S29.E28: Ryan Poston Murder: Breaking Point (Part 1) / S29.E29: Obsessed (Part 2)

[biakbiak]

Quote

All-new: A lawyer shot -- his girlfriend admits she pulled the trigger and then dances in a strange police video - was it self-defense or love gone bad?

Why was this show 2 hours? It could have been over and done in 15 minutes.

Men and women both need to trust their instincts, I am not blaming him but when all of his friends kept saying that he tried so hard to breakup with her I was confused. The night before the murder he invited her over to dinner with his mom and stepdad and than invited her to stay over.

It does show how fucked up the laws about restraining orders are in some states but I don't think he would have gone that route even if it was available to him.

If people are obsessively texting block their number, change your locks if they have a key, when they cross lines notify law enforcement if for no other reason so that it is on the record!

She and her mother were delusional about her case.

[tobeannounced]

What was up with her behavior in the interrogation room?  Did she not know that she was being taped?  Or did she know and was banking on an insanity defense?  

 

I thought this was interesting overall even though it was pretty obvious she did it.  Such beautiful, accomplished people with so little common sense.  I do have to side-eye Ryan for taking up with such a young girl, and my feeling is he loved the drama and back and forth, on and off of the relationship. Obviously he didn't deserve to be murdered, but he was playing with fire.

[Redcookie]

Oy, her mother......I wish the reporter had asked the mother what her thoughts were about the thousands of texts. I kept thinking the girl must be something in bed....I agree he should have changed his locks and blocked her number....

[Writing Wrongs]

I kinda loved the prosecutor.

[starri]

The mother seemed like a real piece of work.  "She grew up in the church!"  "She's like her mama, a gentle spirit!"

 

This is probably an odd complaint, but I'm kind of annoyed that we've been in a run of episodes with the male correspondents.  I'm not fond of Troy Roberts, but I don't really dislike Richard Schlesinger and Peter Van Sant, but I just find them so much less engaging than Erin, Susan, Maureen, and Tracy.

[tobeannounced]

The mother seemed like a real piece of work.  "She grew up in the church!"  "She's like her mama, a gentle spirit!"

I couldn't help but wonder what mama thought when Shayna admitted she had slept with 10 guys in one year while in a supposedly committed relationship with Ryan.

[starri]

I'm not saying Mom shouldn't defend her daughter.  It would be weird if she didn't.  It was just the phrasing that seemed a little odd to me.

[Fable]

I almost turned this off during the police interrogation when she claimed to have given him the nose job he had always wanted.  Seriously?   Yikes!  I don't know if she has an IQ that matches Einstein's or not, but she was definitely not all there.  Her behavior was downright bizarre.  

[sinycalone]

I kinda loved the prosecutor.

Me, too.  

[UsernameFatigue]

I can't remember the last time I had less sympathy for the victim of a murder. Not only did the guy take no steps to ensure that Shayna could not contact him (as others have said, block her number, change the locks on his door) but he was still taking her to family dinners and having her sleep over the day he is killed. Sheesh. Not to mention for someone who called Shayna "restraining order crazy" he had multiple guns and ammo lying around his apartment and apparently no concern about the crazy girlfriend having access to them. There appeared to be an identical gun to the one Shayna used to kill him lying on the bookcase.  Obsessive much?

 

I agree that Shayna's mother was delusional but so to a lesser degree were Ryan's parents/step parent. WTF was he doing going out with someone so much younger in the first place? I think he quite liked having Shayna obsessing over him, and liked pushing her buttons. I said to hubby that I am just grateful that they never had the chance to procreate as I think he was as much of a narcissist as she is. I think Miss Ohio dodged a bullet by never having gone out with Ryan. No pun intended.

Edited April 24, 2016 by UsernameFatigue

[Ohmo]

See, I had great sympathy for Ryan.  First, society is very willing to be understanding of a woman who doesn't leave an abusive relationship, so I think it's only fair that the same should be true of a man.  He was being utterly barraged by a woman who was completely mentally unstable.  He worked in the law and wasn't eligible for a restraining order (a fact which totally blows my mind).  Sure, I'll grant you that he should have changed the locks, and he shouldn't have continued to see her at all, but I can allow for the idea that he probably wanted to be the "nice guy" and hope that he could just move on.  Plus, even if he did change the locks, there's no indication that she would have stopped.  She picked the lock on his bedroom door, and I think blocking her on his phone wouldn't have done anything significant either.

 

I think that Shayna does have significant mental illness (and I think he mother is also mentally ill.)  I do not believe a single thing that she says, and I think the only thing that we learned about Ryan is that he was a fallible person who was too good-hearted.  It was never proven to my satisfaction that Ryan's temper was anything more than just someone who was completely exasperated, and I disagree that he liked having Shayna push his buttons.  He's a guy, and I think he genuinely believed in what he told the woman in his office building...that he did have a handle on Shayna.  Tragically, he was very wrong.

