Where is MAURA MURRAY

BeagleBart,

Well, your discoveries considerably strengthen my feeling that Maura´s Saturn very likely may have been involved in the Petrit Vasi hit-and-run incident in Amherst.

My instinct would be that someone else than Maura herself was driving the Saturn - with or without Maura´s permission - and that this "friend" of hers threatened/blackmailed/coerced her into covering up for this person´s misdeed.
As you rightly point out, the hit-and-run could easily have turned into a charge of manslaughter, had not Petrit Vasi made a remarkable and unexpected recovery.

Sheer time restrictions with Maura working her supervised security desk job at the Melville Dorm on UMass Campus makes it practically impossible for her to have driven the Saturn at the time when Vasi was hit, even in theory.

It really makes me shudder to think of this all too likely person, who in the shape of a supposed former "friend" of Maura´s turned into a devious blackmailer and probably may have caused Maura´s tragedy - wherever and whatever may have happened later.

If we accept this theory as a likely one, then this unknown person, this nemesis of Maura´s, is probably still around somewhere out there, walking freely as a kind of monster in disguise.
That, to me, is a truly frightening vision.

Who claimed that the Saturn was running on only three out of four cylinders? Has this been confirmed?

JUST PART OF MY EMAILS WITH PETRIT
Petrit sent you a message.

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Re: very personal

Dear Linda
I dont think that Maura is responsible for my accident. I was found by a lady that luckily was passing by the street I was on. The police has not said anything to me about anything. So unfortunately I do not know. My case is still open and I dont think anybody will ever know what happened that night. I really dont know what else to say. I hope Maura is found alive and well, but I dont think I can be of any help since I myself dont know what happened.
Petrit

So it seems quite probable that if the Saturn's damage was sustained in Amherst, then the car was towed to Haverhill. If the damage occurred in Haverhill, but the engine was running on only 3 cylinders, then maybe the car was towed north and maybe it was driven there.

If the car was driven to Haverhill, then the main damage to it very likely occurred at or near the Rt. 112 crash scene. And the large dent is most likely the result of having hit a manmade object such as another vehicle. It is almost impossible that the damage resulted from the car's having hit any trees or a snowbank.

Hello all,

Regarding the "mystery" gallery in Amherst where Maura worked, I have never been able to understand why on earth its name for some reason must not be publicly disclosed, or for that matter why it is being deemed unimportant!

As BeagleBart, Whiston and others here have pointed out, there are only a few commercial art galleries in Amherst and the names can easily be found listed in the telephone directories available on the web.

One should think that this seemingly absurd "secrecy" as for the identity of "Maura´s" gallery would in itself be unwelcome from the point of view of the Amherst galleries themselves.

All this, as Whiston rightly writes, rather draws attention to the whole situation, making people ask themselves what is being kept hidden and why?
If there is nothing to hide, then why this veil of secrecy? That´s a reasonable question here.

Isn´t Maura herself one million times more important than shielding her then employers from potential media interest?

Anyone with the least basic awareness of the working of the human mind would know that this is the way conspiracy theories come to be started.

Comments and ideas, please!

Thanks!

Nowonder wrote:

JUST PART OF MY EMAILS WITH PETRIT
Petrit sent you a message.
----------
Re: very personal
Dear Linda
I dont think that Maura is responsible for my accident. I was found by a lady that luckily was passing by the street I was on. The police has not said anything to me about anything. So unfortunately I do not know. My case is still open and I dont think anybody will ever know what happened that night. I really dont know what else to say. I hope Maura is found alive and well, but I dont think I can be of any help since I myself dont know what happened.
Petrit

With all due respect to Mr. Vasi, he does not indicate that a vehicle did not strike him. He does not say that he probably fell off a utility pole he had climbed, or that he probably was robbed, or anything like that. In fact, he says he does not know what happened. But one fact is known. He was found in the street at an intersection that practically invites a driver who is flying down Mattoon to look left and turn right without coming to a stop and looking right before moving ahead.

The notion that one could not drive from Melville to Mattoon and back in 20 minutes is just plain wrong. That distance could almost be walked in 20 minutes. The 20 minute excuse practically supports a Vasi hit-and-run theory.

