The Final Appeal of Paul Ferrell

[TheCars1986]

I don't know why but I've been thinking a lot about this case recently. Even though Gorman is in the same state that I live, it's still about a 3 and a half hours drive for me. Always wanted to go see some of the locations featured. Anyway, I was trying to pinpoint specific locations on Google, so I went back and re-read one of Ferrell's appeals:

On the same day that Ms. Ford disappeared, two other women received telephone calls from a man purporting to be a magistrate. This man, however, was not a real magistrate; at the time, both magistrates in Grant County, West Virginia, were females and nearby Maryland does not have magistrates.

A Grant County magistrate is usually on duty at a satellite office in the Mt. Storm Fire Hall on Wednesdays. Sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 on Wednesday, 17 February 1988 (the day the victim disappeared), the magistrate and her assistant observed Mr. Ferrell using the public pay phone outside of the office. The magistrate told her assistant that the man talking on the phone outside was their new deputy sheriff. Paul Ferrell had recently begun working as a deputy sheriff for Grant County. Mr. Ferrell then went into the truck bay area of the fire hall, where a phone available to the public was located, remained there a while and then left.

At 10:50 a.m. the same day, Robin Tichnell received a call from a man claiming to be a West Virginia magistrate. The alleged magistrate said that he was conducting an investigation of someone she knew, and needed to question her at the Mt. Storm Fire Hall sometime between 10:00 and 3:00. When she asked who or what the investigation concerned, he would not tell her. Consequently, she refused to leave work to meet him, and he responded that he would have to get in touch with her at a later date.

Paul Ferrell lived here, or very close to this spot. The Mt. Storm Fire Department and Hall was less than a 5 minute drive to Ferrell's home.

Another woman who received a strange invitation that same day was Rose Bosley, a part-time postmistress in Gormania who usually worked on Saturdays. The new post office had opened two days before, and did not yet have phone service, so Juanita Bosley, the regular postmistress asked the younger woman to fill in for her while she made telephone calls to various utility companies. While the young woman was filling in, a man telephoned Viola Knotts, an elderly woman who lived across the street from the post office, and asked her to tell Rose Bosley to come and get her mail carrier whose car had broken down between Bismark and Cherry Ridge Road. The Gormania route, however, would not take the carrier to those roads.

The distance from Ferrell's trailer to Cherry Ridge Road is 3 minutes.

From the room in Mr. Ferrell's family store in which his telephone was located, Mr. Ferrell could see people come and go from the post office, and could also see Ms. Knotts' residence. Mr. Ferrell's store was also within sight of the restaurant where Cathy Ford worked.

Gathering all of this information together, to believe Ferrell was innocent, there must have been another man who lived close to Ferrell, who also either knew or could observe the coming and goings of the 3 women who received calls that day, who also coincidentally got lucky enough to try and lure women to the fire hall on the same day Paul Ferrell was seen making phone calls there. Either this person accomplished all of this in some weird attempt to frame Ferrell, or Ferrell is guilty as sin. The fact that 2 other women besides Cathy Ford also received calls that day, pretty much rules out the Darvin Moon theory, IMO. Ferrell is the only person consistently present at virtually every point in this case. He could observe every woman who received phone calls on the day Cathy Ford disappeared, and he lived on Bismarck road, the last place Cathy Ford was seen alive. All of the women were told to meet up with this mysterious magistrate all within 5 minutes of Ferrell's residence. Cathy Ford's vehicle was found on Ferrell's property. If the phone calls were simply prank calls phoned in by Ferrell, and Cathy Ford did get duped into travelling to Bismarck Road, who the hell killed her? If Ferrell was absent from his residence when Cathy arrived, why didn't she go back to work? And if Ferrell was present and simply told her that it was just a crank call, why didn't she simply get angry and go back to work? Someone stopped her from leaving Bismarck Road that day. And the only logical person is Paul Ferrell.

[asmitty]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

So, I had my non-UM-watching husband view the Final Appeal episode with me last night to get his take on it. He tends to be a man of few words, but the first thing he said after it was over pretty well sums up his thoughts exactly:

"Well, he made a really good case to show he got screwed. He didn't make a good case for his innocence, though, and there's a difference."

