New here. Just caught up on the UAV series and just have to vent a few things.
Does everyone find the current narrative particularly weak?
i know we aren't privy to most of the physical evidence in the case, but here are some thoughts that I find a bit off.
1. I find it hard to believe that he punched her and killed her in her house without getting blood all over the place. I've never killed anyone and I know Hollywood has sensationalized violence with blood and gore, but I've seen some bare knuckle fights and both heads and hands are usually bloody.
2. The dog was still outside. If she was in bed, the dog would have been inside. I doubt the killer walked a dog he didn't know around the outside of the house after murdering her.
3. When everyone thought it was one of vickers, her ex or the family friend who did it...the relationship or spurned lover narrative was at the top. Now, bc the main suspect Ryan is a depressed drunk, everyone is quick to dismiss that they were having some fling.
4. The struggle was kind of half-*advertiser censored* as far as we are told. A cracked lamp, a clock, a necklace not exactly the fight you'd expect from a feisty independent woman who lived alone. Dukes doesn't look particularly large or strong to me either but hard to say.
5. Her emails just before the event were building up to "something might happen"
6. One of her students at the pageant said that Tara wasn't herself that night, but the host of the BBQ said she was.
7. She was just about to change the locks on her house.
8. The muddy car.
9. The seat of the car slid back.
10. Her clothes being strung about, even bough she was neat, yet no signs of being torn off.
11. Her earrings from that night are missing.
12. The GBI said "they" took her car for a joy ride...IIRC. Seems like a lame explanation for Bo being in the car. I just burned a body, but this is a nice car let me drive that around to be seen. Don't think he's that dumb.
13. The breaking in with a credit card just doesn't fit. First of all, it's not that easy to break in with a credit card. Most external doors knobs have a pin to prevent this way too easy method of B&E. This strikes me as something that someone injects from Hollywood as an alternative to what really happened. Like that's how people do it on TV so must be plausible.
As does the manner of death. Punching her to death with one punch seems again like a weak story to cover what really happened.
By all accounts the dog would have been inside and given the breed--shepherd or malinois? A protective breed in any case. I seriously doubt any stranger enters or even fiddles with the door lock without the dog alerting her. Either she never got the dog from the yard, never got home, or she put the dog back in the yard when the person came over.
She had a history of going for the challenging or forbidden lover--the Army guy who was never around and afraid of commitment, the married family friend and possibly another ex student. And possibly all three in the hook at the same time. Is it that unlikely that she was involved with one or more men from Ryan and Bo's circle currently or in the past? She was a single 30 year old, church going, teetotaleing beauty queen--in the rural south makes me skeptical of the picture painted as some squeaky clean School teacher.
I see two more plausible scenarios.
First one. Like we all thought. She knew the attacker. Perhaps someone from Ryan's circle--Ryan or Bo likely. They had pre arranged to meet somewhere--maybe Ryan and Bo's little party or just after somewhere muddy. Something happened...maybe she was rufied and taken advantage of--I know she didn't drink or so we are told. Maybe something innocent went sideways and they panicked. Maybe she witnessed something and threatened to tell the cops--Bo would later steal 150k from the army and would at least help conceal a murder so not implausible he was already deeply into something illegal. In any case, something happened so that more than just Ryan's DNA would have been on her body which is why Bo was willing to help and why they needed to burn the body rather than dump or bury it. Ryan (and/or another party) returned the car and amateurishly staged the house to look like something happened there. I know it's 2005 but I doubt she would not bring her phone with her so late at night. And one would think that GBI would have tower records of her approximate locations that night. Also, I'm sure they would just dump/burn her cell phone rather than put it back on the charger so many holes here as well. Plus likely she had called this other person some times so GBI must have looked into this possibility and said that Ryan and Bo were off radar. Additionally, her clothes from that night were at her house so likely they had some DNA or fiber from the second location. GBI is silent about this.
Second one. She arrives home and Ryan walks by (or is waiting for her bc he is stalking or obsessed). He makes up some sad story or something and she invites him in to chat or whatever (or he compels her with a weapon). He eventually makes a romantic move and she pushes him away. He gets aggressive. She runs to the bedroom where there is a light struggle. She throws the lamp at him, the clock, he grabs her by the throat breaks the necklace, knocks her out with punches, and likely strangles or asphyxiates her. He gets in Bo's truck and drives home. He returns to the party and tells all the drunk fools he killed her. They laugh it off--who would believe him. The next day he tells Bo about it in a way where Bo believes him. They "brainstorm" what to do. Thinking the cops will think Bo at least an accessory bc of his truck and his lack of good alibi (passed out drunk), or bc Ryan blackmails him Bo agrees to help cover it up. Bo drives Ryan to Tara's, he goes in and wraps her in a blanket, puts her in her car and follows Bo into the woods (the mud and grass under the car)--perhaps planning to dump it in a lake or pit or something. Bo sees that she is mostly naked--Ryan forgot her clothes and likely suspects that Ryan raped or did something to her leaving DNA, and Bo now knows they need to destroy the body. He's gone this far, why not. Burning the car where they were would draw too much attention so they take her to the pecan orchard where they can't burn the car so they just return it to her house. They decide to have a big fire...possibly inviting the same people over the next night(s) for cover and to further get them into the conspiracy. After enough drinking Ryan or Bo spill the beans to the others and threaten them to secrecy/blackmail them.
As for the gloves, I was thinking the glove(s) might be a plant by Bo (especially if it's Ryan's DNA, or another from their group). Like he just drove by and threw them out the window. Or they fell out of Ryan's pocket as he was running to where he had parked or Bo was picking him up after returning the car.
