The Ultimate Betrayal?

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There is an interesting story coming out of the U.K. this morning.

Reports by the Associated Press are saying that in March 2002, a man, John Darwin, went out canoeing and never returned. His canoe washed up on shore wrecked. Sometime thereafter, he was declared dead—I suspect due to lack of a body—presumed to be drowned at sea. He left behind a wife, Anne, and two sons.

But in a strange twist today, news has broken that John Darwin is alive. He claims that he has amnesia, but the story gets even more bizarre: his wife has been found in photos with him taken last year at a holiday resort in Panama. That kind of kills his amnesia claim, if you ask me.

Read moreThe Darwins’ two sons, Anthony and Mark, however, are in shock. They believed their dad was dead this whole time, and they have released a media statement in the aftermath of all of this. Having found out that their mom was in contact with their dad, and that she had knowledge that he was, in fact, alive must be the ultimate betrayal by a parent. In the end, both parents ultimately betrayed their sons.

I can’t imagine the shock Anthony and Mark are feeling at this time, and how their whole paradigm has changed.

Anne Darwin has some serious explaining to do, as does her husband, John. I’ll be interested to hear how this all unravels. It doesn’t look good for the Darwin sons, that’s for sure.

* Nothing in the son’s statement set off a red flag but, of course, that doesn’t mean anything conclusive.

Rick Mims: A Friend of Drew Peterson

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If there is anyone I would rather not be at this moment, it would be Rick Mims, not because he is a bad guy, but because Mims is in a difficult place right now. He befriended a man, and held that friendship for 27 years, only for things to unravel in horrific circumstances.

It’s the stuff of nightmares—something none of us ever want to experience.

While we can’t say that Peterson did anything conclusively, we all know the evidence is stacking up in the corner opposing Peterson. I’ve stated I don’t trust him; furthermore, there is simply too much coming out in the news for reasonable people to support Peterson.

Now imagine being Peterson’s friend—his best friend. Imagine how you would feel.

Read more You’d likely have a lot of self-doubt about how you could have been so blind, how you could have missed all the clues, not added up the pieces, trusted someone who ultimately may be one of the most untrustworthy of people—who is suspected of killing two people.

If the unthinkable becomes reality—that Peterson did have his hands in the foul play of both of his wives—for Mims to cope with the fact that he was friends with a killer— a serial killer—may be overwhelming.

Rick will likely doubt his ability to trust others, and may feel unsafe for a while. He will wonder how he could have missed the signs. He will wonder how come he was so blind to what was before him—so close—and yet unseen. It could be devastating, yet Mims may find the strength in realizing that people like Peterson aren’t on every corner—thankfully.

Furthermore, we must also realize, as should Mims, that Peterson may have treated him quite well. People who are disturbed and who do commit serious crimes often have people in an inner circle who they respect and treat well—and keep the truth hidden away from—and as long as these inner-circle people don’t violate them, they are safe. Perhaps Mims is one of these people who Peterson respected?

Then again, Peterson seemed to have a flair for controlling women—so Mims may have never been or become a threat—so should he have been any wiser? He wasn’t the target of Peterson’s aggression.

Sure, Savio’s death was odd and may have raised red flags, but if you knew Peterson all these years and put your trust into him, it would be hard for you to believe that your friend was capable of committing such an unspeakable crime, if it, in fact, occurred. I think most of us would naturally go into a state of denial—especially when the police closed the case.

Who wants to admit and accept that we befriended a potential murderer? Anyone?

Most of us can accept that our friend has relationship issues, but there is a huge jump to being a potential murderer—a serial murderer.

That jump gives me the chills.

None of us have any way of knowing when, why, or what motivates someone to cross the threshold and take someone else’s life. We all have the potential to kill, but thankfully most of us never do it.

I personally look for people who lack the ability to empathize; and that lack of empathy is a red flag for me, but some killers can swoon the best of us over into being believers, and I take no confidence that I am any different than anyone else.

I don’t think less of Rick for being a friend of Drew Peterson should the worst circumstances materialize. Instead, I actually respect him all the more, because he put faith in his friend, he believed in him and he stood by him through it all until the alarm bells became too loud to ignore. Mims didn’t give in early to media pressure. Mims did what a good friend should do, and he still is doing what a good human being should do. He still isn’t talking badly about Drew, yet he is supporting the search for Stacy.

Rick Mims is an admirable human being caught in the worst of circumstances right now, and while I am sure Mims isn’t a perfect human being, he is handling this stressful situation amazingly well and with grace.

In all of this darkness, there is light.

Monday

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I am utterly wordless, and without direction to write about anything. After such a whirlwind month in November, the news is quiet at the moment.

I did, however, come across a great posting by Dr. Steve: Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!

It’s a fabulous post, if I do say so myself, and what I like most is Dr. Steve’s definition of lying at the end. I think it is superb. Many thanks to Deception Blog for pointing it out.

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Do you have a story lead you would like me to look at? If so, contact me.

