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

[dyannaON]

Such a sad situation. She seemed well loved by everyone who knew her. No matter what the outcome she is gone and family and loved ones are left to mourn.


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[TTF14]

This article says she was shot twice: http://ijr.com/2016/09/690271-mom-f...re-death-now-police-arent-sure-it-was-murder/



Sloppy journalism or did they learn new info? All other sources report a single gunshot wound and 2 shell casings. :scared:

I don't think I'd ever seen such poor reporting in any case I've followed. It's been so atrocious!

 

[Doghairrules]

I do agree with that. When my husband's 24 year old nephew committed suicide with a shotgun it was one of the best times of his life or so we thought. He had just been promoted at work. He was engaged and soon to be married to his girlfriend of 4 years. In fact the night he committed suicide they went out to a movie and a dinner and discussed their wedding plans. She said he was very happy and upbeat telling her how he wanted different things to be in their wedding. Like usual, he kissed her goodnight and 45 minutes later he lay dead in his elderly grandparents front yard.

He had called his grandmother telling her he needed to come out and talk with her. He called around midnight and she told him she would wait up for him. His grandfather was still asleep. She waited by the door and turned the outside lights on for him. They lived in a very rural area on a farm so it took him about 30 minutes to get there. She saw him pull up in his truck and she could hear the music coming from it but he parked way over at the side of the yard instead of pulling up to the garage like he always did. As she waited she heard a tremendous boom. Everyone from the south knows the sound of a shotgun. She ran and got his Papa up and they rushed outside. The yard was dark on that area of their vast yard so his grandfather had to get his vehicle and shine the lights in that direction to see him. She called 911 and it took them 30 minutes to get there. He was immediately dead and torn all apart yet they still held him until the EMTs and Sheriff arrived. It ruined both of their lives and they were never the same again. They had practically raised him all of his life.

I still wish to this day that he would have gone to his own apartment to do it if that was what he was determined to do. He made them victims and they never mentally healed or recovered from what they saw and the grandson they lost. They were in their 70s then. It seemed like such a cruel self centered thing to do to the very two that cared about him the most.

We went through everything he owned even his phone, computer and never could find a reason for what he decided to kill himself.

IMO

How awful for the whole family. I'm so sorry!


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[Doghairrules]

That can't be right.

I can't even begin to decipher what they mean.

I think what may be going on here is a combination of unclear communication from LE and careless reporting.


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[cady]

th

Do we know where the daughter lives? I just read that she had spent the night at her daughter's.

Maze, who was returning from an overnight visit at her daughter's house, was 60 miles from her Great Falls home when she arrived at the rest stop in Wolf Creek.

http://www.newser.com/story/230863/trunk-kidnapping-might-have-been-something-else.html

The plot thickens....

 

[Satchie]

I still wish to this day that he would have gone to his own apartment to do it if that was what he was determined to do. He made them victims and they never mentally healed or recovered from what they saw and the grandson they lost. They were in their 70s then. It seemed like such a cruel self centered thing to do to the very two that cared about him the most.

We went through everything he owned even his phone, computer and never could find a reason for what he decided to kill himself.

IMO

What a tragic story, I'm so sorry to hear that. I think something malignant can take over the suicidal person, wanting to not just kill themself, but make others feel their suffering.

 

[Gardener1850]

Sheriff Ozzie said he doesn't think this will be an easy case to solve: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/montana-womans-kidnapping-report-is-under-investigation/

Knezovich declined to discuss details, but said the case won’t be easy to solve. He said people should hesitate to call Maze’s death a homicide “until we actually find out what is going on.”

Why would he say that? It should be pretty straight forward once all the forensics and surveillance video is back. What is he NOT saying? :thinking:

 

[wantjustice]

I sincerely give up! There's only one phrase to describe this mess :gaah::censored: can't say it.

 

[cady]

Maybe daughter in law lives in Helena w kids and her husband is in Germany? ??? JMO Her only bio children are Michael and Rochelle, I believe. JMO

 

[TTF14]

I sincerely give up! There's only one phrase to describe this mess :gaah::censored: can't say it.

Does it start with the word cluster??

 

[wantjustice]

Does it start with the word cluster??

Yes lol!

 

[Satchie]

Here's a new slant....Daily Mail says she was visiting relatives in Helena and when she called her husband at 11:25 am she said she was on her way home but might stop in to visit her mother. ?????? So where does othe sick mom come in and what relatives was she visiting? Or is it all bunk? Sheesh................JMO

That has been reported elsewhere, specifically the Great Falls paper which probably spoke to the family directly. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...s-question-womans-kidnapping-report/90117736/

What that means is the time of the alleged kidnapping is unknown

 

[AmyPond]

Sheriff Ozzie said he doesn't think this will be an easy case to solve: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/montana-womans-kidnapping-report-is-under-investigation/



Why would he say that? It should be pretty straight forward once all the forensics and surveillance video is back. What is he NOT saying? :thinking:

So bizarre. I feel like they should be able to figure things out based on forensics and surveillance. I mean...these people should know what they are doing, right?!

