All Episodes Discussion

[Cupcake04]

14 hours ago, hoosiermom said:

This tells some of what Amber Frey has been doing past 10 years.https://www.bustle.com/articles/160363-what-happened-to-amber-frey-scott-petersons-girlfriend-shes-trying-to-put-the-case-behind-her  She says she wants to put it all behind her but she keeps giving interviews. Hmmmm

idk....we don't know how the interviews came about...if she sought them or reporters sought her out.  I don't think 2 interviews in 10 years is all that much.  I give her mad props for what she did.  Yes, coming forward was the absolute right thing to do, but she went out on a limb by recording him and pretending with him, and with what he had in his car when he was caught, she was damn lucky she and her daughter didn't end up like Laci.  I read her book years ago and she really came across as honest and straightforward and I liked her.  She was an unwitting victim of Peterson too. 

[ButterQueen]

4 hours ago, Cupcake04 said:

idk....we don't know how the interviews came about...if she sought them or reporters sought her out.  I don't think 2 interviews in 10 years is all that much.  I give her mad props for what she did.  Yes, coming forward was the absolute right thing to do, but she went out on a limb by recording him and pretending with him, and with what he had in his car when he was caught, she was damn lucky she and her daughter didn't end up like Laci.  I read her book years ago and she really came across as honest and straightforward and I liked her.  She was an unwitting victim of Peterson too. 

I agree that she was instrumental in convicting Scott.

I would have changed my name, moved and started a new life.

[BindsTheTuna]

Query:  I watched House on Badger Lane yesterday (mom killed dad, "sex" meant "rape").   Google search says there's a topic for it (S25:E22) but it's not here. Halp.

[Stampiron]

45 minutes ago, BindsTheTuna said:

Query:  I watched House on Badger Lane yesterday (mom killed dad, "sex" meant "rape").   Google search says there's a topic for it (S25:E22) but it's not here. Halp.

There must have been a forum upgrade or something that wiped the old Dateline threads, but you can still view the old thread via the wayback machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160513035729/http://forums.previously.tv/topic/37950-s25e22-the-house-on-badger-lane/

(after clicking the link, scroll down a bit.)

Edited April 24, 2017 by Stampiron

[BindsTheTuna]

Thanks, Stampiron! 

[arejay]

On 4/23/2017 at 5:35 PM, Mama No Life said:

What's with the surname Peterson?  Mike and Kathleen Peterson were featured just a few weeks ago.  I meet someone named Peterson and I'm going the other way....

Let's not forget Drew and Stacey outside Chicago.........

[Mama No Life]

Exactly!

[A.Ham]

On April 23, 2017 at 3:40 PM, saber5055 said:

I wonder if only Laci's torso floated up since the head/arms and legs were tethered to those coffee-can boat anchors Scott made in his shop.

I hadn't thought of that. Just... Horrid. He's a monster.

[Wings]

Even if he had thought to anchor her torso, the baby still would have rotted out of her belly and washed to shore. They didn't need more than that given all the rest of the evidence.  Shudder

[WendyCR72]

As with most of these cases, all I ask is, haven't these men (or women) heard of divorce? But then, that requires monetary payouts, so I guess I know why some of these dirtbags - a la Scott Petersen - kill their spouses instead. So not only are they dirtbags, they are greedy dirtbags.

Watching the Laci Petersen episode, though: It was mentioned in passing that Laci, before getting pregnant with Connor, was having a tough time conceiving. And it made me wonder, had she not gotten pregnant, if she would still be alive.

It's a horrible thought since Connor was part of the equation, but I guess it's human nature to wonder, "What if...?"

Still, Scott Petersen (or Peterson? Not sure, sorry!) may be on Death Row, but he can possibly be old and gray before he dies which is still more than his wife and son would ever get.

[bubbls]

I've asked the divorce question a thousand times. I do not get it. That and the dummies who kill for a small insurance payout. If you are the type to kill over $100,000 thinking you'll be rich for your lifetime with it that tells me you're also the type to blow every penny in a few weeks on golf clubs and ugly jewelry. 

