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Searching for Practicing Attorney in Massachusetts

September 13, 2015, 7:55 am
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I have an idea. A way to get at a lot of information about this case. But I need a little help.

I'm searching for a practicing attorney, preferably with experience in probate matters, who is licensed in Mass. and willing to do some filing.

Anyone up for a challenge?

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The ATM Video

September 16, 2015, 7:02 am
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Maura Murray disappeared 11 years ago. One important piece of evidence is the video from the ATM machine where Maura supposedly emptied her bank account the day she vanished in the White Mountains. But police have never released that footage and many readers wonder why.

I recently spoke to a member of law enforcement who has seen the ATM video. I asked him if it was definitely Maura in the video. His response: "We believe it was Maura in the video."

Now, I hate to be nit-picky, but that answer is less than definitive to me. There's wiggle room. There's subjective determination in that statement, I think. How do you know for sure? How grainy was the footage?

It's a point of interest because Maura had a close friend and a sister who looked similar to her.

It likely was Maura, though. After all, she needed her personal pin to access the account. There probably is no mystery here.

But if there is no question about it, in the minds of investigators, why not release this footage?


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Why Has Maura Murray Never Been Declared Dead?

September 17, 2015, 6:56 am
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After a person has been missing for seven years, they can be declared legally dead most states. Sometimes this can happen a lot sooner, if it's reasonable to assume they were involved in a violent crime. Maura Murray has been missing for eleven years, now. Her father, Fred, has said several times he believes she was taken by a "dirtbag."

One reason to declare someone dead is so that you can sue public entities in private court -- Fred has wanted to hold the State of New Hampshire accountable (negligent) in their search for his daughter. This would have been a good opportunity for him to force some answers. But it didn't happen.

The most common reason someone is declared dead when they are missing and no body has been found is so that their property can be divided amongst survivors in probate court. Maura likely didn't have more than a couple hundred dollars to her name -- though it is possible that Fred or another relative set up a trust for education or life insurance or something. So, dividing assets was really never an issue.

Except it kind of is.

When Maura's mother, Laurie, died (on Maura's birthday) in 2009, Laurie's estate wound up in probate court with Fred as the executor and Julie as an agent. At this point, it would have been in everyone's best interest to have Maura legally declared dead. And yet it doesn't appear that this has happened.

Why?

One reason might be so that Maura can continue to work.

If someone is declared dead, the Division of Medical Assistance and the Department of Revenue (for Mass, here) would be notified. The IRS could be notified, too. That means if Maura is alive and working, she could not file taxes or sign up for welfare or social security. All this becomes very problematic.

When a person is declared dead, family members and friends must be interviewed and provide affidavits under record about why they believe this person is deceased.

In any event, the court was required to do their due diligence to figure out if Maura was still missing when Laurie passed away. It's unclear if that took place.

(Special thanks to Boston probate attorney John Dugan)
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Missing Maura Murray Podcast, Episode 10

September 18, 2015, 7:13 am
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The new episode is up on iTunes.

This week, some prominent psychics weigh in on the mystery. Creepy stuff.


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The Police Do Not Know Where Maura Is

September 20, 2015, 10:43 am
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There's been a lot of speculation in comments and other messageboards lately about whether the police might know Maura's whereabouts but are keeping it quite because she's an adult and has asked them to give her anonymity.

Once more, for the record, the police do not know where Maura is, or even if she is still alive.

I have spoken to the people who currently work the case and they have made it clear that if she comes forward, they would let the public know she is safe without revealing her location.


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Open Question

September 22, 2015, 7:24 am
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What, to you, are the most frustrating still-unresolved questions about this case?

Perhaps we can put some of these to rest - like the Red Cross call to Billy that people erroneously believed came from Maura Murray.



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New 'Missing Maura Murray' Episode is the Best Yet

September 24, 2015, 7:21 am
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This week, Lance and Tim interview University of New Hampshire Professor of Forensic Psychology, Dr. Robert Eckstein.

Dr. Eckstein discusses psycopathy and gives perhaps a better diagnosis for Maura Murray.

Check it out.


