All Episodes Discussion

[UsernameFatigue]

I always know the husband did it when, despite having problems, he claims that he and his wife had a wonderful day before she disappeared, including making love. Dead giveaway, no pun intended.

What a controlling POS. But what did it for me was his tranquilizing deer to cut off their antlers. What a monster. Not surprised that his daughters are sticking by him - as has been already said, we see it time after time. I also agree with above poster that the mother's affair liked tainted the girls' opinion of their mother, topped off with her dream of moving with the boyfriend to another country. 

I hope daddy dearest rots in jail, if only to keep the poor animals in his vicinity safe. 

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I always know the husband did it when, despite having problems, he claims that he and his wife had a wonderful day before she disappeared, including making love. Dead giveaway, no pun intended.

Mmhm. That always seems to be a detail these guys love to throw in when telling their story about the last time they were with their wife. It always comes off as a subtle way for them to brag and show off how much of a "stud" they are - a husband who was genuinely concerned about his wife going missing would be a lot more discreet about that kind of information. If they did mention an intimate encounter, it would only be if someone asked them about it in the course of the investigation, and even then, they'd still find a more gentlemanly way to acknowledge that.

And, of course, that kind of claim is also a good way to explain away any DNA that the investigators may find. 

As for the daughters standing by their dad, I agree with the theories people shared here as to why they're doing that. There's also the possibility that their dad's manipulated them to his side - given all the talk about how abusive and controlling he was towards his wife, I can easily see him poisoning his children against her, too. Which also adds to my feeling he knew more about her affair than he let on - that's as good an excuse as any for him to be like, "See, I told you your mother was no good!" and convince his daughters that he was the wronged, innocent party here. 

[12catcrazy]

On 1/23/2022 at 9:50 PM, pdlinda said:

Yes, I would say that the mother's years long and well documented affair with the school chum who was married and had 6 children might have migrated into the daughters' opinion of their mother, regardless of the fact that she was 100% devoted and loving toward them.

My thoughts and life experience (working on the defense side of the criminal justice system for MANY YEARS) tell me that because of the longevity of the affair and the text messages at the end stating that Suzanne was finally going to leave the marriage was the trigger that caused him to murder her. 

As for the trial, I think there is a decent possibility tha he will be found NOT GUILTY, not because the jury thinks he didn't kill Suzanne, but because the State couldn't make a convincing case BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.  That's a very high threshold to meet and if he has a great attorney, enough holes probably will be punched through the State's case to achieve that outcome.  Of course, a hung jury would also be a possibility.

I edited the quote above because of the length but I think that everything PDLINDA said in her post made sense.  I wouldn't doubt if there was a confrontation between the two of them (made even worse because the girls weren't there) and God only knows who said what.  And it culminated with him grabbing his dart gun.   

If he was brought to trial and found not guilty, and later on, Suzanne's body was found or there was more evidence that came to light, would he be able to be re-tried or would that be considered Double Jeopardy?  

[pdlinda]

37 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

I edited the quote above because of the length but I think that everything PDLINDA said in her post made sense.  I wouldn't doubt if there was a confrontation between the two of them (made even worse because the girls weren't there) and God only knows who said what.  And it culminated with him grabbing his dart gun.   

If he was brought to trial and found not guilty, and later on, Suzanne's body was found or there was more evidence that came to light, would he be able to be re-tried or would that be considered Double Jeopardy?  

If he was acquitted by a jury of his peers of First Degree Murder the circumstances you mention would not matter.  

If evidence came to light regarding a new suspect, of course charges could be brought; however, in my experience it is rare (although certainly not impossible) for the State to continue spending $$$ investigating a murder case (think OJ) after the primary suspect was acquitted.  

 

 

[ByaNose]

The basketball games messed up my taping schedule. I taped the first (rerun) hour but then realized at the end I had already seen it. It was about a girl killing her boyfriend and she was (thankfully) found guilty. The second hour which was the new one I had only taped the first half hour. I will have to look for that on the app. I got so involved in the Janet Jackson documentary that I wasn’t paying attention to the 48hrs rerun versus new show. We had snow here in Philadelphia area so I was in all day watching everything and anything. It wasn’t like we were trapped but it was so cold that it was a great day to stay indoors. I rarely ever have that chance to that on the weekend. 