I'm very pro death penalty, but the thought of these people spending the rest of their days and nights filled with regret is scrumptious. They deserve every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year of every decade of that feeling. 

[cooksdelight]

Not to mention being Bubba's bitch for the rest of their lives.

[JaggedLilPill]

I'm with y'all on this. I ask myself this time and time again why people insist on murdering their spouse instead of getting a freaking divorce.

And when there's kids involved? How do you justify taking away their mother or father? Unless they were abusive and a danger and it was done in self-defense, what rationale could one possibly have? And then you have these kids who remain steadfast in their belief that their parent didn't do it when it's so obvious that they did. Obviously I don't envy them. It must be serious denial. 

The fact that it seems all money based is just baffling. Child support ends eventually. I'm sure alimony does too. But no by all means, kill them instead and see how that works for you. 

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, bubbls said:

I've asked the divorce question a thousand times. I do not get it.

Sometmes it's to avoid spouse finding out that mortgage payment money has been going up your nose, and foreclosure is looming.

[saber5055]

I think in Scott Peterson's case, he was portrayed as someone who wanted everyone to like him, and if he divorced Laci, especially before/after Connor was born, that would put him in a negative light. However, if Laci just disappeared, people would feel sorry for him and say what a great guy he is, poor Scott. He just didn't follow through that well with being the grieving husband who misses his pregnant wife so terribly. Bubbls, I am pro death sentence too. But I do not think Scott spends any time regretting what he did, he only regrets getting caught, and his time is spent thinking how he could have done it better. In his mind, he didn't kill Laci and Connor. That's how people like him think, they are above the law, and believe their own lies so fully that they will never ever feel remorse. For ANYTHING. I was involved with a man similar to Scott, so sweet ... AND a pathological liar, he believed every lie he spoke. I have no doubt he was working on "getting rid" of me, looking back, and I was only saved when he was arrested and put in jail in two different counties. There by the grace of god went I.

And have I been in a relationship since? No. Never will. Trust a man again? No. Never will.

[bubbls]

On 4/26/2017 at 2:13 PM, auntjess said:

Sometmes it's to avoid spouse finding out that mortgage payment money has been going up your nose, and foreclosure is looming.

Oh I understand! But I bet they'd all prefer that to sitting in prison for the rest of their lives. I guess the difference, aside from morals, is I know I'm too absentminded to get away with murder. These people are obviously lacking my personal insight, hehe. 

[bubbls]

On 4/26/2017 at 3:23 PM, saber5055 said:

I think in Scott Peterson's case, he was portrayed as someone who wanted everyone to like him, and if he divorced Laci, especially before/after Connor was born, that would put him in a negative light. However, if Laci just disappeared, people would feel sorry for him and say what a great guy he is, poor Scott. He just didn't follow through that well with being the grieving husband who misses his pregnant wife so terribly. Bubbls, I am pro death sentence too. But I do not think Scott spends any time regretting what he did, he only regrets getting caught, and his time is spent thinking how he could have done it better. In his mind, he didn't kill Laci and Connor. That's how people like him think, they are above the law, and believe their own lies so fully that they will never ever feel remorse. For ANYTHING. I was involved with a man similar to Scott, so sweet ... AND a pathological liar, he believed every lie he spoke. I have no doubt he was working on "getting rid" of me, looking back, and I was only saved when he was arrested and put in jail in two different counties. There by the grace of god went I.

And have I been in a relationship since? No. Never will. Trust a man again? No. Never will.

 

I agree. I doubt Scott regrets what he did, but regret is regret even if it's just over getting caught. It's still a lifetime of mental torture. The thing I don't really understand is why he agreed to having a child if he felt that strongly about it that he was later willing to kill for his freedom. 

You're very fortunate! I believe my cousin's husband's mother was going to be a victim of her daughter and the daughter's psychopathic husband. The situation had every red flag and was like a manual on How To Get Close To and Kill an Elderly Family Member. Fortunately it was stopped by the rest of her kids swooping in and getting very involved in her day-to-day life. 

