Relatives grapple with death of Cowley College student

As authorities tried to piece together German Luis Clerici's final days, family and friends of the 19-year-old Cowley College student on Monday grappled with how he could end up dead in a ditch next to a muddy Butler County road.

Clerici, known as "Jersey" to his friends because of his heavy New Jersey accent, was found at about 3 p.m. Saturday by a woman walking along Southwest Boyer Road southwest of El Dorado.

Family members reported Clerici missing Jan. 30. He had moved out of the house he shared with his girlfriend because they had been fighting a lot lately and he wanted a cooling off period.

But in their last conversation, Shauna Herrick said, they talked about when he would come back home.

"I have no idea what happened," Herrick said. "This is a complete and total shock to me — for everyone."

A native of Argentina, Clerici moved to New Jersey with his mother as a child, then relocated to Wichita when his brother got a job in the city.

He graduated from high school here, Herrick said, and was going to college.

"He was the best guy in the world," Herrick said. "He had the best heart.

"He was on the right track... his friends are not bad people."

Wichita police are assisting the Butler County Sheriff's Office with the investigation. On Friday, before Clerici's body was found, Wichita Police Lt. Ken Landwehr said the missing man had no criminal history and was not linked to any criminal activity.

Clerici appeared to be clean-cut, Landwehr had said.

Authorities are awaiting autopsy results. Herrick said she had been told her boyfriend had been dead a day or two before he was found.

He apparently was not robbed, Herrick said, because his wallet was with him when he was found.

This story was originally published February 9, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Relatives grapple with death of Cowley College student."