[sempervivum]

Long winded reaction to the Kendhammer case- I was convinced Todd did kill his wife, despite the authorities being unable to find any motive. I could buy him being in shock and coming up with the bogus first story (he was driving them in the wrong direction because he was going to stop off and fix a guy's windshield) until he came up with essentially the same story a second and then a third time months later. I did wonder if the wife's cousins (who sent a letter to the court opposing Todd) had any actual reasons for thinking he was guilty. Nobody asked them, apparently.

We also never heard any follow-up on the passerby who claimed he saw the Kendhammer car in the ditch without any damage to the windshield.

And they never followed up on Todd's use of anxiety meds. It was mentioned during the part where he was initially being questioned, but then dropped.

I was also struck by the different affect of the son compared to the daughter (who was very gung-ho on her dad's being innocent). He didn't look at the camera, and generally didn't seem very enthusiastic about dad. I wonder if he was forced to leave college due to his father having used all his assets to pay for legal representation?

I was annoyed by the way one pathologist was positive the crichoid cartilage would be damaged by strangulation, but the other pathologist was all 'nah, sis'. What use are these supposed specialists if they disagree on something that seems kind of basic? 

Anyhoo, sorry your husband killed you, Barb.

[Madding crowd]

I found this story kind of fascinating because it almost seemed like Barb thought they were perfectly happy and then he brutally attacked her for no reason. For me the bloody knuckles, the camera on the horse farm and his changing story convinced me he was guilty. I could see how the kids would stick up for him, especially if they had only seen happy times.

[nora1992]

I’m not sure he did it, only because:

1) I’ve seen a pipe hit a car in a similar matter (but the car was parked and empty at the time, and the pipe was not as long as the one in this case).  No one was injured at the time, although a sore throat developed later, after repeated phone calls with insurers.

2) If he had planned it, he’d have a better story.  The weakness of his explanations is bizarre, but is that damning?

[ByaNose]

The daughter was a bit too much for me. Daddy did it. Just deal. LOL!!!

[Morrigan2575]

2 hours ago, nora1992 said:

I’m not sure he did it, only because:

1) I’ve seen a pipe hit a car in a similar matter (but the car was parked and empty at the time, and the pipe was not as long as the one in this case).  No one was injured at the time, although a sore throat developed later, after repeated phone calls with insurers.

2) If he had planned it, he’d have a better story.  The weakness of his explanations is bizarre, but is that damning?

Agreed, I definitely would have been a not guilty vote on that jury. There were just too many questions.

[UsernameFatigue]

As usual with these shows (Dateline and 20/20 also do it) I found that pertinent testimony given at the trial was left out of the episode. When I googled I found some that was given on the episode, and some that wasn't.

Barb had 3 bone deep cuts to the back of the head, and a fracture in the back of her skull. I think that was covered. The did talk about other injuries including a broken nose, but don't think they said in the epi that she had fingernail scratches on her neck, and two torn fingernails.  There were no glass shards on her, and there was no blood on the pipe. The glass particles on the passenger seat indicated that it was empty when the pipe penetrated the windshield. In addition the passenger door was likely open when the pipe penetrated the windshield,  as no glass pieces were found in the door pocket. 

Todd's explanation for the scratches on his neck and chest made no sense. How would he get scratches particularly on his chest from installing glass? And even taking out broken glass?  Does he work shirtless?

He said none of the three different people he claimed he was going to get the vehicles of, knew he was coming. He was just going to swing around and pick up the vehicle. Do people routinely leave keys in their vehicles? I guess then his wife would take their vehicle to work, rolling in much later than her 8am start time? Why not do the 20 minute check of the neighbour's house after that then, so the wife would not be late for work?

I think Todd is exactly where he should be. 

[UsernameFatigue]

I am always fascinated (and frankly annoyed) at how much trail testimony is left out of these shows, so I did more digging.

According to the blood spatter and patterns on the front passenger seat, Barb bled for a "period of time". She also at one point was over the console, and also on the floor of the passenger side.

Barb always called her mother, who was in poor health, at 7:45 am on her way to work, and usually talked for 10 minutes or so. This was backed up by her phone records. On the morning of the "accident", Todd called his mother in law at 7:20 am. When asked by the prosecutor why he called, he said sometimes he called and sometimes Barb did. Though phone records showed Barb is the one who would call on her way to work.

