NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - #11

[carpanthers]

Billy Rausch:

We have often cited Maura’s relationship with Billy as a reason she would take her own life.

This Maura’s last communication with Billy:

Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 13:00:06 -0500
From:
Subject: hey hey
To: "Bill Rausch"

I love you more stud
I got your messages, but honestly, i didn't feel like talking to much of anyone, i promise
to call today though
love you
maura

They are still together, and she says she loves him. If she loves him, and they aren’t broken up, why would this make her suicidal? She calls him stud, not sweetheart or baby. She is allegedly planning to take her own life over a relationship with a man she claims to love. If this is the case, her words lack tenderness.

If she is suicidal because he has betrayed her, why isn’t she angry at him? Why doesn’t she tell him that she hates him? Why doesn’t she tell him how much or in what ways he hurt her?

Why do we think that Maura’s relationship was in such terrible shape? Because she printed out an old email from him, perhaps to excuse her absence? It is worth noting that she did not have a more recent one. Because of his infidelities? If they were serious enough for her to kill herself over, they weren’t serious enough for her to break up with him. Because they had a fight? Plenty of couples fight, especially couples under the stress of a long distance relationship. It seems they had made up by the time she sent him this email. Because Sharon Rausch said they were happy together, and she, too, is a liar?

According to Sharon, Maura had already found a summer job at a hospital in Oklahoma to be near Billy. Billy got emergency leave from his military base to come search for her.

If she planned to kill herself over Billy, she left him a printed, old email instead of a personal note. Why did she do this? Just to rub salt in his wounds? She could have planned to leave him a note later, but this is hypothetical.

The email and Sharon’s comments can be found here:

http://www.mauramurraymissing.com/KellyJolkowski_part1.html

 

[carpanthers]

And let's not forget, he visited her often enough that we have no problem believing that he purchased a car in Northampton. At least for residents of my state, if you buy a car in another state, you must still pay taxes on it to this state unless you have it delivered, meaning you pay taxes twice.

 

[carpanthers]

The Alcohol:

Maura had a box of wine and a Coke bottle that contained a red liquid. She may have had vodka, Kahlua, and Bailey’s.

“The Kahlua, vodka and Bailey's Irish Creme Maura reportedly brought with her would likely have been about a week's worth of the drinks Maura liked, Mudslides, Rausch said.” Why couldn’t this be true? If we don’t presume Sharon Rausch is a liar, it very well could be.

While we are willing to assume that Sharon lied about the relationship between Maura and Billy, we often take this statement to be truthful:

"I remember Fred said, I always have told the kids when I got old and worthless I was going to climb my favorite mountain with a bottle of Jack Daniels and drink myself to death.' That was emotional. He thought what if there was something he didn't know about," Rausch said.

If we believe that Maura intended to carry out Fred’s plans, we should note that Fred distinctly indicated to Maura that he planned to kill himself with hard alcohol, or liquor.

To my knowledge, the only hard alcohol that Maura allegedly brought with her was vodka. Alone, this could suggest drinking as a means of suicide. But in light of the fact that she is also alleged to have brought Kahlua and Bailey’s, doesn’t this imply mudslides? The drink that Sharon told us was her favorite? Kahlua and Bailey’s don’t suggest suicide, they suggest cocktails.

Are we to assume, that planning to kill herself with alcohol atop a mountain, Maura chose the inconvenience of mixing cocktails? That she planned to climb a mountain or wander the wilderness with three heavy bottles of alcohol or an unwieldy box of wine, instead of a convenient bottle of Jack Daniels, like her father had suggested? That she was going to end her life with an empty plastic Coke bottle containing some kind of mixed drink? Would this even have been enough to kill her? The Coke bottle would have been light and easy to carry. She had it in her hand after the crash, because she hid it under the car. And yet she chose not to bring it with her when she left.

In fact, doesn’t trying to hide the evidence of her potential DUI suggest that she was afraid of the consequences for this accident? Doesn’t hiding the open bottle under the car suggest that Maura perhaps thought that she could return to the scene before the car was moved and the bottle was discovered?

If, following the crash, she was fearful about the repercussions of a DUI, doesn’t this imply that in this moment, she planned to live to face that charge?

