VA VA - Scott Ratigan, 24, found murdered in apartment, Arlington, 17 Jan 2020

[JnRyan]

What are your thoughts on Scott's case these days? Your post makes me think Scott may not have planned this visit; that it was a ruse.

If Scott was tricked into opening the door, even though the crime seems personal, maybe it's something else instead. Nothing was taken so it wasn't a burglary gone wrong. Well, we don't know if anything was taken because the Police won't tell us anything.

FEB 20, 2024
A grim anniversary quietly passed last month: four years since the still-unsolved murder of Scott Ratigan. < >

A year later, police released video and images of a “person of interest” in the case. The person had their face covered as they walked down Ballston sidewalks

Four years after unsolved Ballston murder, no new details from police | ARLnow.com

I guess I'm wondering why this person is a POI when we, the public have only been shown video of the person on the street entering and/or leaving the building. Is there footage of him in the building? Does his timing of this coincide with the time of death? That really isn't enough if LE can't place at the crime scene, only in the building. If he was there for a reason completely unrelated to Scott and the killer was someone already in the building he is a dead end. Like you, I'm wondering if LE doesn't have something else that makes them suspicious of this guy. Video inside the building? And, yes, I definitely believe it was personal.

 

[DeDee]

I guess I'm wondering why this person is a POI when we, the public have only been shown video of the person on the street entering and/or leaving the building. Is there footage of him in the building? Does his timing of this coincide with the time of death? That really isn't enough if LE can't place at the crime scene, only in the building. If he was there for a reason completely unrelated to Scott and the killer was someone already in the building he is a dead end. Like you, I'm wondering if LE doesn't have something else that makes them suspicious of this guy. Video inside the building? And, yes, I definitely believe it was personal.

Thank you for the swift reply. At this point in time > looks at calendar to see it's been 4 years < I cannot consider the possible suspect to be a dead end. Perhaps Scott's watch, if he wore one, tracked his heartbeats and steps so police know TOD. Maybe it coincides with the person on CCTV arriving and leaving. Perhaps a neighbor reported hearing noises during the timeframe when the attack occurred.

So unfair that Scott's life at 24yo was only just beginning. Could it be the police didn't release the video sooner because they had a few leads? Leads that maybe didn't pan out well? Were those interviewed truthful and honest? The killer was inside the building almost 2 hours, right? So, police wait a year on the video but we know little about Scott Ratigan's fatal wounds.

Allow me to throw a curveball. The Friday when Scott did not go to work, he and his roommate expected visitors for the long weekend. The three of them found Scott around 5ish that early evening. Shock and awe! Which forces the next question. Did the killer know this successful gentleman was due to have companions for the weekend?

Spoiler: Possible Causes of Injuries

Bleeding from the mouth, nose and ears with chest trauma indicate a lung injury from a traumatic puncture, perhaps?

• Traumatic Bleeding:
  • Injuries: Trauma to the head or face, such as gunshot wounds, stab or puncture wounds, cuts, or abrasions, can lead to bleeding from these areas1.
  • Blunt Force Trauma: Impact with an object can cause bleeding from the mouth, nose, or ears.

 

[arielilane]

Now for something a detective (Detective Perspective) recently brought up on their podcast:

-- Killer’s “pigeon toe" gait: Specifically there is something going on with his right leg - could be as police described pigeon toe but it’s more with the right leg which appears that yes, maybe a medical condition — an injury that occurred during the assault …. But what if he was killed (how SR was killed remains unknown) with a blunt force object like a bat. Could this individual slid that bat down in his pants as he was fleeing the scene ?

-- White sneakers bottoms: Nike freeze (hope I understood that correctly) - Det. recognized the shoes as Nike because of owning a pair.

-- Backpack: possibly a Molly backpack - and the backpack has a big white patch on the back of the backpack which could be North Face or Colombia


moo

 

[chaddylex]

I just heard of this case from a podcast I follow.
My son went to Marymount University in Arlington for a year (2021-2022, he transferred because he changed his major) When we went to visit him we would stay in Ballston and go to dinner there.
He will graduate from college in December and is hoping to get a job in the DC Area with hopes to live in the Ballston area. This kind of scares me. (I know this can happen anywhere but will still be in the back of my mind.)

I hope the family get answers. This is so sad to me.

 

[fridaybaker]

I just heard of this case from a podcast I follow.
My son went to Marymount University in Arlington for a year (2021-2022, he transferred because he changed his major) When we went to visit him we would stay in Ballston and go to dinner there.
He will graduate from college in December and is hoping to get a job in the DC Area with hopes to live in the Ballston area. This kind of scares me. (I know this can happen anywhere but will still be in the back of my mind.)

I hope the family get answers. This is so sad to me.

I don't think you should worry. It seems like this wasn't a random murder, but someone who knew him. MOO.

 

[DeDee]

I just heard of this case from a podcast I follow.
My son went to Marymount University in Arlington for a year (2021-2022, he transferred because he changed his major) When we went to visit him we would stay in Ballston and go to dinner there.
He will graduate from college in December and is hoping to get a job in the DC Area with hopes to live in the Ballston area. This kind of scares me. (I know this can happen anywhere but will still be in the back of my mind.)

