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

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  • #1,301
If someone was with her at all, maybe she dropped them off in Ritzville, THEN headed back to Spokane to spin her story....possibly, suicide was a last minute decision. JMO
 
  • #1,302
I can think of two reasons he might choose that location, if not randomly :

1. Drug pickup.
2. Fled to airport on foot and is long gone. I am sure the feds are checking flight logs.

I do not believe this was a random carjacking, but I also don't believe it was suicide - at least not the Cheryl DeBoer kind.
 
  • #1,303
ecd376d2ad6eb289158a8db443132f13.jpg

I just took this screenshot from my phone.

If someone has their cell, aren't they ALWAYS trackable by LE?
 
  • #1,304
Gardener1850 said:
I keep thinking, why that location? Whether it's suicide or murder the final location doesn't make much sense. Perhaps it was just random or chosen on impulse when whoever was driving thought the police were getting close to finding them.

However, I did a little research on Rita's family. She had family who lived in Spokane at one time (the brother who died in 2012 was living in Spokane and a sister lived there in 2012). I really wonder if any of her family members worked in one of those nearby businesses in the past. To be clear, I'm NOT suggesting them as suspects. I'm asking if this was an area that she was familiar with (through visiting family) or an area where someone who knew her family would be familiar with.
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It is certainly curious that the path of movement is back tracking. More curious is the amount if time between 'purchases' against the distance traveled in the backwards direction. It seems as though the gap is excessive. It would be interesting to know how much fuel was left in the tank.
 
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SpanishInquisition said:
This appears to be a new update, which the new update is there isn't anything to say until lab results come back:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...er-death-rita-maze-case-still-clear/90502436/
Click to expand...

Thanks, so all that to say "we still have nothing new".
OT, but I noticed this article was linked right below that: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st.../90435700/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
Another Montana abduction but the woman got away! The man is still at large and considered dangerous. I know Billings is far away from Wolf Creek, but this second story happening so recently makes my wonder what the heck is going on in Montana?!? I'm back to thinking Rita's abduction story could be credible. :scared:
 
  • #1,308
GigTu said:
It is certainly curious that the path of movement is back tracking. More curious is the amount if time between 'purchases' against the distance traveled in the backwards direction. It seems as though the gap is excessive. It would be interesting to know how much fuel was left in the tank.
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If Rita was driving and her destination was Spokane but she hadn't been there in a few years, she may have missed her exit, especially if other thoughts were racing through her mind and she was exhausted from hours of driving.

On the other hand, an alleged abductor could have missed the Spokane exit also, or more likely went to meet someone in Ritzville before heading to the airport. He wouldn't care about using the extra gas if he was using someone else's money to pay for it.

I find this case equally implausible as a suicide or as a carjacking turned deadly. It's baffling and even seems to have LE baffled.
 
  • #1,309
Well, yeah, a kidnapper wouldn't care about wasting someone else's money. But, would he take the chance in stopping at another gas station where he could be caught on camera putting more gas in? That's an unnecessary risk. If he was meeting someone, why wouldn't he just find a place around Ritzville to ditch the car or have the person meet him in Spokane in the first place? Doubling back just does not make sense to me.

Of course, this hasn't made sense to me at all if the idea is that a random stranger kidnapped her just to steal her car. Why murder someone in order to get a ride somewhere? Doesn't make sense at all. And then, someone is so ruthless as to kidnap and kill a person because they needed a set of wheels, yet they were courteous enough not to rob the victim, but instead left $70 in/next to the car?

I mean, if you're going to actually kill someone, why not take the money as well? It's not as though he had the idea that 'stealing is wrong, but kidnapping and murder is okay'.

I still love to know why the car was in Kingston at 4:15pm, but didn't arrive in Post Falls until 9pm, when the 2 places are only 42 miles apart.
 
  • #1,310
Kpossible said:
I see your train of thought but that all seems incredibly far fetched to me. Why would he shoot her BEFORE he disconnected the call? Opening the trunk, the first natural reaction would be to grab the phone. Hell, why would he even put her in the trunk at all? He clearly wasn't trying to rob her.

Occam's razor for sure.
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I think an abductor would have put her in the trunk because if he took the car and left Rita stranded, Rita could go for help and then LE would be looking for her car. I noticed on the map homes across from the rest stop, so he would also risk drawing attention by shooting Rita there. As discussed earlier, Rita may have been unconscious for a while after being hit on the head. If she had her cell phone on her, and considering there probably wasn't much room to maneuver in the trunk, it could have taken her some time to reach her phone once she got her bearings after coming to.

