TN - Gail Nowacki Palmgren, 44, Signal Mountain, 30 April 2011 - #3

10EC_Dad said:

I agree that 5 seems to have the least eveidence to support it.

The evidence for 4 is that she appeared to be in a hurried state driving in an area with curing roads in a vehicle not made for curvy roads at high speeds. Also, the lack of finding the Jeep indicates a possibilty that it is as lost as her and with her.

The evidence for 3 is that she has had signifanct stressfull events in her life (moving, laid off, pending seperation) and had shown erratic behavior (changing pins, giving items to friends, securing passports). That is not considering his comments about her mental state.

The evidence for 2 is similar to 3. The tough part her is that she nor the Jeep have been spotted.

The evidence for 1 is that the relationship was falling apart.

Now, it would be interesting for you to share your evidence-based thoughts on each.

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In the technical sense, NONE of the above is evidence. There's no car, no body, no blood, etc... In fact, there is no crime scene whatsoever. Therefore, any conclusion that we put forth is purely supposition, extrapolating from the little information that we have been provided.

So, having said that, here's my supposition(s):

1. There appears to be a marital relationship which is rapidly deteriorating, w/both parties showing hostility toward one another. Add that to the behavior of Gail's spouse, most notably not allowing Gail's family access to the children or to the home (if that is, in fact, accurate), I would surmise that foul play @ the hands of Matt (whether directly or indirectly) is possible. But, as I stated earlier in this thread, if Mr. Palmgren is capable of something as heinous as homicide of his wife, there MUST have been glimpses of those tendencies in his past. Problem - The only person who likely ever saw those glimpses is missing, and, no, friends/family stating he is a 'great guy' carries little/no weight, unfortunately.

Could there be an unidentified 3rd party (not associated w/the spouse) whom wished harm to Gail? Well, wouldn't that just be unfortunate for Ms. Palmgren. Truly, is it conceivable that both her husband AND another man hated her enough to murder her?;

3. Not plausible, in that we are talking about what appears to be a strong woman with a plan. Additionally, there is no indication of desparation, depression, mental instability, etc...;

4. In my opinion, this is the most likely scenario. As stated above, the fact that Gail was driving alone, in a hurry, on steep, hilly, serpentine roads in wet conditions, following a long road trip to/from AL. Really, what are the odds that she had a good night sleep the night before? I'm pretty new to these parts (WS), but I have seen a number of examples where folks have ended up in bodies of water in his/her vehicles. And, oftentimes, it seems to take quite some time to find the victim/vehicle involved;

2. For what purpose? Gail would be forfeiting her children, her home, her education, her retirement, her extended family, her reputation, etc... There would need to be an incredibly compelling reason to flee and hide. A 'Cost vs Benefit Analysis' would make this an unlikely supposition.

Sorry, I forgot what #5 was...

Nevermind, I addressed #5 above.

I was looking through some of the media links and found this in an article about the volunteer search:


Those street names are more detail than we've gotten before, I believe.

10EC_Dad said:

And if a friend of his says that he had a bruise on his arm, it would be from her abusing him?

<modsnip>.

I think many possibilities are on the table. Including some that many of you would not involve the husband.

<modsnip>

I think the following possibilities have equal merit as this point:

1) He was involved in her dissappearance
2) She left on her own
3) She took her life
4) She was involved in a fatal accident
5) She was a victim of foul play not involving her husband

All can be discussed rationally with the evidence we have available.