If Vasi was hit by someone zipping down Mattoon, then they probably had come from a location on Chestnut, Gray, or Taylor. Or they were meeting someone in the ARHS parking lot. Yes, there are certainly other reasons for driving down Mattoon and certainly a car could have been driving down Triangle without having driven down Mattoon, but the intersection where Vasi was hit seems most likely, which spells Mattoon.

If I am in Amherst next week, I'll take a video of the intersection and show just how easy it is to turn right onto Triangle without looking right.

Hello again,

Just another thought:

Isn´t it rather surprising that there are no known witness reports of Maura having been seen enroute anywhere between Amherst and Haverhill on February 9th 2004, if we just for the sake of it accept that she herself was driving the Saturn on that journey.

Surely she must most likely have stopped somewhere along the way for at least a little while?
Maura is such a stunningly beautiful young lady that she definitely should have been very much noticed! Her charisma can be sensed just by looking at the pictures of her - so why no witness reports, as far as we know?

Well, either she didn´t stop anywhere between Amherst and Haverhill, however unlikely, or else she never drove the Saturn to Haverhill from Amherst in the first place.
Right now I´d be prepared to opt for the second scenario as the most likely one.

Let me know your thoughts about this - thanks!

According to Google Maps, the distance from Melville Dorm, up to Chestnut, down Mattoon, and back to Melville is 2.5 miles. Driving time is 11 minutes. Even if the Saturn were parked on the west side of University Dr., anyone with minimal fitness could have run down to the parking lot, driven the route that includes Mattoon and Triangle, and got back to Melville in 20 minutes. All the easier if parking rules were relaxed on plowed campus property and lots, especially for security personnel working SW. So I'm not sure why that 20 minute reason should be cited at all any longer. There really is no reason to think a car could not be driven from the vicinity of Melville to the intersection of Mattoon and Triangle and back again in 20 minutes. But I'll try it myself just to be really sure.

BeagleBart,

With all sincere respect for you, I find it somewhat difficult to accept your implication that Maura herself may have driven the Saturn on that fateful night when Petrit Vasi was hit in "donwtown" Amherst.

Please note, that I´m just stating my personal opinion here, but it was well known that Maura would not drive the Saturn even for the shortest trip within the town of Amherst due to it being unreliable and prone to stop.

I´m rather of the opinion that some "friend" of Maura´s had access to the keys of the Saturn and may in fact have driven it on several occasions previously to the night when Petrit Vasi was hit.
Maura may well have reasoned that this "friend" of hers "may just as well use my car, since I´m not driving it myself".

Let´s not forget the incident back in 2003 (?) when Maura apparently locked her car keys in the Saturn´s trunk and had to call the AAA.
If I´m not mistaken, there are no known records of any such AAA transaction involving Maura´s name.
This has reinforced my belief that Maura may have used a "friend´s" AAA card on that occasion and that this "friend" may have been accompanying Maura at that time.

I may of course be wrong, but in my mind and I see things right now Maura is the tragic victim of one or more persons of evil, who at best has/have forced a young lady of enormous potential into a life of hiding.

That´s a monstrosity if ever there was one.

Eurobserver wrote:

Hello again,
Just another thought:
Isn´t it rather surprising that there are no known witness reports of Maura having been seen enroute anywhere between Amherst and Haverhill on February 9th 2004, if we just for the sake of it accept that she herself was driving the Saturn on that journey.
Surely she must most likely have stopped somewhere along the way for at least a little while?
Maura is such a stunningly beautiful young lady that she definitely should have been very much noticed! Her charisma can be sensed just by looking at the pictures of her - so why no witness reports, as far as we know?
Well, either she didn´t stop anywhere between Amherst and Haverhill, however unlikely, or else she never drove the Saturn to Haverhill from Amherst in the first place.
Right now I´d be prepared to opt for the second scenario as the most likely one.
Let me know your thoughts about this - thanks!

If true, that would rule out someone of similar appearance. It doesn't mean that Maura or someone else could have not been in a tow truck though. In fact, Maura was in one just a day and a half earlier. But I think you're right, Euro, she might not have made the trip north at all. Hard to say right now.

