Hello all, this is my first post here, but I've been lurking and have read everything from the first post on. I don't think I have anything very revealing to add, but I feel like I have to write something. This case has really grabbed my attention and just breaks my heart. My partner is from Brisbane and we heard about the case on his FB news feed and have been trying to make sense of the senselessness of it all.
Initially I suspected GBC. My partner said that's because I'm a jaded American and we have too much violence here in the States, d'oh! but he's now come around too... neither of us can believe a stranger did this, though we've waffled a bit on whether GBC really did this. In many ways it seems to be the only plausible explanation, but at the same time, it makes no sense at all -- if their relationship was that terrible... why not just file for divorce?
So... here are some things that stand out to me as not making much sense, and also some questions that stick out in my mind...
1) Perhaps quick police response (and subsequent conflicting stories in the various media outlets) is because GBC fumbled his story from the beginning -- first saying ABC went for a walk and later saying that he'd gone to bed while she was watching TV and then maybe later throwing out yet another story that she hadn't returned from a morning walk? Maybe this mix-up alerted the first responders that something wasn't quite right? None of these scenarios seem plausible. ABC seems, by all accounts, to be an intelligent woman and attentive mother. It is reasonable to assume (without knowing what the police know, of course) that she is the sort of person who is used to being on a schedule that accommodates her children's needs, i.e., she probably goes to bed relatively early so she can be well-rested in the morning to get her three little girls up and off to school. I can't imagine her bedtime would be much later than 11:30. That means, showered or washed up, chores done, reading done, relaxing night-time stuff done and in bed with lights off. I have two children, just a little bit older than hers, and in spite of my best intentions, have never managed to make it out to the gym in the evening (I have a membership at a 24-hour gym near our house), because by the time I am finished with all of my responsibilities, I am too tired to think of exercise. I cannot imagine many mothers who would have the energy to fit in exercise at 10pm, or the time to fit in exercise at 10pm and then get to bed on time to get enough sleep to get a good start to the next day.
It also doesn't make sense that an intelligent woman and attentive mother would leave her house at 10pm to go walking by herself, even if she had the time and energy and desire to exercise that late in the evening. It is neither prudent nor safe and ABC doesn't strike me as the type of woman who would, for the love of exercise, take a risk like walking by herself in a dark-ish neighborhood at 10pm. A much more likely scenario would be that she would go to bed early and then get up early to either get her exercise in the morning, or be ready to exercise immediately after getting the children to school.
This leaves us with the theory that she was last seen by GBC whilst watching the "Footy Show". I've never seen this program so I had to google it, and after doing so... well, it seems like it's more of a guy's program to me. My Aussie partner scoffs and says he doesn't know any women that would watch this program. What do you all think?? Do many women watch this?
Finally, like so many other posters have already mentioned, it doesn't seem to make sense that anyone would automatically assume someone was "missing" if they were only 1/2 hour late coming back from a morning walk. This in particular stands out to me as suspect, for its eerie similarity to Scott Peterson's behavior he claimed from the outset that Laci was "missing". [I can't get the link to post correctly to the wiki page]. What ordinary person would assume something terrible and sinister had happened so soon, unless their consciousness was shadowed by the knowledge that something terrible had indeed already happened? (IMO)
Now I've read reports that the media has confirmed that her girls were on a sleepover the night she was last seen... so maybe my idea that going out walking at 10pm was neither prudent nor realistic is now thrown out the window? Hmm... not sure, so for now I think I'll stick to thinking these are unlikely and strange scenarios...
2) It is a little odd that GBC was not waiting around the command center, but that alone does not suggest his guilt. (Nor does the inverse suggest a lack of guilt, IMO). I'm wondering if perhaps he hadn't gotten along well with his in-laws, or if his parents did not get along well with ABC, and since her parents were at the command center, maybe he decided to let them be there, as her parents, and he would step aside and wait elsewhere. That seems reasonable, though sad, if both sides of the family did not get along well enough to not be a united front in the face of a tragedy.
3) It seems strange to me that ABC was buried before a cause of death was determined... or in some cases, it is determined that a cause of death could not be determined so there is no reason for a coroner to continue to hold the body. (I'm sorry for the morbidity). Does anyone think this suggests the investigators know or believe they are not looking for a stranger-perpetrator?
4) Everything I've read so far -- I'm sorry, this will be morbid again -- suggests that ABC was found with no visible signs of trauma. This seems to suggest that there were no signs of sexual assault. Has anyone read anything to the contrary? Am I jumping the gun a bit? But if this is correct, does anyone else think that it is a bit odd for a stranger to abduct a woman and murder her, but not sexually assault her? (OMG just writing that feels SO WRONG, it makes me angry that rape and murder seems like it should be hand-in-hand, but it does seem, to me, to be par for the course in that sort of situation...). Does an abduction/murder without sexual assault happen very often? According to a
2009 U.S. Department of Justice statistical report, "... an estimated 10% of female murder victims were killed by strangers" in 2007. I know this is cross-cultural, but I think we can still consider the statistics to be relevant -- particularly when another intimate partner homicide (husband killing wife) occurred in Brisbane at the same time. I'm not trying to say that rape cannot also occur within a DV homicide, it most certainly can and does, I'm just wondering out loud whether it is common for a stranger homicide to not also usually include rape? (i.e. what would be the motivation to murder without some sort of predatory thrill)? It also stands to reason that if a predatory rapist-murderer was on the loose, the police would likely be warning people, no?
Argh, okay, this post is WAY too long, and I apologize. I completely lost track of where I was going! Like every case on these pages, it is senseless and tragic and sad, and I hope justice will prevail.
Just thought i would let you all know i'm back. This case has really gotten to me and i just felt like i needed a couple of days break. I won't be commenting very much though because i would hate too upset anyone. Thankyou to those who left me a private message saying not to leave <3 <3
