VA VA - Scott Ratigan, 24, found murdered in apartment, Arlington, 17 Jan 2020

[lonewanderer]

If the person on video isn't really the suspect than maybe it's a lot simpler than police think. It is kind of convenient that the sister left for an hour and this happened within that time frame. I wonder if the police talked to the friends that she met at the airport? Not saying she was involved but if it was a brother he was living with, instead of a sister, I think they would be more likely to look into that angle.

My Amateur Opinion Only

I have always found this very, very, very suspicious.

This case reminds me Anita Knutson. No enemies, sound stabbed in the heart in her bed. Decades went by and turned out it was her roommate with the convenient “not home” story.

 

[branmuffin]

If the person on video isn't really the suspect than maybe it's a lot simpler than police think. It is kind of convenient that the sister left for an hour and this happened within that time frame. I wonder if the police talked to the friends that she met at the airport? Not saying she was involved but if it was a brother he was living with, instead of a sister, I think they would be more likely to look into that angle.

My Amateur Opinion Only

If my memory serves me correctly, I thought there were people who have posted on this thread in the past who knew that the sister lived in the building but didn't know if SR lived there or was just couch surfing if he lost his job. I thought there was information that the sister and her friends were going to a game or something, don't remember all the details. So if that was true, they would have been gone for quite a while.

 

[branmuffin]

There is one thing I find interesting about the perp.

I was an athlete and soldier for almost 30 years. I cannot recall any white males being “bow-legged”. It was not too uncommon for AA males, but I am having a very hard time recalling ever seeing a white male that had the “bow-legged” walk.

Just an observation.

Being bowlegged isn't related to race, per se, but I've known a couple of black guys who are fairly muscular but their calf muscles didn't seem to develop in the same manner other people's do, including other AA males. I looked it up and there is some scientific information relating to longer Achilles tendons and shorter calf bellies (whatever they are). So maybe this POI falls within that parameter, whether AA or any other race.

 

[CrimeTheorist]

If my memory serves me correctly, I thought there were people who have posted on this thread in the past who knew that the sister lived in the building but didn't know if SR lived there or was just couch surfing if he lost his job. I thought there was information that the sister and her friends were going to a game or something, don't remember all the details. So if that was true, they would have been gone for quite a while.

There's an interview with his father and he said she was just going to the airport and couldn't have been gone for even an hour. During the interview the reporter said that SR and his sister lived together.

 

[uteliaisuus]

There is one thing I find interesting about the perp.

I was an athlete and soldier for almost 30 years. I cannot recall any white males being “bow-legged”. It was not too uncommon for AA males, but I am having a very hard time recalling ever seeing a white male that had the “bow-legged” walk.

Just an observation.

I'm neither an athlete nor a soldier and know three "bow-legged" white males between the ages of 30 and 75. I don't even know that many people. :|

 

[lonewanderer]

I'm neither an athlete nor a soldier and know three "bow-legged" white males between the ages of 30 and 75. I don't even know that many people. :|

Oh…uh…ok I guess?

 

[hexicon]

I'm putting my espionage/national security tinfoil hat on again.

Bowed legs and other issues with the leg bones can be associated with rickets, which comes from Vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is seen more frequently in Russia than in Western Europe or North America, or so Google says, due to latitude (lack of sunlight) lack of routine fortification of milk with Vitamin D. Regarding the possible correlation of bow legs with race discussed above, persons with dark skin may be more at risk of rickets in northern climates due to reduced absorption of Vitamin D.

Is it possible that the POI's slightly unusual gait could be the result of a mild leg bone abnormality resulting from rickets?
Is it possible that the POI could be Russian?

I wish this case got more attention and (also in tinfoil hat mode) I feel like it's been swept under the rug by local LE.

(In all seriousness, many years ago I was a young professional living in DC and Scott's case touched me.)

 

[moonglow123]

It's vexing because NOVA is one of THE most heavily surveilled areas in the country. I'm astonished that they couldn't successfully trace the path of the POI. It would probably get complicated, but surely there would be some indication of how they got there and where they went. Metro or car.

There aren't that many (or any) remote places to park your car nearby, and they likely would've been caught by cameras en route to their vehicle. Metro, most/all stops have cameras.

Also a head scratcher that law enforcement didn't release the video of the POI until the 1 year anniversary. NOVA is so transient, especially in the thick of Covid, anyone that may have found their gait or appearance memorable would've either long forgotten or moved.

It is really sad that this case has largely been neglected and had to happen so soon before Covid. I'll give the local news stations credit, some have genuinely tried to give this case the attention it deserves, but it sadly hasn't helped much. I think just too few people know about it.

I'm a huge true crime buff and lived in the area for several years from late 2020-2022 and I never even heard of this case until I left. Never saw a flyer. Never heard anyone bring it up. Never saw it mentioned anywhere. It deserves more attention.

 

[dream_sweet96]

The date of the murder was Jan. 17, 2020. It was a Friday, but notably the Friday before a Holiday weekend and the day before the Women's March in DC. My memory is that a lot of people took that Friday off-- either to host visitors from out of town or to get the heck of Dodge and avoid the crowds.

I don't see timestamps on the surveillance video, but the clip of the person of interest walking north down N. Randolph St. towards 9th St. must be of them heading towards the apartment complex. If you're familiar with walking in Ballston, that particular section of the sidewalk is very unpleasant to walk down. It's almost always in shade, or you have intense glare from reflections off the glass windows across the street. There aren't any shops or places to eat on that side of that block. Plus, the balustrades visible on the left side of the frame are to protect the building from trucks entering the huge freight/receiving area. Right next to it is the complex's underground parking garage entrance/exit. You could get stuck waiting a long time for a box truck to back up into the freight area, or honked at by some impatient driver trying to enter the garage. The clips of the person of interest jogging south down the west side of the street on N. Randolph Street towards N. Glebe Road and then crossing N. Randolph street in front of the DARPA building struck me as well. It means that they were crossing away from the main parking garage for Ballston Mall.

This leads me to believe that this person arrived to Ballston by bike. There are a lot of bicyclists that like to lock up where the person of interest seems to be jogging towards. Arlington is pretty notorious for bike thefts, and there's a general belief among cyclists that thieves would be less likely to steal your bike in front of the DARPA building.

If the person of interest is a cyclist, then, for me, that aligns with their attire, their backpack, and especially their choice to wear a balaclava. If you're riding a bike in January in Arlington, VA, you'd want to warm up the air before it hit your lungs. The fit of the poly-material pants is a common look for bicyclists. It would also explain why the person of interest is wearing their backpack so high up (shortened straps). It gives more context for the water bottle in their side pocket too.

(For what it's worth: I worked and biked around in Ballston for over 8 years. I know that area very well.)

 

[moonglow123]

I really wish they hadn't waited an entire year to release the surveillance footage. Seems like holding things tight to their chest hasn't done much good in this case. I could see the perp escaping on bike and heading to somewhere like the W&OD but they definitely would've been caught on some other cameras.

Wild it's been nearly six years now. Really hope it'll be solved one day.