Eurobserver wrote:

BeagleBart,
With all sincere respect for you, I find it somewhat difficult to accept your implication that Maura herself may have driven the Saturn on that fateful night when Petrit Vasi was hit in "donwtown" Amherst.
Please note, that I´m just stating my personal opinion here, but it was well known that Maura would not drive the Saturn even for the shortest trip within the town of Amherst due to it being unreliable and prone to stop.
I´m rather of the opinion that some "friend" of Maura´s had access to the keys of the Saturn and may in fact have driven it on several occasions previously to the night when Petrit Vasi was hit.
Maura may well have reasoned that this "friend" of hers "may just as well use my car, since I´m not driving it myself".
Let´s not forget the incident back in 2003 (?) when Maura apparently locked her car keys in the Saturn´s trunk and had to call the AAA.
If I´m not mistaken, there are no known records of any such AAA transaction involving Maura´s name.
This has reinforced my belief that Maura may have used a "friend´s" AAA card on that occasion and that this "friend" may have been accompanying Maura at that time.
I may of course be wrong, but in my mind and I see things right now Maura is the tragic victim of one or more persons of evil, who at best has/have forced a young lady of enormous potential into a life of hiding.
That´s a monstrosity if ever there was one.

Euro, sorry if I wasn't clear. No implication that Maura was driving. Only that she COULD have been driving. Which, to me, opens the door on the possibility that you yourself have just advanced in more detail. And which I agree seems to make a lot of sense.

I think we are in accord that Maura was not likely driving the vehicle that hit Vasi. I would not count her out, but I would say there is a far greater chance it was someone else, just as you say.

In fact, I think LE might investigate the possibility that Maura was headed toward her "friend's" home that Monday afternoon, just as it was getting dark. If the Saturn was parked at this home, maybe the home was not a single family residence where the presense of the Saturn might be noticed by family or friends. The Saturn might have been parked among many other anonymous cars in a parking lot or on the street near her host's apartment or condo. What do you think, Euro?

Don't everyone else jump in at once. lol

BeagleBart,

Thanks for your comments (post # 1827).

I quite agree with you that Maura or someone else could well have been in a tow truck enroute between Amherst and Haverhill.

There may well have been a young lady slightly resembling Maura in the Saturn by the "crash" site in Swiftwater.
This young woman may have been "planted" in the Saturn as a kind of decoy and it´s not unreasonable to suggest that the schoolbus driver (Mr A) in his wavering statements may have genuinely mistaken this possible "non-Maura" person for being the real Maura.
It was dark, after all, and there are many question-marks as for how close he actually was when talking to the supposed "Maura" in or by the Saturn.

BeagleBart,

I believe that we are basically agreeing with each other on most vital points here.

By the way, where are all the other esteemed posters here on the board right now?
Just you and me around at the moment, it would seem...

I shall be retiring for the night (2.10 a.m. here in Sweden!) and look forward to reading a lot more thought-provoking comments from you all tomorrow.

Take care & all the best to all.
Euro

I do not believe Maura was driving the car that hit Vasi. But if it was Maura's car that hit him it had to be someone very close to cover them if she even did that. I believe we will never know.

jmlh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood about the man who attacked you being released - I've got it now, he was released but is now in jail. Was he in jail in Feb 2004? Thank you.

Shack, when I last checked maybe two days ago, Missing and Remembered was unavailable. I wish that it was available. I understand that it is possible to drown in a small amount of water. I guess what I'm saying is that it's not usual to drown in a small amount of water, and in cases where there's any question, I would regard it as possibly suspicious.

Shack/Eurobserver

Here is another link to a blog created by Helena.

http://nhunsolved.blogspot.com/2005/12/nhvtme...

Elsewherebriefly, that's a terrific point. Perhaps we can discuss some of these cases there?

Citigirl and BeagleBart, even if the Corolla was Fred's (which I've always assumed and still have no reason to question) he may have said that to the towing company to simply answer the question, "Why was your daughter driving your car?" whether or not buying the Corolla for Maura to be its primary driver was actually his intent.

Presumably were this actually the case, he'd eventually list her as the primary driver....but my gut when I read that said that he was simply saying that because the towing company was busting his chops about his daughter being the driver, or indicated that the insurance would give him a hard time.

Actually, what interested me most about that part of the story was that the police were all over the car when Maura went missing.