One of the most interesting aspects of the show for me is trying to determine the motive for some of the horrible crimes that are profiled on the show. While all murders are senseless acts of violence some motives can be easily ascertained (TK Hardy), be downright puzzling (Matt Flores) or even be just plain stupid (Rick Church's rampage)

The case of Tim Berry's murder of his sister in law is truly baffling. There seems to at times be no motive at all only a cryptic message from Tim to his vicitm of "You know why I'm doing this" if those words can indeed be taken at verbatim.

Here we have a many Tim Berry who was well respected by his community, had a loving wife and two children who adored him. Even more so Tim apparently cared deeply about them as well even during his incarceration. Berry was also well loved by his in-laws. It is almost unfathomable that Berry would throw this all away in a senseless act of murder against his own sister in law with no apparent motive. It is as if Berry simply decided that per say on the way back from the grocery store he was going to end his sister in-law's life. It was mentioned however when his victim started to fight back is when he slit her throat. But what caused this act of rage in the first place an act of rage in which at least if the UM segment is to be believed Timothy Berry at least regretted on some level after he committed it.

The only conclusions I can draw is Berry is a sociopath capable of shutting down his emotions to commit a murder seemingly on a whim or possibly that Berry's sister in law must have done something to provoke his wrath although what could provoke something like that to occur is beyond my scope.

Why would a man with seemingly who had everything he wanted in this world suddenly throw it all away and destroy not only his own life but the life of his family for no reason?

I'm glad that Berry was captured and is probably still in prison to this day but still wonder why this crime even took place?

Any contributions?

I was surprised that they did not mention any sexual motivation. Not that rape is about sex at all...it'a about power. Anyways, I think there's a possibility that he left his sexual motivations or the fact that he sexually assaulted his sister-in-law out of his confession. Once they found her body, any evidence of sexual assault might have been lost. The fact that he fixated on his sister-in-law rather than a stranger to whom he could not be connected shows the depth and power of his violent urges.

The guy must be a pretty brilliant con man if he was able to talk his way out of a previous murder charge, lead a seemingly normal life with his family, and charm his way into being let outside of prison walls so he could escape.

The guy must be a pretty brilliant con man if he was able to talk his way out of a previous murder charge, lead a seemingly normal life with his family, and charm his way into being let outside of prison walls so he could escape.


totally. my father grew up in everett, mass and my uncles from both his and my mother's side were good friends with tim barry. Though my parents were only aquantinces with barry, my dad went to him for advice and experiences on military life before being shipped off to the army. if anyone is interested I can ask them further about it and also I can talk to my aunts and uncles who were more close with him. maybe its just my morbid curiousity, but Ive always been fascinated with the minds of killers and why not go to some of the people that were close to tim barry at the time this murder took place? I know you guys obviously share this same fascination so if anyone wants me to I can post some of my findings...

justin

The obvious question I would like to know is why??? What possible motive did he have for killing his sister-in-law who adored him? Was there any allegations of sexual assault? Thats just speculation, I wondered if he had done something to her and then tried to shut her up. Her remains were found years later so they probably wouldn't have been able to tell by autopsy. Let me know if you find out anything more. Thanks!!

It could have been a rape that she tried to fight off and that sent him into a rage, allthough a big % of rape is about power some of it is about sex, it could have just started as an affair and he wanted to just have sex with her, another suposition is that they were having a secret affair and she wanted him to leave her sister for her and say he didnt want to so she said she would expose him and a man with his kind of reputation would have alot to lose, maby she knew something else about tim that nobody else knew including tims wife and tim,s sister in law treaten to expose him, The only one who knows is tim himself and he is not talking.

so I just talked to my mom....


she told me that my uncle stephen and tim were best friends (both from everett). she proceeded to tell me a story that had my neck hairs stand up...


a while after the murder tim came to my uncle stephen's house to hang out. he was acting really bizarre and he kept following stephen's mother (my grandmother) around the house and finally he uttered these words: "you know, I think I had something to do with her dissappearence". my grandmother, who was a very religious woman told him at once to leave and go talk to a priest. crazy right?!

he was known to be the nicest most down to earth guy but I guess (obviously) he had a horrible temper. he never revealed what happenned with the murder in the army, although everyone knew about it...and from what my mom told me, no one she knew had any idea why he decided to kill his sister and law. I dont think that rape was involved.