[Tdoc72]

Maybe it's just me, but after recaps of  Kathleen Pereson, Laci Peterson & tonight's Gianni Versace, can we please get some fresh murders?  I don't wish murder on anyone, but I know they are out there. The recaps are boring w/little to no new info. Zzzz.....

[spankydoll]

31 minutes ago, Tdoc72 said:

Maybe it's just me, but after recaps of  Kathleen Pereson, Laci Peterson & tonight's Gianni Versace, can we please get some fresh murders?  I don't wish murder on anyone, but I know they are out there. The recaps are boring w/little to no new info. Zzzz.....

I would like them to look into the Vanishing Men of Boston. It's eleven young men who have disappeared and found floating in the harbor or the Charles. Very fishy.

[JudyObscure]

The Versace murder case was new to me, so I found it interesting.  I did remember that the designer had been murdered and his sister took over the business, I just never knew that the murderer was on a cross country crime spree and the FBI/police force on a cross country series of flub-ups.  So frustrating.  To me, the worst and saddest part was the groundskeeper's needless death, leaving that sweet young man to soldier on alone after his mother died.

[saber5055]

I remember the Versace murder, and I remember watching the live coverage of the police surrounding and advancing on that houseboat, and the murderer being found dead. I felt the newscasters covering the event were vaguely disappointed there wasn't a more dramatic ending. I was watching the LA Riots show on another channel, I only got to see this Dateline during commercial breaks. I'm hoping to catch it on reruns. I don't mind learning more about past murders, they don't have to be New And Improved Fresh Murders for me. Oh, and I totally remembered the killer's name, too, once it was mentioned on the show. Although I can't recall it right now. So, fail at being famous, guy.

[auntjess]

21 hours ago, spankydoll said:

I would like them to look into the Vanishing Men of Boston. It's eleven young men who have disappeared and found floating in the harbor or the Charles. Very fishy.

Go to their Facebook page and suggest it.

[One Tough Cookie]

I don't watch anything that has already been done to death {sorry, I couldn't resist}--Casey Anthony, Drew Peterson or Scott.  I used to work with a woman who was into true crime like I was and she loaned me a book about Scott and Lacey.  It didn't tell me anything new about Scott, reinforcing my feelings that he was a true sociopath, but the author was not too flattering about Lacey saying she was spoiled and demanding. Which surprised me.

[ButterQueen]

2 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I don't watch anything that has already been done to death {sorry, I couldn't resist}--Casey Anthony, Drew Peterson or Scott.  I used to work with a woman who was into true crime like I was and she loaned me a book about Scott and Lacey.  It didn't tell me anything new about Scott, reinforcing my feelings that he was a true sociopath, but the author was not too flattering about Lacey saying she was spoiled and demanding. Which surprised me.

What book was that?

I read Sharon Rocha's book....it was heartbreaking.

[walnutqueen]

3 hours ago, One Tough Cookie said:

I don't watch anything that has already been done to death {sorry, I couldn't resist}--Casey Anthony, Drew Peterson or Scott.  I used to work with a woman who was into true crime like I was and she loaned me a book about Scott and Lacey.  It didn't tell me anything new about Scott, reinforcing my feelings that he was a true sociopath, but the author was not too flattering about Lacey saying she was spoiled and demanding. Which surprised me.

I, too am sick to death of the same old stories being told over and over and over again.  Perhaps I'm just old and jaded, but with all the true crime out there in the world, you'd think SOMEONE would do their J.O.B. as an investigative crime journalist and not simply regurgitate the stories that have been done to death.  And no, I will not apologize for my pun.

[stonehaven]

I was living in Downtown Minneapolis during the summer of 1997...I recall the whole killing spree..although the local media wasn't that clear on where the first two victims were killed...The gay community was both revolted and fascinated by it all as I recall. I felt bad when Versace was killed that his four other victims would never get the press that he did...and the warehouse district took years to gentrify after the spree began...

