GUILTY PA - Dr. Melissa Ketunuti, 35, murdered in her Philly home, 21 Jan 2013

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Filly said:
bourne, you don't have to get "jumped" for someone to follow you in. There's a ton of people just roaming around CC looking to rob someone and in that area and those like it they look for women. This absolutely wouldn't be the first time some nut job just came up behind a person and waltzed in behind them while threatening them without beating them.

About two years ago there were waaaaaaay too many of these kind of crimes commited. That's even in one case with a doorman present.

It's the rope and tape though that throws me off. Where'd they get it? How long did it take to look for it? As far as the brutality there's crazy, nasty, mean people out there on those streets who will just set you afire for the he** of it.
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Yep, you got me thinking! :) She was likely carrying a lot of bags from shopping. Maybe they just shoved her inside and went in with her. Maybe they even asked if she needed help with her bags. I know oftentimes I get asked if I need help with my bags as I'm coming out of the mall or supermarkets. But then she likely would have become suspicious since she's already home. Why would she need help with bags then? lol

Re: rope & tape. I didn't hear about the tape. I have to review all the articles, the few that we have on this case. Was it masking tape? Hmm...

Sounds like this perp came prepared with tools/props to do her harm.

I do hear about crazy nuts out there that would kill if you look at them the wrong way. But the fact that this perp was willing to take the time and the risk of setting up the crime scene -- binding her hands and feet, strangling her with rope/belt and then setting her on fire (I wonder with what? gasoline?) -- and that it was such a coincidence that the dogwalker would just happen to walk in after she was immolated -- makes me think that this was not a random murder. I think it's likely this perp has been stalking her for a while.

I still see a jealous component to it, with the bindings. A lot of violence and power play there. IDK. Could be a man or woman.
 
Ausgirl said:
Eta: Oh - it didn't occur to me to connect that she was a doctor. Some crack head, demanding drugs and not getting them.. that's a robbery scenario that seems pretty plausible.

The level of insane rage would be about right.
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Good point Aus, and it doesn't even have to be they knew Melissa was a Doctor. Crack addicts want crack and or money. There's been plenty of crack addicts who have harmed people in horrific ways. They could be the world's kindest people when not on drugs, but fuel that high and indeed they'd tie you up in a minute.

This poor sweet woman may have been followed home by some creep sitting outside a Wawa or 7-11 or just roaming around looking for an easy prey.

Again I am usually wrong though.
 
Poor woman, just horrific.
Lets hope justice is done for Melissa!
 
bourne said:
Then why did they say in the video that they have surveillance videos that showed that no one followed her home? How would they know that if they only have videos of her running errands and not near her home? That's just crazy and illogical for the police to outright state that she was not followed home without having direct evidence showing her entering her home without someone behind her!
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If you (or I) get out of the house to go to the store, we will be on video somewhere-gas station, McDonalds, etc. That's the type of video they got. On the video they got, they don't see that anybody is following her.
That doesn't mean they got a video of her entering her home. There is no video camera there.
 
I can't believe her black pit-bull/Lab mix didn't even bark at her murderer(s)! Unless he was in a crate at the time, I can't imagine why her dog did not bark at intruders. This suggests that the murderer(s) are familiar with her dog.

"The dog was in the house unhurt, and neighbors have said they do not remember the animal barking around the time of the killing."


http://www.philly.com/philly/news/l...een_strangled_before_being_set_afire.html?c=r
 
That above article posted by boure says that she had been to a meeting in the hospital and then had run errands in her car. She could have been bringing bags in, left the door open to get more and the killer slipped in. The dog could have been in a create. Somehow in a short period of time the killer gets her in the basement (maybe chased her down there) and has her clothes off (except for the shirt) and tied up. Did he bring his own rope? Maybe planned for awhile and struck when her door was open.
 
Dog didn't bark and isn't hurt - she's naked, waist down - hogtied and burned - that tips me more toward a familiar perp presently, boyfriend/ex boyfriend/crazy stalker-killer/ etc.

He/she is inside when Melissa gets home, locks the dog in a room, attacks her once she's in.. My guess is, she was taken to the basement right away either knocked out, maybe weapon- or terror-subdued, it's more private down there, less sound carrying.

