Boston man investigated in California cold case

'A prototype con man'
Neighbors on Wednesday remembered Chichester as a smooth talker who was well-dressed and seemed well-educated. He did all the right things to ingratiate himself with his upscale neighbors, including volunteering at the local library, said Ray Cornwall, a neighbor who has lived in the community since the 1970s.

Chichester arrived with a British accent, but some were suspicious of him because of his fantastical claims to fame and fortune, Cornwall said. He told people he was related to a famous British sailor who had sailed the globe and was also related to the Mountbatten family, a wealthy and influential British line.

"He's a prototype con man. He's really good at it," said Cornwall, whose daughter dated Chichester briefly in the mid-1980s. "It's going to be hard to prove anything, because he's not left any permanent trail. It's all smoke and mirrors."

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