So I asked him to elaborate. He says the body language testimony, blood evidence, and phone calls to bookstores damaged him greatly and kept him from receiving a fair trial. However, throughout the program Ferrell never once offers any alibis or alternate explanations in his favor, nor does he offer any explanation for the things that cast great suspicion on him except that they were "mistakes" or "irrational things".

I think my husband unknowingly pointed out the problem with the episode. It makes a good initial case to cast doubt on whether Ferrell received a fair trial. It does NOT, however, make a good case to cast doubt on Ferrell's guilt.

I know I'm replying to an old post, but I'm going for it anyway. This was a Final Appeal segment. In may cases, the whole point of an appeal, at least in a legal sense, is to refute the way the case was handled rather than the actual facts of the case. The facts of the case and the guilt or innocence of the accused is for the jury to decide. And, under our system, if the right man was found guilty through unjust means then that needs to be rectified. And if going on UM is how that needs to be exposed then that's how it needs to happen.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by asmitty

I know I'm replying to an old post, but I'm going for it anyway. This was a Final Appeal segment. In may cases, the whole point of an appeal, at least in a legal sense, is to refute the way the case was handled rather than the actual facts of the case. The facts of the case and the guilt or innocence of the accused is for the jury to decide. And, under our system, if the right man was found guilty through unjust means then that needs to be rectified. And if going on UM is how that needs to be exposed then that's how it needs to happen.

But the Ferrell case was the sole Final Appeal segment featured on UM where the appellant didn't present ANY evidence that was indicative of his/her innocence, or that someone else was a viable suspect. UM always did that with their Final Appeal segments. They would present the prosecution's side and back history, and then they would present the defense's side which poked holes in the prosecution's case. Ferrell's segment just seemed to be an odd choice for a Final Appeal segment, IMO.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

But the Ferrell case was the sole Final Appeal segment featured on UM where the appellant didn't present ANY evidence that was indicative of his/her innocence, or that someone else was a viable suspect. UM always did that with their Final Appeal segments. They would present the prosecution's side and back history, and then they would present the defense's side which poked holes in the prosecution's case. Ferrell's segment just seemed to be an odd choice for a Final Appeal segment, IMO.

We're divorced now, but I still think my ex-husband was right on at least this 'Final Appeal' episode: near-zero case made for innocence and/or alternative suspects. All that's really explored is the way the prosecution screwed up by presenting "that blood evidence", as Ferrell says. The rest of the story actually does a fine job at making Paul Ferrell look like an extremely good suspect.

I appreciated Martin Yant sending me his article, and I have to admit I have my doubts and questions with things he brought up there that 'Final Appeal' never covered. But at the end of the day, I highly suspect they got the right dude regardless.

[RobinW]

I think the only reason that they even selected this for a Final Appeal segment was because of the witnesses who thought they saw Cathy Ford alive and working in a restaurant one year later. If there was stronger evidence to suggest that Ferrell was serving time in prison for a murder which never even happened, this would have been a very compelling story, but they really needed hell of a lot more than one eyewitness account.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by RobinW

I think the only reason that they even selected this for a Final Appeal segment was because of the witnesses who thought they saw Cathy Ford alive and working in a restaurant one year later. If there was stronger evidence to suggest that Ferrell was serving time in prison for a murder which never even happened, this would have been a very compelling story, but they really needed hell of a lot more than one eyewitness account.

Good point.

Cathy's family is barely even mentioned in the segment. Her brother gets about 15 seconds of screen time, and that's at the very end of the segment where the witnesses claim to have seen Cathy working at a restaurant in a different state.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Good point.

Cathy's family is barely even mentioned in the segment. Her brother gets about 15 seconds of screen time, and that's at the very end of the segment where the witnesses claim to have seen Cathy working at a restaurant in a different state.

I had this paperback that was called something like The FBI and each chapter featured an FBI case from nearly every state. This was Maryland's. The book is probably long gone but I do remember reading that Rich Ford was very instrumental in getting the FBI involved. It may not have even happened if he didn't press as hard as he did to have the case handed over.

ETA: I seem to remember reading somewhere--it may have even been the same book--that Rich and Paul were actually pretty close friends at the time of Cathy's disappearance.

[wiseguy182]

After learning some new things, I believe Paul Ferrell is guilty as heck. I find myself in a weird position though because there is just enough reasonable doubt (but just barely) that I can *sort of* understand why he is a free man. But I do believe he murdered her and unfortunately, I think he raped her as well.

