OH OH - Roberta 'Bobby' Snider, 70, Hartville, 4 Jan 2018 *Guilty*

[JazzTune]

Thank you for this outstanding post of the earlier facts in this case! Great job, and it brings it all together in one post the original story and comments made by her brother. Much appreciated!

I too, don't think she was alive when he left for that trip. Was she already perhaps in garbage bags before he/they left for Graceland? I would just like to know if anyone saw her alive from the beginning of the trip to at least Kentucky. According to PS, she died on the way, but here's where I am confused- I could have sworn he first said it happened in Kentucky, on the way to Graceland. So, if she had been alive during that time period and she died as he said she did, how did no one see him stashing her in garbage bags and into the back of the truck? Most hotels have cameras all around the property, and as one who has worked previously at a hotel, I can tell you with absolute certainty that many smokers go out all hours of the day and night- even after midnight, to smoke, as most hotels don't allow smoking in their rooms now. Even those that have smoking rooms- those rooms are very limited now and are usually on the top floor or at the far left wing or right wing of the hotel, and those rooms fill up fast- many smokers end up staying in non-smoking rooms and have to go outside to smoke, or they have to pay a fine if caught smoking in the room.

So, given that tidbit of information that may not be important at the moment- if he really did do this at the hotel, I just can't believe that someone didn't see him take a body out of the front seat, bag her up, and toss her in the back until he dumped her into the river. The hotel cameras have non stop video and images on the screen that Night Auditors and security (some hotels have security at night) watch throughout the night to make sure no mischief is going on- it would have shown up if he did this at the hotel parking lot at some point. That's what makes me think she was already wrapped up in garbage bags before he left for Graceland. Perhaps he was upset by the smell, which he didn't anticipate, as well as leaking body fluids, which is why he was agitated and wanted to know where the nearest car wash was.

I keep going back and forth with this case, wanting to believe he truly didn't harm her and was taking her one more time to her favorite place, but the facts presented so far, along with DNA samples taken from him, the house and truck, and his constant stories changing, keeps me thinking there is much more to this story, that it is possible that he did hurt her and tried to cover up by dumping her in the river. My worry is that he put something heavy inside like bricks or something to weigh her down so that she won't be found for a very very long time, IF she is even in that river at all.

(BBM)

https://www.ohio.com/akron/writers/...her-in-river-after-she-died-of-natural-causes

From this article, is the following statement:

Benton Count Sheriff, "Christopher said, his department has verified through video surveillance that only Snider checked into the hotel near Graceland. Christopher said, Snider said the next morning he decided to wrap his wife in garbage bags."

(BBM)

I realize the sheriff is quoting Philip himself as stating this, so I don't know how meaningful it really is.

However, I think it would make sense to someone, mentally impaired, to make that decision at that time.

Assuming he's telling the truth, he was driving along, looked over at her and realized she was no longer breathing. That would have been catastrophic for anyone, but how much more so for a person who is not thinking or processing right?

He continued to drive because he promised her he'd take her to Graceland one more time for her birthday.

So, functioning within that mental impairment, ( not necessarily dementia, but impairment, ) he made decisions on a minute to minute basis. He did not, or could not look at the big picture of his actions. The 'executive' part of his brain, the area that weighs consequences of actions, was not functioning, in my opinion.

All he could think was, what am I going to do now?! He knew he couldn't just leave her sitting there.

So I bet he pulled off to a secluded area and placed her body in the bed of the truck without being observed.

Then drove on to Graceland, struggling with his next move. Since he couldn't bear the thought of her being 'burned' for cremation, the plan for the river was hatched. A much better idea, to him.

In his impaired mind, it was a win/win. She had said she didn't want her ashes sitting on a mantle, so this must have seemed like a good compromise.

He was doing what she wanted - putting her back to nature, while at the same time, she'd never know she wasn't cremated.

