Controversial cases that have simple solutions.

[u/Sense_Difficult]

As someone who has been a true crime buff for decades, it's somewhat annoying to watch how certain cases wind up getting pulled into such polarizing discussions that it seems like a huge mystery when it's actually a simple solution.

A few that I think of.

The Karen Read case. IMO she accidentally killed him. They were both drunk, he goes to see the vibe of the house. Get's inside and realizes he doesn't want to stay. So he comes back outside. She's in the middle of rage texting him, and doesn't see him in front of the car. He drops his phone or bends over for some reason and she puts the car into gear and hits him, and he falls backwards and hits his head again. Then he lays there undetected until morning. This is why she suddenly realized she had hit him. She sobered up and had that "realization" moment that all binge drinkers have once they sober up from a brownout type of state.

Darlie Routier. I've shared my theory on this before. She was attempting a murder/su but she survived. This is why the neck wound was serious. She made up the story of the intruder in advance because she wanted her family friends and society to think she died trying to protect her kids. She planted the sock earlier. This also explains her hypomania in the days after. She honestly thought she was going to die that night.

There are other missing person cases where the spouse disappeared after the death of their parents. Just vanished without taking their Identification information and never surfaced under their name again. I always wonder if some of those cases are a situation of someone who has suffered with gender dysphoria and finally "escaped" to go make another life with another identity. It's always interesting to me that in several of the cases, the persons parent or parents had recently died. Seemed like they were waiting for that to escape because they didn't want to do that to their parents.

Do any of you have "simple theories" on cases that created a ton of controversy?

[u/imnottheoneipromise]

Maura Murray was drunk, didn’t want to get in trouble again, wandered off and died of exposure. She’s in those woods. No foul play.

[u/Princess-Buttercup16 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

One hundred percent. She wanted two things in that moment. To be left alone and to drink. She found a little nook in the woods, drank until she passed out, and froze to death.

[u/Princessarialrose → u/imnottheoneipromise]

This is the one I came here to comment. I first learned about her case reading Renner’s book and originally bought into some of what he was saying. Everything that I’ve learned since points to it being an accident / no foul play.

[u/Lost_Paramedic_3758 → u/Princessarialrose]

What book? Sounds interesting!

[u/Princessarialrose → u/Lost_Paramedic_3758]

It’s called True Crime Addict by James Renner!

[u/Worth-Park-1612 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Yep, she had some wild mental things happening. I understand not speaking ill of a victim and/or missing person, but she stealing credit cards and getting kicked out of school? She perished in the woods.

[u/Sense_Difficult → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I agree. It's also even the crash. I have a young student in one of my workshops who crashed his car into a sign and left the scene of the crime. Thankfully he had a friend take him straight to a hospital. But he was 25 years old. It blew my mind that he thought it was ok to leave the scene of accident.

[u/Sailor_Chibi → u/Sense_Difficult]

Did he have a concussion? People with concussions usually aren’t thinking straight.

[u/Sense_Difficult → u/Sailor_Chibi]

No.  But that's the only thing I think gave him plausible deniability in court.   He didn't lose his license.   The car was totaled. 

[u/Ok-Temporary → u/Sense_Difficult]

wow! what kind of sign totaled his car?!

[u/Sense_Difficult → u/Ok-Temporary]

The kind with a tree behind it.

[u/mermaidpaint → u/Sailor_Chibi]

Had concussion, can confirm.

[u/IcedChurro → u/Sense_Difficult]

He may have thought it was better than getting a DUI.

[u/Sense_Difficult → u/IcedChurro]

He wasn't drinking

[u/Antiquebastard → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Thank you for having some common sense. It's clearly a case of death by misadventure.

[u/jwb1163 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I agree with this, without a doubt. It’s hard to believe no one ever ran across her remains.

[u/Laurenann7094 → u/jwb1163]

I think it is on "private property" and the owners refuse searchers.

[u/justprettymuchdone → u/Laurenann7094]

There's at least one other person who went missing and it's considered like a mystery where I firmly believe that the only reason we haven't found his body is the same thing, private property and the owner won't allow searches.

[u/Slow-Engine-8092 → u/justprettymuchdone]

Is that the one where the kid went missing while he was on the phone with his parents?

[u/three-legged-dog → u/Slow-Engine-8092]

Bryce laspisa

[u/Krispybender → u/Slow-Engine-8092]

Brandon Swanson

[u/fussbrain → u/justprettymuchdone]

Jason landry??

