Frequent Flyer Movie Based on the Case of John Charles Lutter
by Traciy Curry-Reyes
The story of John Charles Lutter is the inspiration for the movie Frequent Flyer. The gist of the story is that in 1980 John Charles Lutter, who went by the name Jack, married a woman in Lake Tahoe. His wife's name was Caroline. At the time Lutter, worked for United Flight Airlines. Caroline, was married to him for 6 years, and said that she loved him very much. Though it was difficult to deal with his rigorous travel schedule, she tried to understand although many times she had a gut feeling that something was just not right. Most nights were spent crying and waiting for "Jack" to return home. Until one day he disappeared for a month. Caroline, frantic and worried did not know where to find him. Their son became very ill at the time and needed to have surgery. Desperate to find him, she decided to contact the airlines to find out his location. She was informed that she was not the only woman who trying to get information about him. They had all indicated that he was their husband. Devastated and feeling betrayed, Caroline found out that he had “many many women in his life.”
Not only did Lutter have a number of wives, he also maintained relationships with multiple girlfriends as well. In all, he maintained a yacht, 6 condos, and had 15 children. How was he able to get away with it? It would seem that at some point these women would have started to ask questions or demand answers. It turns out that John Charles Lutter chose foreign women who knew better than to question him about anything. Once he disappeared Caroline began to talk to one of the other wives and slowly started unraveling his mess. At one point all the wives and girlfriends began to swap stories. Many of the women were surprised at just how well Jack was able to juggle his schedule and remember birth dates and anniversaries. Trouble started for him though once the airline switched his route.
Caroline was going to turn him in, but felt sorry for him in the end, spent one last weekend with him, and said goodbye to him forever. He immediately left her to go to the home of another wife before finally disappearing altogether after the loss of his job. Lutter was finally captured in a Los Angeles airport and convicted to 90 days for Bigamy. He was released and then violated his probation and disappeared again…
For more info on the case you can visit the Unsolved Mysteries website here