[cooksdelight]

I didn't know anything about Cunanan's crime spree either, so this was an interesting show. I was amazed at the police bungling right and left, which possibly cost the groundskeeper his life. I noticed in the yearbook photo where he was voted the person likely to be most remembered, they spelled his name Cunaman. That probably really ticked him off.

[walnutqueen]

I followed this story as it was enfolding, because living in North San Diego County, one couldn't escape the 24/7 news coverage of a local boy gone bad.  But it was a different decade, with less sophisticated law enforcement "tools", so the results of this piece of trash's crime spree were horrendous.

Not to say they do any better with manhunts these days ... :-)

[bubbls]

Count me in as being bored to death (yeah I did it too) with the same stories. The press coverage of the more famous ones was so unrelenting I lost interest at the time and never really regained it. I'm also bored with the same little known crimes being covered over and over.

One that is semi famous I'd like to see covered is the murder of Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington and rape of another by Jesse Matthews, Jr. I really thought all the crime shows would be all over that one, but I've only seen one episode which seemed hastily edited. 

[Ohmo]

On 4/29/2017 at 7:02 AM, JudyObscure said:

The Versace murder case was new to me, so I found it interesting.  I did remember that the designer had been murdered and his sister took over the business, I just never knew that the murderer was on a cross country crime spree and the FBI/police force on a cross country series of flub-ups.  So frustrating.  To me, the worst and saddest part was the groundskeeper's needless death, leaving that sweet young man to soldier on alone after his mother died.

This is similar to how I felt about the episode.  I remember Versace was murdered, but I had totally forgotten that Andrew Cunnanan had killed four other people as well.  I also was surprised that it was 20 years ago, but then I remembered that it was big news that Versace and Princess Diana had died months apart. If you would have asked me before watching this episode, I would have probably said that Versace was murdered 10 years ago, not 20.

I echo everyone who feels badly about the groundskeeper's son.

[cooksdelight]

Versace died July 15, 1997; Diana died August 31, 1997. Eerie that she attended his funeral and her own would be so soon.

[tobeannounced]

I was thinking the same thing, cooksdelight. Poor Elton John was being consoled by Princess Di at Versace's funeral, and he had no idea he'd be singing at her funeral weeks later.

[Lovecat]

On 4/28/2017 at 5:18 PM, Tdoc72 said:

Maybe it's just me, but after recaps of  Kathleen Pereson, Laci Peterson & tonight's Gianni Versace, can we please get some fresh murders?  I don't wish murder on anyone, but I know they are out there. The recaps are boring w/little to no new info. Zzzz.....

I think it probably has to do with this being Dateline's 25th anniversary season; they're going back and "re-investigating" (read:  re-packaging) some of the most notorious cases of their run.

On 4/30/2017 at 11:39 PM, Ohmo said:

I also was surprised that it was 20 years ago, but then I remembered that it was big news that Versace and Princess Diana had died months apart.

 

On 5/1/2017 at 4:28 AM, cooksdelight said:

Versace died July 15, 1997; Diana died August 31, 1997. Eerie that she attended his funeral and her own would be so soon.

 

On 5/1/2017 at 9:06 AM, tobeannounced said:

I was thinking the same thing, cooksdelight. Poor Elton John was being consoled by Princess Di at Versace's funeral, and he had no idea he'd be singing at her funeral weeks later.

Dateline not being known for their subtlety, I'm actually pretty surprised they didn't jump on that factoid, especially after they had made a big deal of Diana being one of Versace's best-known clients.   I too had forgotten those two events were so close together.

[Calamity Jane]

On 4/29/2017 at 2:42 PM, One Tough Cookie said:

I don't watch anything that has already been done to death {sorry, I couldn't resist}--Casey Anthony, Drew Peterson or Scott.  I used to work with a woman who was into true crime like I was and she loaned me a book about Scott and Lacey.  It didn't tell me anything new about Scott, reinforcing my feelings that he was a true sociopath, but the author was not too flattering about Lacey saying she was spoiled and demanding. Which surprised me.

