S29.E06: Vengeance In Vegas

[photo fox]

Quote

A beautiful mom is murdered while her West Point grad husband was at work. Was someone stalking women in Las Vegas? A tipster with crucial information steps forward. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant investigates.

[JudyObscure]

Why? So she liked to spend and he liked to save, how does that even break-up a family, much less cause such murderous rage? He must hate his little girl, too, to take away her loving mother. This is one of the most meaningless, brutal crimes I've heard about by someone who otherwise seemed like a good guy.

He even took advantage of Greyhound's mental illness, and if Greyhound manages to get the psychiatric care he obviously always needed while in prison, he'll have to live with the memory of the awful thing he did while under the control of the husband. This is what comes of closing all the mental institutions and letting the sick people live in tents in the desert or boxes under bridges.

[tobeannounced]

I kept falling asleep during this one and didn't get all the details.  Was there insurance money or anything?  What was the motive?

[JudyObscure]

If there was any mention of motive other than getting out of the marriage without child support or division of property, I didn't hear it.

[LakeGal]

Her sister said he couldn't handle not having control over her anymore.  He would get angry and tell her she dressed like a whore in front of their daughter. Maybe he was just a control freak.  

Edited October 18, 2015 by LakeGal

[ari333]

I didn't hear any financial motive except maybe in his head that if she is dead she is no longer spending.... no messy divorce etc. , division of property as mentioned.  I may have missed chunks of this story though.  I was doing other stuff.

 

Nothing like going hammer shopping on video with the murderer-to-be. Sheesh.

Edited October 18, 2015 by ari333

[Tunia]

Did they mention if Shauna had gone back to work after having their daughter?  It seems to be one of the points I missed.  I do recall, however, that prior to giving birth, she was earning over $100K/year, so - damn it! - if she wanted to spend some of it, WTH.

 

I always get a kick out of these guys who hook up with and then marry women in the "entertainment" business.  It's OK for them to be flashy as long as they're single and available for their pleasure, but marry the gal and suddenly she's "slutty"!  She was actually a very pretty woman who looked quite attractively dressed in the home videos...so what if she had to jazz it up for her job?  He knew what she did before he hooked up with, impregnated, and three years later married her.  Seems like he accepted it until the ring was on her finger.  Suck it up, buddy.

 

Personally, I think Greyhound was a (lesser) victim here also.  He was absolutely used.  Now he too is imprisoned for life b/c he's the one who did the deed, but I don't think he had the cognitive ability to determine the wrong of the situation.

 

Sad story all around.

[starri]

Did they mention if Shauna had gone back to work after having their daughter?  It seems to be one of the points I missed.  I do recall, however, that prior to giving birth, she was earning over $100K/year, so - damn it! - if she wanted to spend some of it, WTH.

I believe they showed video of her leaving work the night she was killed.

 

I don't usually like to resorting to this kind of thing, but the husband was absolutely dead behind the eyes.

[Ohmo]

Her sister said he couldn't handle not having control over her anymore.  He would get angry and tell her she dressed like a whore in front of their daughter. Maybe he was just a control freak.  

 

Yeah, I think the motive was just plain control, along with the fact that George liked attention.  All of that earlier information about George helping his mother financially, volunteering in a soup kitchen, being a firefighter.  I don't think that was all altruism on George's part.  Some of that was attention-grabbing behavior.  "Look at me, aren't I awesome?"  His family acted like he hung the moon, and that guy on the stand?  George is the best of us?  Clearly not, but after all, George wants everyone to pay attention to him and think so.  Since Shawna was clearly no longer on the "sun rises and sets on George" train, he couldn't handle someone in his life not giving him the proper attention he felt he deserved.  That's exactly what happened with Greyhound.  He paid attention to George because he thought they were buddies.  George thrives on and needs that constant adoration, and in this case, he used attention to accomplish his sinister plot.