 

I can also see, where in a state where he could not get a restraining order, he probably thought that he was not going to be believed if he tried other avenues (whatever they might have been). He was the handsome, successful lawyer.  If he had really tried anything else, I can see why he could potentially have thought that all she had to do was flip the switch into her "sweet Kentucky" routine.  It disgusted me how much that Kentucky seemed to give Shayna more and more chances.  That whole hearing about reducing her sentence to 8 years was BS.  It wasn't successful (thank goodness), but I was extremely irritated that there was a hearing at all.

 

I do not like (or own) any guns, and Ryan made a tragic mistake.  However, the responsibility for his death does not lie on him.  It lies on that crazy loon who picked up that gun and shot him six times.  She is lethally dangerous, no matter how mentally ill she is.  Toss her in jail and throw away the key.

 

I also like the prosecutor, but I fear someone made a grave error.  How the heck did a convicted felon end up on that jury?  I fear that will be grounds for another trial, and I pray Shayna is convicted again.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Ohmo

[mamey2422]

Why was this show 2 hours? It could have been over and done in 15 minutes.

Men and women both need to trust their instincts, I am not blaming him but when all of his friends kept saying that he tried so hard to breakup with her I was confused. The night before the murder he invited her over to dinner with his mom and stepdad and than invited her to stay over.

It does show how fucked up the laws about restraining orders are in some states but I don't think he would have gone that route even if it was available to him.

If people are obsessively texting block their number, change your locks if they have a key, when they cross lines notify law enforcement if for no other reason so that it is on the record!

She and her mother were delusional about her case.

The episode was definitely stretched out but I was intrigued by the parallels between this case and Jodi Arias'. Obsessed girlfriend, good guy who can't totally break off the relationship, jealousy and stalking, brutal murder, claims of self defense, odd interrogation behavior down to the singing.

[FanOfTheFans]

I agree about the similarities to Jodi Arias. I think everything she did was very calculated. She quite fancied herself as an actress who could act her way out of a murder IMO. Her mother struck me as someone who has encouraged her crazy her whole life. The way she kept going on about her baby and how she lives her whole life for her was not normal for preparing a child for adulthood.

Domestic abuse is a bitch for either sex. I get people's frustration that he didn't leave but domestic abuse tends to look different to people on the outside. It isn't rational and that is the rub. Rational acts for the person in the middle of it fall flat on someone like Shayna.

[ByaNose]

Yeah, that girl was totally cray-cray and her mother was living on denial street. Jeez! I know every parent wants to believe in their children but Jesus Louise! Wake up and smell the coffee!! I wanted to hear the mothers explanation for the 100's & 100's of text messages from her daughter to the boyfriend but I don't think it was asked. If it was I missed it. On a totally shallow note the boyfriend was stunningly (is that a word?) handsome. The only thing I thought was off putting was all the guns and bullets just laying around like figurines. Of course, I'm not a gun person and have been to a shooting range. Overall, she got what she deserve. She couldn't even fake remorse during sentencing.

[biakbiak]

Yeah I am not certain we really saw a full picture of who he was which is often the case with victims because it's usually their family and friends telling the story.

I mean they started dating because he found her pictures on FB and messaged her, those messages he sent to his friends were filled with a scary rage, and I don't consider someone a responsible gun owner who has multiple guns and ammo strewn around the living room.

None of that means he deserved to be murdered.

Edited April 25, 2016 by biakbiak

[Ohmo]

The episode was definitely stretched out but I was intrigued by the parallels between this case and Jodi Arias'. Obsessed girlfriend, good guy who can't totally break off the relationship, jealousy and stalking, brutal murder, claims of self defense, odd interrogation behavior down to the singing.

 

The way the episode was cut, I think it had originally been two individual episodes that were intended to be aired at two separate times.  The second episode had the feeling of an "update" episode that often airs several months or even years after the original episode airs.

 

I can definitely see the comparison to Jodi Arias, and she's right where she belongs as well.

[backformore]

Yeah I am not certain we really saw a full picture of who he was which is often the case with victims because it's usually their family and friends telling the story.

I mean they started dating because he found her pictures on FB and messaged her, those messages he sent to his friends were filled with a scary rage, and I don't consider someone a responsible gun owner who has multiple guns and ammo strewn around the living room.

None of that means he deserved to be murdered.

I agree that a responsible gun owner would not have multiple loaded guns laying around the house.  Though we don't actually know that all those guns were loaded, that was just said by the girl's mother, trying to make excuses.     As to his messages -  people do that, none of those were threats.  He was angry at a former partner and was venting.   I compare it to a person saying "I hope he drops dead."  That doesn't mean anything except that you're angry, it doesn't mean you're filled with  rage and dangerous.  It just means you're mad.  But yeah -  I wonder WHY his ex-partner was suing him.  There were some things left out. 

