NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #10

[walkingdeadgirl]

I have always thought that what ever decision Maura made before she emailed her profs about a "death in the family" was a quick one, and not particularly well thought out. I think sometimes we spend too much time discussing the "logic" of her doing that. People who are emotionally distraught are not necessarily thinking logically. I have also often wondered if people who take off with the intent to run away forever are 100% final in their decision before they leave. I mean, we hear about people who actually did it, but how many more people leave for a night or a weekend or a week and then change their minds and come back home? I am betting it is a lot. One of the reasons cops do not take cases like Maura as seriously as they probably should is because they know that this happens all the time. People get sick of their lives and take a mini break.

I have one theory that Maura had a wavering intention that Monday. She was between taking off for a few days and leaving for good. Then the second car crash happened. Now, she would have potentially new criminal charges and she was going to have to explain the whole thing to her father (who was already pissed at her). I think the second crash sealed it for Maura. Now she was going to disappear forever.

I agree with your theory. I think one possibility for all of the emotional stress and running was that she was pregnant. a week is about enough time to have the pregnancy terminated, recover, and return to school if she wanted to. if she wanted to keep it, disappearing forever may seem like her only option, since the baby may not be her boyfriend's, and she would think that the situation would be a giant disappointment to her family (except for Fred, I think he knew some of it), perhaps one she just couldn't face. I think she hadn't made up her mind until the time of the second crash...then she made it on the spot. and I think it's possible she had the money with her that Fred claimed was for a car. I have yet to find where that money went (you would think it would have gone back into his account).

 

[walkingdeadgirl]

insulting and humiliating - are perfect for summing up how that feels!

this is totally off topic, but just to give some contrasting perspective to KTgirl's explanation follow up...

when i was in college, my mother died a week before finals in my first semester of college. most of my professors were understanding but one was terrible... she made it clear that she believed i was simply trying to get out of taking her final (it was unclear if she did not believe my "story" or if she simply didn't think it should affect my ability to take a multiple choice exam). i was so shattered by the events of the previous week, and still so young, that i couldn't begin to know how to handle dealing with her and almost took an F in the course as a result. luckily i had an amazing uncle who came to bat for me and i have no idea what he said to her but she became slightly more human afterward. she also mentioned she would need to see an obituary when i attempted to make up my final and, seriously, the thought of having to carry that around and share that piece of my mother's life with someone who had been so cruel to me was sickening. my uncle put the kabash on that and informed her he would mail it to her when he could. i have no idea if he ever did, but i did at least get to take my final.

all this is to say that yes,some college kids are irresponsible a-holes, but some are going through some major stuff and it's sad that sometime faculty can make it even harder. sounds like you aren't like my professor was KTgirl, so i applaud you for that, but as a working grief counselor who lived what some of your students are experiencing, that policy just gives me major heartache.

also FWIW, at many papers obits are not free, and some people cannot pay for them. other people do not wish to publish them, and still others are just not equipped to handle such a task at the time of a loss. i know no one in my immediate family was. if my uncle hadn't taken it upon himself to handle the obit, there absolutely wouldn't have been one to show.

that is truly horrible.

 

[scoops]

I see. thanks for the clarification.

So here is a question - if she did search for something or have something on that hard drive that would indicate she was leaving by her own choice, would the police be obligated to share that information with the family? (I'm curious about the scenario, I don't necessarily think that happened here.) It seems at that point, with no crime being committed, they would be functioning as private detectives instead of LE if they were to pass on that information.

Being that Maura is an adult, police (as I understand it) would keep Maura's new location a secret, if that is what she wanted, but they would not keep family in the dark about whether or not Maura is alive or not.

Police have been very consistent over the years about a couple of points.

1. There are no signs of a crime taking place concerning Maura's disappearance
2. They have no clue what happened to Maura.

IMO, what police are holding back, concerning information from the family equals out to more fodder for Fred to use to show that they (police) should've done a whole lot more in the first 48 hours that Maura went missing.

 

[Tssiemer]

Something has always bothered me, why dump the wine if you were going to run?

 

[Fireweed]

I have thought about that. Here is my theory: Maura had just been in a car accident. Ever been in car accident? It is scary. You are shaking and your adrenaline is sky high. I think Maura got out of the car, saw that her car was in the other lane, that the airbag had deployed etc. She gets out of the car (which is still running at this point), sees a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. She is freaking out. She has been drinking, and has been in another wreck. She is thinking she might be able to drive the car anyway, she just needs to get out of there before anyone sees, but the exhaust! It smells and it is thick and obvious. The harsh application of the brakes made whatever exhaust issues she was having even worse. She thinks fast and stuffs a rag up there to make it less obvious. Then she remembers that she has booze - lots of booze - in her car. She dumps the open container she has been drinking out of and chucks the container under her car. Then she swiftly gathers up as much alcohol she can and stuffs into her backpack so that at least it is not immediately visible. Then comes Atwood. Now she is really freaked out. Someone has seen her and it is only a matter of time before the cops comes, plus she now more clearly sees the damage. There is wine all over the car and there is no way to clean it up in time. Also, the car has finally died. Nowhere to drive to and there is no way she is going to get a DUI, so she runs. She grabs the backpack with the booze, and whatever else she can quickly grab, and she takes off jogging in the direction she was going - east.

