NH NH - Maura Murray, 21, Haverhill, 9 Feb 2004 - # 5

[nola]

Did anyone open the trunk of MM's Saturn at the accident site? Accident report does not indicate...

 

[White Rain]

I sort of remember something like that too. And the Dad was upset that the dogs sniffed the gloves b/c the gloves were new and she didn't wear them frequently. He thought the dogs should have been given something else.

I find it hard to believe that Maura was going away alone and purchased all that alcohol just for herself. That seems odd to me. But it is difficult to imagine that someone who appeared so close to her family would just up and disappear. I don't want to think something bad happened to her, but I can't fathom her just willfully disappearing and hurting her family like that.

Maura and her family are often in my thoughts. Last summer I drove the Kancamagus Highway and while it is such a beautiful ride, Maura is all I could think about. I would NEVER want to break down on that road in the winter. It is way too desolate.

I know exactly what you mean...but then I myself, when life has gotten to the breaking point wished I could just up and leave, family be damned. I could/can never bring myself to do it but who says someone else couldn't?
I guess I am one of those who think she took off on her own for a few days of peaceful solitude, and was maybe a little drunk and scared to get caught after she crashed yet again and ran...but then the dog scent track stops me from thinking further along that line...
A most puzzling case...one of my top 5 I would LOVE to see solved.

 

[nola]

Any chance MM hid in the trunk?

 

[Darkness]

I think her friends were interviewed but they didn't shed much light on Maura's mood. I think Maura was a very private person, things that you & I would share with friends she wouldn't.

The car was processed by LE "months" after it was towed to the garage. At the time of her disappearance LE thought she just walked away on her own, so the car was just towed away. Processing was part of the new investigation so we never heard if anything usable was found in or on the car. Boy!..... skin cells on the rag, beer bottle in back seat, DNA, fingerprints in the car, hair-fibers in car....I wonder what was found!! On the other hand the someday defense attorney is going to have a field day on how the whole LE handling of this case.

 

[nola]

Wonder where the car is now...if the trunk were processed for fingerprints...would the interior release latch and inside lid show MM's prints?

If Maura did leave the scene via the tow - the possibilities of her current location are then very different than what is now believed.

If she were suicidal, and wanting to do harm to herself --my bet is that she continued to a Bartlet mountain area- climbed to a remote spot where she may never be found. But if she were planning to meet someone - she could have found a pay phone and called for that person to pick her up. She could be living in Canada now.

What drove her out of Amherst is the key to solving this mystery.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

Does anyone know what upset Maura so bad that she cried that day and wanted to get away? I mean, any friends of hers have ANY theories?

Was she pregnant perhaps?
Guess she wouldn't be drinking if she was pregnant though.

Any possibility she was failing a class? Any family troubles?
Was she diagnosed with an illness of any sort?

From what I've read in the media and on several web sites, these are questions for which no one has certain answers. All of them (as well as others) have provided jumping off points for various theories for internet posters.

I have no idea what her friends might think about her disappearance. Really, in terms of her intentions for the trip, there are several possibilities:

1. She was going to NH alone for a short "break" but fully expected to return to UMass.
2. She was going to NH alone as the first stage in setting up her own disappearance.
3. She was going to NH to commit suicide.
4. She had some sort of "business" in NH, either a meeting with someone else (friend, lover or associate) or somewhere in particular that she wanted to go.

Then, there is the question of where and when she disappeared. The question here involves whether it was Maura at the site of the wreck in NH. Was it Maura with her hair down or a man with long hair or someone else? If Maura was not at the car wreck site, either she was abducted (taken against her will at some earlier stage of the trip), or someone else was driving the Saturn with her permission. That individual may have had an unfortunate accident (but didn't want to be caught with the car) or was carrying out a plan to dump the car and stage an accident.

If Maura was at the car wreck site, she might have left the car voluntarily to stage an accident, abandoned it because she couldn't face wrecking two in a week or abandoned it because she had been drinking and didn't want to take a breathalyzer. She might have been picked up by someone she was planning to meet, by a helpful stranger, or a killer.

It's possible that the reasons for the trip have nothing to do with Maura's disappearance, other than putting her in the place where she was last seen, and thus speculating about them is a waste of time. Or it might be that her disappearance is directly and materially connected to her reasons for the trip (e.g., that she was killed by the person she intended to meet or that her intention all along was to disappear.

Myself, I've never liked the fact that she bothered to put meaningful items in the car, which were then just left there. I'm bothered by speculation that there was damage to the Saturn not consistent with the situation at the scene of the accident. And I'm bothered by the issue of why a woman who nearly always had her hair up or in ponytail in pictures would start out on a car trip with her down. That makes me wonder if it was Maura in the car at all or whether the witness accounts about Maura at the scense were at all correct.

 

[gnomony]

I've missed some bits and pieces in this long thread, so maybe this has been addressed -- but something bothers me.

