MO MO - Melissa Peskey, 40, shot and killed, Boonville, 13 Dec 2018

[Hatfield]

It would also give other people a motive (such as a torqued off spouse of another guy). But like I said, I am only saying what makes more sense to me. I only offer it because, along with what I said in my prior post, I don't see how he would be given his children - he got his kids back on December 26th - if law enforcement believed that he was involved in some way. The total disregard for the children in the actual incident, where they easily could have been killed or seriously injured, would be something that couldn't be ignored even if law enforcement wasn't prepared to charge him. So, this has me thinking that it is very possible that whoever shot Melissa did so not knowing the kids were in the car. I believe her husband would have known they were with her.

Giving the children to him if they think he was involved would be reckless as the children would be in danger if they were around him considering what already played out. So that weighs heavily in how I am looking at this case.

JMO
All good points but as in the Kelsey Bereth case LE had to wait until official charges before they could remove the child from the father who is the alleged killer in that case. I am pretty sure LE suspected the father right from the start in the KB case but they had to let him keep the child until they could formally charge him and then remove the child into protective custody first and now the child is currently with the Mom of KB (grandmother on her side).

CO - Kelsey Berreth, 29, Woodland Park, Teller County, 22 Nov 2018 - #21 *ARREST*

So if we assume he is involved in this case then it points to not enough evidence yet to charge him and LE may be forced to leave the children with him for the time being.

 

[Hatfield]

JMO
The thing that I keep coming back to is how difficult it would be for him to track her down on the highway so far away from her home.

Somebody already mentioned that maybe she had her phone on and maybe there was a "find my phone" App or something that he had access too on his own phone to pinpoint her location real time.

If he used an App like that and drove all that way to catch up to her then I can imagine that he may have been full of rage by the time he caught up to her. Its conceivable that if he drove all that way and tracked her down then when he finally caught up to her he may have been so full of rage that he didnt care about his own kids at that point. Seems crazy but then again most all killers are a somewhat crazy bunch to be killing anyone in the first place.

Hoping LE can soon narrow this down to who harmed her.

 

[Laughing]

JMO
The thing that I keep coming back to is how difficult it would be for him to track her down on the highway so far away from her home.

Somebody already mentioned that maybe she had her phone on and maybe there was a "find my phone" App or something that he had access too on his own phone to pinpoint her location real time.

If he used an App like that and drove all that way to catch up to her then I can imagine that he may have been full of rage by the time he caught up to her. Its conceivable that if he drove all that way and tracked her down then when he finally caught up to her he may have been so full of rage that he didn't care about his own kids at that point. Seems crazy but then again most all killers are a somewhat crazy bunch to be killing anyone in the first place.

Hoping LE can soon narrow this down to who harmed her.

BBM

IIRC, in the military this level of concentration is referred to as Mission Focus and is important for a successful career...if he set Melissa's death as his mission, likely that is the only thing he was thinking about. Traffic, route, weather may have figured into the equation but if he blamed her, safety would have been difficult for her to achieve.

On the fence, I would really prefer the kids have a loving parent & a stable home, but a random shooter picked an intriguing victim if so.

 

[Jethro4WS]

JMO
All good points but as in the Kelsey Bereth case LE had to wait until official charges before they could remove the child from the father who is the alleged killer in that case. I am pretty sure LE suspected the father right from the start in the KB case but they had to let him keep the child until they could formally charge him and then remove the child into protective custody first and now the child is currently with the Mom of KB (grandmother on her side).

CO - Kelsey Berreth, 29, Woodland Park, Teller County, 22 Nov 2018 - #21 *ARREST*

So if we assume he is involved in this case then it points to not enough evidence yet to charge him and LE may be forced to leave the children with him for the time being.

I am quite familiar with Kelsey's case.

The big difference between these cases is that in this one it is known with certainty that the children were in the car at the time their mother was shot. It is very possible that she was shot while the vehicle was in motion or was forced off the road and then shot. In both scenarios the children were at direct risk of death or injury. It is one thing to know that someone might have killed a spouse/significant other and that there was absolutely no intent to kill anyone else like in Kelsey's case (and almost all cases like that one). It is quite another if someone killed a spouse/significant other while having complete reckless disregard for the safety of their own children e.g. couldn't care less if they were hurt or injured - which would be the situation if indeed Melissa's husband killed her.

 

[Hatfield]

I am quite familiar with Kelsey's case.

The big difference between these cases is that in this one it is known with certainty that the children were in the car at the time their mother was shot. It is very possible that she was shot while the vehicle was in motion or was forced off the road and then shot. In both scenarios the children were at direct risk of death or injury. It is one thing to know that someone might have killed a spouse/significant other and that there was absolutely no intent to kill anyone else like in Kelsey's case (and almost all cases like that one). It is quite another if someone killed a spouse/significant other while having complete reckless disregard for the safety of their own children e.g. couldn't care less if they were hurt or injured - which would be the situation if indeed Melissa's husband killed her.

