OH OH - Roberta 'Bobby' Snider, 70, Hartville, 4 Jan 2018 *Guilty*

[JazzTune]

Holy smokes!

Can we talk about him wrapping her in plastic? When did he purchase the plastic?

This is all so bizarre. She didn’t look to be a tiny woman, so how did he wrangle wrapping her in plastic and tossing her off a bridge? He’s an older gentleman. Then again my FIL is 75 and still skis several times a year and just hiked all the way up and down Angels Landing, so there are exceptions.


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My thoughts exactly. How did he manage to wrap her in plastic? When and where did he purchase it? Are there plastic trash bags that large? Wouldn't they easily tear with weight and movement?

Also, as you say, how did he manage to get her tossed over the bridge?
She didn't appear to be light and petite.

Had to be a considerable risk for him to be seen even if it was during the early hours. Traffic is always unpredictable.

( Hard to explain too your car pulled over on a bridge while you're wrangling a body over the railing! )

Yet, the Ohio police seem to be totally on board with his new version of events.

From the link it states: "...Hartsville, Ohio police said they believe Snider's statements are true..."

Which tells me they believe these are lucid and valid statements from him.

Wonder why? What has convinced them?

( As always, I could easily be wrong. Might even be misunderstanding their words...)


JMO

 

[Deleted member 158085]

My thoughts exactly. How did he manage to wrap her in plastic? When and where did he purchase it? Are there plastic trash bags that large? Wouldn't they easily tear with weight and movement?

Also, as you say, how did he manage to get her tossed over the bridge?
She didn't appear to be light and petite.

Had to be a considerable risk for him to be seen even if it was during the early hours. Traffic is always unpredictable.

( Hard to explain too your car pulled over on a bridge while you're wrangling a body over the railing! )

Yet, the Ohio police seem to be totally on board with his new version of events.

From the link it states: "...Hartsville, Ohio police said they believe Snider's statements are true..."

Which tells me they believe these are lucid and valid statements from him.

Wonder why? What has convinced them?

( As always, I could easily be wrong. Might even be misunderstanding their words...)


JMO

There are bags that big. They are large, super heavy black trash bags available at lowes and places like that. Might even be available at super Walmart. We have them in our garage to put oversized stuff like old insulation rolls in. You can fit an entire straw bale in them, with room left over. They are almost impossible to tear accidentally.

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[JanetElaine]

At this point I believe Ohio LE are just smoking him out. Pretending to believe his every word. Just my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

At this point I believe Ohio LE are just smoking him out. Pretending to believe his every word. Just my opinion.

That, or they have a lot more information than we do that leads them to believe this, which is possible. I realize my soft spot for old folks, particularly those with dementia, may be the cause of me staying on the fence with this one, so I will probably mostly just lurk in this thread.

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[JazzTune]

There are bags that big. They are large, super heavy black trash bags available at lowes and places like that. Might even be available at super Walmart. We have them in our garage to put oversized stuff like old insulation rolls in. You can fit an entire straw bale in them, with room left over. They are almost impossible to tear accidentally.

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Thanks, appreciate your explanation. Especially about the bags being durable and almost impossible to tear accidentally. That's an important fact, in my opinion.

Guess he could have purchased them along the way. Can't help but wonder though if he brought them with him when they left on their trip?

Hmmm... one answered question just brings up five more.

Hoping they find her soon. The family needs some measure of peace, and to be able to say their good-byes...

Thanks again...


JMO

 

[JazzTune]

At this point I believe Ohio LE are just smoking him out. Pretending to believe his every word. Just my opinion.

Thanks for your thoughts. I sort of wonder about that too. But I keep hitting brick walls in my mind. ( One part of me always wants to believe the best of everyone! )

If LE is playing cat and mouse, what do you think is going on? I'd love to hear your theories if you want to share them..

Don't mean to put you on the spot though. Feel free to pass if you wish...


JMO

ETA: So sorry, I need to keep in mind that her husband has not been named by LE in any way, so he is a victim too. Please don't worry about replying if you feel your answers might be questioning that status.

My mistake...

 

[oceanblueeyes]

This is one of the strangest stories but I don't think LE is being crafty and trying to trick this old man when they say they believe him. For some reason unknown to us LE is believing his story even if they are changing.

Do they think he has dementia and the stories are changing because they know dementia patients can easily be confused? What story they may tell one day may be the total opposite the next day.

I was the caregiver for my father for 7 years when he suffered from dementia before passing away. They can tell some wild tales and they believe what they are saying at the time even if other people know it is not true. You can ask them the same question and get totally different answers on the same subject all depending on their memory or lack of each time. They often jumble up facts to make one story taking memories from long ago and distorting it in the present.

