PA PA - Richard Petrone 35 & Danielle Imbo 34, Philadelphia, 19 Feb 2005 #2

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I haven’t dismissed the chop shop scenario. For me, its just that the chop shop would seem to involve others after the murder – and I believe that regardless of where the truck is murder is the case here. Harder to keep a secret when someone other than the killer knows. IF the truck is in the water, I don’t believe it is in the immediate area. Rather someplace an hour or more away. And if the killer has ties to that area and he could walk to someplace nearby he doesn’t need an accomplice. Just a good story on why he is there.
 
I've had people - on this site!!!! - tell me that chop shops don't exist and its impossible to dispose of a car and vin numbers are everywhere and blah blah blah. They've clearly never been to philly. I only know because my grandfather was friendly with some... shady people back in the day. These things exist. We do have some chops in SJ but not as many as you'd think. Most have gone semi-legal. But even the legal ones have been known to turn away and look the other direction with enough motivation (=money)

As for water, I agree. IF the truck is in water its nowhere near the city. Northern PA, or Delaware is possible. But inside philly is not.
 
I've had people - on this site!!!! - tell me that chop shops don't exist and its impossible to dispose of a car and vin numbers are everywhere and blah blah blah. They've clearly never been to philly. I only know because my grandfather was friendly with some... shady people back in the day. These things exist. We do have some chops in SJ but not as many as you'd think. Most have gone semi-legal. But even the legal ones have been known to turn away and look the other direction with enough motivation (=money)

As for water, I agree. IF the truck is in water its nowhere near the city. Northern PA, or Delaware is possible. But inside philly is not.

Pine Barrens?
 
Pine Barrens?
Very possible. It would have to be off trail though. But considering the thousands of acres, its certainly possible. BUT - here's the issue - they would've had to cross the car into NJ somewhere OTHER than near Philly. Or it would've been picked up by the cameras. And it wasn't. Which is why I don't really consider the pine barrens as likely.
 
Very possible. It would have to be off trail though. But considering the thousands of acres, its certainly possible. BUT - here's the issue - they would've had to cross the car into NJ somewhere OTHER than near Philly. Or it would've been picked up by the cameras. And it wasn't. Which is why I don't really consider the pine barrens as likely.
I agree that it is unlikely the car was ditched in the Pine Barrens - partly because it was never caught on camera traveling into NJ. I also don’t think it is likely because, although it is/would be pretty easy to hide a body, it is not nearly as easy to hide an SUV - unless you were to drive or push it into one of the quarries.

There are lots of “roads” and trails throughout the pines. Some of the more frequented ones can be travelled fairly easily by cars, but most will be better traveled by 4-wheel drives, ATV’s, dirt bikes & horses. The Pines are greatly misunderstood by many people unfamiliar with the area. It is a HUGE area - approximately 1.1 MILLION ACRES! Unless a structure, town, etc was built prior to the area being regulated by the Pinelands Commission (1979), it is not easy to get permission to build within the Pines. The area is protected in part because of its very unique ecosystem, but also because it sits atop a huge aquifier so development is strongly discouraged/regulated to protect the aquifier from contamination commonly associated with developments.

If someone were to ditch the SUV in the Pines, a second vehicle would have had to follow to give the SUV driver a ride out. Unless you REALLY know the area, the average person would easily get lost. The soil is very sandy - think beach sand - so a heavy SUV would easily get bogged down if it were to go off of the more commonly traveled roads/trails, not to mention how overgrown the area is - both with current growth and from downed trees that result from fires that occur here.

My point in this is that I feel with the number of people that do travel the Pines in truly off-road vehicles and/or on horseback or on foot, the vehicle would have been discovered by now since it would be VERY difficult to get it off road enough to be hidden this well for this long.
 
All it takes is one of them suggesting a stop for coffee on the way, and the most direct route home changes completely. We don't know where they went after the bar, and traffic cam footage is usually clear as mud. The car ending up in the water is the most logical explaination.
But imagining Mob hits, chop shops and running off to Canada with Maura Murray is what keeps some of these threads going for years.
 