Todd told the police that Barb started work at 8:30 am, but admitted on the stand she started at 8 am. The prosecutor asked why Barb did not call work to say she would be late (which she never was) and he said it was because she was in the front seat of the car and her purse and phone were in the back seat. 

I am not sure if this was testimony during the trail, but friends said that Todd was very controlling of Barb, that she could barely go to the bathroom alone. I wonder if it wasn't so much controlling, but very dependent on her? He was also in trouble at work for calling in sick so much (he had also planned to call in sick that day). He also kited cheques, and would tell Barb he had paid a bill when he hadn't. Not sure the reason for this as they didn't seem to have financial problems but he was described as very immature.

[Ohmo]

22 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I think Todd is exactly where he should be. 

I think he is, too.  A local sportscaster here lost his daughter years ago when she became distracted and her car collided with a truck that had something jutting out of the end of it.  It went through her windshield and killed her.  I can buy a pipe falling off of a truck, but I find it suspicious that the truck could never be found.  Todd also repaired windshields, so he would have some idea of what could break through a windshield.  Also noticeable were the fact that Barb broke her usual patterns of behavior that day.  I wondered about the scratches on his face, and I agree with the descriptions of him as immature.  There's just something about him...

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Ohmo said:

Todd also repaired windshields, so he would have some idea of what could break through a windshield. 

This reminds me - on a related note, so this story was covered on another show a number of weeks back. When it came time for the first commercial break, guess what the very first ad shown during said break was for? 

A windshield repair service.

Seriously. 

Anywho, I missed this one last weekend, 'cause sports ran over, so I'll have to check it out online. I'm curious to see how similar or different "48 Hours"' coverage of this case was, compared to the other show. 

[LakeGal]

I had recently seen this case on an HLN show.  I came away from that show believing the husband was guilty.  They had a lot more info.  I remember they mentioned the pipe had actually hit the windshield several times.  They said he had been trying to break through the glass with the pipe.  

[TVbitch]

Who brings a bottle of anxiety meds to their police interview and opens it up and takes it in front of the detectives? I think he was trying to give himself an "out" for not getting his alibi right and giving inconsistent stories. And also so he could claim faulty memory, which he did during the trial. 

What clinched it for me was the bloody knuckles he said he got by punching the windshield when the pipe came at it. On what planet does a driver punch a windshield because something is flying at it. I can see maybe MAYBE instinctively putting your hand up to try to block the item from hitting your face, but punching the windshield so hard it took meat off all your knuckles? No. WTF?

[12catcrazy]

A puzzling case.  I got the feeling that what 48 Hours showed us was meant for us to think that Todd was innocent and got railroaded into jail.  

Personally, I thought him changing his story so many times in regards to whose car he was going to be fixing was hinky.  Also, why not just drop your wife off to work and then go fix the windshield - why make her late for her job?  

And I noticed that there were two holes in the windshield - ok, so lets buy that the pipe went through the windshield but you'd think it would go through once, not twice.   Also, that the car was shown on the horse farm security footage but no truck in sight.   It appears to me that Todd beat the holy hell out of his wife and then staged this "accident".   I wish there had been some apparent motive though.  They may have appeared happy on the outside but you never know what goes on behind closed doors.  As far as the kids thinking everything was just peachy keen between their parents, I've been in enough group therapy to know that parents (especially mothers) don't tell their kids everything and do plenty of coverups for Dad's misdeeds.   And many abused women do their best to hide it from everybody - kids, parents and friends.  

[Tdoc72]

For me, it was two things. 1–the lies about him fixing someone’s windshield. He didn’t have any head injuries. Him not knowing would be one thing. But he lied 3 different times about it. 
2-the injuries to the back of her head. No explanation about them made sense. Even if the pipe somehow passed by her head while she ducked, I can’t see how it would make 2 such deep injuries. 
I’m sorry her mom died but I didn’t care for the daughter for some reason. The son was fine but he seemed quiet and lost in his own thoughts at times. 

