Nothing I write on this blog is changing anyone's mind. I'm not sure that's possible anymore. And by writing about how this case has devolved into conspiracy and superstition - blaming the police - seems to only bring more anger and hostility. My fear is that even when I try to point out the insanity, it only brings more crazies together.
A cop who was the center of these conspiracy theories took his life last week. How much of that decision was based on what he'd read about himself on the Internet? We don't know. Maybe it was only a drop in the bucket, something in the back of his mind that made him sad or disenchanted. I do know that if he read those things, it affected him. I know because I've been the target of so many attacks for reporting the facts of this case. I've seen my words get twisted. And there's a helpless feeling that comes with that. Because you want to calmly explain to them how they got it wrong, how they're letting their paranoia get the best of them. But the thing is, they want their conspiracies. They want their made-up stories. Because it's exciting to imagine. Whatever that policeman's reasons were, he didn't deserve to spend the last year and a half of his life having people suggest he killed Maura Murray or helped to cover it up.
The only thing that seems to bring peace is to not be involved, to not write about this case publicly. I just don't have the heart for the fight anymore. I'll continue to help behind the scenes as much as I can. Feel free to send me information and to reach out. But when putting myself out there means having people post my address online, when it means doxxing me and putting my family in danger, there's just not much incentive to share, you know?
When I posted last week to correct the record about the officer who died in New Hampshire, to get ahead of the conspiracy theorists who would use his death to support their fantasy that police were involved, I got a ton of support. So thank you. But it's the comments of the small group of haters that stay with you at night. "I bristle when I see him on TV""He needs to sell more books.""I wonder if he's being paid by the police to say this?"
I have friends who write true crime. The only ones who are successful these days have learned to detach themselves from social media and have learned there's no changing anyone's mind. I need to do likewise.
If you're interested in helping solve some other mysteries, please follow The Philosophy of Crime, where we post a case a day, not to debate the facts, but to share the details in hopes of finding the person out there who carries the missing piece of a puzzle.
A cop who was the center of these conspiracy theories took his life last week. How much of that decision was based on what he'd read about himself on the Internet? We don't know. Maybe it was only a drop in the bucket, something in the back of his mind that made him sad or disenchanted. I do know that if he read those things, it affected him. I know because I've been the target of so many attacks for reporting the facts of this case. I've seen my words get twisted. And there's a helpless feeling that comes with that. Because you want to calmly explain to them how they got it wrong, how they're letting their paranoia get the best of them. But the thing is, they want their conspiracies. They want their made-up stories. Because it's exciting to imagine. Whatever that policeman's reasons were, he didn't deserve to spend the last year and a half of his life having people suggest he killed Maura Murray or helped to cover it up.
The only thing that seems to bring peace is to not be involved, to not write about this case publicly. I just don't have the heart for the fight anymore. I'll continue to help behind the scenes as much as I can. Feel free to send me information and to reach out. But when putting myself out there means having people post my address online, when it means doxxing me and putting my family in danger, there's just not much incentive to share, you know?
When I posted last week to correct the record about the officer who died in New Hampshire, to get ahead of the conspiracy theorists who would use his death to support their fantasy that police were involved, I got a ton of support. So thank you. But it's the comments of the small group of haters that stay with you at night. "I bristle when I see him on TV""He needs to sell more books.""I wonder if he's being paid by the police to say this?"
I have friends who write true crime. The only ones who are successful these days have learned to detach themselves from social media and have learned there's no changing anyone's mind. I need to do likewise.
If you're interested in helping solve some other mysteries, please follow The Philosophy of Crime, where we post a case a day, not to debate the facts, but to share the details in hopes of finding the person out there who carries the missing piece of a puzzle.