But even in the slightest possibility that he is innocent of the aforementioned crimes, he still went around and made sexually obscene phone calls to numerous women and in some cases, made them participate in a conversation that made them feel uncomfortable. He sexually harassed women. Which is unforgivable. And I would imagine the women don't ever forget an experience like that. The man is a pig.

Honestly, I'm glad that so many women are speaking out about the sexual harassment they've endured from people like celebrities, politicians, etc. I think they have taken the power back from the men who harassed them, and that's a good thing. These women are very courageous!

[MegtheEgg86]

For whatever reason I've been thinking about this case over the past few days and even rewatched the FA episode last night.

Cathy reported to her mother and Pat Parker, another waitress at the Old Mill, that the caller had stated he was some kind of law or justice official (I can't remember off the top of my head what exactly), and that the sheriff's office was sending undercover officers to local restaurants to see which establishments weren't consistently carding customers purchasing alcoholic beverages. Cathy would've been vulnerable to such a set-up given her young age and its accompanying naivete, and because she would've been especially interested in protecting her family's business.

Paul Ferrell himself admits to sexual offense against several women when he made those so-called "crank sex phone calls" to various bookstores and libraries, and unwittingly involving the women who answered the phones in his own sexual gratification. I'm not sure what the exact timeline is, but I would be thoroughly unmoved to learn the sex calls ceased around the time the "meeting" calls began. In other words, I think Ferrell may have been engaged in escalating behavior. Cathy Ford may have simply been the first woman to have taken the bait.

Evidence would indicate Paul Ferrell and Cathy Ford were probably pretty well-acquainted with each other, but that relationship wouldn't have been necessary for the phone call and proposed meeting discussed therein. I have the feeling Ferrell was likely at least acquainted with the women that he phoned, but wasn't particularly close to any of them. I noticed a pattern: just as he did with the sex calls, he avoided truly confronting these women by presenting himself as someone else (and in positions of some kind of authority, such as a doctor or a magistrate) and refraining from identifying himself by name. I'm no psychologist, but I find that element intriguing, and in no small part for this reason:

To my knowledge, nobody has ever claimed that Cathy Ford was having an affair with Paul Ferrell but Paul Ferrell himself. There's over a ten year difference in age between Ferrell and Ford, with Ford being barely out of high school and Ferrell a 30 year-old man. By all accounts, they ran in somewhat different social circles: Ferrell's family was well-respected and church-going, and Ford's boyfriend and friends skirted the edge of the law. However, Ferrell did have a friendship with Ford's brother Rich, and frequently ate at the Old Mill. He would've known Cathy, certainly, but it's never really been established how well. Even when Ferrell describes their relationship on Final Appeal (one that Stacks says, by Ferrell's account was more friends than lovers), it sounds like he might as well have been talking about the kid who sat next to him in history class in high school. I realize it's totally anecdotal, but I could provide as much information on some of the cashiers at my local grocery store as Ferrell did about Cathy Ford, and this was supposed to have been someone with which he was having a romantic affair.

Furthermore, Paul's twin brother David and his wife lived with Paul at the time of the alleged affair, and they both stated that they were completely unaware of any relationship between the two--that had there existed such an affair, "we would've known about it." In sum, I'm not sure Ferrell and Ford ever had a relationship of the character Ferrell describes, and the possible reasons why are an interesting consideration.

It may be possible that Paul Ferrell either conflated or flat-out fabricated the nature of their relationship after he became a suspect in order to explain any trace of Cathy that might later be found in his trailer or property. Cigarette butts of the kind Cathy smoked were found in Ferrell's home; that isn't particularly remarkable if the two were having an affair. The fact that Darvin Moon, Cathy's boyfriend, was known to be something of a rough character with an alleged jealous streak only bolsters this narrative: it creates a motive for Moon to have killed Cathy and framed Paul for it.

Additionally, Ferrell, given the avoidant, indirect nature of the phone calls, may indicate some sort of feeling of inadequacy in Ferrell himself. Perhaps the narrative concerning Ford and an illicit love affair is, for Ferrell, a demonstration of prowess. Maybe it "does" something for him psychologically. Who knows.

