handled worker compensation cases at the time. It states the “representative became upset and attacked Mr. Gehrke, bruising his ribs, twisting his neck, cut his head, and also kicked him in the lower back.”
“He beat the hell out of him,” Bob said.
Clarence later filed a civil lawsuit against the company and the man who assaulted him, who court records show was eventually charged and sentenced to probation.
Novack said he obtained a record from the civil case showing there was a deposition of the company’s president scheduled for Oct. 20, ten days after the murders.
Bob said that the deposition didn’t happen.
“At this deposition, there would’ve been a lot more than talk about the beating,” Bob said.
A representative with the Miami-Dade County’s Clerks of Courts told NBC6 they couldn’t verify any information about the deposition, noting the case is very old and depositions’ records are not archived by the office.
Novack said he also obtained a letter a sergeant sent to the Miami-Dade Organized Crime Bureau dated Oct. 24, 1975. It mentions allegations that the same company paid another inspector who took over Clarence’s assignment for work that was incomplete or not properly done.
NBC6 contacted the city of Miami to ask about all of this. A spokesperson referred us to law enforcement, but the City’s police department has not yet gotten back to us.
After the murders, Bob said the attorneys representing Clarence in the civil case advised them to drop the case, which they did. NBC6 has not been able to reach the contractor involved in that case, and the company is no longer operating.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office declined an interview with NBC6, but a spokesperson said in an email it “considers the solvability of this case to be low and does not believe public exposure would change the status, short of someone coming forward to confess.” A MDSO spokesperson also said the agency cannot share what evidence it has or confirms Novack’s findings because the case remains open.
Without answers and the feeling of overwhelming grief, Bonnie channeled her pain through art in a project she called “death day cakes” while she was a student at Florida International University.
“It helped me to function better and to get some relief,” she said. “It had to come out of me, and it was displayed at various universities for people to know what I went through.”
Bob tried to process the tragedy through his journalism, launching an “Unsolved” series looking into other cold cases.
“We stirred the pot enough in a few of these cases that people came forward,” said Bob.
Bonnie and Bob keep a bottle of scotch that Brian gifted them.
They saved just enough to toast in his and Clarence’s honor, not if but when their murders finally get solved.
“They deserve for this to be solved,” Bonnie said.
“It would mean finally, after 50 years, that we have a semblance of closure,” Bob said. “To know that someone is still out there alive and enjoying life, someone who had a part, whatever that part was, in the murders of two people who we loved, it’s hard to take.”
If you know anything about this cold case or others, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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