Neil Fletcher was Frank Fletcher's older brother and Jessica Fletcher's brother-in-law. According to Jessica, they looked a lot alike. He first appeared in Death Stalks the Big Top, Part 1 as Carl Schulman the clown in a traveling circus. He sent his granddaughter a wedding present in the form of a silver leprechaun, which only they knew about. When Jessica went to look for him, he and his boss tried to keep Jessica away from the circus, but the murder of Hank led to Jessica learning the truth. He confessed that he blew up his boat and faked his own death, trying to escape his wife, Constance. After he was arrested for Hank's murder, he attempted to incriminate himself to protect Charlie, including stabbing himself in the leg and smearing his blood on one of his clubs.