The fact that Paul Ferrell demonstrated a pattern of escalating behavior with women revolving around those phone calls, and then later became a law enforcement officer is chilling to consider. It may even be possible that he planned to exploit his authority in order to contact and perhaps assault women. Again, who knows. But what we do know doesn't seem particularly good.

In spite of it all though, I still think dude got a sh*tty trial on account of the unsophisticated blood evidence and the way it was presented, and on the "body language" testimony. Had he been retried, however, I think it's highly likely he still would've been convicted.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Paul Ferrell himself admits to sexual offense against several women when he made those so-called "crank sex phone calls" to various bookstores and libraries, and unwittingly involving the women who answered the phones in his own sexual gratification. I'm not sure what the exact timeline is, but I would be thoroughly unmoved to learn the sex calls ceased around the time the "meeting" calls began. In other words, I think Ferrell may have been engaged in escalating behavior. Cathy Ford may have simply been the first woman to have taken the bait.

It has been awhile since I read the series of articles that Martin Yant wrote about the case. However, I seem to recall the articles mentioning that there was some possibility that these calls were made by different individuals. I believe Ferrell admitted to the first set of calls, but not the second.

Just playing devil's advocate here, but do you think that Ferrell made both sets of calls? Was it established that he did - either by evidence or his admission? I'm legit blanking on the details in the previous sentence.

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Evidence would indicate Paul Ferrell and Cathy Ford were probably pretty well-acquainted with each other, but that relationship wouldn't have been necessary for the phone call and proposed meeting discussed therein. I have the feeling Ferrell was likely at least acquainted with the women that he phoned, but wasn't particularly close to any of them. I noticed a pattern: just as he did with the sex calls, he avoided truly confronting these women by presenting himself as someone else (and in positions of some kind of authority, such as a doctor or a magistrate) and refraining from identifying himself by name. I'm no psychologist, but I find that element intriguing, and in no small part for this reason:

To my knowledge, nobody has ever claimed that Cathy Ford was having an affair with Paul Ferrell but Paul Ferrell himself. There's over a ten year difference in age between Ferrell and Ford, with Ford being barely out of high school and Ferrell a 30 year-old man. By all accounts, they ran in somewhat different social circles: Ferrell's family was well-respected and church-going, and Ford's boyfriend and friends skirted the edge of the law. However, Ferrell did have a friendship with Ford's brother Rich, and frequently ate at the Old Mill. He would've known Cathy, certainly, but it's never really been established how well. Even when Ferrell describes their relationship on Final Appeal (one that Stacks says, by Ferrell's account was more friends than lovers), it sounds like he might as well have been talking about the kid who sat next to him in history class in high school. I realize it's totally anecdotal, but I could provide as much information on some of the cashiers at my local grocery store as Ferrell did about Cathy Ford, and this was supposed to have been someone with which he was having a romantic affair.

Furthermore, Paul's twin brother David and his wife lived with Paul at the time of the alleged affair, and they both stated that they were completely unaware of any relationship between the two--that had there existed such an affair, "we would've known about it." In sum, I'm not sure Ferrell and Ford ever had a relationship of the character Ferrell describes, and the possible reasons why are an interesting consideration.

It may be possible that Paul Ferrell either conflated or flat-out fabricated the nature of their relationship after he became a suspect in order to explain any trace of Cathy that might later be found in his trailer or property. Cigarette butts of the kind Cathy smoked were found in Ferrell's home; that isn't particularly remarkable if the two were having an affair. The fact that Darvin Moon, Cathy's boyfriend, was known to be something of a rough character with an alleged jealous streak only bolsters this narrative: it creates a motive for Moon to have killed Cathy and framed Paul for it.

Additionally, Ferrell, given the avoidant, indirect nature of the phone calls, may indicate some sort of feeling of inadequacy in Ferrell himself. Perhaps the narrative concerning Ford and an illicit love affair is, for Ferrell, a demonstration of prowess. Maybe it "does" something for him psychologically. Who knows.

To be transparent, I never gave much thought to this particular aspect of the case aside from just mentally writing it off as Ferrell's excuse for why Cathy Ford's cigarette butts and blood might be in his trailer, and perhaps, to a lesser degree, why Moon might have a reason to frame him. That being said, I never was convinced he was having any kind of romantic relationship or "affair" with Cathy Ford as he stated.

