James Renner's Blog, page 24

Police Obtained Fred Murray's Cell Phone Records, Murray Statement Gives New Details on Last Weekend

Records obtained through a public records request reveal some new information about this unsolved disappearance.
I have a lot of questions about the purpose of Fred's trip to UMass that weekend. In earlier interviews, he has said that Maura had a car picked out. As we see here, that doesn't seem to be the case. Again, there's no direct evidence the purpose of Fred's trip was to purchase a car. Even Kate, who was with them that weekend, cannot recall the topic coming up.

According to this statement (which Fred provided on Feb 22) Maura slept in the bed in his hotel room the night of her first accident. Fred didn't formally sit down to be interviewed by homicide detectives for another two years and when he did, he brought two lawyers with him.
It also seems like Fred accompanied Maura and Kate to the liquor store, though it's unclear if this was when/where Maura purchased her liquor that was found in the car after she disappeared. In fact, he changes his statement about this while dictating it.
You will also see cell phone reports obtained by law enforcement from Sprint for Fred Murray's phone. It's very telling that these reports came from Sprint and not Fred, himself. The numbers listed to the side of the call correspond to towers but I have been unable to yet uncover exact locations.
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Morrow County withholds information related to suicide that occurred at Rausch residence.

Troubling news from Morrow County, Ohio.
According to neighbors, in April, 2007, Heather Rausch (Billy's adult sister) committed suicide in the Rausch's Marengo residence. A terrible tragedy for a family already suffering loss-- Maura was close to the extended Rausch family and even stayed in the home during the Christmas holiday before she disappeared.
In an attempt to verify details about this tragedy, though, I've received some very odd pushback from local authorities. During a visit to the Morrow County Sheriff's office last week, I was given a report by police in which the scene was described. In the report, the officer mentions that a note had been tucked into her waistband. When I requested further information, including statements and details about the note's contents, I was told the case was still open and the office could not release any information because detectives were still investigating it for possible criminal charges.
This is the first time, as a journalist, that I've ever heard of an "open" suicide investigation.
Before you begin spinning conspiracy theories, my hunch is that I was told the case was "open" so that they would not have to provide the records. I am going through other channels to see if the case is actually being worked on. However, I spoke to Morrow County prosecutor Charles Howland (no fan of the First Amendment) today and was told in no uncertain terms not to expect the records anytime soon.

Details Remain Unproven

Here are a few details about Maura's case that I am still trying to find some kind of evidence to support. As of this moment, I cannot prove these things are true. I cannot find support documentation or unbiased sources to support these clues. If you can help, let me know. I will continue digging.
1. Was Maura's car really unreliable? Did it run on "three cylinders?"2. Did Fred visit UMass the weekend before her disappearance to look for a new car for Maura?3. Was Fred Murray working February 9, 2004?

The Shadow of Death

In 1993, journalist Philip Ginsburg released a book on the Connecticut River Valley Murders, a series of up to 13 homicides--all stabbings--that occurred near the town of Claremont between 1968 and 1988. The book is titled, The Shadow of Death, and I found a first edition hardcover on Amazon for next to nothing.
The narrative Ginsburg pulls together is great. It's simply one of the best true crime books I've ever read, if not THE best. He takes great care to introduce us to a variety of strange characters, from junk yard creeps to the detectives trying to catch a serial killer.
Over the course of 20 years, police and profiler John Philpin came up with many theories about the predator. Some thought there might be a connection to local hospitals, as three of the murdered women worked in the medical field: Bernice Courtemanche, Ellen Fried, and Barbara Agnew. Agnew's boyfriend at the time distributed X-ray equipment to hospitals.
Of course, they never did catch the killer, though a number of suspects are discussed (Ginsburg uses fake names for them). The murders appeared to end abruptly in 1988, after Jane Boroski managed to escape her attack. She's the one who provided the sketch of the bad guy. It's assumed the serial killer either stopped or moved away.
The cases have appeared in the news again recently. A few years ago, a PI and a reporter tried to make a case for Michael Nicholau, a Vietnam vet with a violent streak who lived in Mass. But for many reasons that doesn't shake out. I also learned that one of the suspects in Ginsburg's book--Paul Oakes--committed suicide just last year as he was about to faces charges for sexual misconduct.
Those close to the case, though, suspect the real serial killer has yet to be named.

