All Episodes Discussion

[QQQQ]

It's been years since I watched Dateline with any regularity, but a bout of insomnia last night led me to Far From Spider Lake. Good lord, does every episode get stretched out to that extent?! I thought I was watching the investigation in real time.

[Ashforth]

2 hours ago, QQQQ said:

It's been years since I watched Dateline with any regularity, but a bout of insomnia last night led me to Far From Spider Lake. Good lord, does every episode get stretched out to that extent?! I thought I was watching the investigation in real time.

That's a big reason that I don't watch as much Dateline and 48 Hours as I used to. There's a recap after every commercial break. If there's a video or audio recording, it's played over and over again. There's so much repetition that about halfway in, I'm thinking, just get to the ending. 

Sometimes it feels like the "mystery" is manufactured for drama, which is not what journalism should be. But are these shows supposed to be journalism? Or are they admittedly flat out entertainment?

[Melina22]

19 hours ago, Ashforth said:

That's a big reason that I don't watch as much Dateline and 48 Hours as I used to. There's a recap after every commercial break.

The only reason I can watch is because I PVR all the episodes. Not only do I FF all the commercials, I also FF the first couple of minutes after each commercial, avoiding the recaps which are presumably for the viewers with short term memory loss. 

If I didn't have a PVR, I couldn't watch. I'd lose my mind. 

[mythoughtis]

On 12/20/2020 at 3:27 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

I assumed that the reason the oldest daughter lived with her father was that she was old enough to decide who she wanted to live with. I would imagine as well that she may have known that her mother was accusing her father of all kinds of things that were not true.

I feel sorry for her ex and his new(ish) wife, knowing that the first wife will be out of prison next year. I doubt very much that she has learned anything, and on top of that her ex's second wife adopted her kids and consider her their only mom. If she was mad enough before to kill, I doubt that hate has lessoned any. Possibly it has even increased. 

I googled the case.  The eldest daughter had missed 30 days of school in the year she had lived with her mom.  Presumably that and her age allowed for a quick transfer of custody.  
 

Besides the complete immorality of someone wanting to kill their ex, I was amazed that her father agreed with her.  He was a former police officer.  Of all people to be taking the law in their own hands.  Made me wonder if he had some cognitive issues. 

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

I googled the case.  The eldest daughter had missed 30 days of school in the year she had lived with her mom.  Presumably that and her age allowed for a quick transfer of custody.  
 

Besides the complete immorality of someone wanting to kill their ex, I was amazed that her father agreed with her.  He was a former police officer.  Of all people to be taking the law in their own hands.  Made me wonder if he had some cognitive issues. 

Interesting about the oldest daughter missing school. It must be that the mother could not control her oldest, rather than letting her miss school or one would think all the kids would have been given to the father due to them missing school.

The father in law being a former police officer did not surprise me in the least. We have seen at least a half a dozen cases over the years where either the murderer was a cop or former cop, or a father in law who was involved with his daughter killing her current or former husband, was a cop. In my experience of the cops I know (some well, others casually) they pretty much go into law enforcement for one of two reasons: they genuinely want to help people, or they like the power it gives them. The father in law in this case was obviously of the latter variety. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by UsernameFatigue

[Ellee]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/27/us/boy-scouts-hug-booth-nursing-home-clear-lake-trnd/index.html

Again not the right place to post. Just thought they should be recognized for what they did.  

[LakeGal]

I just saw the Carrolton Plot again.  That case never stops being interesting.  It had the Hee Haw gang.  Plus the 2 daughters that were almost acting delighted by being on TV and chatting about their wonderful dad. I always felt sorry for their mother.  She was shot by the Hee Haw hitmen that her husband hired.  Yet the daughters were all gleeful about Daddy.  I guess he had the money so they wanted to stay on his good side.  Too bad about mom.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, all three adult children in the Carrolton case were despicable.   In my view, they chose their father's embezzled millions, over their mother.    The son wanting the mother to get up in court during sentencing, and ask that her adulterous husband, who tried to have her killed should have a lighter sentence is disgusting.   They said later that the company the husband embezzled millions from tried to get the donations to the church returned, and the church refused.  I hope the company's lawsuit against the church was successful.  