[Tdoc72]

On 1/30/2022 at 11:45 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

 

He said none of the three different people he claimed he was going to get the vehicles of, knew he was coming. He was just going to swing around and pick up the vehicle. Do people routinely leave keys in their vehicles? I guess then his wife would take their vehicle to work, rolling in much later than her 8am start time? Why not do the 20 minute check of the neighbour's house after that then, so the wife would not be late for work?

I think Todd is exactly where he should be. 

Agree w/last statement. And maybe someone wouldn’t know the exact time when the windshield man, but you wouldn’t set up an appt if you didn’t even need a windshield repaired, which is what the 3 people said—no need for repair. 

On 2/1/2022 at 12:30 PM, TVbitch said:

Who brings a bottle of anxiety meds to their police interview and opens it up and takes it in front of the detectives? I think he was trying to give himself an "out" for not getting his alibi right and giving inconsistent stories. And also so he could claim faulty memory, which he did during the trial. 

 

So phony in that interview. Knee very visibly shaking, pills in prescription bottle in pocket and an ADHD shirt on. IMO all part of his plan. 

[Tdoc72]

Yogurt shop: 

I wish they’d get a real hit on that dna. The blond DNA lady was on the show but they never mentioned if they have tried that genological family DNA search. 
 

How did those boys ever get convicted without any other evidence than a “confession”?  I don’t think I would have been able to convict. 

[TVbitch]

I don't even want to think about how many innocent people have gone to prison before the DNA stuff was able to clear them.

I figured the one guy who never confessed was innocent cuz he looked so shell-shocked and was near tears every time he was interviewed. What a horrifying experience. 

Those poor girls. I hope they find the killers.. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by TVbitch

[LittleIggy]

Amie’s murderer (no doubt in my mind he did it) was so creepy looking. I would have gotten a couple of trained attack dogs and a gun.

[12catcrazy]

Amie Harwick - what a sad story.  I wonder if  Gareth Pursehouse had ever been arrested for physical battery and/or violating the orders of protection when he was abusing Amie years ago, and if not, why?   

It's also a shame that after the incident at the red carpet event when it became apparent that this guy was completely unhinged that she just didn't jump on a plane and get out of L.A. for a while.   It sounds as if she didn't have a good security system at her home and maybe that she just really didn't want to believe that she was in that kind of danger.  The mind-boggling thing is that the psycho might actually wind up getting off scott free.  One would hope that a Los Angeles jury would be smarter than that, but then again,..

[sempervivum]

Maya Milliete (?)- husband purchased 'hex spells' to make her have an accident or something that would make her dependent on him. Shudder. The show never really told us whether Maya had indeed been having affairs, not that I'd blame her if she had. 

Seems like a very circumstantial case; I wouldn't be too surprised if he gets off 😖

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, sempervivum said:

Maya Milliete (?)- husband purchased 'hex spells' to make her have an accident or something that would make her dependent on him. Shudder. The show never really told us whether Maya had indeed been having affairs, not that I'd blame her if she had. 

Seems like a very circumstantial case; I wouldn't be too surprised if he gets off 😖

Yeah, that's the tough thing about cases without a body. On the one hand you want to hold the person accountable, and they should be held accountable...but on the other hand, without a lot of physical evidence, yeah, that's a lot harder sell, unfortunately :/. 

That stuff with the husband and the spells was so creepy and weird. I love, too, that he went online to find these "spellcasters", because we all know that none of them would EVER be hucksters claiming to have those powers and abilities just to scam money out of gullible fools like him, right? 

But yeah, even if he wasn't guilty of her murder, which I doubt, at the very least, he was clearly an incredibly controlling guy. The idea that she was having a "midlife crisis" because she dared to...gasp...go out with her friends...like, dude, do you even know what the definition of a midlife crisis actually is? I feel for her family, it was heartbreaking to see them so devastated and in such emotional pain. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Annber03

[TVbitch]

I cannot believe some law enforcement still hesitate to take a "missing persons" case more seriously when the family, friends and colleagues all vouch for the victim not being a runaway and report concern about the husband. That needs to change. 

[12catcrazy]

I had seen this case previously (I think on Dateline).   Its another obvious case where the husband did it but whether he will be convicted without a body remains to be seen.  