[ari333]

Did they mention if Shauna had gone back to work after having their daughter?  It seems to be one of the points I missed.  I do recall, however, that prior to giving birth, she was earning over $100K/year, so - damn it! - if she wanted to spend some of it, WTH.

 

I always get a kick out of these guys who hook up with and then marry women in the "entertainment" business.  It's OK for them to be flashy as long as they're single and available for their pleasure, but marry the gal and suddenly she's "slutty"!  She was actually a very pretty woman who looked quite attractively dressed in the home videos...so what if she had to jazz it up for her job?  He knew what she did before he hooked up with, impregnated, and three years later married her.  Seems like he accepted it until the ring was on her finger.  Suck it up, buddy.

 

Personally, I think Greyhound was a (lesser) victim here also.  He was absolutely used.  Now he too is imprisoned for life b/c he's the one who did the deed, but I don't think he had the cognitive ability to determine the wrong of the situation.

 

Sad story all around.

yes! THIS! I agree on all points.

I didn't mean that she couldn't shouldn't spend. I was trying to get in his head from his viewpoint.

[Diana Berry]

Thank goodness for Big Will else George may have gotten away with it all. What a good soul thinking of the victim and her family and not just dismissing it.

Agree Greyhound was a victim,too.

What a sad and brutal case.

[gaPeach]

It is so hard for us as humans to believe someone good looking is evil.  Case in point (besides this one) is Ted Bundy.  I so would have believed his cock and bull story back when I was younger but not now.  I don't trust anyone.  I give my BF the side eye when he starts acting crabby and work it out in my head if he decides to try and kill me how I would take him down.  And my BF is one of the nicest guys next to my dad I have ever known.  See this stuff gets you thinking about the darker side of human beings.

 

He so killed her or had her killed because he is a coward.  Big Will did the right thing and I am glad he was taken seriously from the get go.  That had a lot to do with them finding out who did it without decades going by before they did.

[JodhaBai]

when I see cases like this I often think of the family and friends of the husband.   Do his sister and friend never really think that he might have done it?   They talk like they are so sure he is innocent but what about all those phone calls to the guy who killed her, the trip to Lowes for the hammer, or the fact that when he was arrested the detective said he really had no reaction.  Do they think of any of this stuff?!

[JudyObscure]

I always wonder about the family's thinking process, too, but in this case I expect they think all those phone calls had to do with the home projects he wanted Greyhound to do.  He kept talking him through the projects.  Greyhound couldn't make a hammer decision on his own so he went with him to  Lowes.  They were going to build a shed.  He didn't break down when he found his wife dead because he's been trained not to fall to pieces in a crises. Etc.

 

I really don't understand why he did it.  No big insurance policy or expensive house and I can't see him as a control freak.  I've had first hand experience with a controller and there's no way he would have let me work as a cocktail waitress, or waited three years before wanting to get that legal hold on me.

[Jpxfactor]

I really would have liked more evidence in this case..not saying he didn't do it. ..but there was reasonable doubt to me.

[psychoticstate]

It is so hard for us as humans to believe someone good looking is evil.  Case in point (besides this one) is Ted Bundy.  I so would have believed his cock and bull story back when I was younger but not now.  I don't trust anyone.  I give my BF the side eye when he starts acting crabby and work it out in my head if he decides to try and kill me how I would take him down.  And my BF is one of the nicest guys next to my dad I have ever known.  See this stuff gets you thinking about the darker side of human beings.

 

He so killed her or had her killed because he is a coward.  Big Will did the right thing and I am glad he was taken seriously from the get go.  That had a lot to do with them finding out who did it without decades going by before they did.

 

Me too, gapeach.  If I had run into Ted Bundy when I was young, he could have gotten me easily.  I was raised to be polite to authority and my elders and this was before parents came up with "safe words" for kids.  Plus, I was raised to be kind to others and helpful - - so a total Bundy victim. 