He never thought, or had the capacity to think of all the questions that would come when he returned to Ohio. I think he was genuinely surprised by them.

Not having the words to explain, he reacted like a child. He told lies he thought would fly.

He never dreamed LE would question them. All he knew is that his actions made sense to him.

Now he's scared. Afraid he's going to prison, and all because he just wanted to take his wife to Graceland one last time before she died...

These are my ideas about what happened. My mind is still open to all other possibilities.

Maybe he's reading this right now and thinking, 'I sure have her fooled!' And maybe he does.

Perhaps I am just gullible, but right now I can't help but feel sad for him...


JMO

 

[Steelslady]

I just emailed Amanda Garrett, the reporter and author of the first article, to see if she has any photos of Philip on hand or can tell us why no photo has been published yet. I also asked her if LE has confirmed Bobby's brother's theory that PS may indeed have dementia. If I get a reply back, I will definitely let you all know what she has to say. Maybe she doesn't have any answers herself, but I did give my opinion on several reasons why posting his photo may not only help LE with a timeline, but may also clear PS of any suspected foul play if he simply is just confusing times/dates and facts due to dementia.

 

[Steelslady]

1) My opinion would probably be the same that PS hurt Bobby somewhere and disposed of her body. I was very close to my mom and noticed things were very off about her just before her official diagnosis of AZ. Although she was still functioning quite well in her own home environment, there’s no way she could’ve driven all the way to Memphis, TN and back alone. I’m not sure what to believe about the brother comments of PS having dementia though? Maybe PS told the brother that he was having some *memory issues* with remembering what exactly happened to Bobby in Tennessee and the brother took that as PS had dementia?

2) I hope and pray that LE have checked the areas around their home because I believe that she could very well be buried or disposed of in one of the lakes or rivers nearby their home. Or something happened in the home and he transported her body in the back of his truck to Tennessee.

*Just to add, I scoured through as many family members FB pages and photos as I could find last night, and although there were many, many extended family photos posted, I could not find one referencing or picturing Bobby or PS on any one of their pages.

JMO


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I decided to email Amanda Garrett, author and reporter of the first article, to see why no photo of him has been posted. If they had only posted a photo of him sooner, it might have helped not only PS with being cleared officially as a suspect, but also give LE a better timeline to work with as well. I, too, checked things out on FB and couldn't find any photos of them, either. Perhaps they took them all down out of respect for PS and RS.

 

[Steelslady]

I don’t know if I really believe it to be true or not (that he has dementia), but after talking with someone who lives and works there, I left with the feeling that the talk-around-town is that most believe he has dementia and just forgot what happened. They seem to be feeling very sad for him which then sorta conflicts with the statement their police chief gave to Fox8 the other day.
JMO


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I read elsewhere that a woman who works at Burger King there said he comes in every day and talks about how the last time he saw her, she was taken away in an ambulance. If this is the case, how very sad that he's still telling this story to people today. Maybe he's really just scared of LE and is trying to give them the answers he thinks they want to hear because he really can't remember? Amazing, though, how he was able to drive and do all the things that he did with dementia. Perhaps as others suggested upthread, maybe he just somehow, in his mind, retained the memory of how to get to Graceland and back without issues because he had done it before several times, so it may have just been automatic.

I also reflected this morning a lot (thanks a lot, vmmking, you're in my head now, lol!!!!!) on the part of him not wanting to burn her. Maybe in his past, he knew of someone that died in a fire, and it traumatized him enough that he just didn't want to cremate his wife because of the pain of losing someone previously in a fire?

 

[JazzTune]

I just emailed Amanda Garrett, the reporter and author of the first article, to see if she has any photos of Philip on hand or can tell us why no photo has been published yet. I also asked her if LE has confirmed Bobby's brother's theory that PS may indeed have dementia. If I get a reply back, I will definitely let you all know what she has to say. Maybe she doesn't have any answers herself, but I did give my opinion on several reasons why posting his photo may not only help LE with a timeline, but may also clear PS of any suspected foul play if he simply is just confusing times/dates and facts due to dementia.

