Found Deceased MT - Rita Maze, 47, Wolf Creek, 6 Sept 2016 #2

[Gardener1850]

I agree with you 100%. And I think this all feeds into just why Rita decided to try and hide her suicide. Many families who know for sure it was a suicide will still tell everyone something else at the funeral. The stigma associated with suicide is huge.

The fact is, suicide is almost 4 times more common than homicide.

I've been to funerals of people who committed suicide before and you are right that it is treated as a huge stigma by some people. Did I miss some evidence in THIS case that Rita's family has already been told she committed suicide? Because I don't think we know that yet. Forensic tests can take months to come back.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

I dunno. To me, the more the family insists that it 'couldn't be suicide' the more likely suicide becomes.

I don't think that is verifiable proof of anything.

Rita had been a dedicated devoted loving mother and wife for decades for these family members. I am sure they always knew her as a person who was trustworthy and honest. So of course they would believe their own mom or wife if she told them she had been kidnapped. They wouldn't have any reason to disbelieve her if she had always been known as being forthright and honest with them before this happened. IF she did commit suicide then usually the family members are the ones kept in the dark about any troubles the suicidal person may be thinking. After all if she was seriously contemplating suicide she wouldn't want her family to know knowing if they did they would try to stop her.

It seems like Rita was much loved by others also in her community. She really sounds like a wonderful woman.

So I believe they honestly believe what she told them which is very understandable. I see no reason why they wouldn't believe the very woman who had been a constant supportive person in their lives.

My heart breaks for them all either way. Its a tragedy all the way around............from them and for Rita. Suicide is usually a permanent fix to a temporary situation someone may be struggling with at the time.

Maybe if she did commit suicide she didn't want any of her family to feel any guilt for failing to recognize she may have been struggling. So by someone else taking her life would lift those burdens she didn't want them to ever carry. And suicide does leave a lot of guilt for the family members left behind to deal with all of the questions of 'why?'

That is...........IF this was a suicide which hasn't been determined yet as far as I know.

If she did not do this to herself I pray they do find out who did this. Her family members are victims no matter what the outcome may turnout to be.

 

[GigTu]

For me, the more family insists it was not suicide, the more I think it's not suicide. For you see, I support the family and want to help them get the closure they need, at THEIR pace. We know nothing.

 

[Gardener1850]

For me, the more family insists it was not suicide, the more I think it's not suicide. For you see, I support the family and want to help them get the closure they need, at THEIR pace. We know nothing.

Good point. If anything, the family know s A TON more than we know. They have direct communication with the FBI. We just have meager press releases and whatever the tabloids dug up--which didn't amount to much, IMO.

 

[meanmaryjean]

Ok. Sorry for your family's loss. But you are still making a HUGE assumption that Rita's family has already been told something or know something more and they are in denial. There has been no "incontrovertible evidence" released yet. I'm trying to say (gently) I think you are jumping to conclusions. Again, I make no assumptions one way or the other on if she did kill herself. The facts are not settled yet. If the FBI rules the death a suicide and the family STILL insists the evidence is wrong you will be justified in your statement. And I will even agree they are in denial (hurting over the loss of a loved one can do that). But no such evidence has come out yet. JMO.

Again- I was making a GENERAL statement. I was not assuming anything about this unfortunate woman's family one way or another. I have no idea what they have or have not been told, nor did I speculate on this. Nor did I speculate on the nature of any evidence. I made a GENERAL statement.

 

[peel]

haven't been on WS for years but I'm in the area of this horrible incident and am just amazed how it has dropped off the face of the earth....the local media...nada...media in Great Falls ...nada...

is it true the cop heard the gunshot?....

has the video of the guy supposedly using Rita's CC been completely debunked?...the clerk seemed so sure of herself...

I will readily admit if my suspicions are wrong, but this woman was a dearly loved member of her community, she was very close to her dtr, and seemed to recently attended her granddtrs birthday....her own mother is very sick....I can not fathom suicide....just can't....

I want to know if her cc was used in Ritzville and who is on the video using it.

I want to know the position of her drivers seat?...far back?...close to the steering wheel?...

the man in the video from the Daily was a black man, "large" per the descripton of the clerk....just yesterday Idaho police had a search warrant issued for a black man about 6'2"......just curious if they have a lead...

there are few black people here ...they stand out...Idaho fewer still, and Montana not many....a black guy would stand out....