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These points are true
....the reason there is such suspicion though, is the nonchalant way that Matt treated Gail's dissappearance, his lack of participation in any search efforts, his rush to shelter behind a CD attorney, his out-of-context court descriptions of Gail's actions, and most lately this letter to Arlene. Unfortunately all this suspicion and gossip has mostly risen his own actions and not just because they had a bad relationship that was headed for a divorce. In 2,3,4,5 it is expected that someone should show concern and actively look for the missing person.
This forum seems for the most part, the most rational and helpful place for this discussion...as opposed to News "comments" and such!
And.....Matt did have his arm bandaged up!!

fbx said:

These points are true
....the reason there is such suspicion though, is the nonchalant way that Matt treated Gail's dissappearance, his lack of participation in any search efforts, his rush to shelter behind a CD attorney, his out-of-context court descriptions of Gail's actions, and most lately this letter to Arlene. Unfortunately all this suspicion and gossip has mostly risen his own actions and not just because they had a bad relationship that was headed for a divorce. In 2,3,4,5 it is expected that someone should show concern and actively look for the missing person.
This forum seems for the most part, the most rational and helpful place for this discussion...as opposed to News "comments" and such!
And.....Matt did have his arm bandaged up!!

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bolded by me.

He did?

lalalu said:

From what I know, working in a health care related industry, mental health records are very protected. Police may be able to comment on whether GP has ever had any law enforcement encounters related to suspected mental illness (none apparently) but they cannot delve into her medical records and then make public comments, so the fact that LE stated no issues were found is not from a health care standpoint and does not confirm her actual mental health status.

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Yes, mental records are protected but in a divorce proceeding such as what is going on and is active even since GP is missing with MP filing motions, petitions, etc his lawyer most likely would suponea GP's medical and mental records and they would be turned over.. This is what happens in the majority of contested divorces.. With MP and his ATTY in court filing all sorts of petitions thru the court it's quite likely this is one thats been filed and subpoenaed ..

fbx said:

And.....Matt did have his arm bandaged up!!

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Oh my, what did I miss? I apologize if this was mentioned before. I did a search and couldn't find anything.

10EC_Dad said:

He needed to get away from a tense time in their relationship (see him walking away from the Jeep) and decided to stay at a hotel.

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-What time of day were the receipts?
-If he was cooling off...Gail would have not found the receipts unusual.
-When was the last time you stayed in a hotel and paid cash....hotels hate this, and make you pay upfront plus a deposit incase you break anything or use the phone, bar, or tv. movies. Paying cash for a hotel is such a pain that the only real reason to do so is to be anonymous to the people looking at cc bills. I suppose your cc's could also be reported lost or maxed out, but seems unlikely here.

A quick question, if anyone knows: What happened with Matt's motions filed on Monday? The Hamilton County webpage only has the docket that we already saw last week. I can't find anything about the ruling, or if there even was one.

10EC_Dad said:

And if a friend of his says that he had a bruise on his arm, it would be from her abusing him?

<modsnip>.

I think many possibilities are on the table. Including some that many of you would not involve the husband.

<modsnip>

I think the following possibilities have equal merit as this point:

1) He was involved in her dissappearance
2) She left on her own
3) She took her life
4) She was involved in a fatal accident
5) She was a victim of foul play not involving her husband

All can be discussed rationally with the evidence we have available.

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I concur on all points. Additionally, rational and fair discussion is what we have been doing since the first thread on May 6. welcome to the case!

Many options are open at this point. But please be careful not to bash the missing and create accusations.

10EC_Dad said:

I am not dissagreeing with you but I would like to see a link where LE has found him in a contridiction.

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Don't think you will...LE really hasn't made any statements after the first few days.

There's Tizzio's comment about not having any evidence to support any mental instability on Gail's part. Sorry...don't know how to reference it for you, but it's in an early news item

SmoothOperator said:

Yes, mental records are protected but in a divorce proceeding such as what is going on and is active even since GP is missing with MP filing motions, petitions, etc his lawyer most likely would suponea GP's medical and mental records and they would be turned over.. This is what happens in the majority of contested divorces.. With MP and his ATTY in court filing all sorts of petitions thru the court it's quite likely this is one thats been filed and subpoenaed ..

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Hi SO. he did state meds she has prescriptions for in his filing. but that tells us pretty much nothing.

I have a prescription med for my RLS, but it is actually prescribed for Parkinsons but I don't take it, anyway LOL. So, if my dh told anyone what drug I had a prescription for it would be deduced that I am medicated for Parkinsons.