Thank you for doing that! Your actions are very appreciated. I really hope you hear back from her...

 

[Steelslady]

(BBM)

https://www.ohio.com/akron/writers/...her-in-river-after-she-died-of-natural-causes

From this article, is the following statement:

Benton Count Sheriff, "Christopher said, his department has verified through video surveillance that only Snider checked into the hotel near Graceland. Christopher said, Snider said the next morning he decided to wrap his wife in garbage bags."

(BBM)

I realize the sheriff is quoting Philip himself as stating this, so I don't know how meaningful it really is.

However, I think it would make sense to someone, mentally impaired, to make that decision at that time.

Assuming he's telling the truth, he was driving along, looked over at her and realized she was no longer breathing. That would have been catastrophic for anyone, but how much more so for a person who is not thinking or processing right?

He continued to drive because he promised her he'd take her to Graceland one more time for her birthday.

So, functioning within that mental impairment, ( not necessarily dementia, but impairment, ) he made decisions on a minute to minute basis. He did not, or could not look at the big picture of his actions. The 'executive' part of his brain, the area that weighs consequences of actions, was not functioning, in my opinion.

All he could think was, what am I going to do now?! He knew he couldn't just leave her sitting there.

So I bet he pulled off to a secluded area and placed her body in the bed of the truck without being observed.

Then drove on to Graceland, struggling with his next move. Since he couldn't bear the thought of her being 'burned' for cremation, the plan for the river was hatched. A much better idea, to him.

In his impaired mind, it was a win/win. She had said she didn't want her ashes sitting on a mantle, so this must have seemed like a good compromise.

He was doing what she wanted - putting her back to nature, while at the same time, she'd never know she wasn't cremated.

He never thought, or had the capacity to think of all the questions that would come when he returned to Ohio. I think he was genuinely surprised by them.

Not having the words to explain, he reacted like a child. He told lies he thought would fly.

He never dreamed LE would question them. All he knew is that his actions made sense to him.

Now he's scared. Afraid he's going to prison, and all because he just wanted to take his wife to Graceland one last time before she died...

These are my ideas about what happened. My mind is still open to all other possibilities.

Maybe he's reading this right now and thinking, 'I sure have her fooled!' And maybe he does.

Perhaps I am just gullible, but right now I can't help but feel sad for him...


JMO

Or you could just be very right, and this is exactly what is happening to him. I just wish LE would confirm that he definitely has dementia- for me, that would change my bouncing back and forth on this issue. I want to believe his intentions are loving, sweet and kind- I truly hope this is what happened, for Bobby, for him, and for her family and friends.

 

[flute4peace]

(BBM)

https://www.ohio.com/akron/writers/...her-in-river-after-she-died-of-natural-causes

From this article, is the following statement:

Benton Count Sheriff, "Christopher said, his department has verified through video surveillance that only Snider checked into the hotel near Graceland. Christopher said, Snider said the next morning he decided to wrap his wife in garbage bags."

(BBM)

I realize the sheriff is quoting Philip himself as stating this, so I don't know how meaningful it really is.

However, I think it would make sense to someone, mentally impaired, to make that decision at that time.

Assuming he's telling the truth, he was driving along, looked over at her and realized she was no longer breathing. That would have been catastrophic for anyone, but how much more so for a person who is not thinking or processing right?

He continued to drive because he promised her he'd take her to Graceland one more time for her birthday.

So, functioning within that mental impairment, ( not necessarily dementia, but impairment, ) he made decisions on a minute to minute basis. He did not, or could not look at the big picture of his actions. The 'executive' part of his brain, the area that weighs consequences of actions, was not functioning, in my opinion.

All he could think was, what am I going to do now?! He knew he couldn't just leave her sitting there.