It could have been a rape that she tried to fight off and that sent him into a rage, allthough a big % of rape is about power some of it is about sex, it could have just started as an affair and he wanted to just have sex with her, another suposition is that they were having a secret affair and she wanted him to leave her sister for her and say he didnt want to so she said she would expose him and a man with his kind of reputation would have alot to lose, maby she knew something else about tim that nobody else knew including tims wife and tim,s sister in law treaten to expose him, The only one who knows is tim himself and he is not talking.


my dad said he suspected that maybe barry was attracted sexually to his sister in law but because of his fanatical religious upbringing, those feelings gave him so much guilt that he thought it better to kill her than to sexually abuse her. That may have been the reason why he felt so much hostility towards her and eventually led to him to murder.

my dad said he suspected that maybe barry was attracted sexually to his sister in law but because of his fanatical religious upbringing, those feelings gave him so much guilt that he thought it better to kill her than to sexually abuse her. That may have been the reason why he felt so much hostility towards her and eventually led to him to murder.

That sort of makes sense. It's sick and twisted and disgusting and psychotic, but it makes sense.

Thanks for all of the inquiries, Justin. Keep use informed!

I couldn't help but read everyones posts about Tim and actually, I know nothing about him. But you bring up a good point. Why? In our daughters murder case we learned the who, what, where and when but we will never have the answer to "why". We did have a criminal profiler review our case and he shed some light on a killers thinking and was kind enough to let us add his thoughts and opinion to our book. But even at that, it still doesn't answer the haunting question of "why".

Sheila Kimmell

I knew him for the longest time as John Prenderville. My Ex trained him for Schneider National and he lived with us for a few years.

That is very interesting. Now was he going by that alias while he was on the run? Did he actually live with you while he was on the run? When did you find out who he really was? I'm curious to know more about that if you don't mind informing us.

Just watched this case for the first time tonight...had never seen it or even heard of it before. Really compelling case with still a lot of mystery around it, especially the complete lack of motive.

Oh, I thought this was going to be a thread about why Tim McClure murdered his mother.

Carry on.

Always figured the motive was sexual. I think he came on to her, she rebuffed, and he killed her.

Always figured the motive was sexual. I think he came on to her, she rebuffed, and he killed her.
This is what I have always believed. It would explain why he said, ''Don't ask me why.'' And him creepily waiting in the laundry room to kidnap her? I think that's exactly what he had planned.

I think that he possibly planned to attack her sexually without her knowing it was him. Then she figured out it was him, fought, and he either killed her in a rage or to keep her quiet. I think murder wasn't his initial intention, which possibly is why he began to drink heavily and became weighed down by a guilty conscience.

http://nhpr.org/post/furniture-store-sees-success-selling-prisoner-made-goods

Oh, I thought this was going to be a thread about why Tim McClure murdered his mother.

Carry on.

Yeah, me too...that cop saying, "People have been killed for less." Yes, but usually not the perpetrator's own mother. Obviously he had issues.

The case actually being discussed has always haunted me as well.

This is what I have always believed. It would explain why he said, ''Don't ask me why.'' And him creepily waiting in the laundry room to kidnap her? I think that's exactly what he had planned.

I think that he possibly planned to attack her sexually without her knowing it was him. Then she figured out it was him, fought, and he either killed her in a rage or to keep her quiet. I think murder wasn't his initial intention, which possibly is why he began to drink heavily and became weighed down by a guilty conscience.

This makes the most sense of anything said, including his possible reason not to reveal motive. I wondered if he was temporarily insane or possessed and did not know why he did something both so horrible and so seemingly out of character, but possibly he did remember and due to some such reasons did not want to say.

This one is definitely in my top 10 most underrated segments. The church were Barry confessed was demolished last year (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/19/metro/housing-health-care-seniors-will-rise-site-former-everett-church/).

