Killing Fields - General Discussion

[Ina123]

I have a purely superficial comment.

 

Rodie. Dump the wife beater. I hate those things. Yes, I know. Personal preference.

[Primetimer]

The producer of Homicide: Life On The Street knows his crime.

Read the story

[Ina123]

I, for one, am enjoying it. All the complaints to me are things that perhaps they did on the first investigation but they aren't stopping everytime to say that. For instance, asking for the BR detectives notes. Maybe they were asked for in the first investigation and it just wasn't mentioned. I know I would get tired if after everything they do they would say, "yeah we did that the first time around".

Kinda like I'm a little tired of Sanchez asking in ever interview/interrogation, "do we make you nervous?"

Damn straight you do. You're in my face asking me about a murder.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Ina123

[walnutqueen]

I, for one, am enjoying it. All the complaints to me are things that perhaps they did on the first investigation but they aren't stopping everytime to say that. For instance, asking for the BR detectives notes. Maybe they were asked for in the first investigation and it just wasn't mentioned. I know I would get tired if after everything they do they would say, "yeah we did that the first time around".

Kinda like I'm a little tired of Sanchez asking in ever interview/interrogation, "do we make you nervous?"

Damn straight you do. You're in my face asking me about a murder.

 

Yes - having watched Cold Justice and other shows about cold cases, it is also credible that witnesses come forward with new details, or new witnesses are found when a long time has passed.

[Ina123]

Uh...I mean Aubrey is the one always asking "are we making you nervous". Not Sanchez.

[tobeannounced]

It will be interesting to see what the results are of Robert the II's DNA.  Plenty of sketchy "persons of interest" though.

[walnutqueen]

^^^ Yes, this case is getting really interesting.

 

I feel so bad for Rodie having to face the possibility of cancer again.  I seem to have developed a soft spot for the old dick, and am beginning to understand his desire to revisit this case, and his undershirt* evening reflections on life and the mistakes he's made along the way.

 

* they are undershirts, not wifebeaters (I despise that connotation), and were quite common back in the olden days.   :-)

[iluvobx]

I like Rodie.  I am curious as to why his wife was pushing for that new house knowing about the spots on his kidney.  He stated that they had found them a few weeks earlier.  I don't believe I would want to assume a new house payment knowing I might be facing the prospect of my husband going through radiation/chemo treatments and a possibility of him dying.  Makes no sense to me.

I am glad that he decided that he couldn't rest until this murder is solved and he has chosen a young one with the same passion in case he passes.

Rodie sees a lot of things differently now than what he did then.

[CalicoskiesNC]

I like these detectives. I thought Rodie explained the new house as a rental income property?

[walnutqueen]

CalicoskiesNC, on 27 Jan 2016 - 7:52 PM, said:

I like these detectives. I thought Rodie explained the new house as a rental income property?

 

At some point I thought I heard Rodie say something about his real estate holdings all over town; possibly because he had to buy new houses for all of his wives, and then some?

[iluvobx]

What I understood from his conversation with Aubrey, it was a new home for him and his wife.  Not rental property.

[Ina123]

Pretty amazing that the ex is pulling all that stuff. Way to make yourself look guilty, fool.

I noticed during the bull session about where they wanted to be buried and what they wanted to be buried in among the things Aubrey asked Rodie was if he wanted to be buried in his "wife-beater". Hilarious.

[LotusFlower]

Wait, so Rodie was the original detective on the case 20 years ago, and he never interviewed the ex-husband in person? He only had a "brief" conversation with him, and it was over the phone?? What?! What kind of police work is that? And he didn't tell him that his ex-wife was murdered? What was the call for, if not to talk to him about the murder? Maybe I missed something, because that didn't make any sense to me.

[NurseGiGi]

No wonder Rodie wanted to revisit this investigation.  Judging from everything I've seen so far the original investigation was bungled from the get go.  And only a cursory conversation on the phone with the ex?  

