Rita,
iirc, you said the screen door was shut but the heavy front door was ajar/open. Also, could you clarify when her phone rang that night and wasn't answered?? Also, when you got there, what lights were on in the house? For example, was the kitchen light on? How about the light by her computer? Was a light on in her bedroom (ie, did she go in there to change clothes, etc?) Did she normally shut lights out if she left a room? I am just wondering all of these things because the lights left on could give you some thoughts as to how long she had been home before she was attacked/
when she was interrupted in her routine.... (ie, if someone did sight her in town and follow her home I would think the attack would have taken place sometime soon after she arrived home). Did she have any bags from her shopping trip earlier that day that were sitting on the counter? Also, have tapes been pulled from stores she had been shopping in that day to see if the red truck showed up in any of them??? It is also a possibility that she was followed home from her shopping trip (where was she shopping/what town???)
Another thought.... as per the friends she was shopping with earlier that day... do they have any people connected to them (husband, boyfriend, etc) that could have taken out their angst on your mom? Just thinking out loud here... for example, a friend going thru a divorce or something of that sort... confides in your mom, and the person takes it out on your mom to get back at her friend in a personal way... again just trying to think of all possible angles. For some reason this could make one heck of a bunch of sense as a possibility. Especially if the perp knew that your mom already went thru a divorce and got the long end of the stick... perhaps the perp could have resented that/knew it could happen to him and it pissed him off to no end. Again, just a thought... and I have no way of knowing if that could even remotely be a possibility....
So far we have a wonderful, beautiful woman at the best time of her life... with a new home, her family, her donkey and doggie, all of her friends and church... Having a great time working.. A pilar of the community of Horton... and this happens to her! How could this happen? Who would do this???
1) her ex husband
2) friend/lover of ex husband
3) person one of her friends could have confided to her about (theory of mine)
4) stranger
5) person jealous of her (could actually fit 1-3 as well concurrently)
The only way a stranger did this... is if she was followed home from shopping/town.
If ex husband et al were involved it would involve planning, following/knowing her routine for that day, and massive alibi formation (does ex hubby HAVE an alibi? How about the other woman? If they have intricate, cover~all~the~bases alibis I personally would be very concerned!).
Ex hubby/spurned boyfriend/other person related to a friend could have followed them on their shopping trip and followed her home from the shopping trip that day. It would have been a person she would have known to open the door to... perhaps thinking she could "talk" to this person as in intermediary for her friend.... again.. this is just speculation on my part/thinking out loud.
This HAD to be someone that knew her in some way.. It has all the earmarks of a "rage" crime. If this were some serial killer or stranger they would have left her at home. This was someone who took her away for some reason. Why??? Why take her away? She had all of that land with far off neighbors? Why take her away? When I ask myself this I think back to the phrase that people don't
in their own sandbox. So Horton was the sandbox.. and he took her away from there to confront her/etc. Thinking along these lines would any of the possible people I listed above (minus stranger) have a hunting cabin, tree stand in the woods, etc that headed away from town in the direction that the truck headed?
I would surely think that he/she had a destination in mind when they drove away from town that day... taking a very alive Pat that struggled and managed even get out of the truck as it drove off. There has to be yet another third crime scene in this case... at least. Where is it??????
So sorry for the long post... but the more we brainstorm... well if something makes sense or spurs a thought/possible connection... I hope it will be the thing that helps find Pat.
Come home soon Pat and know that we are here for your family no matter what!!!!!!!!