Peterson: Looking at the Blue Barrel

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In the Drew Peterson case, a blue barrel seems to be gaining momentum. Have you heard about it?

Peterson’s neighbors have identified to police that Peterson had a blue barrel in his backyard that is now missing. Furthermore, one neighbor has stated that they saw Peterson move this barrel with an unidentified man on the day Stacy Peterson went missing.

If this is true, Peterson has some serious explaining to do, and it appears that what the neighbors are saying is true.

Police have found evidence of this mystery blue barrel in the back of Peterson’s confiscated Denali SUV. And, as of yesterday, they have identified the man who help Peterson carry it as his stepbrother, Thomas Morphey.

The story gets even more interesting.

Read more

Reports say that the day after Morphey and Peterson moved this blue barrel from Peterson’s house (bedroom) to his SUV, Morphey attempted suicide or overdosed on his depression medication.

The latest reports (within the last hour) are saying that Morphey attempted suicide because he feared he may have helped Peterson dispose of her dead body. The barrel was still “warm to the touch”.

One thing is for sure: Morphey, if put in the hot seat, may have some critical information for this investigation.

Last night, Mark Furman spoke to Greta on Fox’s On The Record, and said that he had attempted to locate Morphey, to no avail.

I also read that Peterson called in sick on the night Stacy disappeared. It’s another piece to the puzzle that I hadn’t heard before.

Either way, I think the blue barrel is highly significant in this case, or Peterson would have magically produced it by now. But because the police have forensic evidence to one specific barrel, Peterson can’t get just any blue barrel to take its place, and because he can’t produce the blue barrel, it doesn’t bode well for Peterson again.

WJBC AM Radio is reporting:

“Attorney Joel Brodsky (Peterson’s attorney) says the Peterson family member in question has a history of mental problems, alcoholism and suicide attempts. And Brodsky says he may be seeking attention or living in ‘a fantasy world.'”

Not surprising. That may be why Peterson asked for his help, knowing this could be said.

I was surprised to hear defense attorney Bernie Grimm, on Greta Van Susteren’s On The Record last night, say that he didn’t believe the blue barrel was significant. That blew me away!

Let’s just hope that Peterson didn’t fly that night, because if he didn’t, I think the police will crack this case. If he flew, the odds of finding this blue barrel and its contents are greatly reduced.

10:41 PM EST:
News reports are saying that Peterson picked up Morphey on the night of Stacy’s disappearance and dropped him off at a coffee shop. Then he handed Morphey his phone and told him that if it rings, to not answer it. Then Peterson left, and of course, Morphey got a phone call from “Stacy”. Do you believe Morphey is telling the truth? Was Peterson using Stacy’s cell phone and calling himself in order to mislead investigators?

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A Letter to Drew: Reading between the lines

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If you spotted someone that you thought was in the national spotlight as a missing person where foul play was suspected, what would you do?

Would you:

A) Write an old-fashioned letter saying where you spotted the person and put it in the postal mail?

B) Send it to the man suspected of foul play in her disappearance?

C) And would you not sign it?

D). All of the above.

Of course not.

I am describing a letter that Drew Peterson claims to have received yesterday, but didn’t open until today. This letter wreaks of absurdity yet if we look closely at the only three words that are quoted from the letter and released by the media, it is suggestive of something.

Read moreThe writer of the letter states that he/she saw Stacy Peterson in a Peoria supermarket, and said that Stacy had “a little pudge.”

“A little pudge” …is a red flag for me.

It immediately hit me as abnormal.

These are the only three words we can surmise that are verbatim from the letter.

I just knew it was odd but I didn’t know why at first. It just stopped me dead in my tracks. It gave me pause. Then I wondered if perhaps the wording was something a man might say, but that wasn’t it. A woman could technically say this as well, though much less likely — so I knew that wasn’t it.

Then I thought about how a witness who spotted another stranger might report what he or she saw. A witness wouldn’t give a personal opinion such as this — at least not in this manner. If the witness thought Stacy was pregnant — he would simply state the facts — as facts: “It appeared that Stacy Peterson was pregnant.”

But the more I thought about it for a few minutes, it finally hit me! If I don’t know someone and I have never met them before — I would NEVER know if they had a paunch, or “a little pudge”.

How could I?

I would have no idea what was baseline for someone I didn’t know. I would have no prior notion of a stranger’s body-type, build, etc. to know what was unusual for them. What I witness the first time would be my impression of “normal” for the person. I would be no wiser to any pudge, or change.

The choice of words in the letter (if they are accurately being reported) is indicative that the person who wrote the letter knew Stacy to make this assertion because a witness who didn’t know Stacy would not think like this.

Or, we are flat out dealing with a crazy person (which, of course, is possible). Mental disease and disorders are a part of life — but boy would I want to investigate this further. My curiosity is peaked and peaked big time.

I am sure the police are doing DNA testing on the letter. May it lead us to the truth. If a crazy person wrote it – so be it. But if someone else wrote this on false pretenses — let’s find them!!