 

I'm calling it now.  At the end of the investigation we will again see Rodie in his lawn chair telling us how he still doesn't know who killed Eugenie but that he will never give up.  Then a fade out to the LA Bayou.

[Ina123]

No matter how it turns out, I absolutely love the way that Rodie says "U-shjuh-nay Bwa-fontaine".

[iluvobx]

Found some interesting information concerning the original case.  It seems that the Parish was too poor to even buy body bags and they did not have the resources to fully investigate the murder.  No wonder this has haunted Rodie.

 

It seems that the La State Police Crime Lab "lost" her underwear and they were not found for several years!  WOW

 

Discovery is the one that seems to be footing the bill for the reinvestigation of this murder.  Discovery paid for the outside lab to test the underwear.  

 

This explains a lot of things about why they didn't do certain things the first time.  There is a book called titled Blood Bath that is about this case.

[Jenkins]

Great info iluvobx.

 

I was wondering why the initial case seemed to be handled so poorly.

 

Though I do find it hard to believe the ex husband just NOW found out about her death. But who knows, maybe he is telling the truth.

 

I do know he is certainly ACTING guilty. It seems he shows up with THREE lawyers next week (tens of thousands of dollars), so he is either rich or hiding something. Maybe he didn't kill her, but had sex with her before she died and doesn't want his current wife to find that out?

 

I just can't think of any reason a truly innocent person needs that many lawyers and is being so unhelpful with a case involving the brutal death of someone you at one point really cared about.

 

Every last person they have asked to give DNA, they practically jumped at the chance.

[walnutqueen]

Well, I can think of plenty of reasons not to talk to the police.  They lie, they lie, they lie.  Everyone is a suspect.  Anything you say can and will be used against you should they decide you are guilty.  Innocent people are persecuted and prosecuted far too often.  Anyone who exercises their right to counsel is automatically deemed suspicious, if not guilty.  The deck is rigged in their favor - i.e. they can (and do) lie to you about anything they want, but you're in trouble if you lie to them.

 

I personally don't trust them.  Not one bit. 

[Jenkins]

The guy definitely should have got a lawyer at the start (any smart person would).

 

But he just refuses to work with them AT ALL on a case involving the death of an ex wife.

 

For myself, I certainly would get a lawyer, but I would TRY to be helpful at the same time. He doesn't seem interested one bit in helping them. It comes off VERY suspicious. But then, maybe like you (WQ), he just doesn't trust the police one bit.

 

It will be VERY interesting to see the interview with him next week.

 

It is also possible he has a high profile job and doesn't want to be associated with this (sort of like once you have been accused of murder, rape, molestation, etc, even if you are found innocent, that will follow you the rest of your life). Which would explain why his name is bleeped out and his face is going to be blurred.

 

I don't know the law there, but can they MAKE him submit to a DNA test?

[NurseGiGi]

I agree with both Jenkins and WQ.  I've watched enough ID channel and The First 48 to know that you never, ever say anything!  And I would never in a million years take a polygraph.  Those things are so undependable and there's a reason they aren't allowed as evidence but on those crime shows if you refuse they automatically think it's suspicious.  However, if I could afford a lawyer I would try to help out.

 

That's some interesting information, iluvobx.  Everything makes sense now.  I wish they had thrown a line in there about their lack of funds back then.  I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking they had screwed the pooch during the original investigation.  How did you find this information?  I'm a terrible googler myself.

[LotusFlower]

Though I do find it hard to believe the ex husband just NOW found out about her death. But who knows, maybe he is telling the truth.

How can he claim to only recently learn of the murder if he acknowledges and remembers taking to Rodie back when it happened? Why did Rodie call him, if not to talk about the murder?