Whether a suicide or abduction/murder, a sequence of events isn't clear. If an abductor was involved, he was probably unaware Rita had a cell phone with her until the phone rang just as he opened the trunk (had already made a stop). He may have pulled the gun on Rita as she reached for the phone and Rita attempted to wrestle the gun from her abductor (she may have been sitting up in the trunk by then) when the gun went off. If Rita was leaning forward at the time (toward her assailant), it could explain why the shot pierced her chest and abdomen and also why blood was found outside the car. Her abductor/killer may have then grabbed the phone and turned it off, but we don't know if the call did disconnect before LE arrived. But, it would explain why LE apparently didn't hear the trunk close over the phone. Either way, the silence must be explained because when someone is dying, there would be noises and they would be more audible if the phone was right next to the dying person.

I could imagine the abductor/killer tossing the gun in the trunk before closing it because he wanted to flee in a hurry, worried that someone heard the gunshots. He could have had someone meeting him at the location where he parked, or somewhere nearby, and didn't want the car noticed until he was long gone. ***ALL SPECULATION***

Regarding the keys in the ignition: Was a second set of keys found? On my car, the only way I can lock my car with keys in the ignition is to use the second set of keys (cannot use the door latch). An alleged abductor might have locked the car so it couldn't be searched until he was far away. Leaving keys in the ignition could have made the car attractive to car thieves, though, making someone else a suspect in Rita's murder when he body was eventually found. I can't think of a reason Rita would have left keys in the ignition of a locked car if she planned to commit suicide in the trunk. I don't think an alleged abductor would be worried about his fingerprints on the keys if he'd been driving since his prints would be all over the steering wheel. He could have worn driving gloves, which wouldn't have looked suspicious. Again, just MOO
 
  • #1,311
EyesofTheSouth said:
Well, yeah, a kidnapper wouldn't care about wasting someone else's money. But, would he take the chance in stopping at another gas station where he could be caught on camera putting more gas in? That's an unnecessary risk. If he was meeting someone, why wouldn't he just find a place around Ritzville to ditch the car or have the person meet him in Spokane in the first place? Doubling back just does not make sense to me.

Of course, this hasn't made sense to me at all if the idea is that a random stranger kidnapped her just to steal her car. Why murder someone in order to get a ride somewhere? Doesn't make sense at all. And then, someone is so ruthless as to kidnap and kill a person because they needed a set of wheels, yet they were courteous enough not to rob the victim, but instead left $70 in/next to the car?

I mean, if you're going to actually kill someone, why not take the money as well? It's not as though he had the idea that 'stealing is wrong, but kidnapping and murder is okay'.

I still love to know why the car was in Kingston at 4:15pm, but didn't arrive in Post Falls until 9pm, when the 2 places are only 42 miles apart.
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At the point he stopped at another gas station, he wouldn't know he was taking a risk since he wouldn't have realized Rita was reported kidnapped. A desperate criminal usually doesn't think about such possibilities.

If his eventual destination was the airport or another location in Spokane, why would he ditch the car in Ritzville? He would still need it. And, it may have not been a situation where the person he was meeting up with in Ritzville was willing or able to meet him in Spokane. It likely involved criminal activity (IF that's what happened). The alleged abductor also may have other stops to make along the route traveled. And, if an abductor was in haste to abandon the car because of the cell phone and shots fired, as explained above, he probably wouldn't have taken time to grab a few measly dollars. He probably would have made much more money from any alleged criminal activity. IOW, I doubt the motive of Rita's alleged abductor was to rob her. MOO
 
  • #1,312
I feel like, based on the location, which seems to be in a semi-industrial area, there probably wouldn't be the chance of a car thief happening by, especially in the likely short amount of time that the car would be sitting there. If the theory is that he caught Rita on the phone with the police, no doubt he knew the police would be tracking her phone, so, the police would get to the scene very soon. There wouldn't be time for another car thief to come along.

I mean, maybe if the car was in a more suburban area, someone could come across it that night, I suppose. But, probably not within the short window of time before the police would show up. I still think if he was aware the police were on the phone, he would not reasonably think someone else would come across the car and contaminate the scene before the police got there. JMO

With regards to putting her into the trunk. Yes, if he had left her at the rest stop, she could have reported the car stolen and the police may have found it sooner. But, again, I have a hard time imagining someone murdering her over needing a ride. If he was that volatile and had no qualms about killing her why not just drive the car off the road somewhere in that 12-hour period, shoot her and dump the body, then go wherever he needed to go?