I think the police do the public a disservice by not being more forthcoming.....letting it hang out there that they don't know if its a murder or not.....how awful for the family....because surely, they know who's using her cc on the video...surely they have finger prints on the steering wheel.....

but if its suicide, I can't begin to fathom the pain someone must be in to do such a thing...poor woman no matter what...

 

[AceDetective]

I've been to funerals of people who committed suicide before and you are right that it is treated as a huge stigma by some people. Did I miss some evidence in THIS case that Rita's family has already been told she committed suicide? Because I don't think we know that yet. Forensic tests can take months to come back.

The family hasn't come right out and said it, but, from their reaction, it seems pretty clear that the authorities have told them it looks like suicide.

eg. “I believe they shot her and left the gun and keys in there to make it look like she killed herself,” Rochelle Maze told the paper. “I know she did not.”

The family themselves admit it looks like suicide, except they say it was staged. One big problem, however. If you're going to stage a suicide, you don't put the body in the trunk. I mean, come on.

The case is being called a death investigation, rather than a homicide.

Authorities have said there is no threat to the public.

It's pretty clear what the authorities think.

 

[Gardener1850]

The family hasn't come right out and said it, but, from their reaction, it seems pretty clear that the authorities have told them it looks like suicide.

eg. “I believe they shot her and left the gun and keys in there to make it look like she killed herself,” Rochelle Maze told the paper. “I know she did not.”

The family themselves admit it looks like suicide, except they say it was staged. One big problem, however. If you're going to stage a suicide, you don't put the body in the trunk. I mean, come on.

The case is being called a death investigation, rather than a homicide.

Authorities have said there is no threat to the public.

It's pretty clear what the authorities think.

The family said it wasn't suicide when RESPONDING to questions about whether this could be suicide. The reporters and people all over social media have asked them if it's suicide. No where did the family come out and say that LE told them it is suicide. They didn't just make up the suicide angle--people had been asking them about it.

As to it being clear, we will just have to agree to disagree I guess because I don't find it clear what authorities think at all until the ME rules the manner of death. As we have been discussing there are other reasons why LE would say there is no public threat. LE said they would not rule anything out until the tests came back. JMO, but that means it was not clear to them what happened.

 

[AceDetective]

Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory said the case is being called a death investigation, rather than a homicide, because law enforcement officers do not know what exactly happened to Maze. They do not have a suspect.


“We do not believe there is any imminent danger to the community,” Gregory said.

They have this big story about how she was kidnapped and stuffed in the trunk, yet "law enforcement officers do not know what exactly happened to Maze."

You're right, we're going to have to agree to disagree, because it seems clear as day to me what LE thinks.

Edited to add bolding. Please explain the bolded lines if they don't think it was suicide.

 

[Gardener1850]

"The Spokane Sheriff told KHQ they aren't ruling out anything whether it be kidnapping, homicide, or self-inflicted."

http://www.khq.com/story/33054514/fbi-confirms-no-person-of-interest-in-rita-maze-case

Somewhere there is video of the sheriff saying they would not rule anything out until the reports came back. If you think it's clear it's because you have formed an opinion. No problem with having an opinion but please don't make it sound like LE already ruled on the case. All I'm saying is, I'm waiting for them to say one way or the other. She could have committed suicide in this elaborate plot. I don't know that she did.

 

[AceDetective]

"The Spokane Sheriff told KHQ they aren't ruling out anything whether it be kidnapping, homicide, or self-inflicted."

http://www.khq.com/story/33054514/fbi-confirms-no-person-of-interest-in-rita-maze-case

Somewhere there is video of the sheriff saying they would not rule anything out until the reports came back. If you think it's clear it's because you have formed an opinion. No problem with having an opinion but please don't make it sound like LE already ruled on the case. All I'm saying is, I'm waiting for them to say one way or the other. She could have committed suicide in this elaborate plot. I don't know that she did.

You ignore the evidence I posted and say "If you think it's clear it's because you have formed an opinion." Nice.

The FBI can claim they are exploring all the possibilities all day long, but when they say "at this time, we do not believe there is a threat to public safety," that tends to say something a little different.

I don't quite understand how you're missing this. If there were a random truck stop murderer running around, that would be a threat to public safety wouldn't it? So clearly the FBI doesn't believe there is a random truck stop murderer running around. Thus, there is at least one possibility that they seem to have discounted. Therefore, their statement that they are exploring *all* possibilities should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Gardener1850]

You ignore the evidence I posted and say "If you think it's clear it's because you have formed an opinion." Nice.