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Not Without Precident

September 27, 2015, 7:21 pm
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A young college student vanishes without a trace.

People believe she met with foul play.

A crazy man suggests he murdered her.

Police find her, years later, living a new life.

Woman explains she secretly squirreled away money and has been using other names and paying all her bills with cash.

She wants nothing to do with her estranged family.

Quite a story. Read more here.
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The True Face of Maura Murray

September 29, 2015, 5:00 am
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One of our readers, a talented artist named Suzanne, took it upon herself to interpret Maura Murray's mugshot and make it less "creepy."

Her original watercolor painting is a reflection of the "true" Maura we've seldom seen, a woman capable of things we can only imagine.



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Maura at West Point

September 29, 2015, 7:06 am
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This week's podcast will feature another interview with Clint Harting, who recently found a cache of photographs from Maura's years at West Point.

You can view the photos here. Let me know if you find Maura in any of them. I haven't been able to spot her, yet.

If anything, these photos remind me that Maura was trained in survival skills by the US military.

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Read Maura Murray's Yearbook, Online

September 30, 2015, 6:16 am
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New "Missing Maura Murray" Episode Is Up!

October 1, 2015, 6:40 am
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Lance and Tim interview journalist Clint Harting again this week.

Harting and I disagree about some of the finer points of this case. He's a firm believer in the "suicide" theory. And I think he is too quick to believe the statements from the Murray family. But he raises some interesting questions and uncovers some interesting new clues.

Check it out.

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Request for Information

October 2, 2015, 9:51 am
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Looking for people who were stationed at Fort Sill, in 2004.

Please contact me at jameswrenner@gmail.com


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The Rag in the Tailpipe, Revisited

October 3, 2015, 6:57 am
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I have a theory about the rag that was found in the tailpipe of Maura's car. But if it's true, it most certainly means that Maura Murray is no longer alive. I don't want to believe that's true. I want to believe she ran away from her life and her family and found a better place and a new name.

Recently, I discovered some new information about the case that calls everything into question. I will share this shortly. But it's causing me to rethink everything I understood about Maura's disappearance.

The one thing I still feel certain about is that there was a tandem driver. It's the only thing that explains how she disappeared so quickly. It also explains why she may have taken so much from her car -- backpack, booze, and who knows what else. Was she going to carry all that down the road with her or was she going to transfer it into a car? Or perhaps she'd already left it somewhere, else...

I think it's possible Maura had already arrived at a rendezvous point, a rental that was under the tandem driver's name. There is an extra 45 minutes that remains unaccounted for during her journey from Amherst to Haverhill, after all. When she got into the accident, maybe she was driving away from this person after an argument. Or a fight.

So, the rag.

There is only one rational explanation. Whoever put the rag there intended the car to stall. And perhaps it did. Maybe that explains the accident. Maybe she stalled near the turn by the weathered barn and clipped the corner. Whoever she was driving away from caught up and, given the choice of going back with them or explaining what happened to a cop, she went back with them.

I hope Maura is alive.

But if she's not, she was most certainly killed by someone she knew.


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Long Lost Articles Provide Fresh Perspective

October 5, 2015, 6:36 am
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Kudos to Clint Harting for digging up some old articles from the Patriot-Ledger from the first weeks after Maura Murray disappeared. I don't think I can upload the entire article but here are a few snippets I found most interesting:

About Maura's mother:

Lauri Murray has not left her home since Feb 9. She said her emotions have changed from feeling sad and depressed, to the point she is angry and wants to investigate her daughter’s disappearance on her own. 
“I want to talk to the last one to see her. All the information we got was that she was walking up that road and just disappeared. Nobody just disappears like that and as far as being picked up or that she ran away … I’m getting angry. She would not do this and she would’ve contacted someone. We’re pushing 10 days now and somebody knows something,” Lauri Murray said.


About a possible second vehicle:

New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Scarinza said police now believe Murray got a ride from the accident scene. There was no evidence, however, to suggest there was a struggle.
“From that point on, it’s destination unknown,” Scarinza said.