When in fact I don't have it nor do I take any prescriptions at all!

fbx said:

Don't think you will...LE really hasn't made any statements after the first few days.

There's Tizzio's comment about not having any evidence to support any mental instability on Gail's part. Sorry...don't know how to reference it for you, but it's in an early news item

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You're probably thinking of this one:


http://buffaloprofessional.com/news...ing-signal-woman-chattanooga-times-free-press

glorias said:

A quick question, if anyone knows: What happened with Matt's motions filed on Monday? The Hamilton County webpage only has the docket that we already saw last week. I can't find anything about the ruling, or if there even was one.

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rescheduled for Friday

<modsnip>

With the lack of any strong evidence of foul play, it is a good possibility that she had an fatal accident in the Jeep. There is a lot of water and winding roads in that area.

I hope she is found soon. Matt and the kids need closure.

I was a foster kid, and I have had family members, as well as heard stories from other foster kids who had parents who were abusive to their spouses but totally loving and nice towards their own children. Maybe Matt was like that and Gail knew she was the target, not the children.

ThoughtFox said:

Map of BCBS in relation to the husband's Hotel Receipts as reported in the Chatt-Times Free Press on May 17.

The white buildings to the left are the BCBS complex on Cameron Hill Circle. The two hotels are in downtown to the left. It's a two-minute drive at most, or a five minute walk to either hotel.

The freeway in the middle leads back over the TN River on the Olgiati Bridge at the top, straight back to Signal Mt.

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The parking garage for BCBS is toward the bottom of the complex, it's up on a hill, so driving would be the logical option.

If this is proprosed evidence of an affair, why would MP pay cash and then leave them around for GP or someone else to find?

Sloppy or on purpose?

TheDoormouse said:

I was a foster kid, and I have had family members, as well as heard stories from other foster kids who had parents who were abusive to their spouses but totally loving and nice towards their own children. Maybe Matt was like that and Gail knew she was the target, not the children.

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I know people that have been exposed to that as well.

One never knows when and to whom an abusive person will strike out toward. It does not make sense that she would leave the kids with him if he was an abusive person.

happy409 said:

The parking garage for BCBS is toward the bottom of the complex, it's up on a hill, so driving would be the logical option.

If this is proprosed evidence of an affair, why would MP pay cash and then leave them around for GP or someone else to find?

Sloppy or on purpose?

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In this day, it does seem odd that he would pay cash. It seems more odd that he would keep the receipts if he did not want her to know where he was.

Is it logical to consider he stayed there after working late and to avoid going home to a contentious situation?

10EC_Dad said:

<modsnip>

With the lack of any strong evidence of foul play, it is a good possibility that she had an fatal accident in the Jeep. There is a lot of water and winding roads in that area.

I hope she is found soon. Matt and the kids need closure.

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Of course, maybe Matt doesn't know what happened, Gail had an accident and hasn't been found yet. I've known several people (both male and female) who immediately start with the "my ex was a psycho" routine the second they break up, and maybe that's what Matt is doing and it doesn't mean anything more than he's upset his marriage was breaking up.

However, if she had an accident, my own personal problem with that scenario is that the vehicle hasn't been found yet. Also, it would be a remarkable coincidence that a woman as frightened as she was would disappear without a trace due to accident. Remember that there had been 3 911 calls because of domestic issues, she was telling friends and relatives she was frightened and she might be followed, she had receipts she thought were proof Matt was cheating, and she was giving papers and her passport and cash to friends to hold for her.

Changing her PINs and collecting evidence for the upcoming divorce doesn't speak to someone who is thinking of harming themselves, in my opinion. Those are the actions of someone who is planning for the future.

(I hope it's okay to repeat myself, because this is essentially the same thing I said a few days ago.)

I don't believe Gail was on any medication, but being a pharmacist she could have been on meds without there being a paper trail. My mom is a nurse and she hasn't paid for allergy medicine in years, her allergist friend (I think that's the right word for an allergy doctor) just gives her lots of free samples. My point is, in any branch of the medical community, you make connections...