Theories

[rwesafe]

No more so than Nancy's murder, which was the most uncalled for of all. According to the autopsy, Nancy's death was in the range of the time she was last seen and went 'missing.' She was certainly dead no later than 8am (and the range will include before 7am).

It said it was consistent with the time she was reported to be missing....That opens up the time range significantly.

 

[rwesafe]

A lot of people seem to have focused on the keys, phone and necklace. It is possible that when NC left the house that morning, she had all of those items with her. If JA went over to the house, she could have easily brought back the keys, phone and necklace. This is just a thought, outside of the box with no facts to back it up, other than JA was at the house. Some have argued that BC could not get the sports bra off or on because it is difficult to do so, a man of his strength could have done so, a woman maybe not. Shirts, shorts, socks and shoes are easy to remove for anyone.

I think they verified from the 911 call, when BC stated that NC's phone was locked, that the phone was indeed at the house. But, the necklace could have been a plant, that is true.

 

[SleuthyGal]

A lot of people seem to have focused on the keys, phone and necklace. It is possible that when NC left the house that morning, she had all of those items with her. If JA went over to the house, she could have easily brought back the keys, phone and necklace. This is just a thought, outside of the box with no facts to back it up, other than JA was at the house. Some have argued that BC could not get the sports bra off or on because it is difficult to do so, a man of his strength could have done so, a woman maybe not. Shirts, shorts, socks and shoes are easy to remove for anyone.

No she didn't. Brad himself said Nancy did not have her keys or cell phone with her (nor her wallet or any ID or money). He told this to the detectives who responded to the missing person's report.

Also, JA was not inside the Cooper house on the morning or early afternoon of 7/12. She was waiting outside w/the police. Brad pulled up and he and the police went into the house. The police saw the keys on the front table and saw the cell phone inside the residence. Brad confirmed those items were Nancy's and she had not taken them with her when she left. Further, when HP talked to Brad around 10:30am, Brad said he didn't know Carey Clarke's number and HP said she didn't have it and suggested Brad look at Nancy's cell phone. Brad then said, "Oh that's a good idea! Oh, it's locked." (per affidavit and testimony in court on 10/16). So clearly the cell phone was in the house that morning.

Read the affidavit for probable cause--it's in the legal docs section. All those details and many more are right there in black & white.

 

[justthinking2008]

No she didn't. Brad himself said Nancy did not have her keys or cell phone with her (nor her wallet or any ID or money). He told this to the detectives who responded to the missing person's report.

Also, JA was not inside the Cooper house on the morning or early afternoon of 7/12. She was waiting outside w/the police. Brad pulled up and he and the police went into the house. The police saw the keys on the front table and saw the cell phone inside the residence. Brad confirmed those items were Nancy's and she had not taken them with her when she left. Further, when HP talked to Brad around 10:30am, Brad said he didn't know Carey Clarke's number and HP said she didn't have it and suggested Brad look at Nancy's cell phone. Brad then said, "Oh that's a good idea! Oh, it's locked." (per affidavit and testimony in court on 10/16). So clearly the cell phone was in the house that morning.

Read the affidavit for probable cause--it's in the legal docs section. All those details and many more are right there in black & white.

How long had they been there, did he say all morning, I do not recall reading that, I need to re-read

 

[SleuthyGal]

How long had they been there, did he say all morning, I do not recall reading that, I need to re-read

All day (from at least the time Nancy 'left to go jogging' between 6:30am and 7am until police saw the phone, keys & wallet around 3pm). And Nancy had her cell phone with her the night before (10:30pm phone call to her cell phone, which she answered).

 

[justthinking2008]

Sleuthygal,

You are very smart and comprehend well what you are reading in the legal docs. This case is going to have to be solved outside of what we are reading, if it were that simple BC would already be in jail. This puzzle is just not fitting as it is, if it did, the DA would have acted on it. I disagree with your comment regarding the DA waiting, DA's are quick to move with good strong evidence, as sensational as this case is, the DA wants someone charged ASAP. I have seen people arrested on less, the civil trail would have no bearing on the DA's decision to move or not move, if they were sure BC was the man, he would be behind bars while the civil trail was occurring, also he can question all civil witnesses.

