I've sampled this forum for years, and posted on other true crime sites for more than a decade, but this case inspired me to register here.
Absolutely outrageous. Disappeared did a fine job. But Disappeared should not be handling this case. It deserves multiple examinations and from the major network programs devoted to true crime, like Dateline. Put some pressure on John and Emily. Keep it there. Badger them. Make every day uncomfortable. Have all their relatives and friends doubting them and shunning them, until the truth is provided.
I'm forever astonished at the difference in caliber between various police jurisdictions, detectives, prosecutors, and others involved in the investigation. That's never obvious upon enter. You have no idea if the greatest team ever will be handling your case, or complete duds. Eric and his family unfortunately were provided lemons, and that's being incredibly kind. Throughout the episode I was thinking Kendra and her clan made so many bonehead mistakes that this would have been solved very easily and quickly somewhere else. Instead, you actually had lazy excuse-laden world class inept detectives with the audacity to make an appearance on the program, taking a bow. They deserved to be verbally flogged by a hardened questioner.
That's a basic problem with so many true crime series in general: They are vehicles for somebody, normally the lead prosecutor, to take a bow in the final minutes, once the guilty verdict is replayed on video.
Eric's mom and her sister were extremely impressive on Disappeared, and on other podcasts and YouTube videos I have watched in recent days. Likewise in the replies here and on Facebook, which I have sampled despite not being a member.
I have to say I believe Eric was killed very early, probably within a few days of his last time seen at the motel. I noted in one video that Eric's mom believes he wasn't killed until April. That doesn't sound logical to me. Limited cell phone availability is short term and sporadic. Eric, if alive, would have found time and place to make those calls. I cringed when I watched the program and later read some of the posts from years ago. It was obvious that the "poor reception" tidbit had thrown a wrench into the family's perspective, and unwittingly enabled Kendra and others far more time than they otherwise would have had, before Eric was reported missing and the authorities involved.
My guess is that Kendra lured Eric and asked him about the million dollars, if it were true that he had inherited a sum like that and had directed it to Emily upon his death. Once Eric innocently provided some sort of positive response -- perhaps multiple times -- then the pea-brained clan had plenty of motivation to carry out their desperate murderous plot. I suspect Eric was already dead and disposed of when Kendra went back to the motel to first clean out his things on March 20th. I realize there are reports of a fire on their property later. I would discount that, unless it was a secondary cleanup. The first act had to be swift.
I would check record from those dates, to see if Kendra or John missed work (if they were employed) and also if Emily missed school. I'm convinced she has to know...mostly everything if not everything.
Those desperate geniuses probably thought it would be a matter of months before they collected in full. Hence the frustration on the phone when they hadn't seen a dollar, and Kendra "couldn't believe" there was nothing to Eric's assertion of an inheritance funneled to his daughter.
Breast cancer is obviously a terrible disease. I never thought I would say or write anything harsh about someone inflicted. But it was disgusting to sample online articles recently with Kendra and Emily hoisted and praised as valiant battlers of the disease, with the press unaware that they were likely aware/involved with a murder a few years earlier.
The press should have been notified and force fed immediately. That was one concern I had, after reading the timeline of this case. Somehow there is doubt/animosity toward the mainstream press these days. Nothing could be more ridiculous or laughable. The press can save and shape cases like this, even if the authorities are lagging or incompetent. Based on Eric's leanings I think he would have understood the value of a strong involved press. And it's still not too late. Emily and John have to live somewhere, and perhaps with a pushy investigative reporter -- or several -- nearby.