[Lizzing]

I don't buy for a hot second that the ex didn't know of the murder.  From what it sounds like, the guy lives/works around New Orleans.  Even down there, they got news of the DTLee killings, and Eugenie's name was bandied about on the list of possible victims early on (even though it looks like he's cleared of her particular case).  The ex would have to be under a rock for 20 years to not know she was dead.  What drove me nuts last night was when the Major was on the phone with the lawyer and the lawyer kept saying, "(the ex) hasn't seen her in 20 years!".  I know that lawyers can be purposefully obtuse, but the Major or Rhodie or anyone else should have said "THAT'S BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN DEAD FOR 20 YEARS!!!"

 

And just anecdotally, when they show Eugenie's old house on Stanford, you can see a For Sale sign up.  I swear that every time I've been by that house since about the time of her death, it's been for sale.  It's a super cute house, but, man, whomever owns it is screwed. 

Edited February 4, 2016 by Lizzing

[formerlyfreedom]

It's gotten picked up for at least six more episodes.

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/true-crime-series-killing-fields-861169

[Ina123]

My TV stays on the ID Channel and I'm a true crime nut.

It is perfectly legal for a police interrogator to lie to anyone they are interviewing. If you pass a poly, they can walk right in and tell you that you failed. If they bring 2 people in at a time, they can tell each of you that the other said you did it when it just wasn't so. All of that is legal. It isn't nice, but it's legal. Good cops with no bad intentions use these methods all the time.

That's why if the police ask you to come in and speak with them, unless you are just a witness reporting what you saw, SAY NOTHING EXCEPT "Get ME A LAWYER. Don't even talk about the weather. Just shut up. If you are being interviewed and you talk and realize they are treating you like a suspect, ask if you are being arrested. If they say no...leave. They can't keep you.

Most of all, make sure your kids know this. Including being pulled into an admin office over something that happens at school. Tell your kids to shut up and request they call Mom and/or Dad.

As to Egenie's ex, I can understand how he wants to bring a lawyer along, but he should have just said that in the first phone call. A simple, "Yeah. Come on up here and we can meet in my lawyer's office" would have been fine. Instead, from the beginning he made everything "fishy". Also, I can't wait to find out why he needs 3 lawyer's to sit in with him. That preview clip of them all trying to find a place to stand or sit in Rodie's tiny interview room was just 3 seconds long but I laughed out loud at the scene.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Ina123

[tobeannounced]

I found this episode so boring, I couldn't even finish it.  Glad I have y'all to fill me in.  My thoughts on the ex...didn't they say Eugenie came from a wealthy family?  So maybe her ex does too and can afford all the lawyers. I was wondering how the fact that this is all being filmed for a TV show impacted his reaction to being interviewed.  Surely they would have had to inform him of this up front.  That would be a game changer for me.

[pasdetrois]

 

It is also possible he has a high profile job and doesn't want to be associated with this (sort of like once you have been accused of murder, rape, molestation, etc, even if you are found innocent, that will follow you the rest of your life). Which would explain why his name is bleeped out and his face is going to be blurred.

Also, it's all being captured on camera. He's probably repelled by the idea of this show and being captured forever on audio and video, for purposes of a true crime TV show.

 

Did anyone catch the reference to his first name? Someone stated it in conversation.

[iluvobx]

How can he claim to only recently learn of the murder if he acknowledges and remembers taking to Rodie back when it happened? Why did Rodie call him, if not to talk about the murder?

That is what I was going to say.  He acknowledged talking to Rodie when it first happened.  Even one of the lawyers stated that.

 

There really is not much out there concerning this.  I googled her name and worked for there.  

[LotusFlower]

That is what I was going to say.  He acknowledged talking to Rodie when it first happened.  Even one of the lawyers stated that.

 

There really is not much out there concerning this.  I googled her name and worked for there.

So my question is - why isn't Rodie saying that he called the guy, the ex, who acknowledges the call, and informed him of the murder? I'm thinking that maybe Rodie just called him to get an alibi and never said why he was calling (i.e. he never mentioned Eugenie's murder), but the show doesn't want to embarrass Rodie or expose shoddy police work from long ago.