However, you make some interesting points, especially in light of your analysis of the sequence of the phone calls. I really am left wondering just what kind of a person Paul Ferrell was.

Calling women on the telephone and asking them to read sexually explicit passages from books -there must have been a lot of fantasizing going on here. It's also antisocial when you consider the deceptive and coercive nature of it. It suggests he had very little regard for the well being of the women he telephoned for his own sexual gratification. He objectified them to some degree. Further, if these are women he sort of knew, or at least saw, it does suggest some objectification and fixation beyond a mere voice on the telephone. That's a long winded way of saying that he victimized from afar and was not concerned about engaging these women he personally knew and drawing them in to his fantasy world. If this is the case, you have to wonder at what point this type of behavior would become uninteresting, and he would want to move beyond these phone call contacts and toward something more tangible and physical.

He also had a girlfriend too, correct? If so, I wonder what their relationship and sex life were like.

It just seems that Ferrell might have gotten so wrapped up in this fantasy life that he did feel a need to escalate to trying this with an actual woman. But, if you consider what we are alleging he tried to do here, it suggests, to me anyway, a very rudimentary, almost underdeveloped understanding of interpersonal relationships, communication, and sexuality. The whole plan is almost juvenile in nature.

That's a roundabout way of saying that when you look at the big picture of what allegedly happened to Cathy Ford, the hurried and poor disposal of the Bronco, the writing letters and sending money hoping the problem would "go away" the begging the girlfriend to call the Fords and pretend to be Cathy (these last two acts also strike me as pretty juvenile), the diversion of the search party, and so on, that the post offense behavior we CAN attribute to Ferrell, without question, matches the MO and behavior pre-offense. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that someone else committed this crime.

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

The fact that Paul Ferrell demonstrated a pattern of escalating behavior with women revolving around those phone calls, and then later became a law enforcement officer is chilling to consider. It may even be possible that he planned to exploit his authority in order to contact and perhaps assault women. Again, who knows. But what we do know doesn't seem particularly good.

No doubt.

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

In spite of it all though, I still think dude got a sh*tty trial on account of the unsophisticated blood evidence and the way it was presented, and on the "body language" testimony. Had he been retried, however, I think it's highly likely he still would've been convicted.

For sure on the trial. I also think the appellate history is telling. I think one, or possibly two(?), justices dissented on an appeal that, even though rejected, probably got the ball in motion in terms of securing Ferrell's pardon. There is an unfortunate perception among the public that pardon/acquittal/not guilty is the equivalent of factual innocence. That is often not the case, and I think Ferrell is an example.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by justins5256

It has been awhile since I read the series of articles that Martin Yant wrote about the case. However, I seem to recall the articles mentioning that there was some possibility that these calls were made by different individuals. I believe Ferrell admitted to the first set of calls, but not the second.

Just playing devil's advocate here, but do you think that Ferrell made both sets of calls? Was it established that he did - either by evidence or his admission? I'm legit blanking on the details in the previous sentence.

Ferrell never admitted to the second round of calls, but I strongly suspect he was the caller. Several of the calls were placed to an institution or business within sight of the Ferrell family store. At least one was placed to a woman who was asked to meet a "magistrate" at a location in which Paul Ferrell was witnessed using a payphone on exactly the date and time described by the woman who received the call.

The prosecution did introduce much of the "phone call evidence" at trial (as you probably remember from the episode), but according to at least one woman who testified for the prosecution (a woman named Tamela Kitzmiller*), they were never able to "prove" Paul Ferrell made those calls. I assume she means proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but I reckon "prove" can mean something quite different than its legal definition to different people.

I really am left wondering just what kind of a person Paul Ferrell was.

Calling women on the telephone and asking them to read sexually explicit passages from books -there must have been a lot of fantasizing going on here. It's also antisocial when you consider the deceptive and coercive nature of it. It suggests he had very little regard for the well being of the women he telephoned for his own sexual gratification. He objectified them to some degree. Further, if these are women he sort of knew, or at least saw, it does suggest some objectification and fixation beyond a mere voice on the telephone. That's a long winded way of saying that he victimized from afar and was not concerned about engaging these women he personally knew and drawing them in to his fantasy world. If this is the case, you have to wonder at what point this type of behavior would become uninteresting, and he would want to move beyond these phone call contacts and toward something more tangible and physical.