This one is definitely in my top 10 most underrated segments. The church were Barry confessed was demolished last year (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/19/metro/housing-health-care-seniors-will-rise-site-former-everett-church/).

For sure. The way the dude just appeared out of the woods to see his kids and then just as quickly folded back into them while on the run has always haunted me. The actor they had portray Tim was perfect in the role.

For sure. The way the dude just appeared out of the woods to see his kids and then just as quickly folded back into them while on the run has always haunted me.

And the fact that the kids weren't even home when he came out of the woods. They were at Tim's sister's home in Vermont, 200-something miles away.

This thread being revived got me to go back and watch the segment again. It really was such a brutal, senseless crime that seemed to come out of nowhere. And WishfulDreamer nailed the motive. He must have decided that he wanted to attack Nancy sexually without her knowing, which is why her glasses were left behind and her having horrible eye sight. But she had him figured out almost immediately on the car ride. And by then, he must have felt he had reached the point of no return.

And the fact that the kids weren't even home when he came out of the woods. They were at Tim's sister's home in Vermont, 200-something miles away.

This thread being revived got me to go back and watch the segment again. It really was such a brutal, senseless crime that seemed to come out of nowhere. And WishfulDreamer nailed the motive. He must have decided that he wanted to attack Nancy sexually without her knowing, which is why her glasses were left behind and her having horrible eye sight. But she had him figured out almost immediately on the car ride. And by then, he must have felt he had reached the point of no return.

I think the theory from the police was that Tim was brought up in a very strict religious household and killed Nancy because of his sexual desire for her.

Here's my theory: Tim Barry might be a closeted gay or bisexual man. Nancy might have seen something she shouldn't have, so Tim killed her to keep her from revealing his secret to the rest of the family.

This might even explain why he also murdered that guy while they were still in the military. Maybe he, too, found out Tim's secret and Tim killed him to keep quiet. Who knows? Maybe he rejected Tim and Tim killed him out of a combination of fear and anger.

It just looks like the classic case of a man wanting a woman sexually. This was his wife's sister, she is good looking, I can see why he may have desired her. Perhaps they had an affair already, who knows. Maybe the sister was going to reveal things. It does seem so senseless but I guarantee there is a very clear motive for it. You don't just snap and kill your sister in law for nothing. Something had to have happened.

It just looks like the classic case of a man wanting a woman sexually. This was his wife's sister, she is good looking, I can see why he may have desired her.

Allegedly, when Nancy begged to know why Tim had abducted her, he said, "You know why," or words to that effect. Maybe Tim had propositioned Nancy in the past, but Nancy begged off, and she and Tim mutually decided not to tell the rest of the family. Of course, that alone might not make Tim's desire for Nancy go away -- presuming, of course, that Tim had desired to be with Nancy -- which ultimately pushed him to kill her.

IOW, your theory makes a lot of sense. But I still wonder if Tim's prior bad act (murdering that guy in the military) might, in some way, explain why he also killed Nancy.

Is the actor who portrays Tim in this segment (not the one who shows up to the church, but the one who is seen dragging Nancy over the dunes and through the woods) the same actor who plays the husband who punches his wife and has the babysitter stabbed on the couch in another segment? Paul Stamper.

Well my guess is simple....I think he likely saw her as sexually attractive, he wanted her sexually, but because he was married to her sister, he couldn't go out and make a pass at her.

What I feel happened is he was going to originally go in with a disguise, commit a rape on Nancy, then leave, BUT she recognized him!! When she recognized him, that then changed his plans. I don't know if he ever completed his rape, but I think he killed her to not get identified.

I knew him for the longest time as John Prenderville. My Ex trained him for Schneider National and he lived with us for a few years.

wow how was that? Is he still with his wife?

Is he still married to Andrea? Wonder how kids are after all this?

my dad said he suspected that maybe barry was attracted sexually to his sister in law but because of his fanatical religious upbringing, those feelings gave him so much guilt that he thought it better to kill her than to sexually abuse her. That may have been the reason why he felt so much hostility towards her and eventually led to him to murder.

Is he still married to Andrea? Wonder how kids are after all this?