At the risk of sounding plain crazy, I once asked a family member (in the name of crime solving! I swear to god) to hogtie me while I struggled. It's pretty damned difficult. Impossible, really. So I know the perp subdued her already when that happened. She's bound with tape no less, which is tricky -- it sticks together a lot (yes we tried various bindings too) -- so I'm guessing she was well and truly not moving when that happened. Gun at her head, knife at throat, or knocked out.

Even a passive dog is likely to become aggressive if their person is mishandled. Large dog is locked up somewhere for sure, and as I said, probably before she got home.

In any case,the perp was still in a high rage by the time Melissa was tied, which takes time and effort. Maybe he raped her, maybe he couldn't get it up. Then he kills her.

This perp wanted to punish her even more after that, or was just crazy high on drugs. I am leaning toward 'punish'. This seems a little too organised for crazy high crackhead violence.

Those are just some thoughts, anyways.

I hope they get this monster, and the green needle would be far too kind.
 
"Police found Melissa Ketunuti, 35, a beloved doctor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Monday in the basement of her Graduate Hospital-area row house after her dog walker called 911. Her wrists and ankles were bound behind her back, and she was on fire, police said.

The pediatrician was fully clothed and there were no signs of sexual assault, sources said.

Investigators said she had been strangled with a rope around her neck, however they are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/pediatrici...unuti-found-hogtied-burning/story?id=18291248
 
Filly said:
You don't have to "jump" someone. We call that "bum rushed" and it happens way too often. I would think the Doctor was street smart enough to have her key ready, and paid attention. Then again she could have had more than one bag from shopping and had to mess with those so it's plausible.

My DD lived seriously close to there with roomies and I never stopped reminding her of the ley and make sure someone is home first or if you're first be in touch. There are lunatics out there.

I wonder if she had a cleaning person? We know she had a dog walker. How many people had that key?
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Hmm. "Bum rush" is what restaurant and shop owners do to get someone out of their shop that looks like a bum. If you're being hurried along in a rude way, that's called being given the "bum's rush" because they are trying to be rid of you because you're presence isn't good for business and you probably don't have much money to spend anyway.

But that's a total side point. The rest I agree with. ;D
 
I hope the dog will be checked for any drug in its system (needle pin-prick, knock out drug). If the victim was hogtied, then I agree she was subdued, maybe given a knockout drug of some kind. I'm feeling the perp worked with her or knew her and is a medic of some sort. A jealous person who flipped?
 
matou said:
I'm feeling the perp worked with her or knew her and is a medic of some sort. A jealous person who flipped?
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Matou, it's starting to look like that. Where did they find the rope and such? There'd have to be accelerant I would think.

Also, I wonder if they came and went through the back door?
 
JeannaT said:
Hmm. "Bum rush" is what restaurant and shop owners do to get someone out of their shop that looks like a bum. If you're being hurried along in a rude way, that's called being given the "bum's rush" because they are trying to be rid of you because you're presence isn't good for business and you probably don't have much money to spend anyway.

But that's a total side point. The rest I agree with. ;D
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Pull out a pack of ciggies in certain parts of this city you'll get bum rushed.

Pull out your change purse and you'll get bum rushed.

Unfortunately it's not a nice figure of speech, but from one who has been bum rushed way too many times I get it. It's a fierce force. You could definately be bum rushed while opening your door only from behind. I wish I was speaking of people being tossed from an eating establishment.
 
In a news conference Tuesday, homicide division Captain James Clark said that the woman's body was found clad only in a shirt, although he did not believe she had been sexually assaulted, according to the station.
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- from this report

I am taking a particular interest in this crime, not only because .. well, poor Melissa and her family... but it's similar to a death in a cold case I've been sleuthing - there might be clues here for the motives for hogtying and big time overkill in the absence of actual rape.
 
Filly, the above link says he was seen on cctv vid near her home.

Terrible.

What a beautiful life lost. She was in research too. Think of the secondary effects (and beyond) of pediatric cancer patients that could lose out on what she could have done in the field. (I am a childhood cancer survivor myself)
 
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