She believes she's untouchable.
MO MO - Dennis Spriggs, 47, LaBelle, 15 July 1992
- Thread starter SuziQ
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She believes she's untouchable.
Belinda
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Unfortunately, it appears that she may be.
Belinda
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So was Al Capone.
Good point. :biggrin:
The word "untouchable" is an amazingly accurate word to use here. Emotionally I can't reach her, and the fact that she is losing me and my husband and her grandkids over this, should touch a nerve or a desire to solve this...but she's untouchable. I remember asking her for help in an extremely distressing situation when I was a teenager, and she looked at me, unemotional, and said, "I can't do anything about it." And that was that....unphased by my needs,untouched by my pleading.
How would I post a taped recording on here to be listened to?
How would I post a taped recording on here to be listened to?
That's odd for a mom. Dads can do that, moms have a hard time.
Unless someone else has a better idea, I can take an mp3 and put it on one of our domain servers.
So how would I load it onto the player cforgy? And belinda, I realized I can't really explain the full situation of what happened or it would get into an area that really has nothing to do with this case and could just harm people's name or reputation. I never thought of my mom as anything but needy, and she was seemingly warm and loving(?) when she got what she needed. Upon looking back, her ability to meet our physical, emotional or other needs were not there. It was covered up to me because there were so many crisis's going on all the time that I could attribute the lack of our needs being met to that. Now I see it differently.
Just like this:
http://forgy.org/audio/Seymour%20Swine%20-%20Blue%20Christmas.mp3
I can put an mp3 on the server if you send it to me.
Its the one I sent you of the detective interview with her...do you have it? I thought if we posted it here then maybe we could get some professional assistance with analyzing it since there are many qualified people on this site.
Sometimes I think that I feel ready to move on finally, and realize that some wounds may never heal, but go on the best that I can, and be grateful that I lived through this. I almost wrote that I don't need people's prayers anymore, to pray for my mother instead that this will all stop. (Ofcourse, we all need prayers so I will say thank you for those.) I dont feel the need for justice anymore either, because the price to get it is too high. The only thing that motivates me is wondering who is next.....and since I believe this is not over, and she can't stop, could staying involved potentially save a neice or nephew, or the next husband...or mission companions. (She wants to go on a church mission). I know its not my responsibility, but its what makes me wonder if I should keep facing this when I am ready to turn and walk away forever.
When I first read this last fall, I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach and have wanted to reply to a lot of your postings, but it has taken me this long to get up the courage. I can't tell you how very sorry I am that you have gone through this and wish I could do something to help.
Let me start by saying that I have known your mother since 1964. We met when we were both taking college courses before high school graduation. We were both English majors with similar backgrounds and became very good friends. We took many classes together and were actually roommates during our last semester in the summer of 1967. During those 4 years, I was lucky enough to spend countless weekends with her wonderful family in LaBelle. They welcomed me and made me part of the family. Jimmy was the little brother that I never had. Your sweet and talented grandmother even made my wedding dress during the same time that she was making all of the dresses for your mother's wedding. Your grandfather was so much like my own father---they had the same interests and were in the same line of work---I loved talking to him.
Your mother and I stayed in touch for several years after graduation. We even got together in Kirksville a couple of times when we were all there together at the same time. She even brought you and your sister (possibly both of your sisters, I don't remember) over to my in-laws to play with my 2 little girls.
As it turns out, my husband also knew your father very well. They both grew up in the same part of town and went through school together. It was because of my husband's work on a high school alumni web site that we learned of the exhumation and thus this thread.
I came to know Denny because he was also in many of my classes. Your mother, father, and I spent lots of time together the year they were engaged---especially the summer of 1967. I was also fortunate to meet his parents.
There's so much more to the story, but I won't bore you with any more right now. I just want to say that I am following this almost daily because I feel so connected to it and feel so much empathy for you. I have felt so many emotions over this---I can't imagine how you have dealt with it all of these years. As well as I knew your mother, I find myself believing every word of what you have written---and hoping that she gets the help she needs before it happens again. You all are in my prayers.
Let me start by saying that I have known your mother since 1964. We met when we were both taking college courses before high school graduation. We were both English majors with similar backgrounds and became very good friends. We took many classes together and were actually roommates during our last semester in the summer of 1967. During those 4 years, I was lucky enough to spend countless weekends with her wonderful family in LaBelle. They welcomed me and made me part of the family. Jimmy was the little brother that I never had. Your sweet and talented grandmother even made my wedding dress during the same time that she was making all of the dresses for your mother's wedding. Your grandfather was so much like my own father---they had the same interests and were in the same line of work---I loved talking to him.
Your mother and I stayed in touch for several years after graduation. We even got together in Kirksville a couple of times when we were all there together at the same time. She even brought you and your sister (possibly both of your sisters, I don't remember) over to my in-laws to play with my 2 little girls.
As it turns out, my husband also knew your father very well. They both grew up in the same part of town and went through school together. It was because of my husband's work on a high school alumni web site that we learned of the exhumation and thus this thread.
I came to know Denny because he was also in many of my classes. Your mother, father, and I spent lots of time together the year they were engaged---especially the summer of 1967. I was also fortunate to meet his parents.
