All content on this site is copyrighted by the individual authors and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without permission.
Murder in Small Town X: Opportunities Taken, Opportunities Lost
by Jeffrey Clinard
-- 07/10/2002
The investigators have followed up on some leads, but have missed opportunities in several other cases. Even though they may not be officially "cleared," there are several suspects who could be put on the back burner, yet the team doesn't seem to be doing that yet. Why not?
Has the investigation team taken full advantage of their abilities and correctly prioritized the case? Or have they bungled certain aspects and made poor choices?
The goal of the team is to solve the case, and win the $250,000 reward offered for the murder of the Flints. They've got a competent lead investigator and a team who will follow his instructions.
The team has made several smart moves so far. But they have flunked other tests, for which they should be reprimanded.
The team has investigated Prudence Conner quite a bit. They know about her relationship with Flint. What does that prove? Nothing. Men have affairs all the time. It's not a proof of murder. Far better that they should have gotten her alibi for G.D. Thibodeaux on the night of the murders – which was supposed to be one of their tracks of investigation. As it stands though, they blew it. G.D. and Prudence have now had ample opportunity to compare notes and fake their alibi. If the team had gotten their statements before they had a chance to compare notes, they could have cleared both of them – or found one or both to be lying. As of now, they can't.
As I've noted before, G.D. is NOT a good suspect; he is NOT an organized person, and a serial killer who has gotten to this point IS. Clear him... now. He's useful for information, but he's no ORGANIZED killer.
Leita Rose-Blodgett is NOT a good suspect either. She has not the strength or stamina to dig up Oscar's grave. Cross her off, or at least put her on the back burner. This is evidence in her favor the team has overlooked.
The 1971 incident of the Bonnie Rose and death of Oscar Blodgett should also eliminate many of the people as prime suspects. This was 30 years ago. Many suspects were not even conceived of then. It's a big point in the younger suspects’ favor.
Of course, there is always the possibility that the Bonnie Rose incident is a red herring the killer is dragging across the team. Still, that should have alerted the team. Either a older person, or a person with reason to know about the Bonnie Rose incident, is involved. Consider the evidence and eliminate, or at least back burner, those who don't fit.
If I were on the team, I would argue to eliminate or back burner several suspects. As already mentioned, Leita could not have been responsible for digging up the grave of Oscar. Abby's boyfriend or best friend would tend to be unemotional about a 30-year-old event which could have been an accident. They need back burner status as well. Ferry owner G.D. has conceded a debt to the murdered family, and shows he has NO control, something the killer has. He was also in jail when the latest killer game was played. He's more valuable as a witness and source than as a suspect. Prudence Conner is still a suspect, but only because, as discussed above, the team didn't interview her for her alibi on the night of the Flint murders immediately.
Next week, a new crime scene: Abby's car. It is apparently set in neutral and sent down a hill into the drink. Probably a good way to get rid of evidence. X-Ray almost gets hit. Nice, but the killer has cleared him, and the killer seems to play a square game. My own advice is that the best evidence is to check the position of the rear view mirror. This may give you some indication of the killer's height. I bet fingerprints give no evidence, but a height might let you put other suspects on the back burner for now. The killer wanted the car in the drink for a reason; it eliminates or confuses forensic evidence. Don't EVER underestimate the killer; s/he is organized and is taunting your investigation.
. And also check out 
