We did it!
Earlier today, I received an email from the Records department at the Amherst Police Department. They decided to release the complete file on Petrit Vasi’s hit and run, which has long been rumored to be connected to Maura’s disappearance.
In order to release the records, they needed payment in person. I had to get a courier service to deliver. And…
Here is the report, complete with investigators’ notes.
I’ve read through once, already. Like everything else, it only raises more questions.
Vasi was definitely hit by a car. There is evidence of that. There are statements from his friends in there too.
There is no mention of Maura Murray. Now, I don’t believe Maura was directly involved. But the fact that she’s not mentioned at all is very suspicious. I’d bet the Amherst police have been contacted before about the possibility that Maura — or someone who was driving her car — hit Vasi. To be working the case and not know about that is absurd. If that was an angle they investigated, it should be in there, but it’s not. Make of that what you will.
So… thoughts?
** If you have any information about the person responsible for Petrit Vasi’s hit and run accident, please contact Amherst Police, Vasi himself, or this blog. **
This is exactly what I needed to continue my current line of thought. Great job, Mr Renner.
Maura deserves full disclosure. I thank you on her behalf.
Oh shit, good work Renner!
My thoughts are that this will just be another "win" that leads to nothing.
"From now on, I'll write two letters a week instead of one."
…….tenacious pays off! I scanned it twice – seems pretty benign for all the roadblocks, hoops, delays & red tape they made you go thru. Unless they cooked-the-books before releasing the finished product. …except. Anyone else think the description of the state of his clothing was whacked for a H&R?
great work!
would like to have seen the 24 exposures of the Accident (Page 10 point 4)??
Possible dragging of victim. Should check the underneath of the Saturn for any DNA, clothing, damage etc
"If known samples were submitted, a conclusion may be drawn as to whether that sample could have a common origin with this unknown paint chip." That would (potentially) end all speculation.
Wow. Perseverance pays off! I'm surprised you actually got through the red tape hoops. That shit is harder to get through than duct tape…
On the "Results from Lab Report" page, is there a way to find out any info about the paint chips and glass that were collected from Vasi's clothing? The "Trace Analysis Report" states that if "known samples were submitted" they could possibly determine origin.
Is there a way to either match the paint chips & glass to Maura's car or to conclusively prove that it wasn't her car?
Very interesting.
Did the police not look into Maura or her vehicle being involved?
In the report, it says there was no pieces of a vehicle left behind. IMO- this is either because 1. The person quickly picked up any pieces to there car
2. The vehicle didn't break apart easily- maybe the front was made of plastic
Saturn's were made of plastic.
Couldn't the police compare the paint chips found to the Saturn?
Shards of glass were found on Vasi's clothing, so this shows me he hit the windshield.
In Maura's car Alumaseal (to stop radiator from leaking), Fix a flat, radiator funnel, all purpose funnel, turtle wax, power steering fluid, screwdrivers, and lightbulbs were found. Was these things needed to try and cover up something that had happened to the Saturn?
Hitting a person could cause the power steering to go out, and possibly a radiator leak.
I have to agree. I don't know much about hit and run cases but a hit and run should not cause a person's pants to be pulled down. Oh boy…more questions than answers
I noted that the chemist's report discussed the possibility of comparing paint chips from Vasi's clothing with "known samples." Maura's Murray's Saturn was available for comparison, but there is no indication that investigators ever sought to compare paint from it (or from any other vehicle) with that found on Mr Vasi. Such a comparison is a simple, relatively cheap, reliable way of establishing (or disproving) a potential link between a suspect vehicle and an accident scene. This indicates that Amherst investigators didn't see anything to make them think a link to MM had even minimal plausibility.
Any idea why there appears to be a redaction in the lab report concerning the paint chip found on Vasi's jeans? I thought only names of the victim and witnesses were redacted. There is something clearly redacted there and it seems to be substantive based on the surrounding context of the report.
"We"? No, the credit is all yours. Great tug of war, but you won.
But yeah, it's what I expected. No closure. Hey, you gotta try.
"Anyone else think the description of the state of his clothing was whacked for a H&R?"
At first I thought, "DAMN! now THAT's a party!" but it seems consistent with one being dragged. I doubt he fell out of a car.
One thing's for sure, Vasi should stay away from liquor.
+Clint Harting stated (after visiting the site) this part of the city/town is a bizzzzy place even when college isnt in full swing ~ crazy that NO one witnessed the H&R or saw a person being "dragged" long enough to rip his jeans down. or was that the part didnt want released? …cookin'???
Why is it people think she might have something to do with it? Curious. Because she was upset? Um, she was in college and she's human.