I'm wondering how much more money the husband embezzled, and hid in overseas banks?    

Edited December 30, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Melina22]

Is The Secrets of Cottonwood Creek a new one? It was a rare episode where after it ended, I felt like most probably the husband DIDN'T kill his wife. 

Apart from his excellent reputation with family and friends, his behaviour after the fact didn't have any of the red flags we always see. No insurance policy to cash in. And most importantly, no other woman waiting in the wings. He didn't start dating for two years. So what motive did he have that was so compelling as to make him suddenly murder his wife in the middle of a pleasant hike? 

I know his story seemed really unlikely, but so did the idea he suddenly murdered her. No hard evidence for either scenario, but obviously one of them happened. If I were a juror, I would have gone with Not Guilty. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I remember hearing about the Cottonwood Creek death.     I couldn't have convicted the husband either.    There simply wasn't enough evidence against him vs. accident.     I think one reason people look so closely at hiking, or falling off the creek side accidents is that there have been so many husbands that did stage cliff accidents that were murder, that is is suspicious.  

However, there are so many people who take selfies or photos too close to the edge, and fall off, that it's very possible. 

 Years ago, I took the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, and we had a certain amount of time at the top, and people would stand right on the boulders at the edge to take pictures, and were standing right on the edge.    One slip, and they would have fallen thousands of feet, bouncing off of boulders all of the way down.    People just get careless sometimes, but that doesn't mean every time someone falls is murder. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[MsJamieDornan]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

People just get careless sometimes, but that doesn't mean every time someone falls is murder. 

That's very true.   The part I had a hard time with was that she had no injuries from the fall.  That just seemed strange.

[Melina22]

Just now, MsJamieDornan said:

The part I had a hard time with was that she had no injuries from the fall.  That just seemed strange.

One of the doctors did say she had a tiny skull fracture. I know it does seem odd that she could fall without much injury, but it also seems odd she'd fight for her life then be forcibly drowned without much injury. 

[MsJamieDornan]

Quote

One of the doctors did say she had a tiny skull fracture. I know it does seem odd that she could fall without much injury, but it also seems odd she'd fight for her life then be forcibly drowned without much injury. 

The whole thing was very odd. JMO but there really wasnt a current fast enough to drag her that far either.   I'm not saying he did it, but there are some odd things about the case.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I don't see how the victim could be drowned by the husband, but have no bruises or other marks from that?    I think the husband would have left marks, and maybe get scratched by her fingernails, but there was nothing.   I couldn't have convicted the husband.  

[MsJamieDornan]

21 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think the husband would have left marks, and maybe get scratched by her fingernails, but there was nothing. 

He did have a few scratches but he said they were from branches.  

[EtheltoTillie]

Last night’s cruise story was the most convoluted story ever to appear on Dateline. I had no idea where it was going at any time. I have to say I thought the cruise ship looked cheesy and that was before they pointed out its checkered past. 

[Lsk02]

My biggest takeaway from the cruise episode was that those supposedly super smart amazing PIs were using a pair of shoes to get measurements on the boat for a murder investigation. They did not seem as good at their jobs as they wanted us to believe. Maybe that’s why they work with dogs now? 

[UsernameFatigue]

I couldn't understand why Josh kept referring to the cruise ship like it was some luxury vacation. Then he finally filled us in on the history of the ship. Poor Micki, to be excited about her romantic get away and then board this POC. I know often rooms are small on cruise ships, but this one was the size of a jail cell, with two tiny single beds taking up the majority of the room. But then again, no reason for cheap Lonnie to spend any more money when he knew he would only be on the ship for a few days at most. Poor Micki. 