The FBI can claim they are exploring all the possibilities all day long, but when they say "at this time, we do not believe there is a threat to public safety," that tends to say something a little different.

I don't quite understand how you're missing this. If there were a random truck stop murderer running around, that would be a threat to public safety wouldn't it? So clearly the FBI doesn't believe there is a random truck stop murderer running around. Thus, there is at least one possibility that they seem to have discounted. Therefore, their statement that they are exploring *all* possibilities should be taken with a grain of salt.

We discussed previously at length the reasons why LE could say that other than suicide. I didn't think I needed to recap but, briefly, here are some other options:
1. It wasn't random. It was someone she knew or a targeted kidnapping/murder.
2. It was some form of scam or accident gone wrong (this would include she was involved with someone else but didn't intend to commit suicide or she acted alone but didn't intend to die)
3. LE doesn't want to alarm the public and put all tall dark-skinned men in the area in jeopardy of vigilante attacks. LE often says there is no reason to fear additional threats to public safety. They said recently after the bombings in NY and NJ.

Once, again I'm NOT arguing it was not suicide. I just see that it could be any of the above until we learn differently. If it was a clear-cut case we would have more definitive statements from LE and I wouldn't even be discussing it anymore. JMO.

 

[GigTu]

We know nothing. Every conclusion made in this thread is merely opinion.

 

[peel]

true...we know very little...

except, a woman is dead...a woman declared that she was hit over the head and was kidnapped..

we do know that the car that she was found in was hers...that she would have had to get gas somewhere between Helena Mt and Ritzille Wa (which is about 60 miles west from Spokane)...

and to buy gas either someone had to buy in cash, in the store, face to face to someone, or use a credit card staying outside....

we also know from past exp that the police can deliberately steer the narrative in different directions...

I do wonder philosophically do we have a right to know if Rita committed suicide?....is it more painful for the family to know that that news is broadcast far and wide?.....OR, does a tax paying public deserve answers when a woman is found dead, no matter the reason?...

 

[Inthedetails]

true...we know very little...

except, a woman is dead...a woman declared that she was hit over the head and was kidnapped..

we do know that the car that she was found in was hers...that she would have had to get gas somewhere between Helena Mt and Ritzille Wa (which is about 60 miles west from Spokane)...

and to buy gas either someone had to buy in cash, in the store, face to face to someone, or use a credit card staying outside....

we also know from past exp that the police can deliberately steer the narrative in different directions...

I do wonder philosophically do we have a right to know if Rita committed suicide?....is it more painful for the family to know that that news is broadcast far and wide?.....OR, does a tax paying public deserve answers when a woman is found dead, no matter the reason?...

I think the public has a right to know the manner of death. Death certificates are public documents.

Just my opinion, not a legal expert

 

[bbbert333]

The Spokane police chief would ONLY say "there is NO danger to the public" (on the evening news KREM right after her body was discovered), if they caught the ONLY perp (or there was absolute proof that there was no perp). Logic...not opinion.

 

[bluesneakers]

I haven't been able to find any uniformity to the public shouldn't worry comments. I think LE has its own criteria they adhere to and hasn't shared it with us. So when they say comment on the public now I only pay attention to the warnings and descriptions.

JMO

 

[AceDetective]

[...snipped...]
3. LE doesn't want to alarm the public and put all tall dark-skinned men in the area in jeopardy of vigilante attacks. LE often says there is no reason to fear additional threats to public safety. They said recently after the bombings in NY and NJ.

(Not much time today, unfortunately.)

Does anyone have any cites for this or anything like it? As far as I'm concerned, when LE says they don't believe there is a threat to public safety, it means they don't believe there is a threat to public safety. Always.

 

[AceDetective]

Some interesting related links:
Suicide often not preceded by warnings
What makes a loving husband take his life without any warning?
'Overwhelmed' mom spent THREE DAYS driving around with her children before committing suicide in a Target parking lot leaving them unharmed (source)
Gary Speed's father gives his most candid interview about his battle to understand his son's death (source)
Death of Bill Sparkman (wikipedia)

A case with some interesting similarities:
Kelowna woman's body found in Columbia River in Washington State (cbcnews)

 

[Deleted member 172065]

I would have NEVER guessed a suicide, but the police do know who got the gas; and they don't appear to be looking for anyone...