On the other hand....
While I'm a strict Occam's Razorist and tend mentally to treat proposed crime-case solutions as being like bets with odds, the safer the better, thus deciding smart money should, as I wrote above, be placed squarely on the probability that this case is a simple OD and that is that, I do admit there is, about this case, another path that law enforcement has thus far seemingly, and perhaps purposefully, left unpursued, so far at least neither attempting to bring further charges (aside from the Class E non-violent felony beef against Rashem Cotman -- with consequences possibility as light as no-jail-time probation) nor, at least judging by the dearth of coverage in local media, choosing to seek out and interview other possible (or probable) witnesses in the aftermath of a case in which a vibrant 21-year-old woman died after consuming what, for her, was a fatal dosage of heroin.
Now, along this path -- this road possibly not taken, as it were -- one encounters certain questions, viz.:
* Where'd the heroin come from?
* Did Halle Schmidt purchase it, or was she given it, gratis? What was the nature of the transaction?
* Who had access to the drug beforehand? Has a chain of evidence even been attempted?
* Who (if anyone) was with Halle Schmidt when she consumed the drug?
* Where did this consumption take place -- in a room? a vehicle? another location?
* Whose room? whose vehicle? what other location?
* Was the party at Joslen Motor Lodge a large affair? a private one?
* Has everyone identified as having been there, been interviewed by law enforcement?
* If not, who has not?
* Did anyone at the party drop from sight immediately after Halle Schmidt went missing, but before her body was discovered?
* If so, who is that person (or are those persons)?
* Who provided the information that Halle Schmidt's body could be found in an off-road location near Kinderhook?
* Is it more likely that, in spite of what media reported, this person was Molly Arnett, local to the area, or Rashem Cotman, from the city?
* What is the likelihood that Molly Arnett was unaware at the time that she was by her presence in the vehicle assisting in concealing a corpse?
* Why is Molly Arnett not facing charges? Is it because of her family's standing in the area?
* Is Rashem Cotman being investigated further?
* Why are the charges currently facing Rashem Cotman of such a relatively minor nature? Is he being protected? If so, why?
* Have Halle Schmidt's family's concerns been heard and taken seriously? Have they been interviewed after current case pronouncements?
* Were there bruises or other signs of struggle present on the body?
* Will a full autopsy, including toxicology findings, be released?
And in addition please see also tobefrank's earlier and excellent list of questions at
#151 above.
Are there other questions or concerns? What might we be missing? A variant reading of this case might well find cause for murder or like charges to be perhaps fileable against one or, certainly, possibly against two, or even more, individuals.
.
.