I don't know if it was the way the episode was edited, but about half way in Josh talked about how the PI friends had finally come to realize that Micki could not have fallen overboard on her own because the railings were too high for 5'3" Micki to do so. But it had already been established within a few days of Micki going missing - when her body was found and the autopsy was done - that she did not drown but was in fact murdered. So what was the point of taking the measurements of the railings on the boat? Sheesh. 

I also shook my head when Josh referred to Lonnie's OC home as beautiful. When they first showed the house I actually said out loud "What an ugly house!". No curb appeal what-so-ever. Sometimes I wonder if Josh is pulling our legs with his descriptions. But then again, Dateline often describes people as beautiful when they are average, so I guess it is no different with houses. 

In any case, what a slimy POS Lonnie turned out to be - and of course a cold blooded murderer. Thank goodness Micki's body was found. otherwise he very likely would have gotten away with it. 

[LakeGal]

I suspected the ex within the first few minutes of this episode.  I found it odd that he got off in Naples.  Why wouldn't he stay on the ship where she disappeared?  Instead he gets off and goes to a hotel room alone in a place where he does not speak the language.  That all seemed suspicious to me.  They really dragged this one out.  I also thought the cruise ship looked old and not very fancy when they first showed it.  Later they said it was an old ferry and that made sense.  I had been wondering why they were not checking the key cards and cameras in the hallways to see if his story checked out.  He said she left the room for tea.  Did she leave?  Did she return?  But I suppose the old cruise ship did not even have that ability.  Another reason why the killer picked that ship.   

He lied to his friend about going home to California to sleep in his own bed.  He really went there to see his girlfriend who was another ex.  I don't know why his friends were so devoted to him.  He seemed like a lying jerk to me.  

[Koalagirl]

56 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

I suspected the ex within the first few minutes of this episode.  I found it odd that he got off in Naples.  Why wouldn't he stay on the ship where she disappeared?  Instead he gets off and goes to a hotel room alone in a place where he does not speak the language.  That all seemed suspicious to me.  They really dragged this one out.  I also thought the cruise ship looked old and not very fancy when they first showed it.  Later they said it was an old ferry and that made sense.  I had been wondering why they were not checking the key cards and cameras in the hallways to see if his story checked out.  He said she left the room for tea.  Did she leave?  Did she return?  But I suppose the old cruise ship did not even have that ability.  Another reason why the killer picked that ship.   

He lied to his friend about going home to California to sleep in his own bed.  He really went there to see his girlfriend who was another ex.  I don't know why his friends were so devoted to him.  He seemed like a lying jerk to me.  

They did say that the ship had no security cameras which made me think they probably didn’t use key cards either and used regular keys instead.  It takes money to retrofit door locks to accommodate key cards and an investment in a key card system.  

[EtheltoTillie]

5 minutes ago, Koalagirl said:

They did say that the ship had no security cameras which made me think they probably didn’t use key cards either and used regular keys instead.  It takes money to retrofit door locks to accommodate key cards and an investment in a key card system.  

Well, that would have been another reason to choose that old wreck. 

[Koalagirl]

1 hour ago, GussieK said:

Well, that would have been another reason to choose that old wreck. 

Dateline even posed the question on the bottom right of the screen asking would you take a cruise on a ship that had no security cameras.  Nice to know. Lonnie didn’t want to “cheap out.”  If he had “cheated out”  I hate to think what that would have looked like - a row boat?

[Melina22]

That was a crazy story. Once again we have people who know a murder is about to be committed and say nothing. I understand she was presumably afraid, but still.... 

Her behavior with Bill later was so peculiar. Why did she keep whispering "I don't know you"? 

What a strange and convoluted story. I never did keep the timeline of Lonnie's marital life straight. 

Finally, for someone so brilliant, after all this he ends up renting bouncy castles? 