[hilaryvm]

I thought Rodie called when Eugenie was still missing, but I could be completely wrong about that.  I wish one of the police officers has said, in response to the "hasn't seen her in 20 years" that she's been dead for 20 years.  No one has seen her for 20 years, and that's why we want to talk.

 

I have to say, though, that I would never voluntarily give a DNA sample.  You would have to get a warrant for that.  No way.  Even if it makes me look guilty for 'Not cooperating."  I just don't have much trust in what would happen to it after I gave it.

[Lizzing]

Rhodie wouldn't have called the ex when she was just a missing person case.  She was reported missing in Baton Rouge, so the BR cops (sheriff or city, don't know who exactly, but probably city cops) took that report.  Rhodie is an Iberville Parish (read "parish" = "county") sheriff office detective, so he only got the case when her body turned up in his parish, two months after she went missing.  So the ONLY reason Rhodie would have called the ex was in investigating the murder.  Like I said before, there is ZERO chance the ex didn't know she was murdered.

 

But, I totally agree with y'all about getting a lawyer and not agreeing with a DNA swab without a warrant.  I just wouldn't pay for 3 lawyers for a police interview; that not only looks weird, but is far too expensive.  One should suffice.  As for the DNA, I wish I could find the outcome of the federal suit, but back when the cops were investigating the DTL murders, before they had DTL as a suspect, the cops were convinced the murder was a white guy driving a white truck.  Well, in South Louisiana there are A LOT of white dudes with white trucks (think personal and every work truck) and everyone was in a panic and calling in their suspicions to cops if any guy looked the tiniest bit hinky.  I knew a woman who called in her friend's husband because he gave off a creepy vibe.  Ended up, the cops did a DNA dragnet and collected, some coerced, 1200+ DNA samples.  The federal suit was over (in part) what would happen with the DNA samples after the person was excluded.  I *think* the samples ended up being destroyed, but it was a real concern for a while. 

[Ina123]

Does anyone know what the schedule is for this program. I've just been seeing repeats on Monday nights. I don't see a new episode on the schedule for Tuesday night.

[NurseGiGi]

Does anyone know what the schedule is for this program. I've just been seeing repeats on Monday nights. I don't see a new episode on the schedule for Tuesday night.

It comes on Tuesday night, tonight, on Discovery at 9pm CST.  I think this is the last episode of the series.

[Ina123]

Thanks. I'll have to look again.

[MaryPatShelby]

I started watching this today (it's marathoning on Discovery), thinking it would fill the Undisclosed/Making a Murderer void. Came here to read the article about halfway through, because I'd already had too much Rodie slowly repeating the same thing over and over. I decided I didn't want to commit that much time to something that didn't try to grab the viewer from the start.

[Ina123]

Geeze. Could the ex make himself look more guilty?

Edited February 10, 2016 by Ina123

[ladyrott]

This show has definitely lost me as a viewer.  I was really excited when I first saw commercials for this.  I thought it was going to be a new cold murder that different detectives would be investigating every week.  Instead I get 7 episodes dedicated to just one murder....and they DIDNT SOLVE IT AT THE END!  Seriously, WTH, show?  The ex-husband looks guilty as hell with all his lawyers and refusing to talk, but there are other reasons he could be acting like that.  As someone mentioned last week, could be he doesn't want his current wife to know he slept with the ex while he was with her.  They made a pretty big deal over the fact that he remarried the month after his divorce was final but I don't find that all that strange.  They could have been separated for 2 years before it was finalized.  Besides that, even if he was having an affair with his current wife while married to Eugenia, what difference would it make as long as the divorce went through?  He had no reason to kill her if he was done with her.  GAH!  I hate shows that don't solve the damn mystery!

[pasdetrois]

Didn't we hear one of Eugenie's many acquaintances state that Eugenie was seeing (having sex with) her husband again? That would explain his DNA on her panties.