I just really, really, wish that young people would be educated in school  about the dangers of abusive, controlling partners.   I've read so many times that the person is in the most danger when they decide to leave.  It's a damn shame that May didn't quietly make her plans to escape and finally take the kids, grab a bag and go someplace safe.    Too many partner abused people seem to have the idea that the abusive party would never REALLY try to kill them and be stupid about telling the abuser that they're leaving. 

The night before we watched "48 Hours", we watched a movie called "Star 80" about Playboy covergirl Dorothy Stratten.  She was murdered by her controlling abusive husband when she met with him at home to tell him that she wanted a divorce.  When her lover advised her against going to the house and she did it anyway, I was yelling at the tv , "No! No!" but unfortunately she did and paid with that mistake with her life.  

Edited February 21, 2022 by 12catcrazy
typo

[Court]

Katrina Brownlee: the judge, cops were freaking infuriating. The cops allowed her to he abused repeatedly because her fiance was a cop too. Then the judge repeats the abuse by giving him the lightest sentence possible, 10-15 years! I actually gasped out loud. He nearly kills her, shoots her TEN times and it was premeditated. He should have had life in prison. What a piece of shit.

He, of course, only serves 10 years and he's free to abuse whomever he likes. Who says he won't try to kill her again???

The fact that the grandmother told her to stay with a man who repeatedly assaulted her is mind boggling. 

I did love the prosecutor at least. I don't know how Katrina was able to survive all that trauma and the continuing trauma. 

 

[SunnyBeBe]

Starting to watch the Brownlee story.  It seems like it may be too infuriating to watch.  Some injustice is just too pathetic.

Katrina seems to have overcome a lot.  She seems very accomplished and happy.  

Edited February 27, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[jsm1125]

Goodness, Katrina is amazing!

Why was Irvin not prosecuted for the murder of Katrina’s unborn child? And why was his face covered in his mug shot?

[SunnyBeBe]

Laws were different back in the 1990’s.  Katrina’s story was all kinds of messed up. I suspect there was a lot that we didn’t hear.    

[12catcrazy]

It's an absolute miracle that Katrina survived what happened to her.  Talk about a harrowing story and this woman's will to live and also to eventually thrive.  She should be giving talks about domestic abuse.   Hopefully, her book will generate talk about the subject. 

And there was a story in the NY Daily News today about a 23 year young woman from Staten Island who had been dating a cop (whose father was a high ranking NYC cop) and who died by supposed suicide using her boyfriend's service gun in 2003.   Her mother had never thought that her daughter had killed herself and had been pressing for years to get the case reopened.   The original police work had been fast and sloppy to say the least.  The cop boyfriend called it in and the "investigation" was basically, "Oh, yeah, ok, she shot herself in the head with your gun", case closed.   

The cop boyfriend wound up retiring a few years back with a shoulder injury and a tax free pension of almost 70k a year.   Oh, yeah, and a few days before her "suicide", the victim had decided to leave the boyfriend.  

[LittleIggy]

Ole Miss case: I used to live in Memphis, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that the murderer’s lawyer was named Farese. Well known family of criminal defense lawyers in the north MS area. Not blaming the victim, but, geeze, that girl was obsessed. 

[ByaNose]

This was a unusual boyfriend/girlfriend murder because no one knew or even met the boyfriend. It does seem from her huge amount of texts to the boy she was way more into him and somewhat obsessive. I thought his lawyer (very distinguished looking) was going to say the boyfriend didn’t do and have some alibi but in the end he admitted he do it but chalked it up to drugs, drinking and mental illness. I do feel bad for the parents. It’s an awful tragedy. 

[Thalia]

13 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Not blaming the victim, but, geeze, that girl was obsessed. 

I don't blame her for getting murdered, but she was something else.  And, of course, he apparently was apparently willing to use her for a booty call, even when he wanted nothing to do with her outside of bed.  But if he'd only been willing to spill the story and her claims to his rich daddy or an attorney, she'd be alive and he'd have a future outside of the penitentiary.   Sad for both families.  

[patty1h]

We all know that these comments are not victim blaming, but....

It's a running joke how these true crime shows usually depict the victim as the epitome of sunshine and light  -- Ally's friends and family did the same in this episode, so it was refreshing that 48 Hours let us see those texts.  It's rare that they show the other side of how people can be when friends and family aren't looking.  