I have always felt pretty convinced that the move, apparently at Laci's urging, from San Luis Obispo, beautiful college town right near the coast with tons of charm and interesting things to do and see, lots of young people and the places they like to congregate, to Modesto, a very middle-America type of town smack in the middle of the pretty dismal San Joaquin Valley;  from running a happening little restaurant to becoming a manure (fertilizer? - something pretty mundane and even almost embarrassing) salesman, started the whole slide for Scott Peterson.  He grew up a golden child in San Diego and expected to live a charmed life in a charmed place, and there he was, stuck in a boring job in a boring town, about to be weighed down with the responsibilities of parenthood, and his narcissistic ego just couldn't take it.  I do hope he is miserable every day of his rotten life.  

[One Tough Cookie]

2 hours ago, Calamity Jane said:

I have always felt pretty convinced that the move, apparently at Laci's urging, from San Luis Obispo, beautiful college town right near the coast with tons of charm and interesting things to do and see, lots of young people and the places they like to congregate, to Modesto, a very middle-America type of town smack in the middle of the pretty dismal San Joaquin Valley;  from running a happening little restaurant to becoming a manure (fertilizer? - something pretty mundane and even almost embarrassing) salesman, started the whole slide for Scott Peterson.  He grew up a golden child in San Diego and expected to live a charmed life in a charmed place, and there he was, stuck in a boring job in a boring town, about to be weighed down with the responsibilities of parenthood, and his narcissistic ego just couldn't take it.  I do hope he is miserable every day of his rotten life.  

Good analysis.

 I  was thinking that Keith Morrison should start a True Crime blog of his own, filling us in on details the shows  not shown due to time restraints {or to slant a story}.  I'd be all over that!

[Calamity Jane]

1 hour ago, One Tough Cookie said:

Good analysis.

 I  was thinking that Keith Morrison should start a True Crime blog of his own, filling us in on details the shows  not shown due to time restraints {or to slant a story}.  I'd be all over that!

I had the idea about the move being the start of it all one time when I drove from my son's house in San Luis Obispo over to drive up the valley to see my daughter in Davis near Sacramento.  Plus I had driven through all the little cities like Madera, Merced, and Modesto along the 99 many times going from my house to Davis.  The contrast is so striking.  

[hoosiermom]

I don't give a shit what Dateline does as long as they keep us up to date on Pam Hupp! ?

[saber5055]

LOL at the posters here tired of old murders being rehashed since I saw a commercial last night for yet ANOTHER show coming up on Scott Peterson now that he's filed for appeal. It's on a cable channel; I didn't pay attention to which one since I only have antenna tv. But you guys can all watch ... AGAIN!

[CaughtOnTape]

I've been in Miami more times than I can count and I'm always shocked at where Versace's house was located.  It was in such an odd place.  Like club, club, hotel, bar, HOUSE, club, bar, hotel....

Cunnanan had some balls of steel.....Geez.

[biakbiak]

40 minutes ago, CaughtOnTape said:

I've been in Miami more times than I can count and I'm always shocked at where Versace's house was located.  It was in such an odd place.  Like club, club, hotel, bar, HOUSE, club, bar, hotel....

Cunnanan had some balls of steel.....Geez.

Well now it fits right in because it's a hotel and restaurant.

[cooksdelight]

It's not August yet, we're going to be hearing about Diana until then.

[JudyObscure]

I wasn't planning to watch The Death of Princess Diana because I didn't want to see another sugar coated homage to the sainted Peoples Princess, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I guess enough time has passed that they can show someone like her fortune teller "friend" saying that Diana's emotional age was about 14 and have her temper tantrums and affairs mentioned. It was interesting to hear that Diana was dating in Paris in order to make the doctor jealous.  A real, unpaid friend would have told her that the doctor just wasn't that into her anymore.

It was also interesting that her old security guard thought none of this would have happened if she had still had security.  I don't know.  In spite of how everyone talked about it later, the men on motorcycles had cameras, not guns.  There was absolutely no excuse for them to be driving through the city at 100 mph. 