 

 

[Annber03]

7 hours ago, LakeGal said:

He lied to his friend about going home to California to sleep in his own bed.  He really went there to see his girlfriend who was another ex.  I don't know why his friends were so devoted to him.  He seemed like a lying jerk to me.  

I didn't get that, either. No, going to see an ex in that situation doesn't automatically mean you're a murderer (although more often than not it usually seems to be the case on shows like this), but agreed, at best, it still makes you look like a cold-hearted asshole. So yeah, if someone I claimed to be friends with had done something like that, I'd be side-eyeing them pretty heavily and asking right away, "What is wrong with you?" 

I also liked how some brushed off suspicion towards him at first 'cause witnesses didn't claim to see them fighting. That doesn't always mean anything either, 'cause a) some couples don't fight in pubic, and b) even those that do, the fights aren't always going to be blatantly obvious screaming matches. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Annber03

[mythoughtis]

5 hours ago, Melina22 said:

Once again we have people who know a murder is about to be committed and say nothing. I understand she was presumably afraid, but still.... 

That floored me.  She is (was?) a 5th grade teacher.  I hope she got fired.  I certainly wouldn’t want her teaching any child I knew. She had already married and then been divorced by the guy before that.  Which is not a character flaw for her, but  she should have learned something about the man as a result. She knew about the murder before it happened.  She welcomed the man into her home  afterwards.  She kept his secret, talked to Bill on tape about Lonnie blaming him and then refused to admit she had done so when the FBI confronted her. 
Why are there so many women willing to do things like this for some crappy guy? 

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by mythoughtis

[Melina22]

I thought Micky was a sort of blank canvas in this story. Apart from hearing she had some people who loved her, we actually learned very little about her. There were almost no photos. We never find out if she did in fact drink and have a bad temper, or if that was a total fabrication. Not that she deserved what happened, I just found a strange lack of information. I do feel horrible for her that her husband took her on a cruise to murder her, apparently for money? How incredibly evil. 

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

Why are there so many women willing to do things like this for some crappy guy? 

Judging by these shows, that's an understatement! Yikes. 

[itsadryheat]

22 hours ago, GussieK said:

choose that old wreck

Hard working, very smart, cheap Lonnie had to have done some deep dive research to find this retrofitted freighter. How would you do that exactly. Google cheap cruises, and then ask about the actual boat? Did he go look at it first? He had to have specifics in mind when plotting this murder. Was he a seasoned cruise guy to know what type of floating wreck would work best for his plan?

This was an odd story. Why did he marry/divorce the murder secret keeper," I don't know you" 5th grade teacher. Pathetic woman. Wonder how she felt about keeping secrets when she found out she was next in line for Lonnie to murder. 

Then the guy moves money offshore, and then back again, relocates to FL, remarries and buys a bouncy house rental business. 

Have to say, this kept my interest.

Edited January 10, 2021 by itsadryheat

[itsadryheat]

"Amy Nguyen met Lonnie Loren Kocontes through a dating website in 2002 – the same year he and Micki divorced after about seven years of marriage. Even though the former couple continued living together in their Ladera Ranch home, they had no obligations towards each other and had even started taking steps to split up their assets. During that time, Lonnie and Amy developed an intimate relationship via frequenting cheap “no-tell motels” that Micki apparently had no idea about. But after a while, they made their connection public. And in 2005, the new couple got married in Las Vegas, following which they moved in together in Orange County."

"Lonnie left Amy, his third wife"

https://www.thecinemaholic.com/where-is-amy-nguyen-now/

Wonder who the "first wife" was?

[TVbitch]

For my money, Bill was a piece of work, too. He said he was devoted to Lonnie because when he was in the hospital, he didn't care for how they were treating him and Lonnie came down there and threatened to sue the hospital and the doctors and that got them in line. Right then, I'm like okay both these guys seem like assholes. 