In reading her texts, it's obvious that Ally had another side - one that didn't really make her look like the most stable person.  So many texts about being drunk, saying she's pregnant(?), drinking to try to induce a miscarriage, obsessively trying to get attention from Brandon.  After reading those texts, I could believe that Ally wasn't above faking a pregnancy if it got her what she wanted.  Another thing that stood out - one of her texts where she said that she was "pretty and sweet" and that she could easily get a new guy. I said to myself "what an ego".   That sounds like Ally thought of herself as a catch and could not maturely deal with the knowledge that Brandon didn't want a life with her.

At least this case was open and shut - the guy got caught quickly, lots of evidence to cement the case and he's behind bars where he belongs.

[TVbitch]

Texting him pictures of her belly was a bit much. He could have just stayed away from her after he blocked her, but I guess the allure of easy sex was there. In his letter to his parents, he said he's always had dark thoughts and is not a good person. I would have liked to know more about his history and what might be going on with him.  

The episodes of late are not what I would call mysteries. They seem to be profiling a lot of domestic abuse/stalking situations.  

[patty1h]

18 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

In his letter to his parents, he said he's always had dark thoughts and is not a good person. I would have liked to know more about his history and what might be going on with him.  

I was curious about that too and made me wonder for a sec if he had some other motivation for killing Ally... was he a serial killer in the making (all that Ted Bundy research) and this murder could have been the stepping stone to more if he hadn't been caught so quickly?

Also, back to the pregnancy thing... it's really a step back when/if women pulls the "if I have his baby, he'll marry me" ploy.  If you gotta trap him that way, no good can come of starting a relationship with blackmail.    That is so 1950's and so wrong. 

[Toothbrush]

We evacuated to Oxford for Hurricane Ida, days after Brandon accepted the guilty plea, and it was still leading news. IIRC, the reports then said she was pregnant* so I was surprised that the pregnancy tests were inconclusive, and that the autopsy stated she wasn’t pregnant. Knowing now how much she drank and that she didn’t get pre-natal medical care, I don’t think she was ever pregnant. She wasn’t an unintelligent girl, and if she had wanted the baby I think she would have taken care of herself and the baby. I’m sure she was a lovely young woman but she seemed unhinged. Her parents’ devastation broke my heart. 

* I also remembered the boyfriend as being an Ole Miss football player, so my recollection is probably not to be trusted! 

[ByaNose]

5 hours ago, patty1h said:

We all know that these comments are not victim blaming, but....

It's a running joke how these true crime shows usually depict the victim as the epitome of sunshine and light  -- Ally's friends and family did the same in this episode, so it was refreshing that 48 Hours let us see those texts.  It's rare that they show the other side of how people can be when friends and family aren't looking.  

In reading her texts, it's obvious that Ally had another side - one that didn't really make her look like the most stable person.  So many texts about being drunk, saying she's pregnant(?), drinking to try to induce a miscarriage, obsessively trying to get attention from Brandon.  After reading those texts, I could believe that Ally wasn't above faking a pregnancy if it got her what she wanted.  Another thing that stood out - one of her texts where she said that she was "pretty and sweet" and that she could easily get a new guy. I said to myself "what an ego".   That sounds like Ally thought of herself as a catch and could not maturely deal with the knowledge that Brandon didn't want a life with her.

At least this case was open and shut - the guy got caught quickly, lots of evidence to cement the case and he's behind bars where he belongs.

I don’t even think the parents were even asked about the million texts that Ally sent, were they? It’s an awful thing that happened and I feel bad for the parents. That said, the reporter didn’t delve into any of that with the parents or friends.

Usually, there are 2 or 3 suspects but it was a pretty much an open and shut case with the “boyfriend” admitting to it and being put away. I’m still trying figure out what his lawyers defense was. Drugs and alcohol? I’m sure his parents paid a lot of money for that defense attorney but they didn’t get much in return. Maybe, they just didn’t want the death penalty. 

This 48hrs episode was a switch up though. Usually, the college murder it is the boyfriend who is the obsessive one but the texts seem to show it was a girlfriend. It’s bad enough that you let your kids start a new life at college but no one knows what the kids (male and female) are doing once they’re away. Kinda scary. 