Why keep her alive especially since she was having phone conversations and her phone could obviously be tracked? If a kidnapper did kill her, it just makes no sense to me that he would drive her around in her car for 12 hours. This is especially true since there is a 4-hour block of time unaccounted for between Kingston and Post Falls. If he had all that time, why not drive out into the sticks somewhere, shoot her, leave her there and continue on to dump the car somewhere close to his destination?
 
  • #1,313
Indy Anna said:
At the point he stopped at another gas station, he wouldn't know he was taking a risk since he wouldn't have realized Rita was reported kidnapped. A desperate criminal usually doesn't think about such possibilities.

If his eventual destination was the airport or another location in Spokane, why would he ditch the car in Ritzville? He would still need it. And, it may have not been a situation where the person he was meeting up with in Ritzville was willing or able to meet him in Spokane. It likely involved criminal activity (IF that's what happened). The alleged abductor also may have other stops to make along the route traveled. And, if an abductor was in haste to abandon the car because of the cell phone and shots fired, as explained above, he probably wouldn't have taken time to grab a few measly dollars. He probably would have made much more money from any alleged criminal activity. IOW, I doubt the motive of Rita's alleged abductor was to rob her. MOO
Click to expand...

If there is a kidnapper, then he abducted her somewhere around 11:30am. Even if he didn't know for 100% sure, he had to think that someone had noticed she was missing many hours later. Especially since, from what I can see by the timeline, her husband and daughter had started calling family around by 5:30pm. I certainly would assume that would also mean multiple calls to Rita's cell phone. Though I don't know if it's explicitly stated anywhere, if the husband/daughter were calling family at 5:30 asking if anyone knew where Rita was, I think they had to have called Rita's phone around the same time.

It's very possible that they tried to reach her phone dozens of times if they weren't getting an answer. I know I would be calling over and over in that situation. So, the kidnapper didn't hear that and didn't clue into the fact that someone was wondering where she was? I'm sure he would have realized someone decided she was missing; a call to the police would be the next logical step. And yet, the kidnapper kept driving around for another 5 hours? Unlikely to me JMO

If his destination was Spokane, why would he drive right past it, 60 miles, to Ritzville in the first place?

I just don't see this as a criminal rendezvous either. Sure, I suppose this could have been an escaped felon wanted for murder or something, and thus he carjacked, kidnapped and murderer Rita. But, I would think if that was the case, the FBI would not be saying there is no threat to the public.

I don't know. I guess I just don't see Rita as means to transport a criminal to a waiting criminal activity. If that was the case, there would be no reason not to stop and ditch her somewhere out in the boonies along the way, rather than risk driving around with her in the trunk of her car where she was making phone calls. It's an unnecessary risk IMO. If he was fine with killing her anyways, why not do so much earlier in the trip; like in that 4-hour window between Kingston to Post Falls?

The only reasons I can think of for keeping a kidnap victim alive are either: 1. You're just not capable of murder; which if this was a kidnapping, that's obviously not the case. Or 2. the kidnapper could get a ransom from the victim or family. That's obviously not the case either as even all the cash was left behind. So, money was not a motive.

Maybe it's just me, but I just see no reason for a kidnapper to have left her alive for 12 hours. At best, if there was a second person other than Rita involved, I think that maybe she met up with that person somewhere between Kingston and Post Falls, thus accounting for the missing 4 hours. A goodbye visit to one more person?

JMO
 
  • #1,314
EyesofTheSouth said:
Hate to make a separate post, but apparently you can't edit after an hour. Had one more thought though.

The keys were found in the ignition and the car was locked. The police had to break the window to get into the car. Why would a kidnapper leave the keys behind and in the ignition? Locking the car makes sense since someone would have to break in to find the purse/ID and check the trunk. However, leaving the keys behind leaves the alleged kidnappers fingerprints behind.

It's doubtful a kidnapper would just happen to be hanging around with gloves. Possible, I guess, but, seems unlikely. If this was a kidnapper, then the motive would seem to be just that he needed wheels. Who carries gloves on them and waits around a rest stop, with gloves, hoping someone to carjack would stop by? It seems like it would be a spur of the moment decision by someone who was walking or hitchhiking or something. That person wouldn't likely be carrying gloves at this time of the year. It seems to me that a kidnapper would take the keys with him and then toss them in a dumpster or a pond or something rather than risk leaving his fingerprints at the scene.