 

I don't believe George had his wife killed because she spent money and he didn't.  They were divorcing so that wouldn't matter much.  Maybe it was a case of "If I can't have you, no one can."  I'm not sure what his motive is/was but I feel fairly confident that he was involved.  Greyhound confessed and I don't think he had the mental capacity to plan this himself and for no apparent reason.  No robbery, no sexual assault and Greyhound left his shorts behind.  The only other argument I could see would be that Greyhound did this as a "favor" for his friend George because George was having a rough time with his wife but again, I don't think Greyhound would do this on his own. 

 

Did the show mention that Shauna told her sister that George was controlling and/or abusive?  Or did I imagine that?  If so, then I can totally buy that he was controlling.

[gaPeach]

No robbery, no sexual assault and Greyhound left his shorts behind.

 

I forgot about the shorts.  What was that about did they ever say?  Why did he take his boxers off?  Weird.

[grumpypanda]

I think it's possible that George spent a lot of time complaining about Shauna to Greyhound and Greyhound took it upon himself to kill her thinking he was doing his buddy a favor. It seemed like Greyhound idolized George and maybe he wanted to impress his firefighter friend.

Greyhound was obviously very mentally ill and I don't think it would be all that difficult for the police to convince him to implicate George. Most people would say whatever they had to in order to avoid the death penalty.

The hammer shopping was suspicious but Greyhound did do home projects for George so it wouldn't be that crazy to buy the guy his own hammer. It just doesn't make sense that George would go shopping for the murder weapon with the guy he hired to kill his wife. Why buy a new hammer at all, why not just use something in the house already?

George might be guilty but I don't know if I could have convicted him based on the evidence that was presented on the show.

[Jpxfactor]

I know there is reasonable doubt.....very scary

[psychoticstate]

The hammer shopping was suspicious but Greyhound did do home projects for George so it wouldn't be that crazy to buy the guy his own hammer. It just doesn't make sense that George would go shopping for the murder weapon with the guy he hired to kill his wife. Why buy a new hammer at all, why not just use something in the house already?

 

 

It doesn't make sense to a sane and rational person but whoever killed Shauna or ordered her killed is not someone I would consider rational.

 

If George is guilty he could have thought the hammer shopping could come across as perfectly innocent if Greyhound is his "handyman."   Guilty people do stupid crap like this all the time, mainly because they assume cops are dumb and they are smarter. That hammer was never meant to be found and would therefore have no connection to George.  Greyhound was caught because of Big Will.  

 

I also have no problem believing that if George did plan this, he befriended Greyhound for the sole purpose of eventually committing murder. 

[psychoticstate]

I forgot about the shorts.  What was that about did they ever say?  Why did he take his boxers off?  Weird.

 

Did they mention if the shorts had blood on them?  If so, maybe he took them off because they were bloody and then forget them.  Or it's possible he was carrying them around (since he was essentially homeless) - - maybe even with the thought of changing into them after the murder - - and dropped them.

 

Another thing that makes me believe George is guilty is the excessive number of calls between George and Greyhound the day of the murder.  Nobody needs to call their "handyman" that much.

[grumpypanda]

Did they mention if the shorts had blood on them? If so, maybe he took them off because they were bloody and then forget them. Or it's possible he was carrying them around (since he was essentially homeless) - - maybe even with the thought of changing into them after the murder - - and dropped them.

Another thing that makes me believe George is guilty is the excessive number of calls between George and Greyhound the day of the murder. Nobody needs to call their "handyman" that much.

I believe they said the boxer shorts were left in a previous break in. Either George had Greyhound do a break in before the actual murder to make it look like Shauna had a pervert stalker or Greyhound was an actual pervert stalker. They also said that a pair of Shauna's bathing suit bottoms were taken during the prior break in. I assume those bottoms were found around Greyhound's camp because they showed a picture of them in what looked like an evidence photo.

The phone calls were definitely weird but I don't recall them saying how long the calls were. Just because someone called a number 75 times in one month does not mean that 75 conversations took place. Even if they did talk a lot that doesn't mean they were plotting a murder.