Good point and that is a significant difference.

If LE thinks he was responsible then it seems an emergency order of protection could be granted at least temporarily to get the kids in a safe place. The question I would have though about that, is wouldn't there still need to be at least some evidence he is responsible in order for LE to get an emergency removal of the children? Maybe LE has not been able to acquire any evidence yet of him being the perp.

 

[zencompass]

...

I do think whomever she was going to see may have valuable information.

Since she quit her job she may not have had any intentions of returning. If she planned to start a new life wherever she was going there had to be a lot of communication between Melissa and whoever she was going to see. Quiting a very well paying job isn't something someone decides to do lightly. Imo

But I'm also a realist too and I know the police are also investigating who she was in close contact with during the year her husband was deployed.

That is only logical and is done in every homicide investigation. They will retrace her life going back months to find out who all she was with or even communicated with via cell phone or online.

But usually when a spouse is not there to welcome their military husband home it does often mean they have found someone else during the time their spouse was on a year long deployment.

Sadly it's one of the biggest problems facing military spouses/families where there are long deployment periods involved.

Of course none of us know if she had met someone but it's a very good possibilty.

However many military spouses do patiently wait for their spouse to return. It's a hard life though for those left behind and also for those who are on long deployments.

If there is another guy involved that gives her husband even more motive to do this. If he found out she had been taking the children around the other man while he is gone often the jilted spouse will seethe that someone else has replaced him as their father while he was gone.

The children are old enough to be able to tell the investigators if they were around another guy while their father was gone.

It's an uncomfortable subject but if true it does add to his motive if he is the one who did this.

Or could she have been planning a clean break and if there was another man he too may have been furious she was leaving him too. Ugh..it can get complex for if he exist it would give him a motive too.

OT: There was a recent case in Atlanta Georgia where an aspiring model was shot on her way to work when she was driving her vehicle.

Does anyone know if the police have found out who shot her and why? I lost track off that case and just wondered if they ever arrested who did it. TIA

JMO

Dear Oceanblueeyes,

I absolutely agree with your sentence I bolded (above).

The information from whomever Melissa was heading to visit will, I agree, inform this investigation. This person would be aware of current information in Melissa's life - if she shared it.

I believe that the authorities are aware of an abundance of information to lead them in one direction or another for answers.

Hopefully there will be a press conference soon.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

BBM

IIRC, in the military this level of concentration is referred to as Mission Focus and is important for a successful career...if he set Melissa's death as his mission, likely that is the only thing he was thinking about. Traffic, route, weather may have figured into the equation but if he blamed her, safety would have been difficult for her to achieve.

On the fence, I would really prefer the kids have a loving parent & a stable home, but a random shooter picked an intriguing victim if so.

Me too Laughing. Me too.

We have to remember every adult victim has things happening in their lives at the time they were murdered.

While it does seem like the husband would most likely be the usual suspect there have been cases where the victims had recently divorced or was estranged from their spouse at the time they were killed.

But when the suspect was finally arrested it wasn't an ex or estranged husband.

The last stats I read about spousal murders the percent of male spouses murdering their spouse had dropped to around 11 percent of all adult females who had been murdered.

Iirc around 3500 adult females are murdered each year. Male homicide victims per year are much much higher.

It use to be around 33 percent who were killed by their husband. That does leave 67 percent of them being murdered by someone other than their illegal spouse.

The drop from 33 to around 11 percent is probably due to many females now who are living with a partner instead of marrying them.

I do still believe there is a chance this was done by someone who saw a woman late at night driving alone with no other adults in the vehicle and just shot her because they are a sick and twisted individual.

It doesnt even have to be a road rage incident anymore. People are doing violent acts against others which have no rhyme or reasoning to them. They seem to act on their evil inner thoughts when they see vulnerability and the opportunity to do so.

Imo

 

[carbuff]

I do still believe there is a chance this was done by someone who saw a woman late at night driving alone with no other adults in the vehicle and just shot her because they are a sick and twisted individual.

After reading through this thread (thanks Margarita25 for dragging me in), I strongly lean toward this being the explanation.

 

[Doghairrules]

It would also give other people a motive (such as a torqued off spouse of another guy). But like I said, I am only saying what makes more sense to me. I only offer it because, along with what I said in my prior post, I don't see how he would be given his children - he got his kids back on December 26th - if law enforcement believed that he was involved in some way. The total disregard for the children in the actual incident, where they easily could have been killed or seriously injured, would be something that couldn't be ignored even if law enforcement wasn't prepared to charge him. So, this has me thinking that it is very possible that whoever shot Melissa did so not knowing the kids were in the car. I believe her husband would have known they were with her.