She spent about $40 on alcohol just before she left -- Bailey's, Kahlua, vodka and a box of red Franzia wine.

At today's prices and in my New England location, 375 ml bottles of the liquor would be about $12-$13 each, and the box of Franzia red wine would be about the same. I'm assuming that prices have increased in six years, so it's a reasonable guess that she could buy roughly the same amount for about $40 back then.

Only the wine was found in the car, and it appeared that she had been drinking some of that out of a coke bottle. The liquor was gone.

If my assumptions about bottle size and pricing are correct, the three missing liquor bottles each contained 12.7 oz. Drunk as she may have been at the time of the accident, it seems unlikely that a 120-pound young woman could have consumed 38 shots of liquor, plus some of the wine, in roughly three hours.

This suggests to me that she stopped somewhere before the accident site and that she either left off the liquor or that someone joined her in consuming it.

Where did the Bailey's, Kahlua and vodka go?

As an alternative theory, if she really did consume all that alcohol (and threw the bottles out the window), a good samaritan could have picked her up at the accident scene only to have her immediately die in his car. Who knows what he might then have done or why...

 

[nola]

From what I have read when MM disappeared also missing was a black backpack that she always had with her. It is assumed that she took it with her along with her cell phone, id, cash, etc.,.

It is known what she purchased because the receipt was still in the car.
There was also an ATM video showing MM withdraw the $280 in Amherst--would be interesting to know if her hair was up or down in the clip. I have never seen the ATM video - but LE did say that she was alone in it and did not look as if she were in distress. There was also an interview with her sister saying that MM had Tylenol PM with her too.

About her hair: Wonder if the airbag deploying would undo the typical bun/ponytail? There was a pretty big spider web break in the windshield on the driver side...Butch Atwood could have caught her with her hair falling down...

Any insight about when the hit and run near U-Mass campus occurred? I know that Vasi was discovered before midnight either wondering the streets or lying in the street with a head injury - but what if MM had hit him with her car earlier that evening before she went to her security job...what if she had been drinking and wasn't sure what she had hit.....she could have realized that she did in fact hit a person while at work ---maybe someone phoned to let campus security know about a possible hit and run --she got confirmation and that's why she became so upset that night. What time did MM go to work that night? where was she before work?

So many questions -- and very little insight offered from the U-Mass friends that I have seen.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

There was also an ATM video showing MM withdraw the $280 in Amherst--would be interesting to know if her hair was up or down in the clip. I have never seen the ATM video - but LE did say that she was alone in it and did not look as if she were in distress. There was also an interview with her sister saying that MM had Tylenol PM with her too.

I agree that the ATM machine could give us at least some confirmation about what Maura looked like as she left Amherst. If her hair was up, then I have real questions about the identity of the person in NH, because women almost never undo their hair once it's up--it never looks right and is not comfortable. There's also the possibility she had it cut before she left, which might indicate either an intent to change her appearance or else some emotional state that made her want "a change."

As to the issue of the liquor, it's odd to me that she would take the liquor but not the jewelry and other sentimental items--unless she figured she didn't want to be caught with liquor in the car and so packed it out and left the other stuff, figuring to get it back later. But then--why leave wine in the Coke bottle? That's a dead giveaway for drinking.

Most of the time, this case makes no sense at all. It may just be that Maura was tired and not thinking too well, after a long drive and a second accident in a few days.

 

[gnomony]

From what I have read when MM disappeared also missing was a black backpack that she always had with her. It is assumed that she took it with her along with her cell phone, id, cash, etc.,.

Okay, I missed that. So perhaps she took the liquor with her. Thx.

 

[cluciano63]

the bottled of liquor would have been very heavy to carry and seems like they would have been found if she ditched them...

what is the saddest thing to me is that i truly believe she has a father who would have helped her with and understood anything that she could have been going through...my heart breaks for him- i do not think she could possibly be alive as imo she would never let her family go through this...i hope the police truly do have something to break this case that will hold up, it has been such a mess...

 

[nola]

Does anybody know why she left West Point? I recall her dad saying something about her wanting to save lives (nursing); not wanting to take them --- but I have heard other reports that she was asked to leave?? Not sure what's the true story...

If she thought she had killed the pedestrian near U-Mass campus that Thursday night--this could be enough to shatter anyone's belief in themselves. Even question whether she would want to put family and friends through something she was entirely responsible for...
...trying to imagine what would make this girl run is impossible without more information from people who interacted with her each day...

 

[pittsburghgirl]

There might be a big difference between a young woman who had been driven to succeed (distance running, West Point, etc.) taking a weekend or a week to get her thoughts and life in order, taking a break and a young woman "running" from or to something. Even if she had been "running," there is no sign that she intended to leave everything but the backpack behind her. She didn't even zero out her bank account. It comes down to this:

1. Either she planned to disappear (or worse)

2. Or she intended to be gone only a few days.

In either case, she could have met with foul play. While her behavior is intriguing, there is no way to know whether her intentions for the week or so ahead of her have anything to do with her disappearance (other than putting her in the geographical location where her car was abandoned).

