On Thursday, February 5, 2004, Maura suffered some kind of mental breakdown during work at the security desk of Melville Hall. Her supervisor discovered her in a “catatonic state.” The only thing she would say was “my sister.”
The same source who provided new insight into Maura’s crash in Hadley just pointed me toward an interesting coincidence. On Feb 5, 2004, Donald Rumsfeld ordered a 90-day review of sexual assault on female soldiers in the military. The review focused on female soldiers already in Iraq and Afghanistan. But this investigation would ultimately kick up stories of sexual assault at West Point and other military institutions. There were Congressional hearings. It was a big deal.
Later investigations would show that at the time Maura was at West Point, at least 6% of the female cadets were sexually assaulted and 62% were sexually harassed.
How did this news affect Maura? We do know she knew at least one man from West Point who was later accused of sexual assault: her boyfriend, Bill Rausch.
…ive alwaysssss said whatever ended on Rte112 started at WestPoint. for the 1st time in 12yrs you just might have kicked-the-can why MM broke that nite @ the dorm desk. keep kickin'.
About time We come to a catalyst for the Feb. 9th 2004 departure. Perhaps..!
I always wondered why she dropped out of an Engineering track at university (which by all accounts she was well able for mentally) and took up nursing. Not to disparage nurses, but the prestige and the earning potential isn't on a par. I wondered if something happened that put her completely off pursuing that career. Something quite shocking and upsetting to make her drop it quickly. That was one of the things that jumped out at me.
It's an old tantalizing angle without legs … we would need a precedent. A cursory search yielded no fruit. That does not mean it hasn't happened, however.
This angle also presents these questions: Who possibly suffered from any assault or harassment? When? Was anyone connected to The Murrays in any way a perpetrator of such acts? If yes to any of these, is it the cause of MM's telephone breakdown? Only someone very close to the case knows any answers to these questions, and we have no answers still.
Has anyone considered that the breakdown was feigned and merely a lead in to the death in the family excuse and reason for absence?
Yes. But how does it fit?
I find it a real stretch to try an link Mauras dusapearance to rumsfeld but it does bring up questions. If BR is not the link then it is prob a dead end.
I have. If that incident occurred at all. This was reported much later, after her disappearance, by her boss, the one who supposedly walked her back to her dorm room. The one who claims she was basically catatonic, yet just left her at the door of her dorm and went on with her night, never mentioning it again until later. There are no other witnesses to the supposed event.
If it happened, which I think is still yet to be seen, I believe MM lied to get out of work. She went to her dorm room and ordered Domino's. How upset could she really have been if she needed a pie? I don't think there's any connection between the investigation and MM that night.
If the supposed break down happened at all . . .
I just read Disappeared and I read the author's book, but what is with the sighting with the man saying "Help Me" For God's sake, was that in the book? It fits with the sobbing boyfriend call. I don't think she is leading a life right now.
Hey Mac…..check out the reddit post about West Point. It was up months ago, even before Renner's epilogue to his book came out. Interesting theory if there's a connection…..
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I think it was the credit card fraud which led to conduct that led to her dismissal.
I have been suggesting this for a while.
I personally don't think anything should be ruled out at this time, even after 12 1/2 years.
There was no CC fraud at West Point, that occurred at UMASS.
Is this the call to Domino's she made after it has supposedly closed? If so, it seems unlikely she actually got food.
If she did place an order, though, and (as has been suggested) she had bulimia, binging & purging during a time of stress might not be unusual for her. Eating disorders can arise out of a need to feel in control of something when other things are spinning out of control.
I'm not saying this is proof the breakdown happened, but I also don't think it's proof that it didn't.
Link?
The breakdown was for show. It made the "death in the family" more plausible and helped to throw off any suspicions of why she was away to mentally regroup.
It was titled West Point Connection? about 3 months ago by bonquosghost. I read it before Renner's book came out, or the epilogue in the book about Billy's behavior. Seemed like an interesting artivcle in the NY Times about sexual abuse of females in the military.
I remember it now. "Who says chivalry is dead?" jogged my memory. Anyway, it seems Ghost got the idea partly from a "True Crime Garage" ep but they made a mistake: Bob M never had a fling with Kate M. Still it's the substance of the possibility something went down between West Point and Maura that makes this interesting. Personally, I think it's a huge stretch someone would "silence" her, but what do I know?
Here's the post:
"West Point Connection?"