 

[carpanthers]

More about the Coke Bottle:

She hid the open container of alcohol underneath her car. If she hid the bottle, it is because she does not want the bottle to be found.

Maura thought that this bottle would be less likely to be found underneath her car than if she carried it with her from the scene. Maura was afraid that she would be caught carrying this bottle.

 

[carpanthers]

The fact that Maura hides this bottle implies that she fears the consequences of this crash.

She decides to hide it under the car instead of removing it from the scene. This means she fears she will be caught carrying it.

If Maura is afraid of the consequences if police found the bottle in her car, and she is afraid of the consequences if they catch her walking with the bottle, isn't she, at this time, presuming that she will live long enough to face these consequences?

 

[carpanthers]

If she chose to hide this bottle, and the place she chose to hide it was under the car, doesn’t this imply that she thought she might be able to return to the car before it is discovered?

If she planned on leaving her car there forever, why would she hide this bottle, knowing that police would eventually remove her car from the road and discover it?

Why would she hide evidence of DUI if she planned to kill herself? What advantage did she hope to gain by hiding the bottle under the car if she knew that the car would be removed before she returned to it?

 

[TAK]

Great questions, carpanthers!

Hi all, I'm a longtime lurker and first time poster here. I've been following this case for a few years and still waver back and forth on the many theories of what happened.

I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on the idea of Maura starting a new life in Quebec. When and how did this theory surface? I know there was an email/post (maybe on Topix?) floating around that said something like "Maura is living a content life in the province of Quebec and just wants to be left alone". Who wrote this? Is that where this theory began?

I follow James Renner's blog and was curious about how the town of Beauharnois came up as a possible location. Where did this idea come from? I can't find any earlier information on it and it's always baffled me.

Did Maura speak French? How easy would it be for her to cross the border and start a new life in a predominantly Francophone province? Did she have any ties to Quebec or Canada before she left? How would she establish herself? It seems implausible to me, unless a plan was in the works. But I feel if that were true, someone would know something. Or there would be some type of record somewhere - at the border crossing, emails, something!


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[Jerri Blank]

actually no its not a different animal at all there is not one bit of difference there are no special laws set aside for parking at a school same law same fines everything the same ...and if what some are suggesting that she has a drinking problem or was leaving for good maybe suicidal your even more likely to care less and park where ever you want..

i can promise you AT UMASS parking illegally in those lots right outside the dorm would result in, at minimum, a ticket, and more likely a tow. i once received a ticket outside a dorm a few buildings over while i was IN MY CAR, with it running. once a friend who came to visit me parked illegally in one of those spots. i begged him to please go move his car, afraid it would get towed. he kept insisting that it was a weekend night and he'd be fine, but finally after 10 minutes of me nagging we went out to move it. his car was completely gone. 10 minutes was all it took for them to ticket AND tow him.

 

[Fireweed]

This is what I was trying to explain. you simply cannot park illegally on a college campus and get away with it. I once got a parking ticket at ucla and I was parked legally. it was impossible to get it dropped. anyone who thinks that parking illegally on a college campus is no big deal has never been to college.

 

[Jerri Blank]

exactly.

that coupled with my knowledge of how busy the roads were around campus during the semester (scoops- going there in july is like going to a completely different place), makes the vasi angle a non-starter for me.

 

[Fireweed]

The only way vasi would work is if maura had a reserved parking space.

 

[Lamima]

The only way vasi would work is if maura had a reserved parking space.

Or...as I read elsewhere...what if she lent her car to a friend.

 

[Fireweed]

here is the thing: if you loan your car to a friend and they hit someone, that is not your fault and you're not in trouble. to me that would be a stressful event sure and you would be sad but I do not think that would be so traumatic as to go catatonic at work and take off for a week.

 

[carpanthers]

Great questions, carpanthers!

Hi all, I'm a longtime lurker and first time poster here. I've been following this case for a few years and still waver back and forth on the many theories of what happened.

I was wondering if anyone could elaborate on the idea of Maura starting a new life in Quebec. When and how did this theory surface? I know there was an email/post (maybe on Topix?) floating around that said something like "Maura is living a content life in the province of Quebec and just wants to be left alone". Who wrote this? Is that where this theory began?

