Found Deceased KS - Marilane Carter, 36, Overland Park, enroute to Birmingham, 1 Aug, call from Memphis, 2 Aug 2020

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves
Status
Not open for further replies.
Crittenden County authorities find body, vehicle matching missing Kansas woman

West-Memphis-Body-Found.00_00_00_00.Still003.jpg


2A67353DADCC47EF96E2851633C6C103.jpg
 
Not outrageous but definitely odd. Usually spouses are in sync with their beliefs. He also knew she was troubled and yet didn’t protect her. How can you watch your troubled wife drive off knowing she may never come back? Such a shame.

But how do you know he didn't protect her? We don't know that. If he had kept her from leaving, we would be seeing words like "control freak" and "confined" being thrown around. There is nothing he could have done here that would make some happy, short of not being a Baptist preacher.
 
Here is my question? IF Marilane wanted to kill herself, take a look at the area around the containers! Anywhere in that area just pull into the bushes or behind one of the containers . If you are suicidal the objective is to Die. One does not have to hide in a container. If it is carbon monoxide , she just needed to stuff the exhaust. Suicide by container is a first. LE says the car was on but did they mention what gear it was in?
Perhaps some person or persons , breached the entrance of the container in the car, place Marilane in the drivers seat , put the car in gear and pushed it in, remaining outside the car.
Was it someone who knew Marilane's history or just a way to make her death look like a suicide..
Absent a suicide note ( I believe she would have left one) hard for me to believe suicide.
 
ADMIN NOTE:

LE has said foul play is not suspected in Marilane's death (therefore there are no POIs or suspects named).

Marilane's husband is a victim. Please keep your posts in line with Websleuths "Victim Friendly" policy. That means no accusations or insinuations that he is somehow responsible for what happened to her.

Thank you.
 
Here is my question? IF Marilane wanted to kill herself, take a look at the area around the containers! Anywhere in that area just pull into the bushes or behind one of the containers . If you are suicidal the objective is to Die. One does not have to hide in a container. If it is carbon monoxide , she just needed to stuff the exhaust. Suicide by container is a first. LE says the car was on but did they mention what gear it was in?
Perhaps some person or persons , breached the entrance of the container in the car, place Marilane in the drivers seat , put the car in gear and pushed it in, remaining outside the car.
Was it someone who knew Marilane's history or just a way to make her death look like a suicide..
Absent a suicide note ( I believe she would have left one) hard for me to believe suicide.
A car with a plugged exhaust won't run. Although I personally still believe this was accidental, suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in enclosed spaces is extremely common. It's usually a garage but a shipping container is not that different from a garage. I'm sure it's not the first time.
 
But how do you know he didn't protect her? We don't know that. If he had kept her from leaving, we would be seeing words like "control freak" and "confined" being thrown around. There is nothing he could have done here that would make some happy, short of not being a Baptist preacher.

Yep, spot on. All of it.
 
MOO only. In the big picture, no. As one who suffers from GAD, I can tell you. There were times when I was in the throes of full blown panic that I took off in the middle of the night. I just had to flee. I rode around till I calmed down. Usually a few hours, then was able to return home and sleep. But my husband was left home to care for the kids. He was worried to death for me. During these episodes I had no fear of leaving in the night alone. I just had to get out now. I can imagine that when Marilane left that night that she felt something similar and and her poor husband like mine, didn't have a choice but to remain at home. The difference between she and I was that she was suicidal when she left and I never was. This had probably been coming on for some time and the conversion, the searching for answers, wanting help and not getting it, all culminated in the events of that night and morning.

Just curious, have we actually seen any evidence that she endorsed suicidal ideations? I understand much has been published about her reported mental health issues (and yes, mental health issues often lead to suicide) but I have not seen anything that indicates she herself said she was suicidal. If there is a link for this, please share. Otherwise, stating she was suicidal simply because we have reports of her deteriorating mental health condition is not a fact that is source verified.
 
Just curious, have we actually seen any evidence that she endorsed suicidal ideations? I understand much has been published about her reported mental health issues (and yes, mental health issues often lead to suicide) but I have not seen anything that indicates she herself said she was suicidal. If there is a link for this, please share. Otherwise, stating she was suicidal simply because we have reports of her deteriorating mental health condition is not a fact that is source verified.

.all the emotional/mental problems she'd had recently leading up to her death which is officially listed as suicide...
 
This case is just so strange to me. I, myself, am a survivor of suicide and worked in the mental health field in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa (both in AL) for ten years. I have worked with people dealing with chronic and situational mental illness when they are in their darkest moments. Therefore, a number of things stand out to me in this situation.