From childhood friend Katie Jones:

Katie Jones, Murray's childhood friend and a student at Western New England College in Springfield, said although they've lived a few miles apart, they never visited each other at school. 
“She was a very secretive person,'' Jones said. 
“She never even told us about transferring to UMass until after it happened. Sometimes we think there might be more to that story than we know,'' she said

From Sara Alfieri:

At about 1 a.m., Alfieri said she was passed out from drinking. Markopoulos was still up with Murray and they were talking about going home at about 2:30 a.m. But Murray wanted to go to her father's hotel, according to Markopoulos. 
“I told her just to go back to her room and meet him in the morning, but she wouldn't listen,'' she said.

From Kate Markopoulos

Their birthdays are 11 days apart. Their friendship blossomed last year when they turned 21. Then a new Murray came out - someone who could be “somewhat flirtatious'' when she drank. 
All along, however, she was focused on settling down with Rausch and starting a career, said Markopoulos. She held two jobs so she could fly to Oklahoma, where Rausch is stationed at Fort Sill. She planned to move there after graduation.




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Kathleen Murray Gave Reason for Maura's Trip to New Hampshire in Early Interview

October 6, 2015, 3:34 pm
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Below is an excerpt from New Hampshire Sunday News (Oct, 2007)

The source of her distress, Maura told the supervisor, was a phone conversation with Murray's sister.  
Since married, Kathleen Carpenter remembers finishing a phone call with Maura at about 10:20 the night of Feb. 5, but doesn't recall talking with her sister in the early-morning hours. Kathleen, who said she had talked about troubles with her husband-to-be during the nighttime conversation with Maura, said her sister didn't seem upset.  
But, she added, Maura and Billy were having relationship troubles at the time. Kathleen said she takes sleeping pills at night and didn't remember a later call.  
She believes her sister went to the White Mountains to sort out her troubles with Billy.  
"I think it was stress. I don't know what her and her boyfriend were going through," Carpenter said. "I kind of think that might have triggered it. They weren't getting along at that time. 
Also in the article is this quote from Sharon Rausch:

She said Billy was upset after arriving from Fort Sill, Okla., where he was stationed. 
"Fred arrived in Haverhill early Wednesday. We arrived Wednesday around 7 p.m. They interviewed Billy. He was a prime suspect. He was totally distraught. I'll never forget the look on his face. He said 'I feel as dirty as Scott Peterson. They think I've got something to do with it.'" Rausch said.

And this:

Maura picked up the accident report forms from the Hadley crash and was going to go over them with her father the night she disappeared. Two copies were left behind in the Saturn. 
"She was supposed to call me at 8 that night so I could help her go over them on the phone. She did pick up the accident reports. She had every intention of calling me," Murray said. Murray doesn't believe his daughter could have been pregnant. "No, she was on birth control pills," he said. 
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Did You Miss the Live Show?

October 7, 2015, 7:10 am
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Last night, the Missing Maura Murray podcast went live. Lance, Tim, and I answered many of your questions. Check it out here.

I mentioned on the show that the new information about this case may be posted on Friday. But it might not happen until next week. I know everyone is interested in this new info but I want to make sure we've done our due diligence with the story, first.

Soon.

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Welcome, New Visitors

October 13, 2015, 2:21 pm
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This frustrating mystery has gotten renewed attention, lately, thanks to the new podcast, Missing Maura Murray.

If you're new to the case, you may want to check out the extensive police records and documents I have gathered over the years. There's also a cast of characters. And a list of new info uncovered since this blog began.

I am taking some time off from regularly updating this blog to support my novel, The Great Forgetting, which will be published November 10. It's a love letter to conspiracy theories. If you like the X-Files, you'll dig it, I think. It's the novels that let me get away with spending so much time and money on these unsolved cases in my spare time.

Unless there's a major break in the case, I'll return in the Spring!

Best,
James Renner
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You Can Now Pre-Order True Crime Addict

October 13, 2015, 2:27 pm
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New 'Missing Maura Murray' podcast is up.

October 17, 2015, 7:03 am
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The podcast continues.

This week, Lance and Tim interview New Hampshire resident, John Smith, who claims to have the inside scoop.


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