 

[Maja]

Is it true BC told LE NC did not take her phone and/or keys when she left "for a run" that morning? If so, I believe in his deposition he stated he did not know what NC was wearing as he was upstairs with Katie and only "heard" NC say words to the effect (he couldn't remember the exact words) she was leaving for a run. All to say, how would he know whether or not she took those items with her when she left when he didn't even know what she had on?

 

[rwesafe]

Is it true BC told LE NC did not take her phone and/or keys when she left "for a run" that morning? If so, I believe in his deposition he stated he did not know what NC was wearing as he was upstairs with Katie and only "heard" NC say words to the effect (he couldn't remember the exact words) she was leaving for a run. All to say, how would he know whether or not she took those items with her when she left when he didn't even know what she had on?

Ummm, because they were all on the entry hall table where he could see them?

 

[Maja]

No she didn't. Brad himself said Nancy did not have her keys or cell phone with her (nor her wallet or any ID or money). He told this to the detectives who responded to the missing person's report.

Also, JA was not inside the Cooper house on the morning or early afternoon of 7/12. She was waiting outside w/the police. Brad pulled up and he and the police went into the house. The police saw the keys on the front table and saw the cell phone inside the residence. Brad confirmed those items were Nancy's and she had not taken them with her when she left. Further, when HP talked to Brad around 10:30am, Brad said he didn't know Carey Clarke's number and HP said she didn't have it and suggested Brad look at Nancy's cell phone. Brad then said, "Oh that's a good idea! Oh, it's locked." (per affidavit and testimony in court on 10/16). So clearly the cell phone was in the house that morning.

Read the affidavit for probable cause--it's in the legal docs section. All those details and many more are right there in black & white.

What items were in the front seat of the X5? I was of the impression it was her purse and cell phone...was I incorrect?

Additionally, it seems BC either noted on the morning of the 12th the phone is locked as he looked at it. How hard would it be for a guy with his technical savy to unlock that phone, use it to call himself, and lock it back up?

 

[justthinking2008]

Maja,

Exactly, what I was thinking, if he did not know what she was wearing would he have bothered to notice if the phone and keys were left behind. I also read the phone and keys were in the X5. You are right, if BC killed NC it would have been easy to call himself from her phone and lock it back up, another way he could have formed an alibi, if he needed to. As far as cleaning goes, who knows he may have been trying to help out so it would help him later on, or maybe he was trying to work with her. I think NC had the phone with her when she was killed, if not why was it locked? You lock an open face phone such as Blackberry when you put it in your pocket so as not to pocket page someone, it would have made sense for her to lock it before she went jogging, but to leave it laying around locked is strange. If the phone was in fact in the car, that is very telling.

 

[ncsu95]

Maja,

Exactly, what I was thinking, if he did not know what she was wearing would he have bothered to notice if the phone and keys were left behind. I also read the phone and keys were in the X5. You are right, if BC killed NC it would have been easy to call himself from her phone and lock it back up, another way he could have formed an alibi, if he needed to. As far as cleaning goes, who knows he may have been trying to help out so it would help him later on, or maybe he was trying to work with her. I think NC had the phone with her when she was killed, if not why was it locked? You lock an open face phone such as Blackberry when you put it in your pocket so as not to pocket page someone, it would have made sense for her to lock it before she went jogging, but to leave it laying around locked is strange. If the phone was in fact in the car, that is very telling.

It's not strange at all. She thought he was monitoring her phone calls, so she only used her cell. She locked it so that he could not access her text messages, etc.

And I don't think it would be easy to unlock the phone without the password.

 

[petra]

Maja,

Exactly, what I was thinking, if he did not know what she was wearing would he have bothered to notice if the phone and keys were left behind. I also read the phone and keys were in the X5. You are right, if BC killed NC it would have been easy to call himself from her phone and lock it back up, another way he could have formed an alibi, if he needed to. As far as cleaning goes, who knows he may have been trying to help out so it would help him later on, or maybe he was trying to work with her. I think NC had the phone with her when she was killed, if not why was it locked? You lock an open face phone such as Blackberry when you put it in your pocket so as not to pocket page someone, it would have made sense for her to lock it before she went jogging, but to leave it laying around locked is strange. If the phone was in fact in the car, that is very telling.

