Found Deceased MT - Rita Maze, 47, Wolf Creek, 6 Sept 2016 #1

[Deleted member 117884]

A single gunshot to the chest and abdomen sounds like a shotgun, possibly a sawn-off, rather than a a pistol or revolver. Not that I'm an expert on firearms though.

Graphic:

Or could it be a shot at an angle so one bullet traveled to two areas?

I am unfamiliar with firearms as well and welcome correction.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Hmm..Interesting, I've never heard that before. I make it a point to not let my gas tank drop below half a tank when I'm on a road trip. Sometimes going through remote areas here in the US it is hard to find a gas station. I have actually run out of gas before in the mountains because I could not find a place to stop--I had to walk several miles. So after that, I never let the gas tank get too low on a long trip if I can help it. That is different if I'm driving around a city though--then I will let it go until the light comes on sometimes.

I tend to fill according to the journey I'm planning. £20 worth for around town, £30 or £40 for a long journey. I only fill up completely £60) on rare occasions, eg if I'm planning several long journeys.

Agreed - I would not risk running out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.

That said, fuel is much more expensive here in the UK so perhaps we're more aware of getting best value out of our fuel than you folks need to be.

The other reason for not overfilling, at least with petrol/gasoline, is the risk of explosion and fire in the event of an accident. That's not the case with diesel.

 

[bluesneakers]

A single gunshot to the chest and abdomen sounds like a shotgun, possibly a sawn-off, rather than a a pistol or revolver. Not that I'm an expert on firearms though.

Would her position in the trunk make a difference?

Just thinking.

 

[eucalyptuz]

...
That said, fuel is much more expensive here in the UK so perhaps we're more aware of getting best value out of our fuel than you folks need to be.
...snip

Yes, gas is super cheap in the US at the moment, often less than $2 per gallon which makes it less than 50c per liter. I find going to the gas station a bit of a chore so I always fill up and unless the fuel economy was substantial, I would never under- fill.

 

[Gardener1850]

So they are not sure it was homicide? Are they wondering about suicide? I am confused....

They previously reported they are handling this as a homicide. I'm thinking that "manner of death" just means they don't know something else? Position of body, how close the gun was, type of gun used? I have yet to see any suggestion of suicide except by posters here.

 

[wantjustice]

It will be interesting to know when the card at Ritzville was used. Ritzville is about an hour outside of Spokane and is a very small town that sits right on I-90 on the way towards Seattle and many other areas in Washington State. Did he, whoever he is, drive there with Rita in the trunk of the car, make a purchase and then drive back to Spokane? That just seems so weird. If not, and it was after, who helped him get to Ritzville? For people in the area it is completely creepy that this unknown person is just out and about. No description and they promised a sketch of a person of interest last night according to the local news. It is random but no threat to the public? Wth? They must know something we all don't.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I've never heard this. Does it change as much as having another person in the car? I haven't noticed my MPG changing on road trips when there are one or two other people with me. But if he is a large man it might affect the mileage as much as a full tank.

It may not be useful to overthink this. It was a passing thought based on what many people, myself included, do in the UK for local reasons. I realise it may not apply in the US. Petrol/gasoline prices are around $7.50 to $8 a gallon here at present. A few years ago they were between $9 and $10.

 

[Gardener1850]

I really hope the fact that no photo has been released yet means they have him or are very close to having him in custody already. This has got to be scary to people local to the area.

 

[Satchie]

I googled it. The perp drove west for quite a while, then came back east to kill her?

Spokane time is an hour earlier than Montana, so she called approx 9:30 Spokane time. Perp must have had someone meet him and continue west.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

It will be interesting to know when the card at Ritzville was used. Ritzville is about an hour outside of Spokane and is a very small town that sits right on I-90 on the way towards Seattle and many other areas in Washington State. Did he, whoever he is, drive there with Rita in the trunk of the car, make a purchase and then drive back to Spokane? That just seems so weird. If not, and it was after, who helped him get to Ritzville? For people in the area it is completely creepy that this unknown person is just out and about. No description and they promised a sketch of a person of interest last night according to the local news. It is random but no threat to the public? Wth? They must know something we all don't.