So I bet he pulled off to a secluded area and placed her body in the bed of the truck without being observed.

Then drove on to Graceland, struggling with his next move. Since he couldn't bear the thought of her being 'burned' for cremation, the plan for the river was hatched. A much better idea, to him.

In his impaired mind, it was a win/win. She had said she didn't want her ashes sitting on a mantle, so this must have seemed like a good compromise.

He was doing what she wanted - putting her back to nature, while at the same time, she'd never know she wasn't cremated.

He never thought, or had the capacity to think of all the questions that would come when he returned to Ohio. I think he was genuinely surprised by them.

Not having the words to explain, he reacted like a child. He told lies he thought would fly.

He never dreamed LE would question them. All he knew is that his actions made sense to him.

Now he's scared. Afraid he's going to prison, and all because he just wanted to take his wife to Graceland one last time before she died...

These are my ideas about what happened. My mind is still open to all other possibilities.

Maybe he's reading this right now and thinking, 'I sure have her fooled!' And maybe he does.

Perhaps I am just gullible, but right now I can't help but feel sad for him...


JMO

This is the most plausible scenario IMHO.

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[osu]

I decided to email Amanda Garrett, author and reporter of the first article, to see why no photo of him has been posted. If they had only posted a photo of him sooner, it might have helped not only PS with being cleared officially as a suspect, but also give LE a better timeline to work with as well. I, too, checked things out on FB and couldn't find any photos of them, either. Perhaps they took them all down out of respect for PS and RS.

Thank you for emailing the reporter, Steelslady.
Yes, I thought the same thing that the family must’ve just removed any photos of the couple from their pages.

JMO


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[Steelslady]

Thank you for doing that! Your actions are very appreciated. I really hope you hear back from her...

Happy to do it, and I regret not doing it sooner. I just thought that we had a photo of him, and finding out yesterday that it was neither PS or Bobby in that photo, I felt that maybe emailing the reporter would at least shed some light as to why there is no photo of him in their news reports online or on TV.

I promise if I get an answer, I will definitely let you all know, even if she has no answers to give us.

 

[flute4peace]

Or you could just be very right, and this is exactly what is happening to him. I just wish LE would confirm that he definitely has dementia- for me, that would change my bouncing back and forth on this issue. I want to believe his intentions are loving, sweet and kind- I truly hope this is what happened, for Bobby, for him, and for her family and friends.

I should have included this in my opinion post above. I am surprised the family hasn't been more forthcoming about his condition/situation. On the other hand, though, it really is their private family business. Such a fine line between being respectful and reporting the facts. I work for small-town paper and deal with these feelings occasionally.

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[curiosityscat]

I have two questions that I would like to ask everyone here. I want to make it clear- there is no "pass/fail", "right or wrong opinions" here. I just want your honest and true thoughts.

1. Let's pretend, just for now, that Bobby's brother never mentioned that he thinks PS might have dementia. Keeping the rest of the facts but discarding that comment, what would your opinion be about what happened to Bobby and PS's actions?

2. Is it possible that he might have buried her closer to home somewhere or perhaps in Kentucky or Tennessee, and maybe he dumped something else in the river, such as murder weapon or garbage bags he used to put cher in until he buried her. That wouev lld make it a part truth that he dumped something in the river that morning, hence why that part of lie detector test was accurate?

==== THOUGHT I x’s out not sent![emoji849]

Thank you for the Thanks..*smiles*..and I 2nd, 3rd, 50th, the prior comments that you shouldn’t feel bad about the pic, as you have nothing to apologize for, because it really could happen to anyone..*shakes head*...have to presume “fact checking” happens on Journalist/Media side, not the Readers..*smiles*

1) Would have still had the same reactions, as I never presumed the dementia side...very well may be, but if that is the case, then I’m surprised by LE lack of confirmation or even stating that they believed it was simply an error in judgment...*shrugs*

***Note:The above is only my own opinions, thoughts, theories, views, and possible BIG Fish Tales; unless otherwise indicated by a website URL and/or reference to a direct origin source..Thanks!
The TRUTH WILL OUT!, and There will be a Reckoning, in this Life or the Next!