 

The detectives kept saying they weren't accusing him of anything, but they were dying for him to be guilty. It bugged me how aggressively they were pursuing him, with what amounts to character defamation on camera, if he's not the guilty party. "It's his ex-wife, he must have loved her once - why won't he come in and give us his DNA?"

 

Now that we have so many proven cases of erroneous convictions, due to bad science and law enforcement shenanigans, I think more people will resist the casual "come down to our office and give us a DNA sample." Once I would have cooperated without a second thought, now I'm not so sure.

 

Too bad they didn't solve the case.

[Ina123]

I think they will solve the case. They'll be back. Remember, it's in real time. They can't just show an hour of Rodie and Aubrey canvassing neighborhoods and making calls. For one thing if the ex is guilty and they concentrate on him, they can't be seen on TV following those leads and possibly damaging their case. I'll say it again. The ex is his own worst enemy by avoiding them and bringing big guns to the battle. Rodie wants to go back to retirement too. He's leaving the case to Aubrey.

 

Didn't we hear one of Eugenie's many acquaintances state that Eugenie was seeing (having sex with) her husband again? That would explain his DNA on her panties.

 

Explaining his DNA in her panties isn't his problem. Nothing wrong with two exes having sex. But it would prove that he was with her close to the time she was murdered. It's like putting him at the scene.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Ina123

[Dev]

I actually really liked this series.  I've watched The Jinx and Making a Murder.  I've listened to Serial.  I've read a lot of true crime books.  I just thought this one was really different, because they did try to insert some reality show tropes or elements into it.  For example, Rodie with his grandchildren and the cancer scare.  It was more than just the investigation true crime, but not quite a full-on reality show. It was different to me.  I understand it wouldn't be for everyone, though. 

 

I loved Leslie last night!  She and Aubrey had a good camaraderie.  

 

I totally fell for the "None of the DNA swabs matched..." line, too. They got me. 

I would love to know more about the original investigation.  Why were some of these things not done?  I suppose money was a factor and also the assumption of Derrick Todd Lee being her killer.  It's weird that they are just finding out certain things about the ex-husband now, though.  

 

I can't wait for more episodes and more information about the case.  

Edited February 10, 2016 by Dev

[GreyBunny]

The detectives kept saying they weren't accusing him of anything, but they were dying for him to be guilty. It bugged me how aggressively they were pursuing him, with what amounts to character defamation on camera, if he's not the guilty party.

 

No kidding.  "We're not saying we think he killed her, we just want to talk to him."  Translation: "We REALLY hope he's guilty so we can all go home!"  I don't blame him for lawyering up, I would too if someone was coming after me after 20 years with TV cameras in tow.  Just the reference of "ex-husband" is enough to out him even though his face blurred out and his name is bleeped, it's not hard to find out his name.  When I googled "eugenie boisfonaine" the line "eugenie boisfontaine husband" is the next popular search term.  Lots of people are already looking for him.  If he's innocent and even if he's cleared, he's still been dragged through the mud on national TV without his consent and I'm sure there would be repercussions at his workplace (if he's working).

 

"It's his ex-wife, he must have loved her once - why won't he come in and give us his DNA?"

 

I find that line of reasoning bogus.  Lots of exes have acrimonious breakups and never reconcile.  I have a couple of ex boyfriends who if something happened to them I couldn't care less.  Good riddance.

Edited February 10, 2016 by GreyBunny

[LotusFlower]

I can't wait for more episodes and more information about the case.

Did they say there will be more episodes if the case is revived or new developments happen?

[GreyBunny]

Sanchez: "I love my son." 

 

Yeah, that's nice, but he loves his fantasy version of a dead girl even more.   He can project whatever he wants onto her and she can't contradict him or talk back to him.  She can be whatever he wants her to be inside his own head and she'll never leave him.