I hope the family get answers. This is so sad to me.

Quick look reveals it may have been a Keys to the Case podcast.

Regarding the gait of the killer, I'm reminded of the movie The Usual Suspects with KevinSpacey. At the end,

Spoiler

the cop realized Keyser Söze's crippled walk was faked all along

. People will go to great lengths to get away with murder.

LE knows whether or not the bleach came from inside the apartment or if the killer brought it with him to the CS.


May your son realize his dream job and soon begin a successful career while residing in Ballston.

 

[chaddylex]

Quick look reveals it may have been a Keys to the Case podcast.

Regarding the gait of the killer, I'm reminded of the movie The Usual Suspects with KevinSpacey. At the end,

Spoiler

the cop realized Keyser Söze's crippled walk was faked all along

. People will go to great lengths to get away with murder.

LE knows whether or not the bleach came from inside the apartment or if the killer brought it with him to the CS.


May your son realize his dream job and soon begin a successful career while residing in Ballston.

The Podcast I listened to this morning was called Unresolved. The episode was just released yesterday.

I agree with you about the bleach. I just think they aren't saying too much about the case and are keeping it under wraps.

I sent him the podcast and told him to listen to it. Surprisingly he never heard of the case. He spent a lot of time in Ballston and would take the Metro from there a lot to go into DC or to catch the train home. (poor kid couldn't have a car at Marymount as a Freshman)

 

[landfall867]

Was it ever figured out how the POI got into his apartment? Have we looked into his employer? Any reason to believe he was a possible whistleblower for the company he worked for?

I haven’t researched this case too much yet, but my immediate suspicions fall on the employer, or that he had information about something that someone in a position of power did not want to get out to the public for whatever reason.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Was it ever figured out how the POI got into his apartment?

No I don’t believe so, at least not as far as the public knows.

According to the Daily Voice, the POI appears to have been let in but unknown if willingly by Scott or under duress (Murder Of Arlington's Scott Ratigan Piques Interests On Reddit)

So in other words, it doesn’t appear to have been a forced/broken entry (according to this article.)

 

[Betty P]

Was it ever figured out how the POI got into his apartment? Have we looked into his employer? Any reason to believe he was a possible whistleblower for the company he worked for?

I haven’t researched this case too much yet, but my immediate suspicions fall on the employer, or that he had information about something that someone in a position of power did not want to get out to the public for whatever reason.

Also important is that the killer knew he would be home alone at that time, on that day. They had to be familiar with his schedule or were following him.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Was it ever figured out how the POI got into his apartment? Have we looked into his employer? Any reason to believe he was a possible whistleblower for the company he worked for?

I haven’t researched this case too much yet, but my immediate suspicions fall on the employer, or that he had information about something that someone in a position of power did not want to get out to the public for whatever reason.

My only problem with the employer/whistleblower angle is that historically in those situations the person has died under circumstances of either an apparent accident, suicide, or natural causes (all in quotations). Outright murder wouldn’t be impossible but they usually are more covert than that.

That’s not to say it wasn’t work related I just don’t know if it was a hit by someone in power per se, but again anything is possible.

Was anything taken from Scott’s apartment that we know of? Trying to find info on that but some details of this case are kind of hard to locate

 

[landfall867]

No I don’t believe so, at least not as far as the public knows.

According to the Daily Voice, the POI appears to have been let in but unknown if willingly by Scott or under duress (Murder Of Arlington's Scott Ratigan Piques Interests On Reddit)

So in other words, it doesn’t appear to have been a forced/broken entry (according to this article.)

Thanks.

Konica Minolta, his employer, was involved in a whistleblower case in August 2020, about 7 months after his murder.

Konica Minolta settles electronic health records whistleblower case for $500,000 | Phillips & Cohen

NEWARK, NJ, Aug. 27, 2020 – Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas has agreed to pay $500,000 to the federal government to settle a whistleblower case filed by Phillips & Cohen LLP that alleged an electronic health records company it acquired had cheated on certification tests to hide safety and...

www.phillipsandcohen.com

Was it possible he had information relating to this case that the employer did not want to get out? Without much to go on, I think the employer needs to be scrutinized more.

This was a highly targeted, professional contract killing. Someone with a lot of money wanted him dead. There are only a few reasons why this might be, one of which is because he had damaging information.

 

[landfall867]

Thanks.

Konica Minolta, his employer, was involved in a whistleblower case in August 2020, about 7 months after his murder.

Konica Minolta settles electronic health records whistleblower case for $500,000 | Phillips & Cohen

NEWARK, NJ, Aug. 27, 2020 – Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas has agreed to pay $500,000 to the federal government to settle a whistleblower case filed by Phillips & Cohen LLP that alleged an electronic health records company it acquired had cheated on certification tests to hide safety and...

www.phillipsandcohen.com

Was it possible he had information relating to this case that the employer did not want to get out? Without much to go on, I think the employer needs to be scrutinized more.