IIRC, NC locked her phone because of some possible personal info on there regarding the pending seperation, divorce, conversations and meetings with her attornies, personal email,etc. I believe this was in the affys from her friends/sister. That NC began locking her phone so BC could not read her personal info--since NC and others felt that BC may have been tapping into their home phone.

 

[piedmont]

If BC really did think NC was purposely staying out all Saturday morning to "punish" him, wouldn't he have realized she's unlikely to stay gone that long without having her cell phone with her? He would have known something's not right because she'd never be gone that long without her cell phone.

Her not having her cell phone does not fit her personality.

 

[momto3kids]

Below in blue I posted my theory on 7/21 with little knowledge of actual events since the affidavits had not been filed. I know some times are wrong such at painting time being 2pm, but I did this on what little information I had at that time.
After many of us were posting our theories, Nancyfriend posted some were very close, but never told any hint of who's.

After sitting in court all day Thursday I feel pretty sure the painting @ JA was an issue, a big issue between NC & BC. JA was questioned by Sandlin about Saturday's painting plans. If NC didn't want to, 'rock the boat' and paint the next day (Wedn) with JA, but it was OK to do it on the 12th? JA calendar didn't have it posted for Sat., who was expected to watch the kids, BC had tennis plans, etc.

I still believe the motive was money. There was fighting on Friday over money, but the painting might be what broke the camels back that night. Hearing it in court made it more realistic, making the painting date come to light more so.

Small amount of red in her stomach per autopsy..wine? We also found out since I posted this she had talked back to him in front of others.

This combination could be exactly what I have felt from the beginning, murder.

So my theory is this....IMO Brad is involved. He blew when she came in Friday nite. She finally stood up to him with her new found energy and encouragement from her family. He was not prepared for this at all.
He was already furious because of the call he received at home when Adam's called looking for NC, casually mentioned painting Sat. Brad didn't know about the painting and realized he had the girls Friday nite, Sat morning and now Sat afternoon. This would encroach on his time and plans! Nancy had a glass of wine at the party, said some things that angered him further, triggering a physical reaction.

My reason behind this is...what friend needs to call at 10:30pm to confirm painting for 2pm the next day? One that has concern because of a certain tone, or a statement said when she called earlier that evening. She tossed it around to tell NC or not, and decided to call Nancy so she could be prepared for an angry Brad. This call was not about a flight out of RDU at 6am which would warrant the call. Nancy is an early riser and this friend had to know she could confirm painting early Sat morning.
I feel Adam's is the link to all this, especially because of her call to NC and to the police.

 

[jmflu]

1) A theory is a theory. Can I go with the owl theory? I don't think that would be well-received. And JA as any sort of perp is not well-recieved because there are no search warrants, no affidavits, no anything that point to her whatsoever. CPD is not going to ignore a possible suspect just to frame Brad.
2) JA would not commit murder and then turn around and report it after taking all that time to go hide the body. This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. If someone put her body there, it was to give as much time as possible before she is found so that evidence is less likely to be discovered. She did it to put the focus on BC, you say? She could have let time elapse and THEN pointed the finger at BC.
3) Why do we put things on our calendars? So we won't forget about them and schedule something else. What need is there to put something on the calendar that is arranged less than 24 hours prior to the time you plan to do it?

Unless you are BC, you are not likely to forget it.

 

[rwesafe]

1) A theory is a theory. Can I go with the owl theory? I don't think that would be well-received. And JA as any sort of perp is not well-recieved because there are no search warrants, no affidavits, no anything that point to her whatsoever. CPD is not going to ignore a possible suspect just to frame Brad.
2) JA would not commit murder and then turn around and report it after taking all that time to go hide the body. This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. If someone put her body there, it was to give as much time as possible before she is found so that evidence is less likely to be discovered. She did it to put the focus on BC, you say? She could have let time elapse and THEN pointed the finger at BC.
3) Why do we put things on our calendars? So we won't forget about them and schedule something else. What need is there to put something on the calendar that is arranged less than 24 hours prior to the time you plan to do it?