It would depend on his level of dementia whether he would be able to travel back home I would think. Many have dementia that haven't been diagnosed. They are able to go places they have consistently gone in the past. Had he taken Bobby to Graceland before this? The memory seems to still be there. It is their short term memory that causes them cognitive problems.

Maybe he had already thought if she passed away along the way he needed to either have her cremated or wrap her body in plastic and throw her into the water. Neither are logical ideas whatsoever but dementia patients do not posses thought processes many times that is like those who do not have it. To him it may have seemed reasonable but to everyone else it seems bizarre because it is to anyone not affected by these issues.

At the end we had to put my father in a convalescent care home since he was sun-downing so often and would leave his home. But one time he was able to walk away from even them and he had walked over a mile before the police finally located him. We were out looking too. He was walking in the correct direction that would have led back to his home even though it was still miles away. He told the police he was going to see my mom since she must be sick and that had to be the reason she hadn't been to see him. My mom had died 9 years before then. Their reality is simply not our reality but it is as real to them as ours is.

I just don't want to believe this man killed his wife after being married 53 years. Of course I know it can, and does happen, but for now I remain hopeful since the police do seem to believe him and they are the ones who have been talking with him. At least LE is continuing to speak with him and he is speaking with them.

His story may change even again. I just hope and pray LE can find Bobby and bring her home where she should be.

IMO

 

[jade32]

http://www.wbbjtv.com/2018/01/19/man-claims-dumped-wife-tennessee-river-investigators-search-body/

Getting stranger...

Now her husband is saying that after she died of cancer on the way down, he wrapped her body in plastic.

On the way back home, he claims he dumped her body in the Tennessee River off Interstate 40. ​

More at the link...

Oh my gosh. So far for the dementia huh. Really curious how this will end.

But the obit gives me the creeps. How can there be a cremation without a body?

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[mistivon]

Right off the bat, i suspected intentional foul play. But when someone said theyd been married for 53 years and by all appearances, they doted on each other, I thought i must be wrong. Now I'm right back on the fence. Surely, if he killed her deliberately, he would have a story of carjacking or kidnapping or something. Unless he has Sam Woodward brain or is intentionally playing the dementia angle.
I dont know anymore. I'm really leaning towards intentional tho sorry.
Theyve had money troubles, right? But he would need a body for any life insurance payout.
All so very strange. Wonder what his demeanor is

 

[JazzTune]

This is one of the strangest stories but I don't think LE is being crafty and trying to trick this old man when they say they believe him. For some reason unknown to us LE is believing his story even if they are changing.

Do they think he has dementia and the stories are changing because they know dementia patients can easily be confused? What story they may tell one day may be the total opposite the next day.

I was the caregiver for my father for 7 years when he suffered from dementia before passing away. They can tell some wild tales and they believe what they are saying at the time even if other people know it is not true. You can ask them the same question and get totally different answers on the same subject all depending on their memory or lack of each time. They often jumble up facts to make one story taking memories from long ago and distorting it in the present.

It would depend on his level of dementia whether he would be able to travel back home I would think. Many have dementia that haven't been diagnosed. They are able to go places they have consistently gone in the past. Had he taken Bobby to Graceland before this? The memory seems to still be there. It is their short term memory that causes them cognitive problems.

Maybe he had already thought if she passed away along the way he needed to either have her cremated or wrap her body in plastic and throw her into the water. Neither are logical ideas whatsoever but dementia patients do not posses thought processes many times that is like those who do not have it. To him it may have seemed reasonable but to everyone else it seems bizarre because it is to anyone not affected by these issues.

At the end we had to put my father in a convalescent care home since he was sun-downing so often and would leave his home. But one time he was able to walk away from even them and he had walked over a mile before the police finally located him. We were out looking too. He was walking in the correct direction that would have led back to his home even though it was still miles away. He told the police he was going to see my mom since she must be sick and that had to be the reason she hadn't been to see him. My mom had died 9 years before then. Their reality is simply not our reality but it is as real to them as ours is.

I just don't want to believe this man killed his wife after being married 53 years. Of course I know it can, and does happen, but for now I remain hopeful since the police do seem to believe him and they are the ones who have been talking with him. At least LE is continuing to speak with him and he is speaking with them.

His story may change even again. I just hope and pray LE can find Bobby and bring her home where she should be.

IMO

Well said! Very eloquent post!! Thank you Oceanblueeyes, for sharing your experience with your father. That had to be so difficult for you to watch him deteriorate. ( Heartbreaking story about him walking away to find your mother...)

You certainly were observant though, and have stated many truths about dementia.

I'm remaining hopeful too that this will end up being more of a tragedy than a criminal investigation.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts so beautifully...

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Thanks, appreciate your explanation. Especially about the bags being durable and almost impossible to tear accidentally. That's an important fact, in my opinion.

Guess he could have purchased them along the way. Can't help but wonder though if he brought them with him when they left on their trip?