One thing that I keep coming back to and have not seen discussed (although it absolutely may have been) is why would she travel to Birmingham for mental health or sleep disorder treatment? Traveling for any type of medical/psychological treatment would typically involve seeing a specialist of some sort. Also, it's difficult for me to imagine a situation where a doctor is going to willingly provide mental health treatment knowing the patient is not even a resident of the state (unless said patient was hospitalized on an inpatient psychiatric unit). What type of follow-up treatment could happen in that setting? Yes, with COVID, many offices are taking a virtual approach when possible. But when dealing with psychoactive drugs and mental health issues, it's just hard for me to think of any doctor I have worked with that would enter into this type of treatment approach with someone experiencing mental instability in real time. Granted, there are those virtual counseling apps/programs available...I just can't see any doctor prescribing medication or formulating a treatment plan (for sleep or psychiatric issues) that does not involve more follow up than a virtual visit. JMO. I am not implying this means anything to the case I just can't get past this in my head.
 
.all the emotional/mental problems she'd had recently leading up to her death which is officially listed as suicide...

(Sorry) So, for clarification, there are the reports from the husband that she was struggling with mental health issues (which, yes, can often leads to suicide), we have reports from the mother that she seemed disoriented and paranoid, and we have the reports from LE that they believed the death to be suicide as the COD appears to have been carbon monoxide poisoning but we definitely have NOT heard or seen anything that indicated she herself reported suicidal thoughts to her family, friends, etc? I ask because although mental health issues do often lead to suicide, mental health issues do not mean someone is suicidal. If I go missing and my husband claims I was suicidal because I experience generalized anxiety on a regular basis you better believe I want someone asking these same questions. JMHO
 
Last edited:
It's back upthread if you care to go back and find it.there are several articles linked.

Both to the cause of death as suicide and why she was going to Birmingham for treatment.
I am aware that all accounts of the situation indicate she planned to obtain treatment in Birmingham for whatever reason. Apparently, according the her mother it was for a sleep disorder and according to her husband it was related more to potential mental health issues. My point is, traveling to Birmingham from Kansas for either mental health treatment or sleep disorder treatment is odd. If you are traveling a significant distance to obtain treatment it is usually not going to be a "quick fix" type of situation. Which then makes me wonder if she had planned on being in Birmingham for some time. Just a thought I can't get past.
 
(Sorry) So, for clarification, there are the reports from the husband that she was struggling with mental health issues (which, yes, can often leads to suicide), we have reports from the mother that she seemed disoriented and paranoid, and we have the reports from LE that they believed the death to be suicide as the COD appears to have been carbon monoxide poisoning but we definitely have NOT heard or seen nothing that indicated she herself reported suicidal thoughts to her family, friends, etc? I ask because although mental health issues do often lead to suicide, mental health issues do not mean someone is suicidal. If I go missing and my husband claims I was suicidal because I experience generalized anxiety on a regular basis you better believe I want someone asking these same questions. JMHO
Exactly.
 
A car with a plugged exhaust won't run. Although I personally still believe this was accidental, suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in enclosed spaces is extremely common. It's usually a garage but a shipping container is not that different from a garage. I'm sure it's not the first time.

I am leaning towards an accidental suicide as well. We should have the "official" cause of death later today but based on the preliminary COD saying most likely asphyxiation, I just wonder if it wasn't an accident. It was stated her car doors were locked, which I find strange. We don't know what her state of mind was during that time, but I do keep coming back to the original statements made about her sleeping issues. I talked about that on an earlier thread and, the severe effects lack of sleep can have on a person. That, coupled with potential stress or any emotional upset, could have been detrimental to her. Lack of sleep also impairs judgment, so perhaps she got lost, stumbled across the shipping containers, and just wanted to sleep. The fact that she was lost and somewhat disoriented leads me to think she could have been crashing from sleep deprivation It was also stated her A/C was on, so it's not a stretch to imagine that she (in whatever state she was in) drove into the container, left the car running, and fell asleep.

We may never know whether it was accidental or not, but I would like to believe it was. LE stated they do not believe foul play is involved, and they probably know a lot more about the scene than we do.
 
I am aware that all accounts of the situation indicate she planned to obtain treatment in Birmingham for whatever reason. Apparently, according the her mother it was for a sleep disorder and according to her husband it was related more to potential mental health issues. My point is, traveling to Birmingham from Kansas for either mental health treatment or sleep disorder treatment is odd. If you are traveling a significant distance to obtain treatment it is usually not going to be a "quick fix" type of situation. Which then makes me wonder if she had planned on being in Birmingham for some time. Just a thought I can't get past.
Apparently she used to work at that hospital as a chaplain and maybe because her family lives there she just felt more comfortable? Also some have speculated that being in the public eye as a pastor’s wife might make it less comfortable to get treatment there.
I do think that the circumstances are strange enough that everything needs to be checked out and suicide shouldn’t just be assumed.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
253
Guests online
2,657
Total visitors
2,910

Forum statistics

Threads
599,654
Messages
18,097,837
Members
230,896
Latest member
outsidecreativ
Back
Top