[Thalia]

6 hours ago, patty1h said:

Ally's friends and family did the same in this episode, so it was refreshing that 48 Hours let us see those texts.  It's rare that they show the other side of how people can be when friends and family aren't looking.  

The more I thought about this, the more I was surprised there wasn't at least one or two people who knew Ally and who would be willing to go on camera to say, yeah, she was delusional.  Oh, even for a college girl, she drank too much.  

 

56 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I don’t even think the parents were even asked about the million texts that Ally sent, were they? It’s an awful thing that happened and I feel bad for the parents. That said, the reporter didn’t delve into any of that with the parents or friends.

I'm pretty sure the reporter asked the parents if they had read her texts and they said that they had not.  At this point, I hope they don't.  But I would have liked more from the friends about whether they had heard about any pregnancy and more info about whether she dated anyone else apart from the baby dadd. 

[ByaNose]

17 minutes ago, Thalia said:

The more I thought about this, the more I was surprised there wasn't at least one or two people who knew Ally and who would be willing to go on camera to say, yeah, she was delusional.  Oh, even for a college girl, she drank too much.  

 

I'm pretty sure the reporter asked the parents if they had read her texts and they said that they had not.  At this point, I hope they don't.  But I would have liked more from the friends about whether they had heard about any pregnancy and more info about whether she dated anyone else apart from the baby dadd. 

I did forget the part we’re they were asked about the texts. They said they hadn’t and didn’t know if they ever would. At least, they were asked. I do agree that the girlfriends wanted to just talk about or remember the Ally they knew. Which is very understandable. I think if anyone wanted to hear both sides of it that it would have been a perfectly fine thing to discuss. Also,  will add that if Ally hadn’t been wearing her Apple Watch so much would have been unknown. Basically, we are blessed and cursed with electronic media and devices. 

[LittleIggy]

Ole Miss is a party school so maybe that is why Ally wanted to go there, that and wanting to find a “Southern boy” to marry and have kids with, as she was quoted as saying. Too bad she got hooked up with the wrong “Southern boy.”

[Ohmo]

19 hours ago, Toothbrush said:

She wasn’t an unintelligent girl,

She may have been an intelligent person in terms of general knowledge, but I was struck by her general lack of awareness of the world.  As was mentioned about her trying to convince Brandon about the baby, I don't think she had any awareness of the boy she was dating...and I'm not talking about the fact that Brandon killed her.  I'm talking about the fact that it seemed she was going to pick some guy...any guy at Ole Miss and create a husband, no matter who that guy was. Brandon needs to be in jail, but I found it difficult to feel sorry for Ally.  I also found her mother's comment about Ally being her whole world to be a telling comment.  If that's how Ally's parents viewed her, maybe Ally thought the rest of the world viewed her that way as well.  Brandon was definitely the wrong guy, but the amount of stuff Ally ignored or kept pushing in pursuit of Brandon (even when he told her no kids) was staggering to me.

I think she was pregnant but miscarried when she told him something was wrong.

[Vivigirl10]

I think the show definitely portrayed Ally in a poor light, which isn't typical.  I'm glad her parents didn't read the texts.  It's so personal, like reading someone's diary in a way.  This was a young woman who was probably quite sheltered by her parents and had little to no experience with young men.  I'm not surprised that she became obsessive about her first crush.  And if it was her first sexual experience too, that can complicate a persons' feelings.  

I had expected that he dragged her against her will to an isolated spot and executed her.  Instead, she may have even been happy at that time, thinking she was finally getting some alone time with Brandon.  It's crazy to think about.

I don't think she was ever pregnant.

It seems her sorority wanted their name kept out of this.  They were alluding to things early on that made me think she must have been in one.  Then they finally did a quick shot of the Alpha Phi house and mentioned the date party, but they never uttered the sorority's name.  

Stories like this always scare the ever living crap out of me because you seriously never know who is a murderer.  You can't tell a young woman to not ever date, not be alone with a man, etc.  There are some risks associated with just living life!  I'm not saying it's true with this story, but sometimes there really are no signs.  Sometimes it truly can be a wolf in sheep's clothing.   

[12catcrazy]

21 hours ago, Ohmo said:

She may have been an intelligent person in terms of general knowledge, but I was struck by her general lack of awareness of the world. .