If it was a fake kidnapping staged by Rita, it would make more sense for the keys to be found in the ignition. She probably wouldn't think of disposing of the keys, or wouldn't want to be seen or caught on security tape (I think Penske Trucks is right there, they might have surveillance since they have a lot of trucks sitting outside) trying to get rid of them and then going back to the car.

I believe a key fob was found in the trunk with her. If it was a remote to unlock and lock the car, why was it separated from the key ring and in her trunk with her? Or why would she have 2 key fobs with her, one attached to the keys in the ignition and one in the trunk with her? If the second key fob was put in the trunk by a kidnapper he's not just left behind at least a second object with his fingerprints on it.

It seems more likely that Rita separated the fob from the key ring and used it to lock up the car after she climbed into the trunk.
Click to expand...

And or she was hesitant, and might change her mind. I thought the comment about was their urine etc in the trunk would clear this up.

Has their been ANY mention regarding the head wounds. I think that would go along way to prove one or the other. There would be "limits" to how one can whack themselves over the head. The notion that he was tall would impact angle of attack if there really was someone.

No matter if one is sucidal , I think bopping yourself on the head, really hard, would be, well, just hard to do.

All behavior has meaning IMO -- if they have not mentioned anything about head wounds - maybe there were none. Bullets in torso, so there should be skull injury

Have authorities said anything about this. moo

Inthedetails said:
Hmmm, good thinking....that is something to consider......
Click to expand...

And would that not take us to targeted?

Despite being denied - can someone tell me what the "financial" struggle angle was? money is a motivator? Targeted or self inflcited moo goggle said montana to wash is11 hours - does that at least fit when all this started and everyones story??




o/t

Was trying to find something - o/t wont go into it, just watch the first 25 secs -is this not the stupidest thing you have seen? Needed a laugh. I was sooooooooooo confused !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCzY03fwSVU
 
  • #1,315
Indy Anna said:
If Rita was driving and her destination was Spokane but she hadn't been there in a few years, she may have missed her exit, especially if other thoughts were racing through her mind and she was exhausted from hours of driving.

On the other hand, an alleged abductor could have missed the Spokane exit also, or more likely went to meet someone in Ritzville before heading to the airport. He wouldn't care about using the extra gas if he was using someone else's money to pay for it.

I find this case equally implausible as a suicide or as a carjacking turned deadly. It's baffling and even seems to have LE baffled.
Click to expand...

Are you more in targeted area?

The post about driving around 4 hours made me wonder IF there was someone else there - was this something drug related? Picking up drugs whatever, if I just made thousands in a drug deal I could not be bothered with $60?

I am more open to contemplation driving tho
 
  • #1,316
Gardener1850 said:
Thanks, so all that to say "we still have nothing new".
OT, but I noticed this article was linked right below that: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st.../90435700/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
Another Montana abduction but the woman got away! The man is still at large and considered dangerous. I know Billings is far away from Wolf Creek, but this second story happening so recently makes my wonder what the heck is going on in Montana?!? I'm back to thinking Rita's abduction story could be credible. :scared:
Click to expand...
His name is Derek BigMan and he has an extensive criminal history, including prison escape. He could absolutely be a POI in this case. Billings is not far from Helena.
 
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  • #1,318
I find it interesting that the amount of cash in the car keeps bouncing around from $50 to $60 to $70. Which is it? It's hard for me to read whole postings here and consider the opinion as a plausible option when the facts aren't even abided by.

I personally do not think Rita committed suicide. I think someone very sinister and dangerous is at large.
 
  • #1,319
Gardener1850 said:
Yep, this is not his first offense:
http://billingsgazette.com/news/loc...age_1cba22a6-ea77-11de-b557-001cc4c03286.html
http://www.krtv.com/story/28899200/violent-offender-escapes-big-horn-county-jail-saturday-morning
http://www.bighorncountynews.com/news/escaped-violent-offender-captured-after-two-day-pursuit
http://www.kpax.com/story/28898613/violent-offender-escapes-big-horn-county-jail-saturday-morning

An article above says he is only 5' 6" though...
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Only 5'6" ? Again, Rita claiming the attacker/abductor was tall like her brother might be subjective and based on a memory that was founded on a very violent act. A scary monster always seems bigger than it really is, at first. There is no way to know how tall he was, actually, until he is caught.
 
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