Then Bill and his partner helped Lonnie transfer all his assets to Micki and divorce her, so Lonnie would not have to pay out anything when he was gonna be sued for his bad business practices or whatever it was (I forget). 

And that essentially got Micki killed, cuz once Micki had the assets she wasn't too keen on giving them back. Lonnie wanted to be with his new woman but had to get his money back first.  

Edited January 10, 2021 by TVbitch

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, itsadryheat said:

During that time, Lonnie and Amy developed an intimate relationship via frequenting cheap “no-tell motels”

Hint: if he meets you in cheap no-tell motels to cheat on his wife, wear a hard hat to avoid all the red flags dropping on your head. Or maybe just get your head examined. 

[itsadryheat]

11 hours ago, TVbitch said:

he was gonna be sued for his bad business practices or whatever it was (I forget). 

wasn't it something to do with a clients underaged daughter?

too many moving targets to remember all the details.

Found it: 

"He stated Kocontes “raped a 15-year-old and this poor girl was damaged.” Already aware of the unsubstantiated charge,  . . "

"Their divorce occurred after she learned he’d been arrested in Pasadena for allegedly having sex in a motel with a 15-year-old Asian girl parading as an adult. According to Price, Kanasaki’s resentment never subsided even though cops dropped the charges after determining the girl operated a fake-victim scam that also ensnared a police officer."

https://www.ocweekly.com/lonnie-kocontes-love-boat-6430290/

"According to court documents, "Lonnie Loren Kocontes and Micki Kanesaki were married in 1995 after meeting in a legal office where they both were employed. [shortly after Kocontes was admitted to the California Bar] The coupled divorced in 2001, shortly after Kocontes was charged with having sexual contact with a minor. The divorce was allegedly obtained in order to protect certain assets from potential civil litigation against Kocontes, and Kocontes and Kanesaki continued to live together as a couple."

"As referenced in the pardon denial, in 2000, Kocontes was charged with having sex with a minor, but the charges were dropped when the girl refused to testify saying she was too afraid to testify. Kocontes said the charges were false. He later brought a civil suit against the girl and her family. The lawsuit was settled for about $1 million."

http://www.cruisebruise.com/Cruise/Unbelievable_But_True/Lonnie_Kocontes_Accused_Cruise_Ship_Murderer_Registered_Florida_Voter.html

Edited January 11, 2021 by itsadryheat

[BusyOctober]

Why is it that almost every murderer on these shows is introduced as “smart”?  They may think they are the smartest guy/gal in the room, but they usually end up doing the dumbest shit that gets them caught.  Lonnie’s case had so many red flags flying, but I guess that’s all “obvious” to us in our living rooms. The poor victims must be blind by the overall length of the relationship to see it.  If I were Micki, my first clue that something was off would have been when I saw that 40 year old bucket of bolts at the dock.  To quote Luke Skywalker upon seeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time, “What a piece of junk!”.  Didn’t Micki and Lonnie live well prior to the divorce?  Nice home, nice cars?  I would think Micki was used to a better level of lifestyle than sailing on rusted old ferry disguised as a cruise ship.  And their “stateroom”!!! What a shit hole!  My college dorm room was more spacious and better appointed than that prison cell!  I guess that cruise package cost Lonnie $500/ per ticket.

Another big indicator of Lonnie’s guilt was when he got off the damn boat!  Your wife is missing at sea, and you jump ship?  And cry about how no one speaks English at the hotel? And beg your ex cop friend to get you back to the US?  If he were innocent, he would have stayed on the ship to help conduct searches, answer questions, etc.  At the very least, stay in Italy and work with the police/ US Embassy to find out what happened!  Thank God that research vessel was in the right place at the right time to find poor Micki.  

[Mrs. Hanson]

On 12/27/2020 at 2:25 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, all three adult children in the Carrolton case were despicable.   In my view, they chose their father's embezzled millions, over their mother.    The son wanting the mother to get up in court during sentencing, and ask that her adulterous husband, who tried to have her killed should have a lighter sentence is disgusting.   They said later that the company the husband embezzled millions from tried to get the donations to the church returned, and the church refused.  I hope the company's lawsuit against the church was successful.  