This was a highly targeted, professional contract killing. Someone with a lot of money wanted him dead. There are only a few reasons why this might be, one of which is because he had damaging information.

There’s another incident where Konica Minolta filed a lawsuit alleging “a widespread conspiracy involving several former employees and a key competitor, Coretelligent LLC.”
Edit: Forgot the link.

Konica Minolta Files Lawsuit Alleging Massive Talent Raid and Stolen Trade Secrets | Actionable Intelligence

Konica Minolta Business Solution U.S.A. (KMBS) has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court alleging a widespread conspiracy involving several former employees and a key competitor, Coretelligent LLC.

www.action-intell.com

 

[MesquiteO21]

No I don’t believe so, at least not as far as the public knows.

According to the Daily Voice, the POI appears to have been let in but unknown if willingly by Scott or under duress (Murder Of Arlington's Scott Ratigan Piques Interests On Reddit)

So in other words, it doesn’t appear to have been a forced/broken entry (according to this article.)

I wonder if the apartment management kept records of when residents buzzed non-residents in? It’s possible the POI “tailgated” a resident and slipped in after them so in that case any possible data from the intercom system would be irrelevant and useless. But would be interesting to know if there’s any indication that Scott buzzed a person into the building at around 10:30am-ish (or even if another resident did).

 

[lonewanderer]

This case has some similarities with a much lesser discussed disguised person case, Aliza Sherman. Her murderer is also caught on CCTV, in all black and is speculated on being a man or woman.

I have seen Liz Barazza's case mentioned (I do not believe her killer was wearing a disguise) and Missy Bevers', too.

 

[lonewanderer]

Where the Sherman and Bevers cases involve potential disguises like Scotts, I could not help but think more about a different case. A case about a woman found murdered in her bed. Anita Knutson was found murdered in her bed in 2007.

After being away at college, her family became concerned for her and after not being able to get in contact with her, her father went to check on her. She had been stabbed in her chest as she lay in bed. The case had a few suspicious characters, such as a maintenance man, construction workers, and a male friend that acted a heck of a lot like Stephen McDaniel, crying and being weird at the crime scene etc.

There was a knife found cleaned in the sink, and the case went unsolved until 2022. Her female college roommate seemed to have a very solid alibi, and with all the aforementioned suspects being much more suspicious, she was ultimately charged and arrested for the murder in 2022. Arrest made in 2007 murder of Anita Knutson in Minot, North Dakota

 

[lonewanderer]

In addition to Anita's case, I am also reminded of Shelby Thornburgh. Shelby put an ad on Craigslist for adult services. An unidentified man met her in a hotel room and was caught on CCTV. He managed to go to her room and make an EXRTREMELY messy gorey scene in the room and leave wearing the exact same clothing without a drop on him. I have attached the images.

He is seen coming and going. He remains unidentified.

It makes me wonder if Scott's killer came to Scott's door dressed differently than what we see on the footage (be it if they were invited or were not invited). To be sure Scott would be suspicious of someone dressed that way, even if they were not wearing the mask, right? Would most of us expect our guests to have a backpack with them?

 

[lonewanderer]

I do have one really odd theory I can't quite get seem to get down on paper in my mind.

What if the killer lived in the building all along? I think this could be quite clever. Intentionally have yourself seen on camera dressed that way walking towards the building. Possibly change into something else at your apartment. Talk your way into Scott's apartment, because he knows you. Carry out the crime. Possibly return to your apartment to clean up and dispose of some evidence and change back into the getup. Intentionally be seen running away from the scene. Ditch the gear you are seen running in and change into the attire in the backpack. Walk back home the opposite direction wearing completely separate attire with your face being shown in full.

It is extremely likely that this is what happened, but its just an idea. It could explain why it was so easy for the perp to gain entry unnoticed or why no one reported anything suspicious that day. Has anyone reported "Yea I remember seeing that all black outfit with the backpack"? or anything similar?

 

[lonewanderer]

I do have one really odd theory I can't quite get seem to get down on paper in my mind.

What if the killer lived in the building all along? I think this could be quite clever. Intentionally have yourself seen on camera dressed that way walking towards the building. Possibly change into something else at your apartment. Talk your way into Scott's apartment, because he knows you. Carry out the crime. Possibly return to your apartment to clean up and dispose of some evidence and change back into the getup. Intentionally be seen running away from the scene. Ditch the gear you are seen running in and change into the attire in the backpack. Walk back home the opposite direction wearing completely separate attire with your face being shown in full.

It is extremely likely that this is what happened, but its just an idea. It could explain why it was so easy for the perp to gain entry unnoticed or why no one reported anything suspicious that day. Has anyone reported "Yea I remember seeing that all black outfit with the backpack"? or anything similar?

UNlikely* sorry, couldn't figure out how to edit it.

 

[MesquiteO21]

There is no way the Police don't know who this is, they're looking for evidence to corroborate.

This is definitely what I’m leaning towards too