I'm still not seeing why some people are obsessed with this hit and run.
"There is no mention of Maura Murray. Now, I don't believe Maura was directly involved. "
If you don't think this, then why have you been obsessed with getting this info? How would she have been involved if she wasn't the hitter and runner?
"But the fact that she's not mentioned at all is very suspicious. I'd bet the Amherst police have been contacted before about the possibility that Maura — or someone who was driving her car — hit Vasi. To be working the case and not know about that is absurd. If that was an angle they investigated, it should be in there, but it's not. Make of that what you will."
If there's no actual evidence, are names mentioned in paperwork?
I do hope Mr. Vasi is not currently looking for a job. I'd hate for something like this to ever happen to me. And to have an uncommon name in America like that. Quite unfortunate situation for him.
"I'd bet the Amherst police have been contacted before about the possibility that Maura — or someone who was driving her car — hit Vasi
so you're saying if I called LAPD about an accident I witnessed and said, "I think ::inside random person's name:: was involved, whom I don't know, they'd take is seriously?
You're implying there are people in MA who think Maura did it. What makes you think this? Or you're implying random strangers like us would tell the cops check out the Maura connection, which is crazier.That's like me calling CPS on a celeb who spanked their child in the store. CPS isn't going to take a random person's call seriously. Am I reading more into this?
I think my question is, :do you believe there is a student (students) who would have reason to believe Maura is connected?
Ha. I used to live on Bellfower Street in Dorchester 🙂
IMO- it depends on whether the clothes were ripped or torn. If they looked neatly pulled down, then I think there's an issue.
If he was dragged under a car, then it could of pulled his pants down.
If he was stuck, the person could of done it, trying to get him out.
Seeing a photo of the clothes, could possibly give us a better idea on whether a car or a person done that to him.
Not necessarily, if dragged even 10-20 feet it is likely that would happen
It appears from Google Maps that the hit and run site was quite close to the university campus. The conventional wisdom seems to be that Maura couldn't have been the driver because she was working at her campus job at the time and her absence would have been noted. I'm not so sure. Depending on the nature of the job and the intensity of supervision it might not be impossible to disappear for a short while. It's something that merits further investigation.
Peter
I agree. They definitely listed a color of the paint in that conclusion and removed it from the report. Interesting. A quick search on google of car-pedestrian collision damage raises some eyebrows. The damage to the Saturn is consistent with a car-pedestrian collision. Could Vasi's closest friends/family have followed her to seek revenge?
The police say no skid marks, the sister said this.
Who's telling the facts?
She says the accident was definitely a hit and run, because there were marks on the street where a car had slammed on its breaks by his body. But no one has ever come forward.
"There is no mention of Maura Murray".
Nobody is mentioned! It's all redacted!
"I noted that the chemist's report discussed the possibility of comparing paint chips from Vasi's clothing with 'known samples.'"
Good catch. No indication doesn't mean the chips are not out of contention. Remember, both are active cases.
It would be great to have an accident reconstructionist
examine mauras car to determine if the damage is consistant with a hit and run or not. I am starting to think the accident at the curve was staged to conceal the real damage of hit and run- Remember the light bulbs and rubbing compound in the car?
ab-soooo-lute Anon 2.02.16 WHY the stonewalling on the part of Amherst PD/Gunderson then? Nothing in what they just released warrants all that stalling UNLESS…. they know had/have info consistent w/the saturn.
jwb – I'm a paralegal and I am currently working a case that is very similar to Vasi's, the only difference being that the person that hit our client did not leave the scene of the accident. I just received pictures of the car that hit our client and it is completely UNCANNY how much the damage looks like Maura's car. The crack in the windshield is a little further in the middle on ours but the damages as a whole are eerily similar. Unreal to look at these pictures and then know the damage to Maura's car!!
Good point, James, did Vasi's pants looked like they were neatly pulled down'
Because on Feb 6 Maura was working less than a mile from the Vasi's accident
Her supervisor found her in a catonic state at work around 1 AM.
Vasi was found at 12:20 AM.
In early news reports there was only talk of the call to Kathleen around 10 pm Thursday Feb. 5. The phone call to Billy at 12:07-12:14 was never mentioned. They weren't suppose to have there cellphones out, while at work.
Her family/ friends said there was No way it was Maura, she was at work, and no where near her. Which it actually was very close to where Maura was working at the Dormrooms.
Monday Feb. 9 04- the story about Vasi came out in the UMASS paper. Maura disappeared this day.
Too many quincendances to not thoroughly investigate it.
Thanks for the reply and I agree. I just sent james a pic that looked very similar to the saturn damage without the windshield damage.
