All Episodes Discussion

[Peanut6711]

19 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The Haunted House Confession: It is safe to say none of the players in this story were the brightest bulbs in the box? Not the sharpest knives in the drawer? 

The show spent approximately 90 minutes chasing down red herrings only to pull the perp out of hat at the eleventh hour and we learned next to nothing about him. IMO the show should have spent more time on Ryan Riggs. We found out he was a psycho and that's it. It might have helped to know where he came from and what his upbringing was and why he was the way he was. It's like the show didn't bother to find out anything about him.

⬆️ This!  I felt bad for all the red herrings who were paraded on national TV for simply knowing the victim, living near the victim, or helping find the victim.  Unflattering footage of them in moments of grief and shock was unnecessary and a little cruel.  Not only that but playing up that angle of a case can contribute to witnesses not coming forward for fear of being targeted as suspects or their privacy being disregarded in future cases. A simple mention that they were ruled out due to voluntary property search and DNA submission would have suited.  Meanwhile, the disgusting perpetrator Ryan Riggs and his parents who aided and abetted delaying his arrest keep their lives out of the broadcast.  Kudos though to the victim's mother who said she didn't forgive him as opposed to an almost entire church congregation who shielded him and practically absolved him. That's some Kool-Aid drinking bunch right there.  How telling that the asst. pastor was still disturbed by the memory of that Wed. night--the night he had to suppress his natural and rightful instinct of disgust and instead embrace a rapist/murder callously responsible for a fellow parishioner who he practically thought of as a daughter.  At the very least, this church was likely blind and ignorant to some mental health/personality disorder warning signs. Or worse, it helped breed and foster their very own Jason Voorhees. 

As for the police/investigators, what a crew of cowboy hat wearing Barney Fifes.  Except for maybe the guy who actually believed in science/new DNA technology and cared enough to get some justice.  I'm almost surprised there wasn't more dead bodies rotting out there in the Firefly house/property that would make an excellent shooting location for the next horror film. (Somebody alert Rob Zombie).  Till then, maybe hick Barney should ride his horse out there more often, but no he admits on camera he didn't even know the road existed!  The only saving grace in this whole mess (aside from the half-brother who made the perp id) was the local couple who found the victim's intact and still DNA preserved body before it rotted or was eaten by wildlife because they knew of the site as a popular teenage party spot! (So not really an unknown, hard-to-find deserted place after all.) Just imagine all the underage drinking, drug crimes, and possibly sexual assaults happening on Saturday night out there that the police are dense and dumb about. Oh but the church will be sure to bless them on Sunday morning. 

[pdlinda]

5 hours ago, Peanut6711 said:

Just imagine all the underage drinking, drug crimes, and possibly sexual assaults happening on Saturday night out there that the police are dense and dumb about.

Just a collateral observation, having done criminal defense work for many years (now retired), the dental condition of MANY of the participants led me to believe that serious DRUG USE MAY HAVE contributed to their overall functioning.  

[Medicine Crow]

3 hours ago, pdlinda said:

Just a collateral observation, having done criminal defense work for many years (now retired), the dental condition of MANY of the participants led me to believe that serious DRUG USE MAY HAVE contributed to their overall functioning.  

Not to mention their less than firm grasp on the English language!!!

[badgerwoman]

I was surprised only one person recognized the person the DNA research created after they went back and found him on observation cameras everywhere.  And all those people knew him!

Kudos to the mother for not forgiving him either.  

[JudyObscure]

The family and friends didn't seem that bad to me.  They were all very poor and that can account for a lot of bad teeth as well as minimal education and bad grammar.  I thought her mother and step-father seemed like nice people. 

The police seemed to be doing the best they could covering a large rural county with not much manpower or money.

Did they say Ryan's parent's had been hiding him from the police?  I had the impression he had just returned to his home on Wednesday to confess to them before going to church to confess.  Most Wednesday night services are very small with just a dozen or so people, so it wasn't like a huge congregation forgave him. 

I can't blame that little church group for trying their best to be forgiving.  They're Christians and Jesus asks his followers to be forgiving.   They did the right thing legally by taking Ryan straight in after the service, so it's not like their forgiveness delayed justice in any way.

I sure don't blame them for not being able to see into the mind of a psychopath. 

[AZChristian]

Many years ago, I saw a program about the early stages of the DNA program that creates a picture of the features of the person whose DNA is being used.  Honestly, when they brought up Ryan's picture it looked identical to what I saw in that program many years ago.  It was striking how similar those pictures were.

Do we all look that much alike???

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, badgerwoman said:

I was surprised only one person recognized the person the DNA research created after they went back and found him on observation cameras everywhere.  And all those people knew him!

Maybe it's just me but I actually agree with those who didn't want to use the technology.  It worked this time, yes, but I think it says something that the guy was all around the funeral but only one person connected the DNA-drafted picture with an actual human being. 

Perhaps I'd feel differently if it was of someone I knew quite well but I only ever see a resemblance, not a "gotchya" pic out of those.  It's very different from the geneology DNA tracking which I do think is worth spending time on.

[JudyObscure]

5 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It worked this time, yes, but I think it says something that the guy was all around the funeral but only one person connected the DNA-drafted picture with an actual human being. 

I agree, the eyes and nose were close, but the mouth and jawline were different. 

Add in the long dirty hair which never would be connected to the short business style light brown hair.  I think the brother who recognized Ryan had hated him since the sweet-tea incident and would have been ready to recognize him at the slightest hint.  That won't always happen.

 

[Writing Wrongs]

What I find weird on Dateline is the dumb pop up questions they have. They are usually telling horrific murder stories and then a jaunty little question pops up at the bottom.

Paraphrasing:

Narration: She was murdered on her favorite walking trail.

Pop up question: Do you have a favorite walking trail? @DatelineNBC #Dateline NBC

Weird and inappropriate, I think.

[pdlinda]

52 minutes ago, Writing Wrongs said:

Weird and inappropriate, I think.

I think that Dateline, in general, is chipping away at its budget for this legendary show...the viewer questions in the margins each week seem to have been drafted up by a college intern???