I finally had the chance to lay eyes on Maura Murray's cadet records from West Point. They mostly confirm what was long-rumored, that she left the military academy to avoid disciplinary action and expulsion.
According to the reports, Maura was accused of theft in August, 2001. This was likely the incident at Fort Knox, where she was caught stealing makeup from the commissary. An Honor Investigative Hearing was convened by order of the commandant, an indication that they had enough evidence against her to "take it to trial" before the Cadet Advisory Board. In fact, they found there was a preponderance of evidence showing that she was guilty of theft. Maura pleaded guilty. The Honor Board then recommended Maura be separated from the Corps of Cadets. This recommendation was forwarded to the Superintendent. The Superintendent's decision was to come by the end of January, 2002. But Maura officially withdrew from West Point on January 2, 2002.
Other points of interest:
- Maura signed documents that kept medical information and disciplinary news from her parents
- She went through cadet basic training and was additionally trained in survival swimming, self defense, and combat
- She was pulled out of class 7 times in 2001 to appear before the Honor Board
- She had generally good marks but failed Statistics & Probability at the end of 2001
- She may be semi-fluent in German
**UPDATE**
So what does this have to do with Maura's disappearance? Is it just airing dirty laundry for no reason?
I think confirming this information does a few things for the case.
1. It shows a pattern of behavior for Maura that begins with the theft at West Point and continues to the stolen credit card and identity fraud at UMass. This is a complicated human being (as we all are) and she is shrewd -- leaving before being expelled to... start over. She's a survivor.
2. It shows how the family and Bill Rausch spun the media. Go back and look at what Fred and Bill said about Maura leaving West Point. Now, if they did it there, what have they spun about the weekend leading up to Maura's disappearance? Did they lie? Did they simply omit? Would you do the same if you really believed your loved one was abducted by a dirtbag?
3. It shows that Maura was no push-over. This was a trained cadet. Trained in survival and defense. She didn't commit suicide after losing West Point. She changed her life and moved on. Do you still believe she went up there to end it? Do you still think she could have been overpowered by a random killer?