NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #10

[scoops]

I saw that! To be honest, it still sounds like a needle in a haystack scenario. What if he finds a passer by who says, "oh sure, I know that girl, she works at xyz". He goes there and she isn't working that day. What then? I dont know how he is going to verify that its her.

Ive been going through his blog and a few things completely baffle me. I believe his sources because he spoke with them first hand, its not just hearsay from other reports.

1. When Maura got the mysterious telephone call on the Thursday night that caused her to be so upset she is described by her supervisor as being virtually *catatonic* afterwards. Like, literally, just staring off into space unable to talk. Then she bursts into tears and her supervisor has to physically sign her out of the building because she is so upset. What on earth could cause such an extreme reaction? I highly doubt it was because she just found out her boyfriend was cheating on her. That would cause upset and anger for sure (DEFINATELY anger!) but to be so completely stunned just doesnt fit to me. Her reaction seems that of utter shock to me.
THEN, according to her phone records that night (published on the blog) she rings dominos pizza in Hadley at 3.40am (they close at 4am). Could this be a bulimic coping mechanism? Pizza does seem to be her food of choice when she is emotional.

2. Fred. The reports on the blog seem very much split 50/50. He is the villain in some people's eyes- eg. Tim carpenter- (Maura's sister's ex husband) who seems to be implying some rather sinister things about Fred (although, as an ex he may well have a large axe to grind). A hero in the eyes of others- eg. Sharon Rausch etc. Maura's sister Julie says, "Is he a hardass? yes. Did he drive us hard? yes. Is he the best father a girl could have? yes.". WHY does Renner believe that Fred knows where Maura was going that weekend? (he doesnt believe he had anything to do with her actual disappearance btw, but he does think he knows the reason for Maura's trip and is not saying).

Curiouser and curiouser.

I predict that If I ever struck someone with my car and freaked out and left the scene (not knowing whether or not that person would surivive or not) I would likely sink into a canatonic state similarly described my Maura's supervisor.

But I can't think of too many scenarios in which my reactions would be that dramatic ... maybe getting the news that a close relative just died in a car accident or something along those lines.

The Petrit Vasi hit and run angle could've taken place concerning Maura.

But to be fair, no evidence exists (that is publically known) that comes close to putting Maura behind the wheel of a car when Petrit was struck.

It is a fact that she was working at a dorm less than a mile from where petrit was struck that night.

It is also a fact that Maura was found upset by her supervisor 35 minutes to 40 minutes after vasi's hit and run.

It is also a fact, that publically these two events stand as just coincidence.

 

[Fireweed]

I wonder what the dorm parking situation was like at UMass? I ask only because when I lived in the dorms at UNM, parking was always an issue. If you got a parking space then leaving that parking space for a few minutes was really never a good option. By the time you got back, it was most certainly taken. I have to ask where exactly Maura worked that night, where her car was parked, and where she was allowed to park with her permit.

In other words, could she have left her post for 10 minutes unnoticed? Yes that seems reasonable and entirely possible. I have had many jobs where disappearing for 10 minutes might not be noticed by anyone. Perhaps the supervisor has gone to another dorm for a period of time and you know you can sneak off and not have it be noticeable.

But I have a hard time believing that Maura could have left and driven somewhere and then gotten back in time for it to go unnoticed. The only possibility I can think of is that she was able to drive right back and luck out that her same parking space was still available, and that that particular spot was very close to where she worked.

 

[Dixie811]

I wonder what the dorm parking situation was like at UMass? I ask only because when I lived in the dorms at UNM, parking was always an issue. If you got a parking space then leaving that parking space for a few minutes was really never a good option. By the time you got back, it was most certainly taken. I have to ask where exactly Maura worked that night, where her car was parked, and where she was allowed to park with her permit.

In other words, could she have left her post for 10 minutes unnoticed? Yes that seems reasonable and entirely possible. I have had many jobs where disappearing for 10 minutes might not be noticed by anyone. Perhaps the supervisor has gone to another dorm for a period of time and you know you can sneak off and not have it be noticeable.

But I have a hard time believing that Maura could have left and driven somewhere and then gotten back in time for it to go unnoticed. The only possibility I can think of is that she was able to drive right back and luck out that her same parking space was still available, and that that particular spot was very close to where she worked.

Perhaps one of the more involved posters on this thread can direct you more specifically, but I have seen these circumstances analyzed very thoroughly and specifically here on WS and elsewhere online. There seems to be some debate about the answers to the questions you have posed and the feasibility of Maura being involved in the Vasi accident.

 

[scoops]

I wonder what the dorm parking situation was like at UMass? I ask only because when I lived in the dorms at UNM, parking was always an issue. If you got a parking space then leaving that parking space for a few minutes was really never a good option. By the time you got back, it was most certainly taken. I have to ask where exactly Maura worked that night, where her car was parked, and where she was allowed to park with her permit.