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I don’t know if I really believe it to be true or not (that he has dementia), but after talking with someone who lives and works there, I left with the feeling that the talk-around-town is that most believe he has dementia and just forgot what happened. They seem to be feeling very sad for him which then sorta conflicts with the statement their police chief gave to Fox8 the other day.
JMO


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Interesting. Coming from a very small town, my feeling has been that the main reason we haven't heard from townspeople is because they likely believe him and have suspected for a while that something like dementia was going on as well. Someone's mind going is still considered a very private and touchy matter in small towns, and not something that you would go on TV talking about in terms of your neighbor unless you really believed it had become necessary to do so. They may discuss it among themselves tactfully in the town coffee shop, but small town folks are less likely to tell it to the media.

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[JazzTune]

1) My opinion would probably be the same that PS hurt Bobby somewhere and disposed of her body. I was very close to my mom and noticed things were very off about her just before her official diagnosis of AZ. Although she was still functioning quite well in her own home environment, there’s no way she could’ve driven all the way to Memphis, TN and back alone. I’m not sure what to believe about the brother comments of PS having dementia though? Maybe PS told the brother that he was having some *memory issues* with remembering what exactly happened to Bobby in Tennessee and the brother took that as PS had dementia?

2) I hope and pray that LE have checked the areas around their home because I believe that she could very well be buried or disposed of in one of the lakes or rivers nearby their home. Or something happened in the home and he transported her body in the back of his truck to Tennessee.

*Just to add, I scoured through as many family members FB pages and photos as I could find last night, and although there were many, many extended family photos posted, I could not find one referencing or picturing Bobby or PS on any one of their pages.

JMO


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(BBM)

Just want to say I'm so very sorry this has happened to your mother...

Honestly, I don't think there's many things worse than watching someone you love deteriorate with this disease..

My heart goes out to you...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and trying to help others...

So glad you're here with us..

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I have no opinion on whether or not he has dementia. I just haven’t been around people with dementia much, and the 70+ yo men I know don’t have dementia, so no point of reference. So,...

1) Assisted suicide, or putting her out of her misery. Assuming....that she was dying of cancer, they’ve been married 50+ years, no history of marital issues, no criminal history...just not ready to make the leap to murder.

2) Anything’s possible, but at this point, I still think he dropped her body off that bridge. If not that bridge, than A bridge.

JMO

I considered assisted suicide in the beginning, but if it's true that she died during the trip, I lean less that way. I think they would have fulfilled her last wish to see Graceland first.

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[osu]

(BBM)

Just want to say I'm so very sorry this has happened to your mother...

Honestly, I don't think there's many things worse than watching someone you love deteriorate with this disease..

My heart goes out to you...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and trying to help others...

So glad you're here with us..

Thank you so much for your kind words, JazzTune. I miss my mom very much. Today is her birthday and she would’ve been 76.

Alzheimer’s is such a horrible disease and from the time mom was diagnosed until she passed away in 2014, it was a little over 11 years. It’s just so hard when you watch someone you love so much, who was once so independent and so full of life, deteriorate away like that. Breaks my heart. [emoji174]


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[Steelslady]

I should have included this in my opinion post above. I am surprised the family hasn't been more forthcoming about his condition/situation. On the other hand, though, it really is their private family business. Such a fine line between being respectful and reporting the facts. I work for small-town paper and deal with these feelings occasionally.

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True. So far, only her brother came forward with this information- he also stated that not only did he think his brother-in-law might have dementia, but that he also believed that his PS did not harm her, that he did not suspect foul play.