The Man from Primrose Lane

Hunting serial killers can be an expensive hobby. I've visited New Hampshire four times this past year and the reason I was able to do that is from the advance I received for this book, which will finally be released across the U.S. and Canada February 28. This is my first novel, and if it is successful I can devote more time to these unsolved mysteries.
The Man from Primrose Lane tells the story of a true crime writer who goes looking for the man that killed a strange hermit who always wore mittens, even in the middle of the summer. It's a story about obsession, about the search for answers. It's a love story. It's about crime but it's also about science. And science fiction. Read more about it here.
If this story sounds like your kind of thing, you can find the novel at your local bookstore or online for your Kindle, Nook, or e-reader. Hope you like it.

Life Inspires Art

Just wanted to share this bit of art from Aleksandra Grahovac, who posted this on her DeviantArt page from Serbia.

West Point Stalls

I'm reaching out again and asking for a little help getting at some public records. Is there anyone out there with experience in FOIA law? Officials at West Point are pulling out all the stops in an attempt to keep us from seeing Maura's records. I'm also attempting to access records for another cadet and a teacher.
I'm specifically in need of a first amendment attorney.

The Theory No One is Talking About

A lot of theories have been bandied about over the course of the last eight years about what happened to Maura Murray in those seven minutes she was alone on the side of Rt. 112. I've always said I don't buy that she was kidnapped by some serial killer. The probability that a serial killer happened to be in that particular area at that particular time is too much to believe.

There's the possibility that she met someone up there, that maybe they were driving in tandem to or from some location and after her accident that person turned around to pick her up. I like that one a lot. After all, Maura had some ultimate destination in mind and I highly doubt she'd travel into the North Country without meeting up with someone.

But what about this. What if she really did just walk away in an effort to distance herself from the crash before police arrived? She didn't need a DUI, that's for sure. Maybe she went East on 112 or up Bradley Hill Road? I've been out there on a February night. Locals don't expect to encounter a runner in that area at that time of night. Some of those pick ups and plows speed along that stretch of road, driving on autopilot. What if Maura was simply hit and what we're dealing with here is an accident where someone hid her body to avoid prosecution for a dumb mistake?

If that's the case, someone, somewhere, would have had to explain the damage done to their vehicle when they struck and killed Maura Murray. I'd be very interested in any reports of people "striking a moose" or having front-end repairs done to their vehicle around Feb 9, 2004.

The Creep's Videos Are Now International News

The U.K.'s Daily Mail ran a story today on The Creep's sadistic videos related to Maura Murray's disappearance. Check it out.
Als, Fox 25, Boston, got a criminologist to take a look at the videos (see below). Needless, to say, the Creep even frightens a man who has studied criminals for 30 years.

Strange videos continue to surface in Maura Murray investigation: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Request for info...

Take another look at this quote from Nancy Smith at the appeal hearing:

Ms. Smith: I'm concerned about that, because, again, this is, to the extent this is a small community, the people know... the people, the identity of those people is fairly well known.

Is it possible that their person(s) of interest could be from a family that is well known in the area? That's one way to read that statement.
The strange thing is, this piece of information jives in an interesting way with that report I heard awhile back about brothers who worked at Loon Mountain being questioned by police.
Along this train of thought, is there a reason why the AG office was representing this case? I mean, it's a Grafton County case, right?
If you have any information that could help connect some dots here, I would be interested to hear it. Email: becarriedaway@hotmail.com
Keep in mind, I will not allow comments on the identities of uncharged suspects. I'll read them, and do some research, but they will not be posted.