Giving the children to him if they think he was involved would be reckless as the children would be in danger if they were around him considering what already played out. So that weighs heavily in how I am looking at this case.

I agree. But that is certainly what happened in the josh Powell case. They were only able to take the kids from him when his father was found to be a pervert.

 

[hartly don]

It really surprises me that the children were not hurt during the crash. If they were asleep, I wonder if they were wearing seat belts? If multiple shots were fired at Melissa Peskey, they were at risk of being shot as well.

Melissa would NEVER drive without her kids being securely buckled in. -personal friend

 

[Hatfield]

Melissa would NEVER drive without her kids being securely buckled in. -personal friend

Thanks for joining and WELCOME to WS.

 

[LILMAMA78]

Welcome to WEBSLEUTHS Lilmama78. What interview are you asking about?

The interview with Melissa Peskey's friend.

 

[hartly don]

It would also give other people a motive (such as a torqued off spouse of another guy). But like I said, I am only saying what makes more sense to me. I only offer it because, along with what I said in my prior post, I don't see how he would be given his children - he got his kids back on December 26th - if law enforcement believed that he was involved in some way. The total disregard for the children in the actual incident, where they easily could have been killed or seriously injured, would be something that couldn't be ignored even if law enforcement wasn't prepared to charge him. So, this has me thinking that it is very possible that whoever shot Melissa did so not knowing the kids were in the car. I believe her husband would have known they were with her.

Giving the children to him if they think he was involved would be reckless as the children would be in danger if they were around him considering what already played out. So that weighs heavily in how I am looking at this case.

He got his kids back on Dec 19th. He went to court and the judge said no to his request for kids but then at a 2nd hearing the judge agreed to give him custody. I'm not sure if a judge would need clearance from police to give custody back to the father if he was still considered a POI or if the father was cleared before that.

 

[LILMAMA78]

Welcome to WEBSLEUTHS Lilmama78. What interview are you asking about?

The interview that took place with Meli

Welcome to WEBSLEUTHS Lilmama78. What interview are you asking about?

Sorry the interview that took place with Melissa Peskeys Friend.

 

[hartly don]

This is what is known around Hartford, SD. Melissa and her husband had been having problems for awhile. The divorce was put on hold when he went to Afghanistan, but was moving forward when he returned. He was there for 5 months, NOT a year as people has previously stated here. He still lived in the house even though Melissa had asked him to leave. Ryan is a jet mechanic in the military. That is his full time job. He is a massage therapist on the side. Melissas body was open casket at her memorial service and her funeral. There was no graveside service and no mention of where she would be buried. The majority of her relatives (mom, siblings) live in Iowa. Her family gets along with her husband. Her 2 kids meant the world to her! Her daughter was born 16 weeks premature and it is a miracle she survived. Her son also spent time in the NICU following his birth. Both children are now in counseling. Melissa loved her job as a real estate agent, and she was good at it. The fact that nothing has been updated in the news for so long is very frustrating to family and friends of hers!

 

[TootsieBell]

This is what is known around Hartford, SD. Melissa and her husband had been having problems for awhile. The divorce was put on hold when he went to Afghanistan, but was moving forward when he returned. He still lived in the house even though Melissa had asked him to leave. Ryan is a jet mechanic in the military. That is his full time job. He is a massage therapist on the side. Melissas body was open casket at her memorial service and her funeral. There was no graveside service and no mention of where she would be buried. The majority of her relatives (mom, siblings) live in Iowa. Her family gets along with her husband. Her 2 kids meant the world to her! Her daughter was born 16 weeks premature and it is a miracle she survived. Her son also spent time in the NICU following his birth. Both children are now in counseling. Melissa loved her job as a real estate agent, and she was good at it. The fact that nothing has been updated in the news for so long is very frustrating to family and friends of hers!

Thank you hartly don for the update and welcome. It is great to get the perspective from someone who knew Melissa. I apologize for the tragic loss of your friend.

So then it seems that her husband has been completely eliminated from being a POI? I hope LE is continuing to work on this case. I think a lot of people would really like an update from LE MOO!

 

[hartly don]

Thank you hartly don for the update and welcome. It is great to get the perspective from someone who knew Melissa. I apologize for the tragic loss of your friend.

So then it seems that her husband has been completely eliminated from being a POI? I hope LE is continuing to work on this case. I think a lot of people would really like an update from LE MOO!

I am not sure if her husband is still a POI or not. I do know that a lot of her family and friends will pester LE until they have some answers!

 

[NanZDrew]

Update was just posted but tells us nothing new.