The biggest problem with the H+R angle has always been … WHY would MM wait four days to junk her car?
Nope … the damage to The Saturn, to me, was the result of swiping The Westman's property then the resultant crash.
I'm beginning to think she's lost in the woods.
Did you also request from the ambulance company the copy of the ambulance run report?
I have been to the location of the hit and run (Summer around 6 p.m.) and can say that on the particular night I was at the location it was busy both with car traffic and people out walking. And it was a Saturday night.
Onto the hit and run, I can't rule Maura in or out as being possibly involved in the hit and run. Yes Maura was working at the time this hit and run occurred, but with a supervisor that only checked in on her every once in awhile (because the supervisor was in charge of multiple dorms) it's hard to say that Maura would have to be present the whole time. Coupled with the fact that Maura's shift that night was from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., I would assume she was required a lunch break or a pair of mini breaks.
The dorm Maura was working at Melville to the accident location is about 0.9 miles.
Parking would be great to know as Maura typically would have to park pretty far away from her dorm she lived at Kennedy which is next door to the dorm she worked at Melville.
However, as I have pointed out before, there is a special parking lot for security personnel right in front of the door to Melville dorm which Maura was working at. Slipping out for a break would be relatively easy to do if she was allowed to park her car in that security lot.
Her father whisking into town just over 24 hours after the hit and run does seem kind of odd to me, considering Maura had just began the semester and they were just now thinking hey its time to look for a new car. They had the whole break to do car shopping. But that in itself doesn't prove anything, but I just find it odd that Fred rolled into town the morning after a large snow storm nonetheless.
For those who aren't familiar with reading police reports this is a damned good report written by a professional police officer. Normally you don't see such thoroughness from a uniformed officer.
XxXx, I agree the damage looks very similar to a pedestrian-vehicle collision. I've hit a deer before. The damage was to the right headlight vs. the left headlight in the Saturn. The damage was very similar. The deer never hit the windshield though, but pedestrian-vehicle collisions can be very complex. I think people are jumping to conclusions WAYYY to fast about that report. That report in my eyes is garbage. youtube.com/watch?v=YdjN7dIXRXo Take a look at that. He was not dragged, he was hit, thrown, and then slid on the ground (NOT DRAGGED). Also, if you slid across any road in New England, of course you are going to have a paint chip or two on your clothing from all the corrosion going on in winter time with the salt.
The "known samples" are samples put into data bases by car companies and chain paint shops like Maaco. The "lmown sample" would not be from another car but rather compared to the database. They could narrow it down by brand of car but not to model in most cases.
*coincidence
The report indicates the likely possibility of Vasi being dragged by a vehicle. This would be next to impossible with a small sedan such as the Saturn. The damage is inconsistent. Those that believe a connection between the Saturn and Vasi accept the scenario of Vasi bouncing up over the car, not pulled underneath. It cannot be both ways.
There were no missing parts to pick up based on the photos of the Saturn taken after the Haverhill crash. The headlight was pushed rearward but not broken. Glass found on Vasi should eliminate the Saturn as the only glass damage was to the inside of the windshield in a location consistent with airbag deployment. Also, how would the power steering "go out" due to "hitting a person"? The steering system is on the side of the engine away from the front. Again, not true.
I'm really surprised no one who supports the theory that Maura hit Petrit has noticed or pointed out that the in the report by Sgt. Millar, he specifically mentions dispatch was requested to call Amherst College Security about the accident after his arrival on scene. I don't really support the theory myself, I see it as very unlikely when the case is looked at in totality, but that jumped out at me immediately.
There is no evidence in this to rule out Maura's car. There was only *1* paint chip found. That isnt much to conclude anything. As for the glass, I can't tell you how many times I've personally seen small pieces of glass on roads. I think that is fairly common. Debris from previous accidents or broken glass from kids broken bottles are probably the source of the glass. I don't think that the glass that was found on him proves that it wasn't Maura'so car. In my opinion this file shows why the police has no idea who ran over this guy. There is literally no evidence.
On YouTube there are plenty of videos that are from Europe, I think, that show these kinds of accidents. A car itself doesn't have to drag someone that is hit for a person to have drag marks. When a person is hit by a car they slide from the inertia created by the car.
Cars that hit people will and do knock people's clothes off.
The report said to notify UMass police and Amherst College security. Amherst College is a small liberal arts college, unaffiliated with, but in close proximity to, UMass Amherst. Being a small entity, Amherst college has a security department, not a police department, and depends on Amherst Police for law enforcement issues. It would therefore make sense, with Amherst being a college town, to notify the two departments.