I follow James Renner's blog and was curious about how the town of Beauharnois came up as a possible location. Where did this idea come from? I can't find any earlier information on it and it's always baffled me.

Did Maura speak French? How easy would it be for her to cross the border and start a new life in a predominantly Francophone province? Did she have any ties to Quebec or Canada before she left? How would she establish herself? It seems implausible to me, unless a plan was in the works. But I feel if that were true, someone would know something. Or there would be some type of record somewhere - at the border crossing, emails, something!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can't say that I know where the Canada theory started. I also remember the Renner posts where this was discussed. I don't really remember the specifics on Beauharnois, but I remember that he mentioned Sherbrooke, which is right over the border.

I think it would be easy to get by as an English speaker in Quebec. Pretty much everybody also speaks English, to at least some degree. I think it would be very difficult for her to cross into Canada and start a new life. To cross the border, you used to need a birth certificate. Following 9/11, you need a passport. It is my understanding that it can be difficult to get jobs in Commonwealth countries (if you are not a citizen), and I find it very unlikely and nearly impossible that Maura has managed to make a new life for herself in Canada.

 

[carpanthers]

here is the thing: if you loan your car to a friend and they hit someone, that is not your fault and you're not in trouble. to me that would be a stressful event sure and you would be sad but I do not think that would be so traumatic as to go catatonic at work and take off for a week.

If somebody else did hit Vasi with Maura's car, we know they did not call her after the accident to discuss it. We have her phone records for Thursday night, and we know that nobody from UMass called her.

 

[Fireweed]

I'm pretty sure that in 2004, though post 911, you still only needed your drivers license to cross over to Canada. the Quebec thing started from a post a few years back on I believe topix where someone claiming to know the family said that she was living a quiet life in Quebec. also I think the fact that she was just a couple hours from the border had fueled speculation right from the start that she fled to Canada. personally I think it would have been easier for her to disappear in the United states than Canada. ask your friends and family about maura. they will have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[carpanthers]

I'm pretty sure that in 2004, though post 911, you still only needed your drivers license to cross over to Canada. the Quebec thing started from a post a few years back on I believe topix where someone claiming to know the family said that she was living a quiet life in Quebec. also I think the fact that she was just a couple hours from the border had fueled speculation right from the start that she fled to Canada. personally I think it would have been easier for her to disappear in the United states than Canada. ask your friends and family about maura. they will have no idea what you are talking about.

I went to UMass in 2006, and I literally never heard about this case until a few years ago.

 

[carpanthers]

I would really like opinions on Maura hiding the Coke bottle under her car as it relates to her state of mind following the crash. Maura took steps to hide the evidence of her drinking. Doesn't this imply that she is afraid of the legal consequences of this crash? If she didn't want it to be found, and she hid it under the car, she must have thought there was a possibility that she could return to the car before it was discovered. If she thought that hiding it under her car was better than removing it from the scene, doesn't this mean she feared that she would be caught carrying this bottle?

This is important, it speaks against suicidal thinking on Maura's part. If Maura was not suicidal at the time she hid this bottle, isn't it less likely that she was suicidal before this accident ever occurred?

 

[Fireweed]

I do think that explaining the actions of a suicidal person is very convoluted. I recall reading an article where they talked about how it was not uncommon for people who commit suicide to seem happy for a change in the days before their suicide. They are happy because at long last they have a solution to their problems. My own opinion is that maura was both suicidal and not suicidal. I think she was wavering greatly about what the solution to her problems should be.

 

[carpanthers]

I do think that explaining the actions of a suicidal person is very convoluted. I recall reading an article where they talked about how it was not uncommon for people who commit suicide to seem happy for a change in the days before their suicide. They are happy because at long last they have a solution to their problems. My own opinion is that maura was both suicidal and not suicidal. I think she was wavering greatly about what the solution to her problems should be.

I very much agree with this. Just because she isn't suicidal in this moment, it doesn't mean she never was or never would be. But in the one moment after the crash where her behavior revealed her state of mind, this behavior indicates plans to live.

In light of this, I think it should be considered just as likely that Maura was murdered, died of exposure, or died in an accident.