 

[bravesjunkie706]

I believe she had a married bf. something went wrong, maybe she was in fact pregnant and told him. Sadly, we most likely will never know.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bravesjunkie706]

Ever read some of these posts and shake your head in agreeing? Every time I read Fireweeds comments, I'm in total agreement!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[walkingdeadgirl]

Ever read some of these posts and shake your head in agreeing? Every time I read Fireweeds comments, I'm in total agreement!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes, I was even agreeing out loud, to a passing cat. Fireweed really nailed the feeling of the accident, IMHO.

 

[Tssiemer]

This case frustrates me.

 

[Simply Caustic]

It's possible she could've used a computer lab at school and had a secret cell phone and had a cooked up fake ID and carried on an on-going clandestine conversation with some "special friend" for months and secretly stashed clothes (probably going to need those, considering she barely took any of her own) at a location in New Hampshire she rendezvous upped to retrieve on the night she went missing.

But again we are talking about a 21 year old college student who got busted buying pizzas with someone's credit card number.

Jane Bond, she just doesn't appear to be to me (IMO).

I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes her (mildly? ) criminal proclivities seem to get brushed under the rug and I'm glad you brought this up.
Does it make Maura a bad person? Absolutely not.
Yet it does suggest, to me, that Maura was troubled.
Coupled with the little other facts we have...the spiraling problems she was going through...
I can't help but think she perished in the woods, running from yet another mistake, drinking and driving.

She was no criminal mastermind. She was a troubled young lady. I wish she'd have the chance to grow out of it, because she oozed potential



Sent from my KFTHWI

 

[bravesjunkie706]

Frustrates me too. As with so many other cases, bodies are EVENTUALLY found, or at least some parts. I understand that decomp and wild life are always a factor, but there should be something (anything) to indicate she was stranded and walked in to the mountains or even down the road and met her demise. The rag in the tailpipe suggests it was there as a ploy to lead LE in the wrong direction. I believe she was traveling with a married man, she broke down and he picked her up. More than likely he wasn't going to be "outed" by her and she met with foul play. She had so much potential and just didn't get the chance to realize that life is full of ups and downs and we just get thru it daily. This case baffles me. I watch everything I can on it but it seems like there's tons of additional knowledge on here if folks will take the time to read!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Fireweed]

If Maura is out in those woods, and she got there on foot, then there are only so many places she could be. I am trying to picture how far someone could get in the dark through the forest. 10 miles? Are we thinking that if she died out in the woods that it happened that night? Did she trip and fall or did she died of exposure? I suppose no matter how she died she could have only made it so far. I have no experience in searches, but I would put a dot every 500 hundred feet going both east and west on 112, for 10 miles in each direction (though I believe that going west it might end before that), then with the dot at the center I would draw a 20 mile diameter circle. I think that would give a pretty reasonable search area. Then bust out the cadaver dogs. I wonder how much the Mccann case cadaver dog costs? Rent out that sucker for a month.

I know that will never happen, but it seems like a thorough search of an area where Maura could have died that night is not entirely impracticable. We are talking about 10 miles on either side of a 15 mile stretch of road. I understand that is still a big area, but it could be managed.

 

[Mom24]

I haven't read through all the threads on this case, but has it ever been confirmed that Maura was the person BA talked to that night in the car? I've always wondered if it was truly Maura or someone who had taken the car to ditch it. I know they have Maura on video surveillance at a liquor store she stopped at earlier , but I've always wondered if Maura was abducted at some point and maybe it wasn't Maura driving the car.

 

[bravesjunkie706]

I never thought about it not being her that BA was on the phone with, I think it was only a short "sigh" on the voicemail correct? We do know one thing, the bus driver has a time line of when he put eyes on her and says she was alone. Assuming he is being honest and is credible, the assumption is that his contact with her was the last anyone had. This one bothers me bc no matter what, SOMEONE knows SOMETHING!!!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Sunrisenow]

Missing UMass student's father wants FBI's help

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/24710349/sunday-marked-10-year-anniversary-of-murrays-disappearance

 

[Tssiemer]

I never thought about it not being her that BA was on the phone with, I think it was only a short "sigh" on the voicemail correct? We do know one thing, the bus driver has a time line of when he put eyes on her and says she was alone. Assuming he is being honest and is credible, the assumption is that his contact with her was the last anyone had. This one bothers me bc no matter what, SOMEONE knows SOMETHING!!!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think it was said that it was the Red Cross or someone calling him for a donation.

 

[Tssiemer]

Has anyone ever looked at other missing people from the area around the same time?

 

[Lolacat]

Maybe she wasn't just going to sit in the mountains and drink. Maybe she was working out a difficult choice, and based on that choice, would either return after the week was up, or never return, so she packed her dorm room just in case. then the accident happened, and everything changed.

Of course, that is a possibility. Anything is a possibility really. However, based on Maura's actions prior to her disappearance, she doesnt appear to have a history of thinking things through over time. On the contrary, all of her decisions prior to her disappearing appear to show high levels of impulsivity. One thing I learned in psych is that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. People usually exhibit patterns of behaviour that they repeat over and over again. This is just my own opinion though and I could be completely wrong. Its just a gut feeling really. I feel like Maura's life was spinning out of control and I dont feel like any of the decisions she made were well thought out or well considered ones. Again, JMO.

 

[bravesjunkie706]

I think it was said that it was the Red Cross or someone calling him for a donation.

I'd never that, interesting!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Coffeelover]

For whatever reason she may have been planning on dropping out, withdrawing, transferring. It was still early enough in the semester that she could do this without receiving a Fail or Incomplete. Her father was coming down the following weekend. She may have gone away to the mountains for a few days to chill before having to tell him that she was leaving school. Perhaps she felt that it was pointless to go to class knowing that she wasn't going to continue?