Perhaps if just one more family member backed this, it would ease my mind, but honestly, it isn't any of my business and they're not worried about what others think, they just want Bobby home, to which I feel for them all. I can't imagine what they're all going through, thoughts swirling around in their own minds, about what happened to her, where, and when. I truly hope LE can find her body soon so they can begin to grieve officially without all of this worry and stress hanging on their shoulders.

I mean, we are all assuming she is dead, but we don't even know that for a fact, either! For all that we know, she could be living in a little cabin near Elvis's precious Graceland, finishing her life in her glory, while her husband takes the flack for her being missing. Improbable, I am sure, but at this point, we still don't know she's officially gone yet, nor does her family.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Because I want to be cremated and have let my family know this, I have become very aware of just how disturbing that is to some. My father is adamantly against it and believes it is completely disrespectful.

Part of my reasons for it are because of the environment and all of this space being taken up by dead people in cemeteries. But really, I made the decision after seeing a very graphic scene in a show years ago that went into great detail about what embalming entails. It was quite different from the scrubbed version you get on the internet from funeral home associations, which isn't a lie, but also doesn't seem to be the full truth.

Anyway, I was thoroughly disgusted. But I also realize that some people likely feel as strongly against cremation as I do against embalming. So I can understand someone not being able to bring themselves to have something done to a loved one's body if they had strong feelings about the method.

Something that just occurred to me is that Philip may have feared that if he brought her body back, his sons or in-laws would force him to abide by her wishes to be cremated. Whether they could force the issue or not is irrelevant. It only matters if he believed they could.

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[Steelslady]

Thank you so much for your kind words, JazzTune. I miss my mom very much. Today is her birthday and she would’ve been 76.

Alzheimer’s is such a horrible disease and from the time mom was diagnosed until she passed away in 2014, it was a little over 11 years. It’s just so hard when you watch someone you love so much, who was once so independent and so full of life, deteriorate away like that. Breaks my heart. [emoji174]


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Happy Birthday to your Mom in heaven! I am so sorry to hear of what she went through with dementia, and the pain it caused you to watch her decline. It is absolutely brutal and heartbreaking to witness. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. May you find comfort in knowing she is no longer suffering with this illness and just know how much comfort and joy you brought to her over the years before and during her illness. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[Steelslady]

Ok, folks- here's the answer I was given by the wonderful and truly awesome reporter, Amanda Garrett:

Police have never publicly released a photo of Mr. Snider. He faces no charges so there's not a mug shot or public record to request. I know they have pulled video from hotels and talked to people there to confirm some of the story (and that's what upended Mr. Snider's initial story about what happened).

I do not know if Snider has early onset dementia. No one has ever told me that. My parents lived with me for awhile and both had mild dementia. I couldn't have imagined them being able to make this journey, but that doesn't mean Mr. Snider couldn't.


There are many aspects about this case that I do not understand. Several people have left messages on my voicemail, for instance, asking why Mr. Snider has not been charged. I do not know, but I wonder if law enforcment thinks the best chance of finding Roberta might be to keep a somewhat friendly relationship with her husband. I they charge Mr. Snider, it would be very likely a lawyer would cut off any further talks between him and investigators.

I'm still not even sure -- because no law enforcement has specified, at least not that that I've seen...and certainly not to me -- that Roberta ever left Hartville.

Wish I had more answers. It's frustrating.

Should a Moderator wish to confirm my email with Ms. Garrett, I am more than willing to forward it to you- just send me a private message with the email you prefer me to send it to, and I will definitely oblige. Thank you.

 

[Gussified]

I considered assisted suicide in the beginning, but if it's true that she died during the trip, I lean less that way. I think they would have fulfilled her last wish to see Graceland first.

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Yeah, for either assisted suicide or putting her out of her misery, I think she would have been dead before they left home. I struggle with understanding how he would have transferred her body from the front of the truck to the back. For some reason, it’s more plausible to me if he put her in the back of the truck at home, with the truck in the garage.