I'm wondering how much more money the husband embezzled, and hid in overseas banks?    

This case will never NOT fascinate me.  The work the police and detectives did was amazing.  The Apple Dumpling Gang, or the Gang that Could Not Shoot Straight was there, a mistress, millions of dollars, church, greedy kids, a wife misplacing her loyalties....it has it all!

The daughters are, straight up WEIRD.  "Yeah, we had this issue affect our family....."  Lady, the issue was not neighbors playing music too loud or dad got ANOTHER parking ticket.  Daddy make a BIG boo boo - he had your mother SHOT IN THE FACE.  He tried to have her KILLED.  

Then to have your kids sit on the defense side of the courtroom?  And side with their dad?  

The sad thing is, among many things, is if the guy had sat his wife down, explained everything, she may have forgiven him.  But he had to explain all the financial in a divorce and he knew there was no explaining all the embezzled money.

I tried to read her book but it was, for my tastes, too over the top with religion.  If that helps her and heals her, great, but it was too much for me.

I can only imagine John Franklin Howard's face when his daughter called to say Mom had been shot but was still alive.  His thoughts?  "Damn him....he he had one job...ONE JOB!!!!  The bitch is STILL alive!!!"

Edited January 11, 2021 by Mrs. Hanson

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't know if it was the way the episode was edited, but about half way in Josh talked about how the PI friends had finally come to realize that Micki could not have fallen overboard on her own because the railings were too high for 5'3" Micki to do so. But it had already been established within a few days of Micki going missing - when her body was found and the autopsy was done - that she did not drown but was in fact murdered. So what was the point of taking the measurements of the railings on the boat? Sheesh. 

I couldn't figure out this timeline either. I'm assuming the two friends went to disprove rather that prove she was murdered, hence the shoes against the railing. 

Quote

For my money, Bill was a piece of work, too. 

Long sleeves and shorts. While out walking the dog. I realize it's Florida but the female friend was wearing long sleeves and slacks. Plus Bill was wearing his AKC pin during the entire interview. They were both kind of weirdos if you ask me. No wonder they were friends with the guy.

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Why is it that almost every murderer on these shows is introduced as “smart”?  They may think they are the smartest guy/gal in the room, but they usually end up doing the dumbest shit that gets them caught.

My mom kept commenting on that throughout the episode. Every time someone would start in about how smart this guy was, she'd just be like, "No, he wasn't." 

2 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

This case will never NOT fascinate me.  The work the police and detectives did was amazing.  The Apple Dumpling Gang, or the Gang that Could Not Shoot Straight was there, a mistress, millions of dollars, church, greedy kids, a wife misplacing her loyalties....it has it all!

I remember that case, too. I found it so weird that the daughters and the husband's defense team kept trying to pass it off like the gang were criminal masterminds and the husband couldn't have been involved. Didn't one of the gang wind up in the wrong neighborhood at one point? And he couldn't even come up with a valid excuse for why he was there when a cop stopped him? 

And if I recall rightly, the daughters were arguing that the gang were going to do some kind of blackmail thing with their dad over his affair, which was supposed to be part of their motive for killing their mom, and I remember that didn't make sense, because if they killed the wife that would still allow the guy to continue seeing his mistress, so...how exactly would he have been punished by that? 

I also remember the defense trying to argue that the gang shouldn't be trusted, 'cause they were a bunch of criminals. But we can totally trust this guy who embezzled a whole bunch of money, apparently. 

[Mrs. Hanson]

1 minute ago, Annber03 said:

My mom kept commenting on that throughout the episode. Every time someone would start in about how smart this guy was, she'd just be like, "No, he wasn't." 