All it takes is one of them suggesting a stop for coffee on the way, and the most direct route home changes completely. We don't know where they went after the bar, and traffic cam footage is usually clear as mud. The car ending up in the water is the most logical explaination.
But imagining Mob hits, chop shops and running off to Canada with Maura Murray is what keeps some of these threads going for years.

It’s South Philly. Mob & chop shops are real.
 
All it takes is one of them suggesting a stop for coffee on the way, and the most direct route home changes completely. We don't know where they went after the bar, and traffic cam footage is usually clear as mud. The car ending up in the water is the most logical explaination.
But imagining Mob hits, chop shops and running off to Canada with Maura Murray is what keeps some of these threads going for years.
It’s not that far-fetched for the Philly area. And LE has come out and said they speculate it was a professional hit.
 
What if the truck ended up in the Poconos? Lots of wilderness up there, too. Interesting history of organized crime in the area.
 
Poconos are awfully far, many closer places to hide the car. And I feel like I read somewhere that LE leaked it was a chop shop. Frankly, it makes sense. Targeted hit, chopped the SUV, and two bodies are pretty easy to get rid of. Without the car, they could be anywhere. NJ, PA, DE. Lots of water, lots of forests, lots of empty land. And even in philly proper there are probably parts of town with abandoned buildings you can hide a body in. But I also feel like they're buried. Unless He Who Shall Not Be Named admits something, they'll never be found.
 
Watching the show Disappeared right now about this case. My new theory is that after they left the bar they were abducted/attacked almost immediately and ultimately murdered. Don't know what was done with the truck. Both their phones went to voice mail almost immediately as evidenced by the families trying to contact both of them in the morning. This is another one of those cases for which we will probably never know what really happened. So sad.
 
Watching the show Disappeared right now about this case. My new theory is that after they left the bar they were abducted/attacked almost immediately and ultimately murdered. Don't know what was done with the truck. Both their phones went to voice mail almost immediately as evidenced by the families trying to contact both of them in the morning. This is another one of those cases for which we will probably never know what really happened. So sad.

If two people were taken immediately after leaving a bar on South Street (4th & South) on a Saturday night, it was likely a very well-planned hit.
 
If two people were taken immediately after leaving a bar on South Street (4th & South) on a Saturday night, it was likely a very well-planned hit.
!ooks like it was well planned since it hasnt been solved in 18 years---
It seems somebody turned off both their phones, which went to voicemail.
I am sure their phones would not have been on voicemail, especially
Danielle, with a young child at home.
 
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my other thought after reading this article is that her ex husband hired
somebody- he has not been ruled out as a suspect-- he had an iron-clad
alibi for himself----- he very much resented her relationship with Richard and he was
vocal about it
 
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my other thought after reading this article is that her ex husband hired
somebody- he has not been ruled out as a suspect-- he had an iron-clad
alibi for himself----- he very much resented her relationship with Richard and he was
vocal about it
Yup after following this case for years I think the husband was likely involved and it was probably a murder for hire. Which LE has hinted towards. Most people from the Philly area (including myself) on here seem to find this theory plausible and have ruled out the “they’re in the water” theory.
 
Yup after following this case for years I think the husband was likely involved and it was probably a murder for hire. Which LE has hinted towards. Most people from the Philly area (including myself) on here seem to find this theory plausible and have ruled out the “they’re in the water” theory.

So far though, apparently they cannot prove it. To me this is the only theory that makes sense. She no doubt told him where she and Richard were going that night and when they left the hit man (men?) were waiting- it wouldn't take long to abduct a couple who were blindsided- nobody around cause it was freezing outside. I hope someday whatever happened will come to light. This is one of the saddest murder stories I have heard of and followed.
 
So far though, apparently they cannot prove it. To me this is the only theory that makes sense. She no doubt told him where she and Richard were going that night and when they left the hit man (men?) were waiting- it wouldn't take long to abduct a couple who were blindsided- nobody around cause it was freezing outside. I hope someday whatever happened will come to light. This is one of the saddest murder stories I have heard of and followed.
Very true. I do think LE has info and they’re sitting on what they have, waiting for more evidence, I do hope there’s more to come. This case has always stuck with me. I used to see their “MISSING” billboard when I used to drive into the city for work and it always made me sick to my stomach.
 
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