I mean...I guess if she is see withdrawing money or whatever, it's possible someone off-camera forced her. But usually there are other cameras around.

I honestly feel like the experts should be able to figure it out easily. So I don't get why they are saying it won't be easy.

 

[bluesneakers]

Sheriff Ozzie said he doesn't think this will be an easy case to solve: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/montana-womans-kidnapping-report-is-under-investigation/



Why would he say that? It should be pretty straight forward once all the forensics and surveillance video is back. What is he NOT saying? :thinking:

What he's not saying: "We don't have all the answers. Please stop asking so many questions and let us do our job."

JMO

 

[Msl1966]

Could someone clarify for me if the car was running or just keys in the ignition.

 

[TTF14]

So bizarre. I feel like they should be able to figure things out based on forensics and surveillance. I mean...these people should know what they are doing, right?!

I mean...I guess if she is see withdrawing money or whatever, it's possible someone off-camera forced her. But usually there are other cameras around.

I honestly feel like the experts should be able to figure it out easily. So I don't get why they are saying it won't be easy.

I don't get it either. Seems quite easy to determine if she had a head wound, if she was the one using her card, if she was using her phone at all during the day (i.e. to someone else, to check FB, etc.), if she had alcohol in her car, if her finger prints were on the gun, if residue was on her hands....

Why is it so hard?

 

[blue22]

This article says she was shot twice: http://ijr.com/2016/09/690271-mom-f...re-death-now-police-arent-sure-it-was-murder/



Sloppy journalism or did they learn new info? All other sources report a single gunshot wound and 2 shell casings. :scared:

I'm going to guess it's sloppy journalism, BUT...

We've heard she DIED from a single gunshot wound. That doesn't mean she didn't have other wounds that did not contribute to her death.

 

[Satchie]

Sheriff Ozzie said he doesn't think this will be an easy case to solve: http://www.seattletimes.com/news/montana-womans-kidnapping-report-is-under-investigation/

Why would he say that? It should be pretty straight forward once all the forensics and surveillance video is back. What is he NOT saying? :thinking:

I think obtaining and checking all the possible surveillance video to trace all the movements of the car will be challenging, especially if her phone was turned off.

Also, it's very hard to prove something didn't happen. If she was captured on camera gettuing gas, that doesn't absolutely prove her story was untrue, there still may have been an abductor who forced her out of the car (like last year's case in Helena) and she just didn't mention it during her panicked phone call.

 

[blue22]

I don't get it either. Seems quite easy to determine if she had a head wound, if she was the one using her card, if she was using her phone at all during the day (i.e. to someone else, to check FB, etc.), if she had alcohol in her car, if her finger prints were on the gun, if residue was on her hands....

Why is it so hard?

Often things look cut and dry to us, but behind the scenes it's more complicated. We actually know very little, other than it's obvious LE find the story suspicious. For all we know, they could think she wasn't the only one that planned this. (I'm not saying I think it, but there are several scenarios I can think of.)

**If it was planned.

 

[Gardener1850]

Some new details here: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...s-question-womans-kidnapping-report/90117736/

Gregory described the case as a death investigation, not specifically a homicide.

“We are looking at all options,” said Gregory, adding, “We deal in facts not in speculation.”

Sheriff Leo Dutton of Lewis and Clark County in Montana, where Maze reported she was taken, said nothing is being ruled out.

“It does have some odd characteristics that we still need to completely explore,” Dutton said of the case.

A warrant filed in Spokane County Superior Court Thursday to search Maze’s vehicle provided additional details in the case.

Deputies with the Spokane Sheriff’s Office located Maze’s vehicle at 12:36 a.m. Pacific Standard Time Wednesday.

“The vehicle appeared to be unoccupied with the keys in the ignition and a female purse in the front seat,” the search warrant says.

At 1:19 a.m., deputies located blood on the ground near the vehicle, then located Maze’s body in the trunk and called for medics.

Maze was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:37 a.m.

The area was searched but nobody else was found.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office investigators found $50 in cash, a folding knife and two semi-automatic 9 mm pistol magazines in Maze’s purse.

In the trunk, a Ruger LC9, which is a 9 mm pistol, was discovered, including the magazine and a bullet in the chamber.

Two shell casings were found in the trunk — one by Maze’s left arm and one by her right arm.

A flip cell phone, a blue hoodie and keys and a key fob for locking and unlocking cars or homes also were found in the trunk. The warrant does not specify what kind of keys they were.

New quotes and new details BBM. It was previously reported the gun Rita owned was a 9mm Ruger so it seems pretty clear now this was her own weapon. The key fob found in the trunk is pretty interesting if it was an extra one for the car she was in (could be for another vehicle though).

ETA: It is good to finally see exact times and the time ZONE they are using in the report. I think the different time zones really messed with some of the reporting of event times and has led to more confusion.