He also had a girlfriend too, correct? If so, I wonder what their relationship and sex life were like.

It just seems that Ferrell might have gotten so wrapped up in this fantasy life that he did feel a need to escalate to trying this with an actual woman. But, if you consider what we are alleging he tried to do here, it suggests, to me anyway, a very rudimentary, almost underdeveloped understanding of interpersonal relationships, communication, and sexuality. The whole plan is almost juvenile in nature.

That's a roundabout way of saying that when you look at the big picture of what allegedly happened to Cathy Ford, the hurried and poor disposal of the Bronco, the writing letters and sending money hoping the problem would "go away" the begging the girlfriend to call the Fords and pretend to be Cathy (these last two acts also strike me as pretty juvenile), the diversion of the search party, and so on, that the post offense behavior we CAN attribute to Ferrell, without question, matches the MO and behavior pre-offense. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that someone else committed this crime.

I had precisely the same thoughts. I just can't help but feel this odd mixture of bemusement and disturbance at the thought of a man over 30 being so apparently arrested in some early developmental stage.

He also did have a girlfriend, who actually had two children of her own. She described him as attentive and sensitive. I believe they were also talking about marriage at the time of Cathy Ford's disappearance. I'd love to have a cup of coffee with that woman.

There is an unfortunate perception among the public that pardon/acquittal/not guilty is the equivalent of factual innocence. That is often not the case, and I think Ferrell is an example.

Yes sir.




*I met someone about a year ago by the name of Kitzmiller. Being the weirdo I am, I asked that person if he/she was from West Virginia shortly after we were introduced. The individual stated he/she was actually from Kitzmiller, MD, and I asked if that was close to Gorman. Indeed it is; they're in the same county. Being that I live in East TN, I was asked how I knew anything about that part of the country, and I flubbed something about having traveled through there once. Looking back on it, I probably should've just told the truth. Chances are good that the person may have even personally known the parties involved in the case.

[TheCars1986]

I agree with the escalation theory, but I'm still confused as to what exactly Ferrell's end game was. What would've happened if that woman, Robin Tichnell, had agreed to meet him at the Mt. Storm Fire Hall? And for the other woman, Rose Bosley, why would he tell her obviously false information to try and goad her into coming out? He said one of the post office trucks were broke down off of a road that was not part of that particular route for that post office. I have never thought Ferrell was particularly bright, but these phone calls are just downright stupid. What did he want to accomplish?

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I agree with the escalation theory, but I'm still confused as to what exactly Ferrell's end game was. What would've happened if that woman, Robin Tichnell, had agreed to meet him at the Mt. Storm Fire Hall? And for the other woman, Rose Bosley, why would he tell her obviously false information to try and goad her into coming out? He said one of the post office trucks were broke down off of a road that was not part of that particular route for that post office. I have never thought Ferrell was particularly bright, but these phone calls are just downright stupid. What did he want to accomplish?

I've thought about this too, and there are a couple of possibilities and sub-possibilities I considered:

- Ferrell could've planned to assault outright shortly after the women arrived to the meeting location. Personally, I think this is unlikely.

- He could've planned to make the meeting appear like a chance encounter between himself and the phoned women. He would've been able to accomplish this easily as he would know exactly where these women would be well ahead of time. From there, he could either treat the meeting as a "confidence builder" (similar to the way the Route 29 Stalker left several of the women unharmed after giving them rides), or he could've even feigned alarm and concern upon hearing the women relay their stories of a caller asking to meet them in prearranged locations. As a law enforcement officer, Ferrell would seem to be especially interested in such reports, and it would further allow him prolonged contact with the target (filling out police reports, following up with "investigation" progress, etc.). Alternately, he could have used the opportunity to make some sort of advance. No matter what his intention, this scenario doesn't necessitate Ferrell following through on any actual prearranged meeting at all. The only thing the phone call accomplishes is getting the woman out to and waiting at a predetermined location for Ferrell to "happen by".