It seems that the Ritzville purchase was right before the call to her family. Wonder if there is any significance of that? Did stopping the car jolt her out of unconsciousness? And then she was able to pull the phone out of her pocket? IDK.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

It seems that the Ritzville purchase was right before the call to her family. Wonder if there is any significance of that? Did stopping the car jolt her out of unconsciousness? And then she was able to pull the phone out of her pocket? IDK.

EDITED TO ADD: Just read the post above mine....so now I'm unsure if the credit card purchase was before or after her phone call home. Another confusion.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

They previously reported they are handling this as a homicide. I'm thinking that "manner of death" just means they don't know something else? Position of body, how close the gun was, type of gun used? I have yet to see any suggestion of suicide except by posters here.

FWIW, I don't suggest suicide but rather am considering it right alongside a carjacking-murder.

I'm on the fence, not ruling it out or in....but I do think it's a possibility.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Graphic:

Or could it be a shot at an angle so one bullet traveled to two areas?

I am unfamiliar with firearms as well and welcome correction.

Or a high velocity weapon where a bullet entered the body, ricocheted around internally doing a lot of damage, and then exited close to the entrance wound. I'm guessing that if she was shot in the car's trunk then a bullet may not have been able to pass straight through her. However I don't know if there are any high velocity hand guns. I've only heard of HV rifles.

As I say, I'm not an expert.

 

[TTF14]

So was the gun used to kill her by her body? That's the only reason I can think of that manner of death wouldn't be able to be determined.

 

[eucalyptuz]

If all is as it seems, this kind of crime just puzzles and disgusts me! He had no need to take her, he had no need to kill her. At the end of the day Rita is found dead in her own car?!? Such a senseless crime. A life lost and the perpetrator has gained nothing.
The perpatrator must be mentally deficit or something else is in play here.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Yes, gas is super cheap in the US at the moment, often less than $2 per gallon which makes it less than 50c per liter.

Damn! #envy.

The annoying thing is that UK fuel prices are at least 80% tax.

 

[LietKynes]

If all is as it seems, this kind of crime just puzzles and disgusts me! He had no need to take her, he had no need to kill her. At the end of the day Rita is found dead in her own car?!? Such a senseless crime. A life lost and the perpetrator has gained nothing.
The perpatrator must be mentally deficit or something else is in play here.

SABBM

Possible. The perp took a big risk to drive as far as he did, plus using her card ! Even if he'd (assuming a man here) tied her up .. a person can still kick and scream if they believe they've stopped at a gas station or populated area.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

So they are not sure it was homicide? Are they wondering about suicide? I am confused....

I wonder if them not being sure about the manner of death is that it's not immediately clear whether she was killed deliberately or whether she died accidentally in a struggle.

 

[wantjustice]

It seems that the Ritzville purchase was right before the call to her family. Wonder if there is any significance of that? Did stopping the car jolt her out of unconsciousness? And then she was able to pull the phone out of her pocket? IDK.

That's terrible! I missed that. That makes sense. He was driving all the at time on I-90, except for his stop in Idaho, and stopping there woke her up or maybe she came to poor woman. Sickens me! Ok so he got off I-90 and made a purchase. I would love to know what he purchased. Why on earth was he driving for so long without any real direction? To drive through Spokane to Ritzville and back makes no sense. I wonder if he was on something. I want to know where he is. I am hoping Gardener1850 is right and he is at least in their sight. This has been quite a busy week for Spokane County, two murders, a drive-by shooting victim and a really bad fire with two deaths. The other murder was towards Spangle and is pretty awful too.

 

[TTF14]

I wonder if them not being sure about the manner of death is that it's not immediately clear whether she was killed deliberately or whether she died accidentally in a struggle.

Either way it would be a homicide.