In other words, could she have left her post for 10 minutes unnoticed? Yes that seems reasonable and entirely possible. I have had many jobs where disappearing for 10 minutes might not be noticed by anyone. Perhaps the supervisor has gone to another dorm for a period of time and you know you can sneak off and not have it be noticeable.

But I have a hard time believing that Maura could have left and driven somewhere and then gotten back in time for it to go unnoticed. The only possibility I can think of is that she was able to drive right back and luck out that her same parking space was still available, and that that particular spot was very close to where she worked.

This doesn't prove anything --- But when I visited the dorm that Maura was working at (in summer of 2011), there was a small parking lot in front of the building reserved for staff personnel. ( I wasn't thinking about the potential vasi hit and run angle at the time, so I didn't explore the parking arrangement further, I just remember parking in one of those reserved staff spots and popping out of my rental car quickly to take some photos before getting back in the car and driving off to the next location.

So what I am saying is that I think it's possible Maura could've parked her car in front of the dorm she was working at (even though she lived just a few feet away at a neighboring dorm.

Just because she lived next door to the dorm she was working at, doesn't mean (that on a typical day, she got to park her car anywhere close to either dorm). So maybe, one of the perks of working security was that they were allowed to park in the staff parking lots during their shifts.

This is all just a guess on my part.


If Maura worked security and got breaks (to where she could make a run for fast food or something) it would make sense for her to take advantage of the staff parking lot in front of the front door to the dorm she was working at as opposed to having to go find her car in a designated student lot which may be quite a distance from either of the dorms.

 

[Fireweed]

Very interesting. I had not thought that possibly she had staff parking privileges.

Does anyone know the timeline with regards to where Fred Murray was when he got the phone call about Maura's accident?

 

[scoops]

Very interesting. I had not thought that possibly she had staff parking privileges.

Does anyone know the timeline with regards to where Fred Murray was when he got the phone call about Maura's accident?

And I might be delusional, but I thought I remember reading some of the parking spot signs saying reserved for security. (But even If I did see that) it might not mean dorm monitors, it could mean patrol cars or something.

 

[Fireweed]

Yeah I doubt that the dorm monitors had reserved parking. Was Maura a dorm monitor in the same dorm where she lived?

I am sort of surprised that Maura kept her job as security after the incident with the credit card.

 

[scoops]

Yeah I doubt that the dorm monitors had reserved parking. Was Maura a dorm monitor in the same dorm where she lived?

I am sort of surprised that Maura kept her job as security after the incident with the credit card.

That is a very good point.


The last thing you would think, would be that someone who has been busted with credit card fraud would be allowed (the next semester) to have access to student ID's as she checks them in. Student ID's (back then) had things such as social security numbers on them.

Really makes you wonder just how big of a deal her credit card issue really was IMO.

 

[goldiegirl]

I do'nt know what this would have to do with her father coming to visit, but maybe she had some other tie to Vasi than being the one who hit him, such as a romantic tie, and that's why she was upset?

 

[Jane Birch]

According to poster Peabody (Helena Dwyer Murray, who is a relative of Maura's by marriage), "It was the Murrays' understanding that Law Enforcement did not want the info released. Therefore, they never made mention of it except to their private investigators."

I don't know whether Peabody said this, he or she might have, but I do know Peabody isn't Helena Murray.

 

[Jane Birch]

Hi everyone. I've been following Maura's case off and on since I saw her episode on Disappeared. Just recently found WS, though, and have been catching up on some cases I had been following on my own.

I just wanted to point out re: the lack of a suicide note, the vast majority of suicides do not involve a note. I have read statistics of anywhere from 15-35% involve a note. So, to me, no note, while a factor to consider, doesn't in any way rule out a suicide.

Also, there are a lot of misconceptions about how suicidal people act in the last few days or even moments prior to their death. They often continue on with normal plans for the future. For example, having plans to go out with a friend a couple days later, or to attend a specific party next week, are not inconsistent with someone being suicidal. Also, they often don't overtly appear sad or lethargic. This is sometimes because, after a long period of pain, they have finally made their decision to end it, and feel a sense of peace. Anyway, just wanted to point out that there are a lot of things about the behavior of truly suicidal people that seems counterintuitive. So, you can't apply just "normal" logic, as it were, to it.

I don't know what happened to Maura. None of us do, of course. I do think the credible evidence points to suicide, though. No matter, her family deserves some closure, so I do hope that she is found someday.

Even though I have never really thought Maura killed herself so I disagree with the reason your posting this info, what you say is true. Someone close to me killed themself the day after making plans for the next weekend.

 

[Jane Birch]

From Fred's demeanour he also seems to have some emotional problems of his own.

No disprespect meant but no freaking kidding dude. His daughter's been missing for almost ten years. That's enough to cause anybody emotional stress that we can't possibly begin to imagine. If I had a missing family member, I'd be a freaking basket case. I would not be a bastion of mental stability.