Anyway, I'm not convinced that George is innocent but if he was involved it was a stupid plan. I watch enough murder tv to know that you never talk to the hit man on your own cell phone and you never get caught on video buying the murder weapon.

Edited October 23, 2015 by grumpypanda

[psychoticstate]

I watch enough murder tv to know that you never talk to the hit man on your own cell phone and you never get caught on video buying the murder weapon.

 

 

Yes, but people still do, mainly because they think they are smarter than everyone else and they will get away with it.  Which is fortunate because that's how they get caught. 

[ari333]

Yes, but people still do, mainly because they think they are smarter than everyone else and they will get away with it.  Which is fortunate because that's how they get caught. 

 

THIS.

I wonder many times and think,  "no way would a person do that if they were guilty".... but they do bc they are eat up with stupid or hubris or IDK what.

[psychoticstate]

THIS.

I wonder many times and think,  "no way would a person do that if they were guilty".... but they do bc they are eat up with stupid or hubris or IDK what.

 

Maybe a case of the stupids but also a flaming case of narcissism.  They believe that everyone is going to believe them, everything they say and nobody will possibly believe they could do such a thing.

 

In this case, and if he is indeed guilty, George may have thought "nobody will think I'm guilty if I'm talking to Greyhound on my own cell."   It would have been a red flag to discover he had a burner phone. 

 

Possibly there was more to this case than the show put on in the hour timeframe.  It still seemed as though Shauna's sister said that Shauna indicated she was afraid of George or something else.   Who knows why people do what they do?  Maybe he didn't want to be divorced or maybe he just didn't want Shauna to be fine and happy without him?   People do crazy things that make little sense to those of us who are rational and sane.

[magicman]

I finally had a chance to watch this episode this weekend, but I had read bits and pieces in the news previously. According to her family, George was very controlling and abusive but would be very hot or cold, depending on the day. Shauna never knew how he was going to be and would feel like they could work things out when he was being nice, and then he would change on a dime the next time they spoke. 

 

The Las Vegas news outlets reported that there was video surveillance of George making a duplicate key, which would explain the key that Greyhound used to gain entry into her home. For some reason, this wasn't mentioned in the 48 Hours episode. How would he have even known where she lived since she had only moved into this townhouse a few months earlier? The LV news also reported that there was a 3 minute phone call from George to Shauna around 9 p.m., while she was on her last work shift and immediately afterward, George called Greyhound, presumably to tell him what time she would be getting off work. It's not likely that Greyhound would have known that her shift ended at 3:00 a.m. any other way.

 

George's sisters were in such denial. What do they make of his driving 90 mph into a cement wall? What I find most disturbing is that George's mom has custody of the daughter. I don't understand why the courts would award custody to the parents of the mastermind/ killer when Shauna's sister might be a better option. So sad.

[birdmom]

 

• I agree that you COULD explain his buying the hammer together as a handyman project and even the ridiculous number of phone calls, but to me what sealed George's guilt is that he tried to commit suicide when his sister told him the police were after him (and he was stupid enough to keep his seatbelt on). All his family and friends need to remember that incident.

 

[grumpypanda]

I don't think that the suicide attempt necessarily makes him guilty. For me there are many different ways to look at it. Let's say I'm a completely innocent person but my spouse was murdered and the cops are coming down on me hard. Even though in my mind I know that I am innocent, the police are telling me that they have evidence that could lock me up for life. I'm also dealing with the death of my spouse and I'm not thinking straight. Maybe I still loved my spouse dearly even though we were separated. Losing a loved one can be traumatizing especially if they were horribly murdered. I would also be feeling tremendous guilt for bringing the murderer into my spouse's life. I can imagine being so freaked out and overwhelmed that suicide seems like the only option. The fact that he was wearing a seatbelt leads me to believe that he didn't really want to die but was feeling desperate and didn't know what else to do.

Or maybe he's just guilty and knew that the police were closing in and wanted to take the cowards way out. Of course, I really don't know what the truth is but I don't see any evidence that can't be explained away.

Edited October 29, 2015 by grumpypanda