 

I would think a lawyer would have more sense than to start a relationship with a college student, though.  She was 19 when they met.  Too young for him.  It doesn't even pass that "half your age plus 7"  rule.  (If people don't know about it, to see if someone is too young for you to date, Do the math - your age, divided by 2, add 7.  You're not supposed to date anyone younger than that.)

 

The show was weird, how they kept repeating the same scenes over and over, dragging out what could easily have been an hour show.   I was cracking up over one thing though.   Every time it was mentioned that the next evening he had a date with MISS OHIO - they'd show the exact same clip of MISS OHIO walking across a stage in a swimsuit.

[biakbiak]

Though we don't actually know that all those guns were loaded, that was just said by the girl's mother, trying to make excuses. As to his messages - people do that, none of those were threats.

I didn't say they were loaded guns, though the murder weapon was his loaded fire arm that he carried with and regularly left on the dining room table when he got home from work. The crime scene photos show guns and lose live ammo around his living room, on the floor, table and bookcases.

I also didn't say that those messages were direct threats but rather scary rage, though if his former law partner ended up dead I imagine law enforcement would treat them as real threats. If I had a friend who "vented" to me in that way, I would be concerned for them and the person who it was targeted at. I didn't find the messages normal (specific and detailed) and also they only read a few even though there were dozens.

Again, I think she cold blooded murdered him and should be in prison for decades, hell I think the notion that she is eligible for parole in her mid40s is frightening because she is a scary but I also think there is a lot missing from his portrait given that there was 2 hours to fill in on what was an open and shut case of murder with an unrepentant killer.

Edited April 25, 2016 by biakbiak

[starri]

The episode was definitely stretched out but I was intrigued by the parallels between this case and Jodi Arias'. Obsessed girlfriend, good guy who can't totally break off the relationship, jealousy and stalking, brutal murder, claims of self defense, odd interrogation behavior down to the singing.

In fairness, Travis Alexander was not exactly a "good guy," no matter how evil Jodi is.  His friends and family have tried to canonize him in the media, but he was hardly the upstanding, moral guy they insist he was.  Still didn't deserve what Jodi and her ninjas did to him.

 

And yes, Ryan Poston was incredibly good-looking.

[Lizzing]

I also like the prosecutor, but I fear someone made a grave error.  How the heck did a convicted felon end up on that jury?  I fear that will be grounds for another trial, and I pray Shayna is convicted again.

I also wondered about this; years ago, I was on jury duty for a criminal trial and wasn't picked for the jury, so I was able to follow the case in the news.  One of the chosen jurors was a convicted felon and under indictment for another charge.  That guy lied to the court, but they'd seated alternates and caught the error in time.   As regards this case, the guy on the Poston case was just ignorant of the fact he plead guilty to a felony 20 odd years ago, for not paying child support.  He didn't do time, has little education, and sounds like he has literacy issues.  The story is here: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/01/30/shayna-hubers-juror-had-no-idea/79307098/It reads to me like the juror acted in good faith, and just wasn't clear on the nature of his past plea.  And, for that matter, has more remorse at his error than Shayna did for murder.

 

As for the show, I'm with all of you all who wondered why this was 2 hours (or set to be 2 episodes, as it seemed from the credits break).  So much repetition, and so little background detail. 

[ari333]

She said she was thrown around and her head was smashed on the table. No head or face injuries. And the downstairs neighbors heard no fighting.

[psychoticstate]

I think Dateline covered this case at some point.  In any event, I watched both 48 Hours' episodes on it.  

 

Add me to the list of people who thought this case mirrored the Jodi Arias case.  Shayna was clearly obsessed and it's too bad that no one did anything about it.  Did her mother think it was normal to go and pick up her daughter from a man's apartment in the middle of the night?  Then to bring her back the following day?  WTF?  Why didn't Ryan change the locks at his condo?  

 

I did wonder if Ryan was the first man Shayna had been with and that was part of the reason she was acting so manic and obsessive.  The volume of her texts was crazy, as well as her nonchalant attitude that she slept with 10 different men, not including Ryan, in that 12 month period.  My guess would be that she was trying to make him jealous but clearly that didn't work.

 

Obviously Ryan had no idea the level of crazy obsession he was dealing with.  He was in the wrong to continually get back together with Shayna but I remember how it was in my twenties - - break up and make up, rinse and repeat.  

 

The whole thing is sad.  He's dead, she's destroyed her life and she's only sorry for what she put her mom and friends through.  No remorse for killing Ryan, no sympathy for his family.  And a note to Shayna's mother  - - yes, your daughter IS a murderer.

[ari333]

Shayna and the mom..... enmeshed imo. So sad all the way around. 