As far as what happened to Cathy Ford, I think something happened to either severely frighten her (and perhaps she began to scream, or otherwise attempt to attract attention), or she defiantly threatened to tell someone what had happened (possibly Darvin Moon, or her brother Rich). Whatever it might have been, it scared Paul Ferrell enough to lead him to believe his only recourse was to kill Cathy Ford. During the original trial (as part of that controversial "body language" testimony), it was stated that an FBI agent who interviewed Ferrell threw out a scenario in which Ford might have said something to "taunt" or "tease" Ferrell, which angered him to the point that he murdered her. I personally think it's far more likely that any threat Ford might have presented was to Ferrell's reputation--not his ego or sense of masculinity. Ferrell's family was well-regarded in the small area and devoutly Catholic. Paul had never been anywhere near being in trouble with the law prior to this event. He had a steady girlfriend who he was reportedly making plans to marry, a girlfriend who described him in glowing terms. In other words, he may have been something of a golden boy who would come out tarnished had Cathy Ford lived to tell anyone about Ferrell's advances. Furthermore, he may have been a tarnished golden boy about to get his a** kicked by Darvin Moon and/or Rich Ford.

As far as Rose Bosley is concerned, I honestly think Ferrell never even considered that the postal route didn't go out to Cherry Ridge Rd--kind of like he never considered that anyone would recognize the writing in the bogus letter to Ford's parents as his own, or that he couldn't explain blood found in his trailer as having come from someone "that maybe cut their finger".

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Ferrell could've planned to assault outright shortly after the women arrived to the meeting location. Personally, I think this is unlikely.

I agree, because all of the women he called would have known Ferrell, and would have known he's not a magistrate.

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

He could've planned to make the meeting appear like a chance encounter between himself and the phoned women. He would've been able to accomplish this easily as he would know exactly where these women would be well ahead of time. From there, he could either treat the meeting as a "confidence builder" (similar to the way the Route 29 Stalker left several of the women unharmed after giving them rides), or he could've even feigned alarm and concern upon hearing the women relay their stories of a caller asking to meet them in prearranged locations. As a law enforcement officer, Ferrell would seem to be especially interested in such reports, and it would further allow him prolonged contact with the target (filling out police reports, following up with "investigation" progress, etc.). Alternately, he could have used the opportunity to make some sort of advance. No matter what his intention, this scenario doesn't necessitate Ferrell following through on any actual prearranged meeting at all. The only thing the phone call accomplishes is getting the woman out to and waiting at a predetermined location for Ferrell to "happen by".

This is an excellent theory. I didn't even think about that.

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

As far as what happened to Cathy Ford, I think something happened to either severely frighten her (and perhaps she began to scream, or otherwise attempt to attract attention), or she defiantly threatened to tell someone what had happened (possibly Darvin Moon, or her brother Rich). Whatever it might have been, it scared Paul Ferrell enough to lead him to believe his only recourse was to kill Cathy Ford. During the original trial (as part of that controversial "body language" testimony), it was stated that an FBI agent who interviewed Ferrell threw out a scenario in which Ford might have said something to "taunt" or "tease" Ferrell, which angered him to the point that he murdered her. I personally think it's far more likely that any threat Ford might have presented was to Ferrell's reputation--not his ego or sense of masculinity. Ferrell's family was well-regarded in the small area and devoutly Catholic. Paul had never been anywhere near being in trouble with the law prior to this event. He had a steady girlfriend who he was reportedly making plans to marry, a girlfriend who described him in glowing terms. In other words, he may have been something of a golden boy who would come out tarnished had Cathy Ford lived to tell anyone about Ferrell's advances. Furthermore, he may have been a tarnished golden boy about to get his a** kicked by Darvin Moon and/or Rich Ford.

No doubt. The only thing I could think of that would have created such a reaction from Cathy is if he made an unwelcome advance towards her. Ultimately I've always thought the motive was sexual in nature, but I could never wrap my head around what exactly Ferrell thought was going to happen. Was he stupid enough to think that these women would throw themselves at him when they met up with him?

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

As far as Rose Bosley is concerned, I honestly think Ferrell never even considered that the postal route didn't go out to Cherry Ridge Rd--kind of like he never considered that anyone would recognize the writing in the bogus letter to Ford's parents as his own, or that he couldn't explain blood found in his trailer as having come from someone "that maybe cut their finger".

That's another good point. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Essentially, Cathy Ford was the unlucky one who actually agreed to meet up with him that day.

[MegtheEgg86]

Cars, have you seen the original Final Appeal episode? If not, let me know!