 

[White Rain]

Any chance MM hid in the trunk?

If she did hide in the trunk...how would she get out? was there a release button in the saturn trunk?
I have trouble believeing ANYONE would hide in a trunk unless they knew for sure how to get out.

 

[cluciano63]

i think that even if she meant initially to disappear, she never would have kept it up this long and cause so many people so much pain, it does not fit with what her family and friends know of her and she could not be unaware that they were all looking for her, if she were still alive. I think that people that do that and can stay "gone" usually have committed a terrible crime or don't really have close family ties, and this does not seem to fit Maura.

 

[pittsburghgirl]

i think that even if she meant initially to disappear, she never would have kept it up this long and cause so many people so much pain, it does not fit with what her family and friends know of her and she could not be unaware that they were all looking for her, if she were still alive. I think that people that do that and can stay "gone" usually have committed a terrible crime or don't really have close family ties, and this does not seem to fit Maura.

I agree. It wouldn't take much to pick up the phone and make a call to a friend, even if she couldn't face her parents for some reason. And I cannot for the life of me think she would miss her mother's funeral.

 

[belimom]

I agree. It wouldn't take much to pick up the phone and make a call to a friend, even if she couldn't face her parents for some reason. And I cannot for the life of me think she would miss her mother's funeral.

i think that even if she meant initially to disappear, she never would have kept it up this long and cause so many people so much pain, it does not fit with what her family and friends know of her and she could not be unaware that they were all looking for her, if she were still alive. I think that people that do that and can stay "gone" usually have committed a terrible crime or don't really have close family ties, and this does not seem to fit Maura.

I think the most compelling evidence for foul play is: no body (or any evidence at all - clothes, shoes, etc). Even if she had harmed herself and a wild animal got to her remains, there would be evidence. And there has been nothing.

 

[nola]

There might be a big difference between a young woman who had been driven to succeed (distance running, West Point, etc.) taking a weekend or a week to get her thoughts and life in order, taking a break and a young woman "running" from or to something. Even if she had been "running," there is no sign that she intended to leave everything but the backpack behind her. She didn't even zero out her bank account. It comes down to this:

1. Either she planned to disappear (or worse)

2. Or she intended to be gone only a few days.

In either case, she could have met with foul play. While her behavior is intriguing, there is no way to know whether her intentions for the week or so ahead of her have anything to do with her disappearance (other than putting her in the geographical location where her car was abandoned).

You are right --she may have just wanted to get away --but if that's it-- then she would have contacted her family as soon as she got to a phone. I so want this girl to be alive (as we all do) and it is so sad to think that something bad could happen so quick and leave no trace. I know it happens all the time -- but with Maura -"Running" in my mind gives more hope for her safety. I keep trying to work out a reason that she would feel that she was not worthy of her loving family---????. Obviously, nothing she could have ever done would have made this true --but young people don't always realize this truth in the face of crisis. The search for a reason to run/ a crisis (if there was one) directs my attention to her actions/behaviors before Monday.

Prayers for Maura and her family...

 

[nola]

There might be a big difference between a young woman who had been driven to succeed (distance running, West Point, etc.) taking a weekend or a week to get her thoughts and life in order, taking a break and a young woman "running" from or to something. Even if she had been "running," there is no sign that she intended to leave everything but the backpack behind her. She didn't even zero out her bank account. It comes down to this:

1. Either she planned to disappear (or worse)

2. Or she intended to be gone only a few days.

In either case, she could have met with foul play. While her behavior is intriguing, there is no way to know whether her intentions for the week or so ahead of her have anything to do with her disappearance (other than putting her in the geographical location where her car was abandoned).

You are right --she may have just wanted to get away --but if that's it-- then she would have contacted her family as soon as she got to a phone. I so want this girl to be alive (as we all do) and it is so sad to think that something bad could happen so quick and leave no trace. I know it happens all the time -- but with Maura -"Running" in my mind gives more hope for her safety. I keep trying to work out a reason that she would feel that she was not worthy of her loving family---????. Obviously, nothing she could have ever done would have made this true --but young people don't always realize this truth in the face of crisis. The search for a reason to run/ a crisis (if there was one) directs my attention to her actions/behaviors before Monday.

Prayers for Maura and her family...

 

[nola]

I searched on line for images of the 1996 Saturn -- pictures show a release latch (I guess this is standard on most sedans) and the back seats open forward for trunk access...not sure why she would hide ---but I was trying to figure a way that she could have left the accident scene without being picked up by a predator. I was just thinking that she had witnessed a car being towed the previous night (Dad's car) -- and maybe she thought this would be a safe option that would prevent her from getting a DUI or having to call her parents that night -- maybe she wanted to avoid being discovered so soon after leaving campus...

However, I am not sure that the car's trunk was left closed that night --if it was opened - then this scenario can be ruled out.