Three weeks later, few details being released in Melissa Peskey's homicide case

 

[NanZDrew]

So, thinking really hard about all of this, it’s bad enough that Melissa is dead. Ya bad enough that her children are now motherless. Now on TOP of that I’m not finding any optimistic scenario as far as volatility/potential for future danger unless the husband is the perp and he is arrested. Otherwise, the only ther possibilities, it seems, are the following:

1. Random serial shooter which means he’ll do it again.

2. Random non serial shooter which means he could be hard to track (example road rage) and has a possibility to reoffend.

3. Non-road rage related random act such as thrill or drive by or intent to assault which also means it could be hard to track and there is the possibly to reoffend.

4. If it’s the husband but it can’t be proven then the kids are in danger.

What other scenarios exist here.

So logically, as hard as it is that the kids have to know their dad was the one, sadly this would be the least potentially volatile situation if it is proven and he is incarcerated. Otherwise it is implied imo that more people will be hurt one way or another because this would mean there are other hothead psychos active and free.

Actually I honk figured this out. The above is not true.

The best case scenario would be for it to be a random shooter, either serial or not, who is arrested before committing another crime. Thia way everyone is safe, especially the kids, and they can grow up with a nonviolent dad.

Do we have a confirmed source yet that was abusive, she was officially taking the kids and fleeing, all that stuff, other than the GH (now pulled) video.

—

Here is another thought. IF it’s a random shooter he might not necessarily stick to the freeway al though it is likely (the linked shootings of John Jacoby and Cori Romero we’re different settings, one was the highway (Cori), and John’s wasn’t. Also for note is the fact that Cori was in a car vs John was riding a bike.

I would add to those scenarios one more...hitman.

It would be risky for father to do this due to his children recognizing him. Also pictures of their home looked nice so most likely cameras would record him leaving and returning home.

 

[Jethro4WS]

Me too Laughing. Me too.

We have to remember every adult victim has things happening in their lives at the time they were murdered.

While it does seem like the husband would most likely be the usual suspect there have been cases where the victims had recently divorced or was estranged from their spouse at the time they were killed.

But when the suspect was finally arrested it wasn't an ex or estranged husband.

The last stats I read about spousal murders the percent of male spouses murdering their spouse had dropped to around 11 percent of all adult females who had been murdered.

Iirc around 3500 adult females are murdered each year. Male homicide victims per year are much much higher.

It use to be around 33 percent who were killed by their husband. That does leave 67 percent of them being murdered by someone other than their illegal spouse.

The drop from 33 to around 11 percent is probably due to many females now who are living with a partner instead of marrying them.

I do still believe there is a chance this was done by someone who saw a woman late at night driving alone with no other adults in the vehicle and just shot her because they are a sick and twisted individual.

It doesnt even have to be a road rage incident anymore. People are doing violent acts against others which have no rhyme or reasoning to them. They seem to act on their evil inner thoughts when they see vulnerability and the opportunity to do so.

Imo

Yeah, most of the time it is the husband or significant other, or an ex. I am currently working 4 cases (among others) where it is almost certain that it is the other guy involved that likely killed a woman that was currently married at the time. Those would be Holly Cantrell, McAlister, OK; Denita Hedden, Royal Lakes, IL; Samantha Sperry, Murray, KY; and Baylee Despot, Bakersfield, CA. The danger for three out of four of these women came from the men they were involved with having dangerous criminal backgrounds. None of these cases have charges filed.

Denita was involved with a guy that her husband learned about after her and the other guy were ejected from a DUI wreck. He had over 120 court cases in his background including felonies and it is almost certain that she would have to testify against this guy and he was facing up to 12 years in jail which it appears he wanted to avoid. One year from start to killed.

Samantha got involved with a guy she grew up with but this guy was into methamphetamine sales and his uncle that was also involved in her disappearance was involved in drugs as well as a stolen vehicle ring. Four months from start to killed.

Baylee got involved with a guy and ended up in a physical domestic involving a gun and she moved onto another guy who was involved in manufacturing illegal firearms - almost certainly modifying weapons from semi-automatic to automatic. She disappeared 32 days after James Kulstad was found shot to death and 16 days after Micah Holsonbake disappeared and they just found the forearm of one of his arms so it is clear he was dismembered. Along with Baylee, these three make up the Bakersfield 3 and they all knew each other and are connected to the same individual that Baylee was involved with. About ten months from start to killed.

Holly is the exception to this. What got her into her predicament is that she got involved with a married man and she ended up pregnant and, well, when they found some of her belonging scattered along the side of a highway there was a sheet of paper that clearly showed Second Trimester on it. That was about to blow up the other guys world and that was enough to be in extreme danger. This one was more than a year and a half from start to killed.