I don't want to quote this entire post but yes, have to agree 100%.   Frankly, from what we saw in this episode, this girl was living out some kind of fantasy.    Pick a school because of football (makes sense for a football player, but for her?).  Oh yeah, Southern school, Southern boys (don't get it, with her being from St Louis).   She was a pretty girl and apparently bubbly - she probably would have easily had her pick of boys to date, but it seems like the guy she decided to try and "trap" wasn't into her at all except as easy sex.    You'd wish that she thought of herself as worthy of more than being for that but did she have hidden self esteem issues? 

Her friends and family saw her as one thing and maybe she was all that.  Maybe she had the attitude that since she wanted this boy, she would make him fall in love with her.  My take is that she was sheltered and protected by her family and it was probably a  combo of being a shock to  be away from all that family love/protection with the added pitfall of having way too much freedom to do what she wanted with nobody putting on the brakes.   She was in a situation where she really needed some adult guidance and yet didn't appear to reach out for any of it.    She wasn't the first young woman to use pregnancy in an attempt to snag a guy and she sure isn't the last,  but what a waste of two young lives.     

[partofme]

1 hour ago, 12catcrazy said:

Oh yeah, Southern school, Southern boys (don't get it, with her being from St Louis). 

I didn't understand this either.  I guess Missouri is sort of southern but still.  

I don't have much else to add to what's already been said just the whole time I was watching I kept thinking THIS is the guy she's obsessed with? Him?  Really?  He didn't seem like anything special to look at.  

Also based on his letter to his parents, I think this guy may have snapped at some point, she was just the unlucky girl who was there when it happened.  

1 hour ago, Kiki620 said:

I had expected that he dragged her against her will to an isolated spot and executed her.  Instead, she may have even been happy at that time, thinking she was finally getting some alone time with Brandon.

I definitely feel that she was probably happy to go with him.  Which is why I was surprised there was a kidnapping charge,  I suppose he did mislead her as to why she was going with him, but is that kidnapping?

[12catcrazy]

42 minutes ago, partofme said:

  

 

Also based on his letter to his parents, I think this guy may have snapped at some point, she was just the unlucky girl who was there when it happened.  

I definitely feel that she was probably happy to go with him.  Which is why I was surprised there was a kidnapping charge,  I suppose he did mislead her as to why she was going with him, but is that kidnapping?

The guy was probably mentally unstable but I also think he snapped with this girl because she was trying to corner him.  And none of us know how that final car ride went between the two of them and who said what to whom.   When you look at it, this kind of thing is as old as the hills - Theodore Dreiser wrote a best selling novel called "An American Tragedy" in 1925 which was based on a true story that happened in 1906.   Young man has an affair with a young woman who gets pregnant, demands marriage  and he then murders her because he has bigger plans in his life and doesn't want his future ruined by marriage and a child.    Maybe in this case, he hadn't originally planned on murdering Ally but he was supposedly drunk and high, and well, he had a gun.  

Again, you have to wish that Brandon had called his parents or spoken to another trusted adult about the situation that he had gotten into with Ally.  Unfortunately, these two young people were a case of Match meet Gasoline,

I think charging him with kidnapping was a way for him to receive a harsher jail term.  

[pdlinda]

1 hour ago, 12catcrazy said:

Theodore Dreiser wrote a best selling novel called "An American Tragedy" in 1925 which was based on a true story that happened in 1906.   Young man has an affair with a young woman who gets pregnant, demands marriage  and he then murders her because he has bigger plans in his life and doesn't want his future ruined by marriage and a child.   

I recently watched the film based upon the Dreiser book on TCM :  "A Place in the Sun" starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters.  The movie was excellent and I recall reading the book (A classic) in H.S. English class.

 

 

 

[Ohmo]

4 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

The guy was probably mentally unstable but I also think he snapped with this girl because she was trying to corner him.

That's the impression that I have as well, only I'd say she was trying to make him into something he wasn't.  Her friend said she was into preppy guys.  I think that's what she was trying to do.  She was sending those LONG text messages.   They were both immature.  He was in the relationship to have a good time.  She was trying to make the relationship into something it wasn't, and he dealt with the situation by killing her.  I agree about the waste of lives.  Their immaturity cost both of them.  Ally paid with her life, and Brandon is paying with a life sentence