 

[Lolacat]

No disprespect meant but no freaking kidding dude. His daughter's been missing for almost ten years. That's enough to cause anybody emotional stress that we can't possibly begin to imagine. If I had a missing family member, I'd be a freaking basket case. I would not be a bastion of mental stability.

Of course, and your're right. I too, would be an absolute emotional wreck if that happened to me. I guess what I meant was more the fact that he seemed to be holding back and hiding something-which appeared to be causing him stress. Also, the inconsistencies in his account. But yeah, obviously her disappearance must have taken a huge toll on him. I have always felt that not knowing must be infinitely worse than knowing the worst

 

[Lolacat]

I predict that If I ever struck someone with my car and freaked out and left the scene (not knowing whether or not that person would surivive or not) I would likely sink into a canatonic state similarly described my Maura's supervisor.

But I can't think of too many scenarios in which my reactions would be that dramatic ... maybe getting the news that a close relative just died in a car accident or something along those lines.

The Petrit Vasi hit and run angle could've taken place concerning Maura.

But to be fair, no evidence exists (that is publically known) that comes close to putting Maura behind the wheel of a car when Petrit was struck.

It is a fact that she was working at a dorm less than a mile from where petrit was struck that night.

It is also a fact that Maura was found upset by her supervisor 35 minutes to 40 minutes after vasi's hit and run.

It is also a fact, that publically these two events stand as just coincidence.

I was thinking the same thing. Personally, I think the link between Maura and the Vasi accident is tenuous but I do think her actions are indicative of shock, and something very significant, whatever the cause might be.

 

[BillNH]

Yeah I doubt that the dorm monitors had reserved parking. Was Maura a dorm monitor in the same dorm where she lived?

I am sort of surprised that Maura kept her job as security after the incident with the credit card.

BBM

Since the CC issue was stayed, to be resolved at a later date, there would be no grounds to deny her employment as dorm security. Legally she was not even officially charged at the time of her disappearance. The charges were on hold until her next hearing.

 

[Fireweed]

Just being accused of a crime or arrested is enough grounds to deny employment with many jobs. It sure as hell would be with my job!

It is not just that she committed larceny, it is that she did something immoral and illegal to one of the other people that lived in the dorm. Quite frankly, I am shocked she was allowed to keep living in the dorms. Back when I was in college, you did not have to be convicted of a crime in order to get kicked out of the dorms for something.

The only thing I can think is that no one in charge at the dorm office knew about the credit card stuff.

 

[KenShabby]

Quite frankly, I am shocked she was allowed to keep living in the dorms. Back when I was in college, you did not have to be convicted of a crime in order to get kicked out of the dorms for something.

A quick thought: Based on the packed dorm room, one could reasonably conclude that Maura was at least planning to leave the dorm for other housing (if not to leave school entirely). I know that formal charges on the CC fraud were pending at the time, but has any information been made public indicating that U. Mass had evicted her from the dorm? (This could arguably be among the traumatic secrets that Maura might have been keeping from her family.)

 

[Fireweed]

I do wonder that too. It has been many years since I lived in the dorms, but the threshold for eviction was not particularly high. Certainly having stolen something from another resident would have been enough to get you kicked out. If the school found out in the middle of January, then Maura may have had 30 days to get out of there.

I do wonder if Maura came up with some story to get a lot of money out of her father, which she initially planned to used for deposit/first/last on a new place and instead changed her mind and took off to start a new life.

 

[BillNH]

Just being accused of a crime or arrested is enough grounds to deny employment with many jobs. It sure as hell would be with my job!

It is not just that she committed larceny, it is that she did something immoral and illegal to one of the other people that lived in the dorm. Quite frankly, I am shocked she was allowed to keep living in the dorms. Back when I was in college, you did not have to be convicted of a crime in order to get kicked out of the dorms for something.

The only thing I can think is that no one in charge at the dorm office knew about the credit card stuff.

It is not legal for an employer to even ask about an arrest or detention, only convictions or pending trials. Since she was yet to be formally charged, I would say that had they terminated her employment they could have faced legal action from MM herself. UMASS had/has its own set of rules that may have applied outside of the standard legalities. Fireweed, if your employer actually does this (some do but it cant be used as the actual reason for denying employment), I would not spend much time talking about it since I believe it is illegal.

 

[scoops]

A quick thought: Based on the packed dorm room, one could reasonably conclude that Maura was at least planning to leave the dorm for other housing (if not to leave school entirely). I know that formal charges on the CC fraud were pending at the time, but has any information been made public indicating that U. Mass had evicted her from the dorm? (This could arguably be among the traumatic secrets that Maura might have been keeping from her family.)

Here's the rub with the notion that maybe Maura packed up her dorm to move once she returned from her mini vacation.

She left a note on top of her packed boxes.

to me that implies she wasn't the one expecting to come back to her dorm. She left a note as a message for someone else.


All of this is IMO.