[Darian]

They really had to pad this episode. There was even more repetition than usual. But I still liked it, and when they were following the ex and Leslie was getting his DNA, I was holding my breath. I like this team and would watch more of them. We may never get updates on the case from this show, but I'll probably remember to Google every so often. 

[Dev]

Did they say there will be more episodes if the case is revived or new developments happen?

They said on Twitter that they are still investigating and there will be new episodes in a few months.

[Ina123]

Does anyone know who Eugenie's ex husband is? He must be wealthy.

[LotusFlower]

They said on Twitter that they are still investigating and there will be new episodes in a few months.

Thanks.

[GreyBunny]

Didn't they say the found the DNA profiles of two, possibly three men?  Maybe she had a tryst with her ex-husband and then went for a walk and got abducted by someone(s) else.

[ExplainItAgain]

Yeah, her ex must be bringing in some money if he can afford to have 3 lawyers on his case. None of them signed the release to be on TV (in a way, I can't blame them but it sure does seem shady).

 

I wonder if the show has brought anyone out of the woodwork? I can imagine they may be getting more tips than ever after the media exposure.

[Lizzing]

The one thing this show didn't answer for me, aside from who the murderer is, was where Eugenie was taken from.  Maybe they're holding that information back from the public, or maybe they don't know.  I could swear that early on, the reports were that she went missing from walking around the LSU lakes.  However, since there has been crime around those lakes for years, I could just be misremembering.  The show introduced the possibility of her going to that Alligator Bayou Bar and never coming home.  And it's possible she was taken from her house, which was one of DTL's MOs (though not exclusively).  Usually on true crime shows, when someone goes missing, they'll say "She left, with her keys and purse and phone on the table" or "her car was in the garage" or "her car was found at X and Y personal effects were in it."  From wanting the public's help with this, I would think where she was taken from would be of interest. But, maybe they wanted to show Aubrey flipping over a giant tire again. ;)

 

I have to figure the ex has some big time income and business interests he wants to protect in a bad way.  Like maybe he didn't kill her at all, but has something else he's hiding?  I know who the one lawyer was in the room...the one the Major commented was a former US Attorney.  Despite that lawyer's shady background, I can't imagine he's charging under $350 to $400 per hour.  And that's probably too low of an estimate.

 

There was something oddly comical to me about the 4 detectives running around NOLA trying to get a touch DNA sample.  Wouldn't there have been other cars involved for production?

[iluvobx]

The one thing this show didn't answer for me, aside from who the murderer is, was where Eugenie was taken from.  Maybe they're holding that information back from the public, or maybe they don't know.  I could swear that early on, the reports were that she went missing from walking around the LSU lakes.  However, since there has been crime around those lakes for years, I could just be misremembering.  The show introduced the possibility of her going to that Alligator Bayou Bar and never coming home.  And it's possible she was taken from her house, which was one of DTL's MOs (though not exclusively).  Usually on true crime shows, when someone goes missing, they'll say "She left, with her keys and purse and phone on the table" or "her car was in the garage" or "her car was found at X and Y personal effects were in it."  From wanting the public's help with this, I would think where she was taken from would be of interest. But, maybe they wanted to show Aubrey flipping over a giant tire again. ;)

 

I have to figure the ex has some big time income and business interests he wants to protect in a bad way.  Like maybe he didn't kill her at all, but has something else he's hiding?  I know who the one lawyer was in the room...the one the Major commented was a former US Attorney.  Despite that lawyer's shady background, I can't imagine he's charging under $350 to $400 per hour.  And that's probably too low of an estimate.

 

There was something oddly comical to me about the 4 detectives running around NOLA trying to get a touch DNA sample.  Wouldn't there have been other cars involved for production?

I thought they said she went missing from the lake.  That she was taking a walk.  I don't think they really know except that her belongings were found on the walking path.  I seem to remember that they found her credit cards and keys, so it seems robbery was not the motivate.  

edited to delete double post

Edited February 11, 2016 by iluvobx