 

Her plea for self defense/domestic violence  and a reduced sentence made me sick. Glad she didnt' get it

Edited April 25, 2016 by ari333

[FanOfTheFans]

I thought it was interesting Shayna's girlfriend said she always took high school breakups hard. I remember Jodi Arias was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and overreaction to rejection is a criteria for BPD. Made me wonder if she has BPD too. I heard them mention she was diagnosed as a narcissist but no mention of BPD. 

[A.Ham]

She was diagnosed as a narcissistic personality disorder, which is similar but does not have all of the traits of borderlines (I think of borderlines as the Jekyll and Hyde personality type--going from one extreme to the other--more info on the differences here). I think Shayna exhibits a lot of the symptoms of narcissism, right down to the lack of empathy (she felt sorry for herself and those close to her, but not for the family of the man whose life she took). Anyways, so much for my armchair psychology, just my two cents on that.

I agree with what's been said about Shayna's mom--that one is not completely in touch with reality either.

I had seen this story on 20/20 previously, Gio Benitez did it, and they did not feature mom in that one but they did drag out an ex-girlfriend of Ryan's--not sure what the purpose of that was, she mostly seemed to lament that they were no longer together. She did not say it, but I felt like she wanted to possibly insinuate that if he had not broken up with her, he'd still be alive. It just felt like a very odd portion of the interview. They also interviewed Miss Ohio, for no reason at all apparently other than to have a pretty face on TV.

Shayna's bug-eyed neighbor that defended her gave me the creeps a little bit. It's like she could not accept that she was played by Shayna and kept defending her. But the forensic evidence did not match Shayna's story at all, so I would have hoped that she could have come to her senses. I loved them moment when she was testifying and the prosecutor told her there had been testimony in the original trial stating that Shayna had self-inflicted marks and had basically lied to the neighbors. How she could still believe Shayna after that is beyond me.

Scary to think this psycho could be out on parole in 20 years (or earlier, if she gets that darn new trial).

[Ina123]

I would have convicted her on just the taped interview where she said he wanted a nose job so she gave him one. Shot him right in the face.

Shayna's mom. It's a shame we can't just put you in the cell with her.

[ari333]

5 hours ago, Ina123 said:

I would have convicted her on just the taped interview where she said he wanted a nose job so she gave him one. Shot him right in the face.

Shayna's mom. It's a shame we can't just put you in the cell with her.

That nose job comment was so horrifying and cruel. The mom is delusional.imo too

[Superpole2000]

On 4/24/2016 at 4:04 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

I can't remember the last time I had less sympathy for the victim of a murder. Not only did the guy take no steps to ensure that Shayna could not contact him (as others have said, block her number, change the locks on his door) but he was still taking her to family dinners and having her sleep over the day he is killed. Sheesh. Not to mention for someone who called Shayna "restraining order crazy" he had multiple guns and ammo lying around his apartment and apparently no concern about the crazy girlfriend having access to them. There appeared to be an identical gun to the one Shayna used to kill him lying on the bookcase.  Obsessive much?

I agree that Shayna's mother was delusional but so to a lesser degree were Ryan's parents/step parent. WTF was he doing going out with someone so much younger in the first place? I think he quite liked having Shayna obsessing over him, and liked pushing her buttons. I said to hubby that I am just grateful that they never had the chance to procreate as I think he was as much of a narcissist as she is. I think Miss Ohio dodged a bullet by never having gone out with Ryan. No pun intended.

Yeah, I was going down this road too, but I think this is excessively harsh and unfair. None of us deserve to be murdered, and anyone who is murdered deserves sympathy. It's not his fault. Owning guns and dating a younger woman are not offences punishable by murder. He had such bad luck crossing paths with this crazy woman. I have to resist the urge to blame the victim and instead blame the subhuman creature who ended his life over jealousy.

Edited May 8, 2016 by Superpole2000

[UsernameFatigue]

I disagree that anyone who is murdered deserves sympathy. I am not talking about Ryan, but there are many people who have been murdered who got exactly what they deserved. However Ryan seemed like a rather unstable person to me. Besides the comments made about what he wanted to do to the ex partner that was suing him (and why was he being sued?) he made two comments they showed about wanting to basically wipe a whole city off the map. And in texts to a friend he stated that he was very unhappy and would like to move to LA and become a talent agent but he was too old to start over (I am paraphrasing). In none of these cases did he even mention Shayna. And that is only a few examples that they showed. Who knows how many other similar posts/texts he may have made. So while yes, she was pretty unstable (obviously) Ryan was not the boy scout his family and friends made him out to be. Did he deserve to be murdered? Of course not. Was he the second coming? Of course not. Who knows what would have happened in his life in the future but at the moment he died he was very unhappy (even without the cray cray girlfriend) and possibly unstable. Who knows what may have happened to/with him in the future.