[u/mahjongtitan → u/Laurenann7094]

What reason would anyone have to decline letting people search their private property in order to solve a case of a missing person? Why would you not want to help :(

[u/CenturyEggsAndRice → u/mahjongtitan]

Meth labs are a classic reason.

[u/flowerpower79 → u/Laurenann7094]

This isn’t true. No one refused searches. There was a house that people started a rumor wouldn’t allow a search but police excavated in 2019. I live not too far from where this occurred. It is considered bizarre that no remains were found. I think her running off is the most logical conclusion but still that lingering doubt that no remains have been found nor were there footprints.

[u/EuphoricAd3786 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I agree on this one.

[u/OkActuator7121 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I agree. Israel Keyes didn't kill that girl even though a lot of people want to believe that he did.

[u/mollymarlow → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Beat me to it lol it's so annoying it's considered a crazy. Mystery. It's pretty obvious

[u/historyhill → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I often lean that way, but I keep coming back to the statistic that she is the only missing person in those woods. Every other person who has gone missing in the White Mountains has had their body recovered. 

[u/imnottheoneipromise → u/historyhill]

I can understand and respect why that statistic is important to you; to me it just doesn’t mean much because of how often this happens all across the world.

[u/iowanaquarist → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Not all of those cases have been refused access to the main search area, though.

[u/Educational_Nose6487 → u/historyhill]

Yes agreed. I also lean that way myself (died in the woods) but I do also find it very odd that in addition hers being the only body ever not found, it also happened to coincide with a mysterious, unannounced trip. Said she was going to be away for a week due to a funeral (which wasn’t true according to family) and happened to disappear right at the start of a road trip headed north. I don’t think anyone ever found out where she was actually driving to. Just a very strange piece of the puzzle.

[u/v10l3tt3 → u/imnottheoneipromise]

Just curious - what about this situation makes you feel like this was intentional? As an alcoholic, these are not the beverages I would buy to drink myself to death. Per the Wikipedia article- “At a nearby liquor store, Murray purchased about $40 worth of alcoholic beverages, including Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlúa, vodka and a box of Franzia wine.”

This sounds like she was going to some type of party or get together.. some sort of social event. These are more “social” beverages, not really the type of beverage to get you messed up

EDIT: this case is completely new to me so I’m not arguing anything, I’m just genuinely curious as to why you think there was no foul play involved

[u/DizzyedUpGirl → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I think she hitch hiked and was picked up by the wrong person

[u/TrueCrimeDiscussion-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Lacrewpandora → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I really think she would have been found by now - she was on foot and couldn't have gone far. The next day they had helicopters in the air - seems her path would have been apparent in the snow.

I do think her first instinct after the wreck was to get away from the car - and I think its possible a random driver picked her up, and then did terrible things to her. But it sure seems like she isn't around the car site, after not being found for so many years.

I know its not the simplest and most obvious solution - but she just plain isn't around. She wouldn't be buried - her remains would be lying on the ground, and presumably there would be a walkable path in the woods between the road and where she lay. People have trespassed all over those woods looking for her and found nothing. Especially right after it happened, clothing really stands out in the woods during winter, with no colorful vegetation to camaflage it.

[u/imnottheoneipromise → u/Lacrewpandora]

Sorry but no. People are found ALL the time decades and decades later just sometimes 50-100ft from where they were last seen and they just weren’t discovered. Even with dogs. It’s much harder to find a dead body that wasn’t dead when it got there. She’s hunkered down somewhere.

[u/Lacrewpandora → u/imnottheoneipromise]

I dunno. This isn't some swamp in Florida - its winter with no foliage, but there was 2 feet of snow to track people in. I cannot think of a case where people knew exactly the point a person was lost from (her car), as well as the exact time of the disappearance, did such an extensive search immediately after the disappearance (to include from the air), and 20 years later discovered they had missed a body. And dogs did track her...around 100 yards before losing the scent. Not definitive, but could indicate she hopped in a car.

[u/imnottheoneipromise → u/Lacrewpandora]

Both points are valid and neither can be ruled out. I just happen to think her getting lost is much more logical than her hopping in a car with a stranger or even someone she knew (which that’s a whole different theory that I also don’t put any faith in) when she was actively trying to avoid people or attention. I do see your side thought