Hmmm... one answered question just brings up five more.

Hoping they find her soon. The family needs some measure of peace, and to be able to say their good-byes...

Thanks again...


JMO

He really could have easily gotten those. People use them not only for construction trash, but yard waste.

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[always reading]

I really don't want to believe this was intentional, but I'm giving him a serious side eye right now.

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[Deleted member 158085]

This is one of the strangest stories but I don't think LE is being crafty and trying to trick this old man when they say they believe him. For some reason unknown to us LE is believing his story even if they are changing.

Do they think he has dementia and the stories are changing because they know dementia patients can easily be confused? What story they may tell one day may be the total opposite the next day.

I was the caregiver for my father for 7 years when he suffered from dementia before passing away. They can tell some wild tales and they believe what they are saying at the time even if other people know it is not true. You can ask them the same question and get totally different answers on the same subject all depending on their memory or lack of each time. They often jumble up facts to make one story taking memories from long ago and distorting it in the present.

It would depend on his level of dementia whether he would be able to travel back home I would think. Many have dementia that haven't been diagnosed. They are able to go places they have consistently gone in the past. Had he taken Bobby to Graceland before this? The memory seems to still be there. It is their short term memory that causes them cognitive problems.

Maybe he had already thought if she passed away along the way he needed to either have her cremated or wrap her body in plastic and throw her into the water. Neither are logical ideas whatsoever but dementia patients do not posses thought processes many times that is like those who do not have it. To him it may have seemed reasonable but to everyone else it seems bizarre because it is to anyone not affected by these issues.

At the end we had to put my father in a convalescent care home since he was sun-downing so often and would leave his home. But one time he was able to walk away from even them and he had walked over a mile before the police finally located him. We were out looking too. He was walking in the correct direction that would have led back to his home even though it was still miles away. He told the police he was going to see my mom since she must be sick and that had to be the reason she hadn't been to see him. My mom had died 9 years before then. Their reality is simply not our reality but it is as real to them as ours is.

I just don't want to believe this man killed his wife after being married 53 years. Of course I know it can, and does happen, but for now I remain hopeful since the police do seem to believe him and they are the ones who have been talking with him. At least LE is continuing to speak with him and he is speaking with them.

His story may change even again. I just hope and pray LE can find Bobby and bring her home where she should be.

IMO

This is what my heart says, and I hope it's correct. Thank you for voicing this opinion.

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[JazzTune]

My mother-in-law lived with us for three years prior to passing. She had dementia/alzheimer's. She did all sorts of impulsive and inappropriate things that she would NEVER have done prior to the onset of her disease. Sometimes she remembered them and sometimes she didn't. Sometimes she would remember them weeks or even months later with only a couple of details missing or wrong. Other times she never remembered. I'm not saying that I believe that Roberta's husband is like that. I'm just saying if he truly has dementia then I've seen it work this way. They have good days and bad days. Lack of sleep, a change in routine or a change in the environment can trigger a bad day.

If he truly has dementia I don't understand why he is still allowed to drive.....

For the record the whole ambulance story never rang true for me. Sadly, tossing her off a bridge feels right. Poor Roberta.

From experience (both my mother and my mother-in-law passed away in our home under hospice care) I know that when someone passes the contents of the bladder are released and often the bowels as well. So, if she passed in their vehicle, perhaps this would explain the need for a car wash?

For her sake I hope that she died a natural death and that her husband didn't know what else to do with her body. However, I have some serious doubts.....

I don't mean to be hogging the thread, but I wanted to thank you for your really good explanation of living with a person with dementia. How their thought processes work, or rather - don't work.

It had to be so hard for you, and I am in awe of that type of daily courage. Getting up and putting one foot in front of the other when that person you're taking care of is not going to ever get better.

You say you took care of your mother too under hospice care as well. That was a good point about loss of bowel and bladder control at the time of death.

That could be the reason her husband was looking for a car wash.

Hard to know at this time just how much cognition her husband had at that time. Whether he is suffering from dementia or not.

I'm on the fence too...

Thanks again...


JMO

 

[JanetElaine]

That, or they have a lot more information than we do that leads them to believe this, which is possible. I realize my soft spot for old folks, particularly those with dementia, may be the cause of me staying on the fence with this one, so I will probably mostly just lurk in this thread.

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Nah, keep talking of course. I just wanted to bring the possibility forward that he could be a cold blooded killer. If we're going to figure out where Bobby could be, we have to look at it as if both that and dementia, and any of the other scenarios mentioned are all possible. The cold blooded killer option didn't even seem to get addressed beyond a side-mention. I'm on the fence myself, I can't say if he has dementia or not because I don't know the gentleman... but with everything that keeps coming out, I do admit I kind of slide off the fence to 'cold blooded' more and more. It's okay, we don't have to agree, as long as we stay polite.

