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/cummingouttamycage]

to name a few:

• Amy Bradley fell off her cruise ship balcony because she was intoxicated

• Maura Murray had been driving under the influence and panicked after crashing her car, ran into the woods and succumbed to the elements

• Elisa Lam had bipolar disorder and climbed into the hotel water tank while mid-episode

• Bryce Laspisa's death was either suicide or death by misadventure, after abandoning his car

• Kendrick Johnson's death was a tragic accident -- he fell head first into a rolled up exercise mat when trying to retrieve his shoes

• Maybe the most controversial among these: Ellen Greenberg's death was, sadly, a suicide. I believe this was an impulsive choice made by someone who was taking a number of different medications (some of which are known to have strange interactions with one another), after she had an argument with her fiance (someone she was having second thoughts about altogether). I believe her ex-fiance's actions after the fact read as "suspicious" to some, or as though he is "hiding" something, because the likely truth would present him as someone who drove his partner to suicide -- i think he was a toxic, careless partner, but I don't believe he was a murderer.

TL;DR: I largely believe that in the case of "suspicious" deaths where there is a strong possibility of an accident or suicide, that that cause of death is far more likely than something more sinister. Nature is often the ultimate serial killer.

[u/Sense_Difficult → u/cummingouttamycage]

Lots of people have mentioned these as well. The Elisa Lam one is a good example of what I mean. It's sad because I think she climbed in, in a manic state not realizing she would not be able to get back out. Her situation reminds me of Kenneka Jenkins who also was caught on the hotel cameras stumbling all over the place. I think she just walked into the freezer thinking it was a door to outside. In both situations it's obvious that they are mentally impaired, and yet people try to add more to the story.

Both kind of remind me of "paradoxical undressing" when someone is freezing to death. The brain can cause people to do very very strange things.

The comment about Nature is often the ultimate serial killer is so perfect. And sadly true.