[cooksdelight]

One thing they didn't get into, that ABC will on their special Sunday night, was that the interview she did with Martin Bashir was real secret-spy-hush-hush stuff. The entire staff at Kensington Palace was given the night off. Cameras and sound equipment were delivered in boxes to look like package deliveries for Diana. It was just her and Martin alone (with crew) for the interview. Her staff members said if they had known, they'd have put a stop to it. Her impetuousness and overzealousness to out-do Charles cost her everything. It was after that interview aired that the Queen sent her a message, telling her it was time to divorce and remove herself from the royal family.

[saber5055]

I've never understood why famous people run away from paps. Why not just go out the front door, stand and pose, answer questions, sign some autographs, then go on your way? Or wave to the paps on cycles as you drive away? What's the big freaking deal? Give the paps what they want and they have no reason to harass or chase you. Even better, provide the tabloids with your own photos and YOU get paid for them.

[JudyObscure]

I agree about the press. Most limos have curtains to draw over the window, or simply turn the interior lights off if you don't want photographs.  Diana had the press in her corner from the very first.  Presenting her as Shy Di rather than timid or awkward in the beginning, and never publishing unflattering angles or moments.  She was known to call them herself if she was going  to a charity event and wanted publicity or, as in the Taj Mahal picture, wanting to set up her own pose for her own purposes.  It was a two way love affair for many years, with the press building her image as the most beautiful woman in the world while she, in return, sold their newspapers and magazines for them.

[Calamity Jane]

10 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

It was also interesting that her old security guard thought none of this would have happened if she had still had security.  I don't know.  In spite of how everyone talked about it later, the men on motorcycles had cameras, not guns.  There was absolutely no excuse for them to be driving through the city at 100 mph. 

If she had had her old security, there was probably at least a better chance that she would not have been in a limo being driven by a drunk driver that night.  It was really unfortunate that her wanting to make Dr. Khan jealous led her to take up with the Fayed family.  The father's attempts to capitalize on that brief fling just nauseated me, as well as his trying to shuffle the responsibility for the accident off HIS employee on to some vast conspiracy to get Diana, or Dodi, or the family, or..... Diana had many flaws, it can't be denied, but she did a lot of good in the world, and I do love seeing her sons carrying on that good.  They seem to have inherited her good qualities without all the psychological damage.  Kudos to both her and Charles for that.  

[auntjess]

13 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I wasn't planning to watch The Death of Princess Diana because I didn't want to see another sugar coated homage to the sainted Peoples Princess, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I guess enough time has passed that they can show someone like her fortune teller "friend" saying that Diana's emotional age was about 14 and have her temper tantrums and affairs mentioned. It was interesting to hear that Diana was dating in Paris in order to make the doctor jealous.  A real, unpaid friend would have told her that the doctor just wasn't that into her anymore.

I thought I was one of the few people who held this heretical view. 
If the Palace had let Charles marry Camilla when they were young, all of this drama could have been avoided, and maybe he wouldn't have ended up believing in all that odd quackery, and being such an odd person.

 

[Spartan Girl]

Like I said in another thread, Diana had her faults, but I can't judge her too harshly when I remember how young she was when she got married --nineteen!-- and the fact that her husband was in love with another woman did not help whatever issues she already had. She and Charles were two incompatible people that never should have gotten married, plain and simple.

Nobody is perfect. She was no saint, for sure, but that does not change all the good she did in the world. And she did not deserve to die the way she did.

If only she wore her seat belt.

[Tdoc72]

The third recap show in 3 weeks! 

To paraphrase a quote from Trial and Error:  (chanting) Murder Bored!  Murder Bored!

[biakbiak]

9 hours ago, auntjess said:

he wouldn't have ended up believing in all that odd quackery, and being such an odd person.

A lot that was tagged as weird was conservation, global warming and environmental charities. I get that there were other things but he was denounced for investing in what is common place today. 

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I have always had just as much sympathy for Charles as Diana. Yes he was older but he also had the obligations of the person who would inherit the crown and so he went along like a good soldier and his childhood was horrific and  he put his foot down when it came to his boys but was ripped by the media all ways from Sunday around the globe as a shitty father and that Diana was the only caring parent.