 

[JanetElaine]

JazzTune, I don't have any hard and fast theories. Just from what I've read, I'm of the opinion he very well could have intentionally disappeared Bobby. I do end up on the fence again because I do know dementia and have experienced it close by as well, and some things I guess could be explained by that. Others, IMO, not. It's just my opinion, that's all. Based on 'gut feelings' only, so, basically worth what you paid for it. Picture me on a fence and bouncing off it in 'intentional' territory and staying there a bit, then hopping back on the fence and so on... What makes me super sad is that there's really no way this will have a good outcome for Bobby and that just sucks

 

[Philigumbo]

Maybe I missed it, but when was Bobbie last seen alive by someone besides her husband?

 

[Steelslady]

There are bags that big. They are large, super heavy black trash bags available at lowes and places like that. Might even be available at super Walmart. We have them in our garage to put oversized stuff like old insulation rolls in. You can fit an entire straw bale in them, with room left over. They are almost impossible to tear accidentally.

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This is why I argue that dementia can't be responsible for this. I know all too well about their stories being jumbled up. Mixing the past and the present up. Living in the past. Some even talk about people that don't exist in their lives. They confuse family members with one another- for instance, my uncle thought my sister was my mother (they look nothing alike) or my grandmother said my mother had only two kids, my brother and I, and insisted that my sister wasn't my mother's daughter. It is brutal to be a witness to, to watch a family member lose a piece of their life forever.

This recent story, just seems unlikely to me, for a dementia patient. The buying the trash bags, placing her in it, throwing her in the river, having the mind to ask where the nearest car wash is, the credit card, leaving early the next morning to go home, the ambulance story. That sounds like quite a thought out story with vivid details. Many dementia patients do some bizarre things, absolutely, but all of that would take a bit of time to accomplish, to which many dementia people don't perform an activity for that length of time- I am thinking this took over place within the course of two days. Usually their minds don't last long on one topic or event for longer than a couple of hours. Does this make sense to anyone I hope? If he had simply said she died, he put her in a trash bag and dumped her in the river, I might consider it to be a part of dementia. But this took place over two days worth of time, plus he drove home for several hours.

I'm also curious about the obituary, and the claim that she was cremated. Where are her ashes, why did the brother of Bobby report her, but not the man's children? They didn't suspect anything was wrong when he came home without their mother and planned her funeral?

Edit to add- forgot to add, dementia patients tire easily. That's a lot of work for a dementia patient to do physically as well as to remember mentally. Not to mention, they seek their caregivers out when nervous or stressed out or they panic if they're out shopping or not in their line of vision. I can't imagine that he wouldn't be scared to pieces if his wife died and he was alone.

 

[Philigumbo]

This is why I argue that dementia can't be responsible for this. I know all too well about their stories being jumbled up. Mixing the past and the present up. Living in the past. Some even talk about people that don't exist in their lives. They confuse family members with one another- for instance, my uncle thought my sister was my mother (they look nothing alike) or my grandmother said my mother had only two kids, my brother and I, and insisted that my sister wasn't my mother's daughter. It is brutal to be a witness to, to watch a family member lose a piece of their life forever.

This recent story, just seems unlikely to me, for a dementia patient. The buying the trash bags, placing her in it, throwing her in the river, having the mind to ask where the nearest car wash is, the credit card, leaving early the next morning to go home, the ambulance story. That sounds like quite a thought out story with vivid details. Many dementia patients do some bizarre things, absolutely, but all of that would take a bit of time to accomplish, to which many dementia people don't perform an activity for that length of time- I am thinking this took over place within the course of two days. Usually their minds don't last long on one topic or event for longer than a couple of hours. Does this make sense to anyone I hope? If he had simply said she died, he put her in a trash bag and dumped her in the river, I might consider it to be a part of dementia. But this took place over two days worth of time, plus he drove home for several hours.

I'm also curious about the obituary, and the claim that she was cremated. Where are her ashes, why did the brother of Bobby report her, but not the man's children? They didn't suspect anything was wrong when he came home without their mother and planned her funeral?

Edit to add- forgot to add, dementia patients tire easily. That's a lot of work for a dementia patient to do physically as well as to remember mentally. Not to mention, they seek their caregivers out when nervous or stressed out or they panic if they're out shopping or not in their line of vision. I can't imagine that he wouldn't be scared to pieces if his wife died and he was alone.

^^^This^^^ and to add, I’m curious about their children, too. Also, based on her “last seen” date, when known, if she was cremated, I’d suspect her ashes are at Graceland. Which is most likely illegal.

 

[dms]

Just when I thought this couldn't get any crazier...

Philip could be suffering from some level of dementia AND have intentionally killed his wife, I suppose. Sheer speculation, of course. At this point it seems like just about anything is possible.