I got a chance to read over the consolidated posts by coldcaseman. A couple of things he mentioned put a couple of light bulbs on for me. In one post, he describes Lyle's handwriting as reminding him of the handwriting of doctors and other rushed medical professionals. In a different post he mentions that the placement of the belt was very well executed - placing pressure on both carotid arteries without placing too much pressure on the trachea. The first light bulb being the possibility that Lyle actually was a doctor, EMT or other medical professional. The second being, did Lyle die of asphyxia in the sense of the word as most of us perceive it (strangulation preventing O2 from entering the lungs and thereby preventing it from going to the brain), or was death actually the result of the blood flow carrying the dissolved O2 being cut off to the brain? The result is essentially the same: there is no O2 getting to the brain cells, so the cells begin to die. I can see "asphyxiation" being the technically correct cause of death in either case, but I can see the second method being much quicker and less uncomfortable. Again, if Lyle specifically planned to cut off the blood flow while avoiding the pain of the hunger for air, that hints further that he may have had a career in the medical field or have been a med student at some point.
They couldn't answer so many of those questions to make a determination on his behavior and past history. Interesting read.Fwiw..
http://www.practicalhomicide.com/Research/7mistakes.htm
"The Seven Major Mistakes in Suicide Investigation"
I don't understand why it wasn't followed up on by the detective. I am surprised no one thought it necessary to have the person who found the body make a formal statement even if they had to go out of town in order to obtain it. Being traumatized is not an excuse to avoid giving a statement to LE unless it is severe. There was no blood or gore associated with the find and the trauma, imo, would be minimized for the finder. After all, praying was the initial reaction.I'd never seen pictures of the hotel, before...it's so tiny and unassuming! Surely he would have had to know about the place beforehand.
I agree that the maid was probably trying to convince herself she didn't see what she saw, and that calling the manager over a person she actually did think was praying probably wouldn't happen.
Why was she not available for questioning? Did she quit, move away, feel too traumatized by the discovery to talk about it any further(which would be understandable, imo)?
I'd never seen pictures of the hotel, before...it's so tiny and unassuming! Surely he would have had to know about the place beforehand.
I agree that the maid was probably trying to convince herself she didn't see what she saw, and that calling the manager over a person she actually did think was praying probably wouldn't happen.
Why was she not available for questioning? Did she quit, move away, feel too traumatized by the discovery to talk about it any further(which would be understandable, imo)?
DM phoned in his fathers suicide and LE ruled it a suicide. Now he's facing charges for his fathers murder. Just like your article said could happen.
What gets me is the money - not sure which one of you mentioned it, but he may have withdrawn that from an ATM and I bet the store has an ATM inside of it. I didn't see any notes about interviewing the staff at the store. He got the newspaper(s) from somewhere. He got the cup from somewhere. From what I could tell on Google maps, he had to have gotten those things from the store. I can see why they didn't see if he got off the bus. The store appears to block the view of the bus stop. Someone made a very valid point that if he came from Canada, he either had to have come by road or he had to have flown in prior to the planes coming down on the 11th, which would have been before 5 am on the 11th on the west coast. The more I think about it, the less I believe he came from Canada. As far as being missed if he was a medical professional, he wouldn't be missed if he had resigned his position first. Paramedics and EMTs would be even less likely to be missed and students do drop out. I think he was older than the general consensus is. I think he was around 35 years old. He paid for one night then said he would be staying a few more days. Why was that? Did he decide while he was there to commit suicide and do it there? Had he intended to commit suicide the first night, then have second thoughts, requiring more time to talk himself into going through with it? If he was intent on committing suicide, I would think that he would get up every morning thinking "today is the day" - but he asked for fresh towels on Saturday. So, had he set a date that he intended to do it? If so, why wouldn't he pay in advance for days up to the day he intended to commit suicide? The pacing out on the highway is weird. There were more pleasant places to walk if walking was his sole intention. Was he trying to get up the nerve to jump out in front of a moving vehicle? Was he waiting for someone or something that didn't show up? Was someone supposed to come get him from the motel and he got stood up? It's really starting to make me wonder if he came there with the intention of committing suicide at all. For the record, I don't think he was murdered. I am starting to believe that what he wanted to happen at the motel did not go as planned, though.
I wonder if someone could do a rendition of what he would look like 40 pounds heavier. His bone structure may not have looked so prominent/chiseled with more weight on him. Maybe thats what's throwing people off.