I remember that case, too. I found it so weird that the daughters and the husband's defense team kept trying to pass it off like the gang were criminal masterminds and the husband couldn't have been involved. Didn't one of the gang wind up in the wrong neighborhood at one point? And he couldn't even come up with a valid excuse for why he was there when a cop stopped him? 

And if I recall rightly, the daughters were arguing that the gang were going to do some kind of blackmail thing with their dad over his affair, which was supposed to be part of their motive for killing their mom, and I remember that didn't make sense, because if they killed the wife that would still allow the guy to continue seeing his mistress, so...how exactly would he have been punished by that? 

I also remember the defense trying to argue that the gang shouldn't be trusted, 'cause they were a bunch of criminals. But we can totally trust this guy who embezzled a whole bunch of money, apparently. 

Plus Mr. Baptist Church Man broke about half the commandments in one feel swoop.  So the adult kids are willing to forgive not just adultery on their mom, but theft into the tens of millions AND attempted murder?

Wow.

[CrazyInAlabama]

In that case, my guess is that he embezzled a lot more than the company could prove, and the adult children went with the money.   They're as bad as their father. 

Also, he gave a huge house, and a vacation condo to the girlfriend, paid for the daughter's college bills, that was a whole lot of money, and he put her and her daughter on the payroll of his company that he embezzled from, jobs where they were paid a lot, but didn't do anything to earn.        

Edited January 12, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Mrs. Hanson]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

In that case, my guess is that he embezzled a lot more than the company could prove, and the adult children went with the money.   They're as bad as their father. 

Also, he gave a huge house, and a vacation condo to the girlfriend, that was a whole lot of money, and he put her and her daughter on the payroll of his company that he embezzled from, jobs where they were paid a lot, but didn't do anything to earn.        

And I believe he paid ofr GF's daughter's tuition.  "Better pony up money for my tuition, daddy!!!"  Again, that whole family is WEIRD.  

[Melina22]

I really enjoyed Prussian Blue Mystery, mainly because of the unusual poison related storyline. On the other hand, I found it was way more dragged out than usual, and of course it ended with the usual "husband tries to kill wife to be with girlfriends" conclusion that is so horrifyingly common on this show. I guessed it from the start of the show.

Brigida was one of those people who always look placid and cheerful, even when discussing their husbands trying to murder them. Her face gave no indication of her tough personality at all, or that she's someone who would jump out of a plane 😁

 

[Madding crowd]

What always freaks me out about that one is her son could easily have eaten part of her sandwich or soup. It seemed like the husband didn’t make too much of an effort to keep it from his son. And sorry I’m not staying with anyone who collects murder seeds as a hobby. 

[sempervivum]

Prussian Blue/Thallium story- I would have liked more explanation of why the husband was doing this. It wasn't like the usual Scott Peterson/Chris Watt story where the husband just wants to be a carefree bachelor while not having to deal with alimony and child support, since at least with one of the side pieces, he brought his son along to meet her. And it seems he didn't start trying to murder Brigida until after the boy was born.

And why choose such a specific, oddball method, which was actually a plot line on an episode of House in 2007 (Whatever It Takes) Poisoning Plot ?

I don't remember if it was mentioned in the episode, but apparently Race blamed his actions at least partly on his addiction to pain meds, following some accident on the job in the Navy. At least he confessed quickly, unlike most of these selfish monsters.

[Irlandesa]

I'm pretty sure I'd seen this one before.  I don't know if it was Dateline (probably because I don't really watch 48 hours...etc.) 

[rlc]

Prussian Blue episode:

Holy cow! How did they manage to lineup such a good looking doctor, FBI agent, and prosecutor in one episode? 

[patty1h]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm pretty sure I'd seen this one before.  I don't know if it was Dateline (probably because I don't really watch 48 hours...etc.) 

I felt the same way and searched back in the forum.   Dateline did this same story back in July 2019!   Why would they present this as a NEW story and not as a follow-up?   Are they running out of material and have resorted to rehashing their own stories?  Geeze.