There's so much more to the story, but I won't bore you with any more right now. I just want to say that I am following this almost daily because I feel so connected to it and feel so much empathy for you. I have felt so many emotions over this---I can't imagine how you have dealt with it all of these years. As well as I knew your mother, I find myself believing every word of what you have written---and hoping that she gets the help she needs before it happens again. You all are in my prayers.
Belinda
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Lucky - For what it's worth, I think that if there is a chance that someone else could be hurt, you must continue to seek justice, no matter how difficult it is. That is just my opinion. I know it would be easier to just walk away and go on with your life, but you are right when you question who is next. And at the rate she has gone, there will be a next. It is the only thing that makes sense. Unless she has been frightened enough by the investigations to stop. But, I don't get the impression that she is. Someone, anyone has to put a stop to the illnesses and deaths.
Belinda- thank you for those words. I need to internalize that a little more. Too many thoughts on the subject to reply adequately, but you are right. Our responsibilities in life should include the welfare of others not just ourselves.
I love it that you knew how wonderful the Howard family was! Can you imagine losing all of those wonderful people within 18 months of each other? It was a tragedy. When I was thinking about getting married, I said I wanted to marry someone like my grandpa Howard- and I think I did just that. (lucky for me.) Navigating through life can be so confusing, and they gave me a solid vision of what I want for my family.
I am also more than intrigued that you knew my parents. I have never heard the perspective of anyone that knew my mother as a girl and young woman. I am so glad you found the strength to write something out here. You don't have to answer my question(s) but I have always wondered a few things. Probably the biggest questions I have are related to who she was, so that I can pinpoint when possible changes occured. (or- did she have the same core personality traits back then, and situations just pushed her to some of these actions.) Did she over-exaggerate stories a lot to the point of having a problem with the truth? Did she love to be the center of attention? My dad used to say that if he tied her hands behind her back she couldn't talk because when she told stories her arms would go everywhere to accentuate the importance and make things more dramatic. I just wondered if you had any insight to her relationship with honesty back then. Thank you so much! And remember- there are always two sides to a story- I am doing my best to find the truth from my perspective.
wow... you really posted it- thank you. I hope this helps in any way. I have a lot of little "side notes" to add to the conversation. I am having a hard time connecting to the actual recording, maybe it's just that my computer is being lazy this morning. I know that the interview took place the way it did for a few reasons.
1. The moment police asked her if she would discuss this, she said she would be happy to, then lawyered up so they couldn't talk to her. They were not able to get an interview, so Detective Nosack, (30 years as a homicide detective before this) just walked up to her door and asked if she would have a chat, and she was taken off guard I guess and said sure- come in. That is how the interview was achieved.
2. Detective Nosack said he trains police officers around the state on how to do interrogations. He said the first step is very low-key, just getting a base-line of how the person talks and thinks without any uncomfortable topics. The next phase is listening to their accounts of what happened, and the last phase is directly accusing them and seeing their reaction. (I probably got these stages all wrong, but basically it's an escalating pattern of some type.)
Detective Nosack said that at the end of the discussion, when he accused her of all of these things, she was just sitting back and smiling at him. He said she even laughed a few times- but she never got mad or stood up and said, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE" like you would think someone would do if you'd just accused them of killing so many people. He said that her comment at the end of, "I hope that you don't really think that I am a monster" was significant in some way also.
1. The moment police asked her if she would discuss this, she said she would be happy to, then lawyered up so they couldn't talk to her. They were not able to get an interview, so Detective Nosack, (30 years as a homicide detective before this) just walked up to her door and asked if she would have a chat, and she was taken off guard I guess and said sure- come in. That is how the interview was achieved.
2. Detective Nosack said he trains police officers around the state on how to do interrogations. He said the first step is very low-key, just getting a base-line of how the person talks and thinks without any uncomfortable topics. The next phase is listening to their accounts of what happened, and the last phase is directly accusing them and seeing their reaction. (I probably got these stages all wrong, but basically it's an escalating pattern of some type.)
Detective Nosack said that at the end of the discussion, when he accused her of all of these things, she was just sitting back and smiling at him. He said she even laughed a few times- but she never got mad or stood up and said, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE" like you would think someone would do if you'd just accused them of killing so many people. He said that her comment at the end of, "I hope that you don't really think that I am a monster" was significant in some way also.
The morning that my father passed away, the story is so altered that it isn't even recognizable. She claims she went out looking for his body- it is well known that she did not. She claims he came out on the porch where my grandmother and she were drinking lemonade and said, "I don't really want to do this" and she said, "you don't really have to do this" and he said, "yes I do" and left. None of that ever happened from what I was told over the years. I was always told he got up so early that everyone else in the house was still asleep, and left. I am not sure what all of the added story is about now other than to set him up for suicidal thoughts in some way.
It is interesting the entire section where she is talking about how much I resented her working, and that she was the only mother of all my friends that worked. That is so unusual because we lived in Missouri! We were poor- and all of my friends mother's worked, every single one of them. I almost felt like she was saying how she felt about working during that section than how I felt about it.
It is interesting the entire section where she is talking about how much I resented her working, and that she was the only mother of all my friends that worked. That is so unusual because we lived in Missouri! We were poor- and all of my friends mother's worked, every single one of them. I almost felt like she was saying how she felt about working during that section than how I felt about it.