Unless you are BC, you are not likely to forget it.

1) A theory is a theory. Can I go with the owl theory? I don't think that would be well-received. And JA as any sort of perp is not well-recieved because there are no search warrants, no affidavits, no anything that point to her whatsoever. CPD is not going to ignore a possible suspect just to frame Brad.

Not enough defensive wounds to go with the owl story. People do all kinds of strange things when they are in a panic. There are no other SW at this time....

2) JA would not commit murder and then turn around and report it after taking all that time to go hide the body. This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. If someone put her body there, it was to give as much time as possible before she is found so that evidence is less likely to be discovered. She did it to put the focus on BC, you say? She could have let time elapse and THEN pointed the finger at BC.

You are not JA so you don't really know what she may or may not have done.Or are you JA?

 

[chauncey7381]

One of my theories has been she was attacked by two, given the condition of her body when found. I think she was restrained by one while another strangled her.

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3776692/

Assaults can happen in daylight. A witness reported seeing Nancy run, and a phone call was made from Nancys cell phone to Brads and it was locked.

It will be interesting to get more details about this assault posted above. The woman is lucky to be alive.

 

[justthinking2008]

rwesafe,

You have hit on one of my hot buttons, why is it that some can emphatically say that BC did this or BC did that, yet when someone merely suggests another theory they are attacked for having a different thought and told directly they are wrong to even assume anyone other than BC may have murdered NC. It is possible, I thought this forum was for all theories on what may have happened, not just ways BC could have done it. Remember none of us knows for sure who did it, bouncing ideas around is what gets your mind thinking about other ideas.

 

[Anderson]

1) 2) JA would not commit murder and then turn around and report it after taking all that time to go hide the body. This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. If someone put her body there, it was to give as much time as possible before she is found so that evidence is less likely to be discovered. She did it to put the focus on BC, you say? She could have let time elapse and THEN pointed the finger at BC.

You are not JA so you don't really know what she may or may not have done.Or are you JA?

It makes absolutely no sense to even suggest that JA did this. I am sure that SWs would have been filed, if there were any reason to think so. I think that the investigators should be given that much credit.

What did JA do? Well she drew attention to the fact that NC was missing much sooner that Brad did. And he is was the husband. For some reason that seems to upset some people.

Why do people focus on her? You got me. An overactive imagination? LE has clearly not focused on her as a person of interest. There is no probable cause affidavit. No SWs. Nothing. The Brett thing is just pure speculation and clearly JA and NC would have cleared up any misunderstanding of who was sending texts to NC.

What do I think of JA? I hope that I have a few friends around that would act in my best interest, as JA did for NC.

Am I or is JMFLU JA? Really silly question. JA has had to pass on all web chat posts to BCs lawyers, so she is not likely to be posting on websleuths on a regular basis. Perhaps Brad's supporters that wrote affidavits should have to do the same.

I don't know how anyone can go to such lengths to try to prove that Brad didn't do it (which I can respect and understand perfectly BTW, even if I do not agree with it), based on the need for strong evidence, and can then turn around and blindly accuse JA. I don't understand this at all. There is no evidence or motive. JA is not being investigated. JA only helped a close friend, who she clearly misses very much.

As far as I can tell, the only thing that JA did was cast a light on BC and that appears to have made a few people unhappy. There is clearly no evidence that she had anything to do with the murder.

 

[jmflu]

1) A theory is a theory. Can I go with the owl theory? I don't think that would be well-received. And JA as any sort of perp is not well-recieved because there are no search warrants, no affidavits, no anything that point to her whatsoever. CPD is not going to ignore a possible suspect just to frame Brad.

Not enough defensive wounds to go with the owl story. People do all kinds of strange things when they are in a panic. There are no other SW at this time....

2) JA would not commit murder and then turn around and report it after taking all that time to go hide the body. This isn't a game of hide-and-seek. If someone put her body there, it was to give as much time as possible before she is found so that evidence is less likely to be discovered. She did it to put the focus on BC, you say? She could have let time elapse and THEN pointed the finger at BC.

You are not JA so you don't really know what she may or may not have done.Or are you JA?

Is that all you got for me??