[UsernameFatigue]

11 hours ago, patty1h said:

I felt the same way and searched back in the forum.   Dateline did this same story back in July 2019!   Why would they present this as a NEW story and not as a follow-up?   Are they running out of material and have resorted to rehashing their own stories?  Geeze.

I thought it was Dateline that had shown this story before. I definitely remembered the victim, her family, and the house where she lived beside her family's home. Was it even a follow up or just a re run of the original? I don't remember there being anything new this time around? Annoying in any case that they are packaging a rerun (or even a follow up if it was) as an original episode. 

[EtheltoTillie]

We knew we had seen this before from the description so we didn’t watch.  Why don’t they just say rerun?  

[Melina22]

I just watched The Gathering Storm which is apparently a rerun although I hadn't seen it before. What a crazy, convoluted and fascinating story, and so many characters! I'd love to see this made into a movie. 

Jim's wife Jean would definitely win the gold in the Enabling Olympics, even though she didn't seem like a bad person.

Peggy definitely seemed like a bad person. Her ex-husband would certainly agree. Also, who told her it was a good idea to turn up at your murder trial chewing gum? Again, it was like a scene from a movie.Ex wife Brenda also came across extremely badly. 

Thank goodness ex-friend Bill (not Jean's new husband Bill) actually had a conscience and turned Jim in. 

Man, you know you've watched too many Datelines when you know that "Coming up..." is coming just from the intonation in the announcers voice, and can skip from before it's even said, to 30 seconds after the commercials in no time, without even consciously thinking about it. 😂

Edited January 16, 2021 by Melina22

[iMonrey]

Quote

I felt the same way and searched back in the forum.   Dateline did this same story back in July 2019!   Why would they present this as a NEW story and not as a follow-up?   Are they running out of material and have resorted to rehashing their own stories?  Geeze.

Yeah I remembered this one right away because it was so unusual. There were no updates to it, I don't understand why it was tagged as new. I don't know why it was called Prussian Blue Mystery either. Shouldn't it have been called Thallium mystery? I guess the former sounds fancier.

[TVbitch]

The Grudge: That whole male discrimination thing seemed sketchy as hell. The judge seems to be carrying on well. I would need a lot of therapy to get over the fact that the gunman was there for me. I wonder why the husband did not appear. 

I thought it was rather offensive when Andrea Canning asked her something to the effect of... "as your son lay there dying, did you say any final words to him?" 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

The Grudge: That whole male discrimination thing seemed sketchy as hell. The judge seems to be carrying on well. I would need a lot of therapy to get over the fact that the gunman was there for me. I wonder why the husband did not appear. 

Might still be too traumatic for him to discuss or something. 

My heart just broke for Esther when she talked about how her son was her "miracle baby" because she'd lost so many before and after him. And then she loses her son, and in such a violent way at that. It'd be so hard to want to forgive somebody after they take your child like that, but I admire her ability to do so, and I hope her doing so has helped her to cope with her loss. I'm glad that her husband survived and they can lean on each other through all of this. 

I was side-eyeing the whole male discrimination thing throughout as well. Especially the one guy who kept trying to insist that his site was not anti-women ("We have women who post there!" Okay, and? Doesn't mean you can't still be anti-women). Even if Hollander was only with that site for a short time, there was clearly something about its rhetoric that interested him, and given his extremely anti-women views in general, well... 

(On that note, how weird to see a random mention of Colbert in this episode. Hollander clearly missed the satire of "The Colbert Report".)

I also wondered why he was so obsessed about the issue of changing the draft rules, since we haven't made use of the draft for a long time now. If he really wanted to focus on an issue that he felt wasn't fair to men, surely there were more other more immediate policies that he could've focused on instead? 

I do kinda remember this case being in the news last summer, and I seem to recall that initially some wondered if the attempt to go after Judge Salas was possibly politically motivated.