3 points 3 comments submitted 3 months ago by BonquosGhost to /r/mauramurray
"Around the time of Maura's disappearance in 2004, there was a scandal going on at West Point of a sexual nature. It seemed to go 'away' until many years later when the NY Times got wind of it, and a Sgt McClendon was charged with various improprieties including sexual harassment and assault of a dozen or so female cadets. Why did the military take SO long to resolve this matter? He went off to Iraq in 2004, yet who else in this case could have possibly been involved in this vile activity and needed it to 'keep quiet'? Maura left for UMass yet Billy stayed on there to go off to Iraq and then have quite a fruitful career. Bob M was a very close friend to Billy and taught history at West Point in NY at this time. A podcast also mentions that Bob had a relationship with Maura's friend Kate at UMass, who also has been very tight lipped since Maura's disappearance. Was Kate quiet because she was involved with a married prof from West Point? Or more? Bob did help in the search for Maura, by sending his wife to go door to door in NH to ask questions, according to his own account. Who said chivalry is dead?…. Did Maura know someone personally from West Point who was involved in these assaults? Did this happen to her or her sister while they were enlisted there? That could cause an emotional breakdown I suppose. Was she about to blow the lid off this scandal and damage the future careers of people she knew at that time? Was Maura set-up and then silenced forever? Who would gain from this secret "staying" secret? The silence over this case has been very LOUD since day 1… Would LE and State Police "stand down" on certain evidence if this case involved Military personnel in any way? Think out of the box here. I don't believe Maura sent the "family emergency" email. I don't believe she packed her dorm. I don't believe she was in the Saturn. I don't believe it was her at the accident scene in NH. In the last day or so, I don't believe it was her using her own cell phone. Or WHO was using anyone's cell phone… There are no alibis and no 100% verification to any of this. She was silenced very cleverly, except for the 1 minor slip up in the plan…that accident on Rt 112. Where everyone on this case has put most of their focus. The 4 people close to Maura at that time was Billy, Kate, Sara, and Bob M. The answers lie with the ones who have spoken the least. Everyone around this case has put the last 24hrs of activity on Maura, but it was not 'her' activity. She was already silenced. Its easier to see this mystery as a suicide, or running off to Canada, or LE screw-ups, or random serial killers, than it is to see the real motive for silence here. GREED and POWER to cover-up a SCANDAL. Loss of careers, relationships, or jail time, etc… Just go over the case again with this in mind. More conjecture/opinion to throw out there with this angle but, aren't these the great motives for the more well known murders in Shakespeare?"
Ho-leeee Hell.
Ah…..now we learn more about Maura's years at West Point. Could someone she was close to have been the victim of sexual assault. If so I think that the friend may have felt great shame at having been the victim, viewing herself as the one who caused it due to his/her/their actions when in reality it's the perpetrator's actions that caused it. There probably are more rapes than what's recorded due to the tendency of the victims to feel ashamed, that they would be judged for what happened to them instead of getting the help they need. Maura may have felt a heavy amount of guilt which may be why she decided to change careers. That guilt may have resulted in her reckless actions because she didn't know how to communicate how she felt and the possibility she may have felt shame as well.
Ho-leeee Hell is right. The thing that strikes me is that this is so specific, and it certainly is believable as far as motives go. Thoughts?
I sound like a broken record but….. 52 BR frenzied phone calls in a hours leading up to Rte112 to KMT, SA, his family & whammo right in the middle, calls his WPoint professor to shoot-the-moon. ~nevrrr has passed the straight face test.
I disappointed again? Lulz …
When was the last time that Maura was ACTUALLY seen by someone who knew her, not Butch Atwood?
@JodiK In the 4WhatitsWorthDept ~ BR calling his Prof. during the 52 phone call mania doesn't necessarily insinuate it was sinister. BR could have very well been trying to help/assist M in whatvrrr the situation she was in. Like calling for a favor, a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy (that could help) type-of-thing. My "jury" is still deliberating on that… *eyeroll*
I think her Dad was, on record anyway, Sunday morn in the hotel room. Right? I couldn't find an answer if she worked on Sunday at the art gallery with Sara, and there wasn't much else. All quiet kind of…..But LE made an official comment"….We are UNABLE to comment on who last saw or spoke with Maura that day…." The use of the word "unable" to me seems like they know who, but aren't telling anyone else for some reason………
nah. just…….hands down ~ you do your homework & provide lotsa info but you dont seem to believe anything but the "dirtbag" theory. I dont get it.
"How upset could she really have been if she needed a pie?"
When someone is bulimic, or have any addiction for that matter, being upset can absolutely be a trigger.
I think it was her Dad? Early morning in the hotel room? Sunday and Monday's activities seem very "light" to me as far as Maura is concerned. Seems a little odd but who knows? I believe LE knows, but hasn't revealed the info to the public, nor to her Father. Their official statement was "…we are UNABLE to comment on who the last person Maura spoke with…." That tells me that they know, but aren't "allowed" to let anyone know for whatever reason…….
We need more info to get some of these theories on track. Based on what little we do know, foul play is a convenient "out". But even that has little traction …
We have so little to go on, and what little we do have is easily contradicted … by other "knowns". That I think is why people are so fascinated by this. A maze with walls at every end.
Frustrating. But then … I'm no Pi, just a reader.
This isn't "link[ing] Maura['s] disappearance to Rumsfeld" per se, more like linking it to Billy Rausch.
The idea is that she was triggered (to use the oft-criticized word of our times, but in this case it is legitimate as sexual assault is always a serious matter) by the news, perhaps because of Rausch, not that Rumsfeld himself did anything wrong.